Marybeth Peters from the Copyright Office just gave her opening statement, and it is clear now that her office is deeply skeptical of the settlement. She said, “Key parts of the settlement are fundamentally at odds with the law.” In addition to the copyright issues—domestic and international—she also suggested that it may be Constitutionally problematic. In her words, it’s “making a mockery out of Article 1 of the Constitution.”
(I’m quoting on the fly, the wording may not be exact—but the sense is clear.)
This is a big deal. I would be shocked if the government’s filing next week did not incorporate many of her concerns. (Yes, it’s just the DoJ filing, but since the federal government has otherwise been silent, I expect it to represent the views of all relevant executive branch agencies.) And the opposition of the Copyright Office’s boffins would be a very serious issue for Congress and the courts.
(UPDATE: Corrected to fix Marybeth Peters’s first name, which is one name, not two. We regret the error.)