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CNET News
Antipiracy bill targets technology
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5238140.html
Story last modified June 17, 2004, 5:32 PM PDT
A forthcoming bill in the U.S. Senate would, if passed, dramatically
reshape copyright law by prohibiting file-trading networks and some
consumer electronics devices on the grounds that they could be used for
unlawful purposes.
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What's new:
A bill called the Induce Act is scheduled to come before the Senate
sometime next week. If passed, it would make whoever aids, abets, induces
(or) counsels copyright violations liable for those violations.
Bottom line:If passed, the bill could dramatically reshape copyright law
by prohibiting file-trading networks and some consumer electronics devices
on the grounds that they could be used for unlawful purposes.
More stories on this topic
The proposal, called the Induce Act, says whoever intentionally induces
any violation of copyright law would be legally liable for those
violations, a prohibition that would effectively ban file-swapping networks
like Kazaa and Morpheus. In the draft bill seen by CNET News.com,
inducement is defined as aids, abets, induces, counsels, or procures and
can be punished with civil fines and, in some circumstances, lengthy prison
terms.
The bill represents the latest legislative attempt by influential
copyright holders to address what they view as the growing threat of
peer-to-peer networks rife with pirated music, movies and software. As
file-swapping networks grow in popularity, copyright lobbyists are becoming
increasingly creative in their legal responses, which include proposals for
Justice Department lawsuits against infringers and action at the state
level.
Originally, the Induce Act was scheduled to be introduced Thursday by Sen.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, but the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed at the
end of the day that the bill had been delayed. A representative of Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist, a probable co-sponsor of the legislation, said
the Induce Act would be introduced sometime next week, a delay that one
technology lobbyist attributed to opposition to the measure.
Though the Induce Act is not yet public, critics are already attacking it
as an unjustified expansion of copyright law that seeks to regulate new
technologies out of existence.
They're trying to make it legally risky to introduce technologies that
could be used for copyright infringement, said Jessica Litman, a professor
at Wayne State University who specializes in copyright law. That's why
it's worded so broadly.
Litman said that under the Induce Act, products like ReplayTV,
peer-to-peer networks and even the humble VCR could be outlawed because
they can potentially be used to infringe copyrights. Web sites such as
Tucows that host peer-to-peer clients like the Morpheus software are also
at risk for inducing infringement, Litman warned.
Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of
America, declined to comment until the proposal was officially introduced.
It's simple and it's deadly, said Philip Corwin, a lobbyist for Sharman
Networks, which distributes the Kazaa client. If you make a product that
has dual uses, infringing and not infringing, and you know there's
infringement, you're liable.
The Induce Act stands for Inducement Devolves into Unlawful Child
Exploitation Act, a reference to Capitol Hill's frequently stated concern
that file-trading networks are a source of unlawful pornography. Hatch is a
conservative Mormon who has denounced pornography in the past and who
suggested last year that copyright holders should be allowed to remotely
destroy the computers of music pirates.
Foes of the Induce Act said that it would effectively overturn the Supreme
Court's 1984 decision in the Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios case,
often referred to as the Betamax lawsuit. In that 5-4 opinion, the
majority said VCRs were legal to sell because they were capable of
substantial noninfringing uses. But the majority stressed that Congress
had the power to enact a law that would lead to a different outcome.
At a minimum (the Induce Act) invites a re-examination of Betamax, said
Jeff Joseph, vice president for communications at the Consumer Electronics
Association. It's designed to have this fuzzy feel around protecting
children from pornography, but it's pretty clearly a backdoor way to
eliminate and make illegal peer-to-peer services. Our concern is that
you're attacking the technology.
--
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The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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