The Webcasters Alliance is not pulling any punches, publicly airing their suspicion that Chairman Sensenbrenner and Senator Orrin Hatch are nothing more than puppets for the RIAA. They are calling once again for an investigation into ethic violations against the House Judiciary Committee Chairman.
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Webcaster Alliance's latest concern stems from language specifically designed to expand the narrow and limited antitrust exemption the RIAA currently enjoys; language that was slipped in and buried as a "technical amendment" in the recently passed bill. In late November of 2003, the RIAA placed similar language in a bill introduced on the Senate side, the Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act (the EnFORCE Act), and sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch. "We were appalled that Senator Hatch would allow the RIAA to place additional language to expand their antitrust exemptions in a bill most legislators would have a hard time opposing, a bill apparently drafted to deal with the exploitation of children. A lot of people worked together to shine a spotlight on the RIAA's tasteless maneuver with the EnFORCE Act so it only makes sense that they had to find another bill to hide their slimey contrivances in." "The passage of this bill last week makes it the second bill in less than 18 months Chairman Sensenbrenner has helped the RIAA 'amend' and slip through. We are in court over the first one specifically dealing with an antitrust issue, so I just can't believe it is a coincidence." Ms. Gabriel continued, "We still have serious questions about the RIAA-financed $ 18,000 trip Chairman Sensenbrenner took to Thailand and Taiwan in January 2003 and believe there needs to be an investigation into that." |
The reason the Webcasters Alliance is so animate about this, is due to a clause in the recently passed HR 1417. It expands the RIAA's antitrust exemption from covering just the non-interactive webcast license to covering all mechanical licenses, a leap which would allow the RIAA to reap benefits from a market currently worth about million to cover a market worth approximately billion. They feel the RIAA is already "out of control" and this will only make matters worse.
Ms. Gabriel concludes, "We cannot endorse the CARP reform bill in its' current form and are calling on everyone in the webcasting and broadcasting industry to begin immediately contacting their Senators and asking them not to endorse the CARP reform bill. The antitrust expansion exemption language needs to be removed from HR 1417 and we certainly hope there are more than a few Senators who will feel the same way we do about it."
Source: Music Industry News
