What's in store now for IP rights
[link|http://news.com.com/2100-1023-964725.html|Politics, politics, politics]
Excerpt:
When the new session of Congress starts in January, Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., will no longer head the Senate Commerce committee. Hollings drew the ire of the technology community after introducing a bill that would implant copy-protection technology into all PCs and consumer electronics devices.
His replacement is likely to be John McCain of Arizona, currently the top Republican on the committee, who has not adopted such a pro-Hollywood stance. During a hearing in March, McCain said he was skeptical of proposals such as Hollings' that "select technological winners and losers and mandate government intervention in the marketplace." A committee chairman has broad authority to convene hearings, invite witnesses and schedule votes on bills.
A scorecard compiled last month by the Information Technology Industry Council said that Senate Republicans voted in accordance with the tech industry's views 84 percent of the time, compared with 65 percent of the time for Democrats. House Democrats received a collective score of 43 percent, according to the tabulated votes, with GOP politicians garnering an 89 percent total score.
Giving up his Judiciary Committee chairmanship is Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who has introduced a bill to ban "morphed" or virtual child pornography, targeted Microsoft as a predatory monopolist, and opposed amendments to the USA Patriot Act that would have limited Internet surveillance.
The top candidate to succeed him is Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has taken similar positions on those topics. He joined Leahy in trying to outlaw "morphed" porn and opposing the USA Patriot Act amendments championed by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
Because Utah is home to some Microsoft rivals, Hatch has been a fierce critic of the software maker. "I do not believe the Justice Department would have brought (its antitrust) case unless it was a rather strong one on the merits," Hatch said in a statement supporting the Justice Department's court action. On Friday, a federal judge approved virtually all of a settlement between the company and the Department of Justice.
Like many of his colleagues, Hatch is a fan of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, boasting in 1999 that it "laid the cornerstone for a rich and more vibrant Internet." But he's also an amateur songwriter and MP3 fan who once wrote to the judge who was hearing the case against Napster and offered a mild defense. Manus Cooney, a former Hatch aide, became a lobbyist for Napster.
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[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
The nihilists and the liars have buried truth alive in a shallow grave.
"The US party calls in mortar fire on the enemy positions. The UN party stands up, climbs over the lip of the trench, and recites Robert\ufffds Rules of Order as it approaches the machine-gun positions." - Lileks
Edited by
marlowe
Nov. 6, 2002, 01:30:29 PM EST
What's in store now for IP rights
[link|http://news.com.com/2100-1023-964725.html|Politics, politics, politics]
Excerpt:
When the new session of Congress starts in January, Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., will no longer head the Senate Commerce committee. Hollings drew the ire of the technology community after introducing a bill that would implant copy-protection technology into all PCs and consumer electronics devices.
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His replacement is likely to be John McCain of Arizona, currently the top Republican on the committee, who has not adopted such a pro-Hollywood stance. During a hearing in March, McCain said he was skeptical of proposals such as Hollings' that "select technological winners and losers and mandate government intervention in the marketplace." A committee chairman has broad authority to convene hearings, invite witnesses and schedule votes on bills.
A scorecard compiled last month by the Information Technology Industry Council said that Senate Republicans voted in accordance with the tech industry's views 84 percent of the time, compared with 65 percent of the time for Democrats. House Democrats received a collective score of 43 percent, according to the tabulated votes, with GOP politicians garnering an 89 percent total score.
Giving up his Judiciary Committee chairmanship is Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who has introduced a bill to ban "morphed" or virtual child pornography, targeted Microsoft as a predatory monopolist, and opposed amendments to the USA Patriot Act that would have limited Internet surveillance.
The top candidate to succeed him is Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has taken similar positions on those topics. He joined Leahy in trying to outlaw "morphed" porn and opposing the USA Patriot Act amendments championed by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
Because Utah is home to some Microsoft rivals, Hatch has been a fierce critic of the software maker. "I do not believe the Justice Department would have brought (its antitrust) case unless it was a rather strong one on the merits," Hatch said in a statement supporting the Justice Department's court action. On Friday, a federal judge approved virtually all of a settlement between the company and the Department of Justice.
Like many of his colleagues, Hatch is a fan of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, boasting in 1999 that it "laid the cornerstone for a rich and more vibrant Internet." But he's also an amateur songwriter and MP3 fan who once wrote to the judge who was hearing the case against Napster and offered a mild defense. Manus Cooney, a former Hatch aide, became a lobbyist for Napster.
NOT ONE CENT of tribute for North Korea.
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
The nihilists and the liars have buried truth alive in a shallow grave.
"The US party calls in mortar fire on the enemy positions. The UN party stands up, climbs over the lip of the trench, and recites RobertÂ’s Rules of Order as it approaches the machine-gun positions." - Lileks
