[AERNet] Digital Fair Use bill introduced to US House (sans teeth)

[Judi Piscitello]

Ars Technica Online
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Digital Fair Use bill introduced to US House (sans teeth) 

By Ken Fisher

"Current exemptions allow the circumvention of anti-copying technology
for: 1) the educational library of a university's media studies
department; 2) using computer software that requires the original disks
or hardware in order to run; 3) dongle-protected computer programs, if
the the dongle no longer functions and a replacement cannot be found; 4)
protected e-books, in order to use screen-reader software; 5) cell phone
firmware that ties a phone to a specific wireless network; and 6) DRM
software included on audio CDs, but only when such software creates
security vulnerabilities on personal computers. "

U.S. Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and John Doolittle (R-CA)
today announced the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S.
Entrepreneurship Act of 2007 (FAIR USE Act). The bill's aim is to help
put an end to the madness circulating around the general imbalance that
has befallen copyright in recent years. 

"Historically, the nation's copyright laws have reflected a carefully
calibrated balanced between the rights of copyright owners and the
rights of the users of copyrighted material.  The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act dramatically tilted the copyright balance toward complete
copyright protection at the expense of the public's right to fair use,"
Representative Boucher said in a statement.  "The FAIR USE Act will
assure that consumers who purchase digital media can enjoy a broad range
of uses of the media for their own convenience in a way which does not
infringe the copyright in the work," Boucher added.

But can the FAIR USE Act deliver? A cursory investigation suggests that
the bill won't make much of a dent in the DMCA. In its present form, the
FAIR USE Act is effectively a watered-down version of Boucher's DMCRA,
which was strongly opposed by the content industry and failed to gain
traction in the 108th and 109th Congresses. The DMCRA would have made
any "fair use" of digital goods legal, regardless of anti-circumvention
laws. The FAIR USE Act does not provide this, as it was a major sticking
point with the content industry. 

If passed, the FAIR USE Act will amend the DMCA to codify recent
exceptions granted to the anti-circumvention rules by the Register of
Copyrights, which include some allowances for obsolete technologies and
cell phone unlocking. 

Current exemptions allow the circumvention of anti-copying technology
for: 1) the educational library of a university's media studies
department; 2) using computer software that requires the original disks
or hardware in order to run; 3) dongle-protected computer programs, if
the the dongle no longer functions and a replacement cannot be found; 4)
protected e-books, in order to use screen-reader software; 5) cell phone
firmware that ties a phone to a specific wireless network; and 6) DRM
software included on audio CDs, but only when such software creates
security vulnerabilities on personal computers. 

Yet again, the bill does not appear to deliver on what most observers
want: clear protection for making personal use copies of encrypted
materials. There is no allowance for consumers to make backups of DVDs,
to strip encryption from music purchased online so that it can be played
anywhere, or to generally do any of the things that the DMCA made
illegal in one fell swoop. 

The bill does seek to place limits on statutory damages stemming from
infringement, including contributory infringement, inducement of
infringement, vicarious liability or other indirect infringement. In
doing so, the bill will seek to codify the law regarding inducement and
contributory infringement to ease fears among technology companies
stemming from the fallout of MGM v Grokster.

According to Boucher's office, the bill's supporters include the
Consumer Electronics Association, the American Library Association, the
American Association of Law Libraries, the Association of Research
Libraries, the Special Libraries Association, the Home Recording Rights
Coalition, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, and
others.

Ars Technica will have in-depth analysis of the bill in the coming
days. 


http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070227-8934.html 

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