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We don’t always talk about celebrities and rainbows and lollipops…
…sometimes we talk about real stuff too. This entry is going to be one of those.
For several years now, many academics and copyright advocates have been pushing for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to be scaled back. These guys are none too pleased at the fact that Congress is currently considering passage of the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006, which would do just the opposite. One of the more controversial aspects of the DMCA is a provision which prohibits the distribution or trafficking of any software or hardware which could be used to bypass copy protection. It should come as no surprise, then, that the most controversial part of the new proposed legislation is a provision which would expand this prohibition. Instead of simply prohibiting the distribution of hardware and software which can bypass copy protection, it would also prohibit the making, importing, exporting, obtaining control of or possession such hardware or software. While this is the most controversial portion of the legislation, folks are also displeased with the fact that it would: (i) give federal authorities broader wiretapping and enforcement powers in copyright and trade secret cases; (ii) expand criminal enforcement of copyright violations; and (iii) create civil asset forfeiture penalties.
Unsurprisingly, this legislation is supported by the big conglomerate/corporate copyright holders like the RIAA and the MPAA which favor as much limitation as possible, to hell with the fact that it goes against the principals which underlie why our founders originally granted certain intellectual property protections in the first place. If you want to learn about what you can do to fight this legislation, which is expected to be introduced soon, you can check out IPac.
