Copy-protected US CDs to get clear labelling, campaigners claim

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act could be up for reform that would result in CDs using copy protection technologies being clearly labelled as such.Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) staff attorney Fred von Lohmann, who attended a hearing yesterday at the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Trade, Commerce and Consumer Protection, said: "As of today, DMCA reform has a very real chance of passing the US Congress... Rep  Barton announced that he intends to see the bill marked up, passed by the subcommittee, passed by the full committee, passed by the full House of Representatives, and ultimately signed into law by the President."Today was a good day for fair use, for consumers, and for our nation"s tradition of balance in copyright law.

Fortunately, despite the efforts of Hollywood lobbyists, the message that the DMCA is broken and needs fixing got through."The EFF says this is the first time a reform bill for the controversial DMCA has been given a hearing. It puts the success down to the efforts of the 30,000 people that used the EFF's Action Center to write to Congress to support the DMCA reform bill and also 321Studios, which has hired lobbyists to explain the importance of fair use in the digital age.321Studios" DVDXCopy DVD backup software has landed it at the wrong end of a suit brought against it under the DMCA by movie studios.