Fwd: pho: A New Antitrust Exemption for the RIAA and Harry Fox?

(Forwarded from Pho list)

-----Original Message-----
From: "Seth Greenstein" <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 12:29:33 -0500
Subject: pho: A New Antitrust Exemption for the RIAA and Harry Fox?

On November 22, Sens. Hatch, Cornyn and Feinstein introduced two bills
on copyright.  One, S. 1932, has previously been discussed here and
addresses camcorder copying of movies in theaters (actually, use of
*any* recording device to copy any part of a "motion picture"), and
addresses prerelease leaking onto the Internet of movies, sound
recordings and software. (BTW, the MPAA has introduced similar bills
against theatrical copying in various state legislatures -- one passed
in Ohio awaiting the governor's signature that makes it unlawful to
record motion pictures even in retail stores.  So, now when you demo a
TiVo or show how much better DVD recording is than analog VCR
recording,
you violate state pseudo-copyright law.) 

The second. S. 1933, has three purposes.  The first is to give the RIAA
and the music publishers a broad antitrust exemption with respect to
anything covered by the mechanical license.  (They already have a
narrow
antitrust exemption for digital downloads, so this essentially takes an
exemption applicable to a $20 million market and extends it to a $13
billion market.)  Second, the bill is supposed to clarify application
of
statutory damages. Third, of course, protection of children from
exploitation.

The press release and introductory statement follow.  The bills are not
yet up on Thomas.


Best regards.



November 24, 2003                                                   

Contact:  Margarita Tapia, 202/224-5225

 

Hatch Continues to Fight Against Piracy and Pornography

Introduces Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright 
Enforcement Act of 2003

 

Washington - Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate 
Judiciary Committee, introduced the Enhancing Federal Obscenity 
Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003 (the EnFORCE Act).  The
EnFORCE Act makes three sets of changes intended to improve enforcement
of our nation's copyright laws by fostering flexibility, certainty, and
accountability.

 

"The music industry is now responding to concerns by developing new 
products and distribution channels," said Hatch.  "The EnFORCE Act will
ensure that federal law allows the music industry to provide consumers 
with innovative products and services." 

 

"The EnFORCE Act also provides additional tools to protect our children
from perverts and pedophiles on the Internet," continued Hatch.  "Our 
children are our most precious and vulnerable citizens and Congress 
must continue to do everything in its power to protect them from 
predators."

 

Provisions of the EnFORCE Act include:

 
..  Expanding an existing antitrust exemption so that record companies 
and music publishers can negotiate royalty rates and bring to consumers
innovative new forms of physical phonorecords, like DVD audio disks;

 
..  Clarifying procedures for calculating statutory damages in 
copyright infringement actions; and

 
..  Providing the Department of Justice with enhanced enforcement 
capabilities and additional reporting requirements that will facilitate
both federal enforcement and Congressional oversight of federal 
criminal laws relating to intellectual property and sexual exploitation
of children.

 

The bipartisan EnFORCE Act was co-sponsored by Senators Diane Feinstein
(D-CA) and John Cornyn (R-TX).

 

Senator Hatch's statement to the United States Senate follows:

 

 

 

 

Statement of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah)

Before the United States Senate

on

The Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act
of 2003

November 22, 2003

 

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Enhancing Federal Obscenity 
Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003 (the EnFORCE Act).  
This bill makes three sets of narrow, but important, changes that will 
build greater flexibility and accountability into our system of 
intellectual property laws.

First, the EnFORCE Act will expand an existing antitrust exemption to 
conform the law to market realities.  Today, an antitrust exemption in 
the Copyright Act gives record companies and music publishers the 
flexibility they need to negotiate mechanical royalty rates in the 
rapidly evolving market for legal music downloading.  These parties now
need the same flexibility to ensure that they can negotiate royalties 
associated with innovative forms of physical phonorecords, like 
enhanced compact disks and DVD audio disks. 

Mr. President, the music industry has sometimes been criticized for 
being too slow to adapt its business models to new technologies.  The 
industry is now responding to such concerns by developing new products 
and new distribution channels.  The EnFORCE Act will ensure that 
federal law allows the music industry to provide consumers with these 
innovative products and services. 

Second, the EnFORCE Act will also resolve two narrow issues relating to
statutory damages in copyright infringement litigation.   Some accused 
infringers have tried to avoid liability for statutory damages by 
challenging the accuracy of the information in copyright registrations;
this bill clarifies that courts should resolve such challenges by 
applying the existing judicial doctrine of 
fraud-on-the-Copyright-Office.  In other cases, disputes have arisen 
about how many "works" have been infringed for purposes of computing 
statutory damages.  These disputes are important for the music 
industry, which has received inconsistent adjudications about whether 
an album consisting of ten songs counts as one or ten works for 
statutory-damages computation.  The bill gives courts discretion to 
conform the law of statutory damages to changing market realities.

Third, and finally, the EnFORCE Act will also enhance both the 
enforcement and oversight of federal intellectual property law.  The 
bill authorizes appropriations to ensure that all Department of Justice
units that investigate intellectual property crimes have the support of
at least one agent specifically trained in the investigation of such 
crimes.  The bill also requires the Department of Justice to report to 
Congress detailed information about the scope of its efforts to 
investigate and prosecute crimes involving the sexual exploitation of 
minors or intellectual property. 

Mr. President, for the above reasons, I urge my colleagues to support 
the Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act
of 2003.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate 
and the affected public to ensure that this bill achieves its important
objectives.

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