Comment from Smith, Lauren
Lauren SmithOpposeIndividual
Summary: An individual artist argues against increasing registration fees, stating that higher costs would make copyright protection unaffordable for low-income creators. They contend that the Copyright Office should prioritize making protections accessible to artists rather than increasing rates to balance a budget.
Artists have and always will be poor. It is a sad fact that we live in a society that pushes for captialistic progress in machines and technological advancement at the backs of the masses. Artists are not living in palaces, or dancing in gold ballrooms. We are not erecting gold statues of our likenesses on golf courses. We are the every day man and woman who dared to push ourselves beyond our physical and emotional limits to create something. Whether it's a novel, a collection of poems, a painting, or a photograph, we have used what little extra of ourselves to give back to the world in the way that truly matters. We are the ones expressing the best of humanity. We remind everyone why we are here. The universe didn't put us on this planet to build skyscrapers and toil ourselves into an early death to keep rich billionaires alive in their bunkers as the natural world dies around us. So I ask you... why should the rates rise? Writers wages haven't risen, yet you wish to double the cost of protecting our creations? Who is truly driving this? Is it the common person asking to pay more? Or is it the man in a seat of power wanting to balance his budget? People won't be able to afford copyright protection if the rates double. The point of the copyright office is to protect our art and make it affordable for even the poorest of us to protect our creations. Your office is our last protection against the greed of those tech companies who would steal art from the poor artists who can't afford copyright. You are our only hope. Protect us.