Wired: Copyright or Copy Wrong?

“Looks like there’s going to be a showdown at high noon on
the Senate floor between warring authors of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act. On the one side are those who believe the DMCA has
allowed piracy to become rampant, and technology companies to run
roughshod over property rights. On the other side are those who
believe the content companies, especially in the week of the
Napster ruling, have too much control.”

“Since its inception in 1998, the law [DMCA] has come under
attack from technologists who claim the act gives content companies
too much power. Those arguments led Bruce Lehman, one of the
original writers of the bill, to put together a consortium of trade
and artist groups to fight those very technology companies.”

“The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch
(R-Utah) wrote an open letter to the president, announcing his
desire to open up hearings to discuss the effects of the Napster
ruling. “I have been troubled by the possible practical problems
that may arise from this decision,” Hatch wrote. “I am troubled as
a strong supporter and prime author of much of our copyright law
and intellectual property rights.”

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