Marybeth Peters is our Registrar of Copyrights. She's served as an employee in the Office of Copyrights for over 40 years, and took over as Register in 1994.
One of her most important tasks is to head up reviews of copyright law to ensure that it continues to operate fairly in the face of ever-changing technology. She is also required by law to oversee periodic reviews of anti-circumvention rules, most notably the DMCA, to decide whether it's necessary to specify narrow exemptions.
Regarding the DMCA, Ms. Peters is not a fan of the Safe Harbor found in Section 512. This section requires that copyright holders (Viacom, for example) notify hosts of content on the Internet (YouTube, to name one) before the host must take down copyrighted content that has been posted by users. Only if the host fails to respond to these requests can the host be liable for participating in copyright infringement.
The Safe Harbor is a cornerstone of Google's argument in fighting high-profile copyright lawsuits, including one brought by Viacom, against its YouTube subsidiary.
While an expert in arena of copyright law, Ms. Peters is a technology novice. She does not own a computer for personal use, and considers herself a Luddite.
Of the DMCA, she says:
Shouldn't you have to filter? Shouldn't you have to take reasonable steps to make sure illegal stuff that went up comes down? . . . I think there are some issues.
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