DMCA Foes Find Allies in House

[PfcHammer]

DMCA Foes Find Allies in House
By Michael Grebb
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,63876,00.html

02:00 AM Jun. 17, 2004 PT

WASHINGTON -- If some in Congress get their way, you may soon be able to hack DVDs and CDs to get around copy protections and make as many copies of albums and movies as you want -- with no fear of the feds breaking down the door.

A bill in the House of Representatives, HR107, would overturn a major provision of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (PDF), which bars consumers from circumventing encryption on digital media products, even if they only intend to make copies for personal use.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia), already has 19 co-sponsors, including powerful House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas). It's unlikely the bill will become law this year, but its proponents see the backing as a good sign.

In 1998, record companies and Hollywood lauded the DMCA as a way to stop piracy, which they said had accelerated because of digital copying technology. But the DMCA has since evoked buyer's remorse in many lawmakers, who fear they handed copyright holders far more control than intended while eroding Americans' fair use rights. They also worry that the law has criminalized otherwise innocent activities, such as making a personal copy of a purchased CD, or trying to get a DVD to play on a Linux computer.

[NashVegas]

1. Best News I've Seen All Day

this is a great start. I hope the bill picks up steam.