If It Ain't Broke, Improve It Anyway
Does the U.S. Copyright Office belong in the Library of Congress or should it be separated? After analyzing the argument on both sides and recognizing the pros and cons of each, I believe that they should separate.
The Hudson Institute argues for the separation of the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress in a white paper that examines copyright functions of the federal government as they relate to history and the constitution. The argument for separation is essentially that keeping them together is outdated. Tepp and Oman (2015) argue that, among other things, the Library of Congress prioritizes other tasks before those of the Copyright Office and is paper only, which does not meet the needs of copyright and the modern world. The U.S. Copyright Office needs a modern makeover, and it should have authority over its decisions instead of going through the Library.
On the other hand, some people say that the U.S. Copyright Office should remain part of the Library of Congress. Alan Inouye (2017) argues that the system isn’t broken and thus should not be changed. He explains that this is not a new argument, being revisited every few decades, and the result is always that the Copyright Office remains part of the Library because it is the most effective and efficient place for it to be. No evidence is given as to why it should remain connected except that it has always been part of it and does not violate the constitution.
The U.S. Copyright Office should be separated from the Library of Congress. It is only still part of it because it has always been, and it is time to make a change that benefits modern society. Just because the system isn’t technically broken doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.
References
Inouye, A. (2017, August 10). The copyright office belongs in the Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://www.districtdispatch.org/2017/08/copyright-office-belongs-library-congress/
Tepp, S., & Oman, R. (2015, October 13). A 21st century copyright office: The conservative case for reform. Retrieved from https://www.hudson.org/research/11772-a-21st-century-copyright-office-the-conservative-case-forreform?fbclid=IwAR071imbz97ml72H7qjQJbE8WrDM3k8wrAX-OAcygiWLeYgYm8lxIlPpe9A
