Induce Act P2P Hearings
From Digital Maedia Wire – Wired News on Friday provided coverage of Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the “Induce Act,” a controversial bill that could outlaw peer-to-peer networks and other technologies that “induce” copyright infringement. Four of the five witnesses at the hearing argued against the bill, save for Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) CEO Mitch Bainwol. The Induce Act would reverse a landmark court ruling that said peer-to-peer services like Grokster do not infringe copyrights — a decision that is also currently on appeal. “I think the Grokster decision is wrong as a matter of copyright law,” testified U.S. Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters. Bill sponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he would work with opponents to address their concerns, but added that, “We’re going to do this, we’re going to get this done… We have to give a damn about copyright.”
