When the 107th Congress ended its work last November, politicians discarded dozens of technology-related bills that had been briefly considered but were never enacted.
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Now that the 108th Congress has begun this week, some of those controversial proposals dealing with spam, copyright and Internet taxes will resurface–and some stand a better chance of becoming law.
Copyright in the spotlight
One issue that is sure to remain a flash point this session will be the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which has been the focus of intense scrutiny and a number of lawsuits. Beloved by the entertainment industry, the DMCA broadly prohibits bypassing the kind of copy-protection technology used in DVDs, computer software and electronic books.
On Tuesday, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and three other legislators reintroduced their bill from last year that would defang the DMCA. Their proposal, called the Digital Media Consumers’ Rights Act, would let Americans bypass copyright-protection schemes for legitimate “fair use” purposes.
“The reintroduced legislation will assure that consumers who purchase digital media can enjoy a broad range of uses of the media for their own convenience in a way which does not infringe the copyright in the work,” Boucher said.
Most large copyright holders, ranging from the software industry to Hollywood and the Association of American Publishers, support the DMCA almost as much as programmers, academics and open-source aficionados loathe it.
“The DMCA provides important tools in the fight against piracy,” Robert Cresanti, vice president for policy at the Business Software Alliance, said on Tuesday. “We fear that broad exemptions to the DMCA could undermine the core purpose of the act–that technological measures can have an important and proper role in curbing piracy.”
“We strongly believe that Internet distribution should meet, not frustrate, the expectations of consumers and their ability to utilize in customary ways the copyrighted content that they lawfully acquire. Our principal reservation is that the (Boucher) bill could make it harder for software companies to take action against pirates,” Cresanti said. The BSA’s 10 members include Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, Microsoft and Network Associates.
Boucher’s three co-sponsors are John Doolittle, R-Calif., Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., and Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.
This story is from New.com and it also looks at the possibility of the return of Holling’s bill. Another good article on removing the DMCA’s teeth is at DC Internet.
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