COPYCENSE

"Several lobbying camps from different industries and ideologies are joining forces to fight an overhaul of copyright law, which they say would radically shift in favor of Hollywood and the record companies and which Congress might try to push through during a lame-duck session that begins this week.

The Senate might vote on HR2391 (.pdf), the Intellectual Property Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that opponents charge could make many users of peer-to-peer networks, digital-music players and other products criminally liable for copyright infringement. The bill would also undo centuries of ‘fair use’ — the principle that gives Americans the right to use small samples of the works of others without having to ask permission or pay.

"The bill lumps together several pending copyright bills including HR4077, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, which would criminally punish a person who ‘infringes a copyright by … offering for distribution to the public by electronic means, with reckless disregard of the risk of further infringement.’ Critics charge the vague language could apply to a person who uses the popular Apple iTunes music-sharing application."

Michael Grebb. Senate May Ram Copyright Bill. Wired News. Nov. 16, 2004.

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