Orrin Hatch has a bill that is currently in the Senate, the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act, that could leave manufacturers of digital-music devices held liable for illegal downloading of music. Forty-two tech companies, among them Google, Yahoo, C|Net and Intel, have signed a letter denouncing the proposed legislation.
Fortunately, many legal minds out there feel that this bill will not become law. They say the tendency to punish, rather than innovate, is hampering the ability of the market to correct the problem. In addition, the thought is this new legislation would miss it's target, the P2P networks, as they are outside the jurisdiction of the United States. Instead, at least one man feels the target will be legitimate business. Way to go Orrin!
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In the meantime, the operators of popular peer-to-peer networks responsible for carrying much of the pirated music on the Internet remain offshore. "Because the Internet has no borders, it is almost impossible to reach offshore companies operating on the Internet with no U.S. presence," said IP attorney Jim Burger of the Washington, D.C., firm Dow, Lohnes & Albertson. "The last time I checked, the U.S. had no jurisdiction over Vanuatu," he told NewsFactor. Vanuatu is the island nation where Kazaa's programmers reside. The new legislation might have a bigger impact on companies in the U.S. that are engaged in legitimate businesses, Burger believes. "While I have sympathy for the creators whose copyrighted material is illegally downloaded, I am concerned that this type of legislation could negatively affect companies making products used for substantially non-infringing purposes," he said. He is not alone in his sentiments. High-tech companies understand that litigation, while necessary to protect property on one hand, often makes for a lousy long-term business strategy. |
I frankly don't know where to start with this latest turn of events. There's an old saying that when all you have is a hammer, your problems start looking like nails. To me this is the reason that Hatch and others of his ilk wish to, but will not be able to provide a viable solution to the problems that lie ahead. They simply don't have the right tools. This is not a problem of the United States, it's world wide. It isn't some small isolated anomaly it's global. It isn't possible to control anymore via the courtrooms. Technology is mutating so fast, the legal system won't be able to keep up with it, let alone understand it. In a futile effort to control, they will only hobble, from damage inflicted with their ham-handed blows.
One thing is certain, now that the corporate puppeteers are finally pulling the political strings, the arms of the lawmakers in Washington will begin flailing in all new directions and I can't wait to see the reversal in attitude on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Hatch, please put down your hammer and pick up an MP3 player, they're pretty cool. Buy one for your grandchildren and help the economy grow.
Source: Yahoo!
