New Law Would Allow DVD Censorship
"Family-friendly technology company ClearPlay on Wednesday gave the official thumbs-up to the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, which sped its way through the House of Representatives and is headed to the Senate.
"The Family Movie Act portion of the bill will allow users to alter movie content for private viewing, a service offered by several companies—ClearPlay the most well-known of the group. It could be a much-needed reprieve for the privately owned Utah company, which has been sued by eight Hollywood studios and the Director’s Guild of America for copyright infringement."
Libe Goad. Bill Could Let Parents Scrub Sex, Violence and More from DVDs. PCMag.com. April 21, 2005.
See also:
H.R.357. Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005.
S.167. Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005.
Ted Bridis. Congress OKs Bill to Strip DVD Movie Smut. USA Today. April 20, 2005.
ClearPlay. The Family Movie Act – Update. February 4, 2005.
The Hon. Orrin Hatch. Hatch Endorses Family Entertainment Act. Jan. 25, 2005.
Editor’s Note: Orrin Hatch, the senior senator from Utah and the ranking Republican on the Senate’s Judiciary Committee (which passes intellectual property legislation), introduced The Family Entertainment Act in the Senate. (The Act will be codified into law as the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act.) Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas introduced the Act in the House.
ClearPlay is a Utah-based company that makes technology that censors sex, violence, and other "objectionable" material from DVDs. The company has been sued for copyright infringement by eight Hollywood studios and the Director’s Guild of America, which claimed that ClearPlay’s technology produced an illegal derivative work of their DVDs. This lawsuit likely would become moot when President Bush signs the bill into law, unless the entertainment industry amends the lawsuit (or files a new action) that seeks to invalidate the law.
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