The Balance of Copyright in the United States of America

Copyright balance in the United States has been achieved largely through negotiations in Congress involving competing interest groups. While this process has worked well in achieving a compromise among copyright owners, it has largely ignored the needs of copyright consumers. The major issue in copyright today in the United States involves the Google Books settlement, when would grant Google the exclusive right to distribute “orphan” books. This settlement presents major opportunities for public access to material now inaccessible. However, it raises serious issues of monopoly power.