OUR COMMENTS

DCC Sights Copyright Exceptions for AI Scraping as Unfair Trade Practices to US Government

The Digital Creators Coalition (DCC), representing a broad spectrum of the American creative industry—including musicians, filmmakers, authors, and visual artists—submitted comments to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding unfair trade practices that undermine intellectual property (IP) protections. Their primary concern is the growing trend of copyright exceptions for text and data mining (TDM) in foreign countries, which allows artificial intelligence (AI) models to be trained on copyrighted works without authorization or compensation. The DCC argues that these exceptions constitute state-sanctioned copyright theft, harming U.S. creators and undermining the country's strong trade surplus in the creative sector. They urge the U.S. government to take a strong stance in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations to protect American creators, promote fair licensing practices, and enforce global transparency and accountability in AI development.

DCC Welcomes USTR Greer's Confirmation and Raises Opposition to AI Copyright Exceptions

The Digital Creators Coalition congratulates the newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative and highlights the agency's past efforts in protecting American creators from foreign intellectual property theft. Representing a wide range of creative industries—including film, music, publishing, and digital media—the coalition emphasizes the importance of strong copyright protections in U.S. trade policy. They stress the economic significance of the creative sector and warn against threats like piracy and unauthorized AI training using copyrighted works. The coalition firmly opposes government policies that allow text and data mining (TDM) exceptions for AI training, which they view as a violation of creators' rights.

DCC Written Comments in Response to USTR’s Request for Comments Regarding
the 2025 Special 301 Review

The Digital Creators Coalition (DCC) submitted comments to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the 2025 Special 301 Review, emphasizing the importance of strong copyright protections for the American creative sector in the context of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The DCC, representing diverse stakeholders across creative industries, outlined concerns about AI systems, particularly generative AI (GenAI), being built on unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, and the risks posed by inadequate enforcement and legislative barriers overseas. They highlighted the economic contributions of the U.S. creative sector—accounting for 12.52% of GDP and employing 16.1 million workers—while opposing broad copyright exceptions for text and data mining (TDM), which undermine creators' rights globally. The DCC urged the U.S. to lead international efforts to enforce copyright protections in the AI landscape, promote responsible AI development, and engage with nations implementing or considering TDM exceptions to safeguard the sustainability of the creative economy.

DCC Applauds G7 Declaration on Culture, Copyright, and AI

The Digital Creators Coalition (DCC) today issued the following statement applauding the Ministerial Declaration on Culture, Common Good of
Humanity and Common Responsibility of the Group of Seven (G7) countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States: "The DCC welcomes this latest G7 Ministerial Declaration, which lauds the critical contributions
of human creation to economic development and cultural vitality as well as the crucial
importance of copyright protection in the AI environment. This Declaration delivers a clear and
welcome imperative – where creativity flourishes, our economies prosper and our societies
thrive. For the creative ecosystem to be sustainable, governments and AI developers must do
more to advance what the DCC views as a top priority."

DCC Letter to Commerce, NSC, State and USTR Calls on US Government to Protect Copyright in the AI Environment.

The Digital Creators Coalition (DCC) emphasizes the importance of strong international copyright protection for American creators and their contributions to the economy and culture. The DCC urges the U.S. government to promote responsible AI development, respecting copyright laws, and to oppose broad copyright exceptions for AI, such as text and data mining. They specifically support the U.S. engagement in the G7 Hiroshima AI Process and its commitment to safeguarding intellectual property rights. The DCC calls for continued collaboration with the U.S. to ensure international protections for creators in the digital environment.

DCC Sends Letter to US PTO Director Vidal Commending US IP Attachés’ Work on Global Copyright Protection

The Digital Creators Coalition wrote to convey our appreciation and strong support for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Intellectual Property (IP) Attaché program. In the series of meetings held in December, including with the Digital Creators Coalition (DCC), they were consistently impressed with the incredible work, expertise, diplomacy, and sophistication of all of the IP Attachés and IP Specialists in the program.

Digital Creators Coalition Letter Congratulating US Patent & Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal on Her Confirmation

Strong copyright protection and enforcement ensures the American creative community can thrive and drive America’s culture and economy forward. The DCC looks forward to working with you to build strong copyright protection systems around the world and to maintain our country’s status as a world leader in promoting creativity and protecting copyright overseas. A system that protects creators and cherishes American creativity will bolster the livelihoods of millions of American workers and act as a model for the world at large.

DCC Applauds Special 301 Report Findings on International Copyright Protection

The Digital Creators Coalition (DCC) issued a statement applauding the findings of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 2021 Special 301 Report, an annual review of intellectual property rights protection and enforcement in countries around the world.

Digital Creators Coalition Letter Congratulating Ambassador Tai on Confirmation as United States Trade Representative

Creative trade policy offers tremendous potential to catalyze the immense contributions American creative workers and firms make to our culture, economy, and society by ensuring strong copyright protection and broadening markets for creative goods and services. The Digital Creators Coalition congratulates Ambassador Tai on her confirmation at USTR and welcomes her humanizing approach to U.S. trade policy.

The Power of American Creativity

The creative industry critically contributes to American jobs, wages and growth. In 2020, creators made up 5.7 million jobs and provided $1.5 trillion in value to the U.S. economy

Digital Creators Coalition US-UK and Trade Agreement Negotiations

International trade agreements are vital to protecting intellectual property and creative rightsaround the world. Our comments on the U.S. - U.K. trade negotiations outline ways in which the two countries can take steps to secure IP protections and keep the economies of both strong.

Comments of the Digital Creators Working Group US-UK Trade Agreement Negotiations

The Digital Creators Working Group (DCWG), a broad coalition of individual creators, small and independent producers, and large businesses representing virtually every aspect of the American creative sector, submitted its priorities for possible U.S.-UK trade agreement negotiations to the Office of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR). These comments were signed by 19 organizations, including those representing the American movie, music, television, publishing, news media, photography, and radio industries.