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ARTICLE · 03 NOVEMBER 2021

U.S. Copyright Office Issues Report On Sovereign Immunity Study

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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The U.S. Copyright Office published a Full Report on its State Sovereign Immunity Study, announced in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Allen v. Cooper.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
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The U.S. Copyright Office published a Full Report on its State Sovereign Immunity Study, announced in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Allen v. Cooper. In Allen, the Court invalidated the Copyright Remedies Clarification Act ("CRCA")-a law that purported to abrogate state sovereign immunity to copyright damages-and left states insulated from copyright infringement suits for damages.  The Allen opinion also suggested that Congress consider a new law that could constitutionally achieve what the CRCA could not.  In response, Senators Leahy and Tillis asked the Copyright Office to study that issue.  Having done so, the Copyright Office published the findings from its State Sovereign Immunity Study on August 31, 2021. 

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