1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Copyright and State Sovereign Immunity: The Allen v. Cooper Decision May 15, 2020 On March 23, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Allen v. Cooper, concluding that Congress lacked the authority
2、to enact the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act of 1990 (CRCA), which purported to abrogate state sovereign immunity in copyright infringement actions. The CRCA, which sought to remedy alleged state copyright infringement, provides that any “State, and any State instrumentality, officer, or employee
3、” shall be liable for copyright infringement “in the same manner and to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity.” In Allen, the Supreme Court held that the CRCA was not a valid exercise of Congresss constitutional powers under Article I or Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, although the op
4、inion leaves open the possibility that a narrower congressional abrogation of state sovereign immunity for copyright suits might be constitutional. The immediate practical effect of the decision is that copyright holders cannot sue state governments for copyright infringement without their consent.
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