| Formation | May 17, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | copyright education and advocacy |
| Location |
|
CEO | Keith Kupferschmid |
| Website | copyrightalliance.org |
TheCopyright Alliance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan501(c)(4) organization representing artistic creators across a broad range of artistic disciplines.[1]
The Copyright Alliance's institutional members include more than sixty trade organizations, associations, unions, companies, and guilds, that represent millions of individual creators. The organization directly collaborates with and represents more than twenty three thousand creative individuals and small businesses. The creative industries represented include writers, composers, recording artists, journalists, documentarians, filmmakers, graphic artists, visual artists, photographers, authors, software developers, and numerous other genres.[2]
At its launch in May 2007, the Copyright Alliance was founded by four Board members, theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP),Broadcast Music, Inc.. (BMI), theMotion Picture Association of America (now called the Motion Picture Association, or MPA), andUniversal (now NBC Universal). It was initially created and masterminded by President and CEO of the Motion Picture AssociationJack Valenti. Music artistsSteve Cropper andLamont Dozier attended the launch, which included a membership of 29 organizations that represented 11 million creative workers, including theAssociation of American Publishers (AAP),Microsoft, theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Viacom, andDisney.[3]
The launch of the Copyright Alliance was supported byU.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee ChairmanJohn Conyers (D-MI), Ranking RepresentativeHoward Coble (R-NC), RepresentativeHoward Berman (D-CA), and members of theUnited States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. In speaking of being inspired by the lateJack Valenti, Representative Berman noted that "the constant assaults on copyright law" resulted in the Copyright Alliance’s origin, and he called the organization’s launch "a tremendous idea.”[3]
The Copyright Alliance was launched in opposition to theDigital Freedom Campaign, formed the previous October, whose members included theConsumer Electronics Association,Public Knowledge, and theElectronic Freedom Foundation.[3]
Patrick Ross served as the initial executive director of the Copyright Alliance for four years until he was succeeded by Sandra Aistars on December 20, 2010. Prior to taking the position, Aistars was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Time Warner. On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Keith Kupferschmid would succeed Sandra Aistars as CEO of the Copyright Alliance. Kupferschmid previously served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Intellectual Property at theSoftware and Information Industry Association (SIIA).[4][5]
As of August 2025, the Copyright Alliance lists 52 organizations as organization members.[2]
In 2009, the organization presented a letter to the White House asking it to pursue policies supportive of artists' rights signed by 11,000 artists and creators.[6] Over the years, the Copyright Alliance has collaborated with numerous groups and organizations. In 2014, it helped theUS Copyright Office present its 2014World IP Day program[7] That same year, it also hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill with the Creative Rights Caucus to "discuss the challenges photographers and visual artists face in the internet age."[8] In addition, the Copyright Alliance has worked with groups such asGoogle,Yahoo, andPublic Knowledge to develop voluntary best practices for addressing online copyright infringement.[9]
In June 2025, the Copyright Alliance launched a Strong IP, Strong AI grassroots campaign. The campaign was designed to rally creators to protect American innovation and ensure America doesn’t squander its strategic edge in highly valuable and sought-after copyrighted works used as training materials. The campaign was also designed to ensure that the U.S. avoids costly shortcuts that could undermine America’s own resources and provide a free pass to foreign competitors.[10]
The Copyright Alliance filed briefs inAllen v. Cooper, which was decided in 2020: theSupreme Court of the United States abrogated theCopyright Remedy Clarification Act as unconstitutional, and the Copyright Alliance had argued the opposite view.
The Copyright Alliance supported an PRO-IP bill establishing a "copyright czar" in June 2008Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.[11] ThePRO-IP bill was introduced in the Senate shortly thereafter and passed into law.[12]Ars Technica called the bill a victory for "Big Content," though a provision for the Department of Justice to join suits for the benefit of copyright holders was stripped from the bill.[13]
On November 16, 2009, the Copyright Alliance was joined by some of its independent creator members in hand-delivering a letter to the White House signed by more than 11,000 artists and creators, calling on President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to defend the rights of artists and creators.[citation needed]
In May 2009, it launched the Creators Across America campaign, which included videos of artists and creators across the United States speaking about their arts and their rights undercopyright law.[citation needed]
The Copyright Alliance received $600,000 from the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in 2012. That year, it donated $475,000 to theCenter for Copyright Information and $100,000 each to theDemocratic Governors Association andRepublican Governors Association as part of an anti-piracy campaign.[14]
The Copyright Alliance also supports theMusic Modernization Act (MMA), which was entered into law in 2018; andthe Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (the CASE Act).
The organization also supports the responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and a thriving and robust AI economy.[15]