The Copyright Revision Act of 2026

Congress may be persuaded to embark on a new round of copyright revision. If history is any guide, a revised copyright law is likely to be longer, broader, more complicated and less flexible than the one we have now. Before committing ourselves to that enterprise, Prof. Litman suggests we take the opportunity to imagine what the copyright system might look like if we were free to write on a blank slate. We should enact a statute that is much shorter and simpler, that gives creators a larger share of copyright goodies and distributors a smaller one, and that builds in enough freedom so that the law won’t encumber reading, viewing, or listening in counterproductive ways