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Thursday, September 26, 2002 |
Hearings Held on P2P
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property met this morning in a packed hearing room to consider piracy of intellectual property on P2P networks. A substantial amount of the discussion centered on the bill co-sponsored by Howard Berman, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, and chairman Howard Coble.
Berman defended the bill in his opening statement, saying the safe harbor from liability granted to copyright holders who disrupt P2P networks in order to stop piracy was consistent with other property-protection laws. Berman also said that his bill created penalties for copyright holders who go beyond specific limits. Yet he also said, "I don't claim to have drafted a perfect bill," and invited constructive input on solving the problem of piracy. And he said he was considering alternative language to a section that gives copyright holders the right to go beyond restrictions on impairing other files or data within a network in "necessary circumstances."
Coble, in his final meeting as chairman of the subcommittee (he rotates out of the position in the next Congress, but will remain a member), was spoken of warmly by members of both parties. He said in his opening remarks that he has felt some heat for co-sponsoring the bill. Addressing Berman, he said, "Actually, Howard, when I decided to cosponsor your bill, I thought it was relatively noncontroversial. But there are others who don’t share your convictions about property rights and are currently attempting to march me into the woods for political re-education."
I wish he had mentioned those of us who DO believe in property rights but are concerned with the particulars of this bill. That’s the discussion we need to be having.
Turnout for the meeting was much higher than usual among subcommittee members, said Coble’s chief of staff, Ed McDonald. The four witnesses on the panel--RIAA’s Hillary Rosen, user advocate Gigi Sohn, songwriter-who-wants-his-royalties Phil Galdston, and Randy Saaf, who wants to sell his software to the recording industry--played their respective parts as they spoke and were questioned by the members.
That's pretty much the end of it for this year. The next Congress will see many of the same faces on the subcommittee, and that's where attention must be paid. According to McDonald, two members who seemed most skeptical of the proposed bill were Democrats Rick Boucher of Virginia and Zoe Lofgren of California. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who would like to succeed Coble as chairman if the GOP holds the House in November, said he had questions about the bill but could support it. His rival for a GOP chairmanship, Lamar Smith of Texas, did not express a point of view on the bill. If the Democrats take the House, Berman would be the likely chairman.
Another Perspective
While I was writing the report above, I got a message from Derek Willis, who attended the hearings this morning.
6:43:29 PM 
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Hearings Held on P2P
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property met this morning in a packed hearing room to consider piracy of intellectual property on P2P networks. A substantial amount of the discussion centered on the bill co-sponsored by Howard Berman, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, and chairman Howard Coble.
Berman defended the bill in his opening statement, saying the safe harbor from liability granted to copyright holders who disrupt P2P networks in order to stop piracy was consistent with other property-protection laws. Berman also said that his bill created penalties for copyright holders who go beyond specific limits. Yet he also said, "I don't claim to have drafted a perfect bill," and invited constructive input on solving the problem of piracy. And he said he was considering alternative language to a section that gives copyright holders the right to go beyond restrictions on impairing other files or data within a network in "necessary circumstances."
Coble, in his final meeting as chairman of the subcommittee (he rotates out of the position in the next Congress, but will remain a member), was spoken of warmly by members of both parties. He said in his opening remarks that he has felt some heat for co-sponsoring the bill. Addressing Berman, he said, "Actually, Howard, when I decided to cosponsor your bill, I thought it was relatively noncontroversial. But there are others who don’t share your convictions about property rights and are currently attempting to march me into the woods for political re-education."
I wish he had mentioned those of us who DO believe in property rights but are concerned with the particulars of this bill. That’s the discussion we need to be having.
Turnout for the meeting was much higher than usual among subcommittee members, said Coble’s chief of staff, Ed McDonald. The four witnesses on the panel--RIAA’s Hillary Rosen, user advocate Gigi Sohn, songwriter-who-wants-his-royalties Phil Galdston, and Randy Saaf, who wants to sell his software to the recording industry--played their respective parts as they spoke and were questioned by the members.
That's pretty much the end of it for this year. The next Congress will see many of the same faces on the subcommittee, and that's where attention must be paid. According to McDonald, two members who seemed most skeptical of the proposed bill were Democrats Rick Boucher of Virginia and Zoe Lofgren of California. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who would like to succeed Coble as chairman if the GOP holds the House in November, said he had questions about the bill but could support it. His rival for a GOP chairmanship, Lamar Smith of Texas, did not express a point of view on the bill. If the Democrats take the House, Berman would be the likely chairman.
Another Perspective
While I was writing the report above, I got a message from Derek Willis, who attended the hearings this morning.
5:47:11 PM
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© Copyright 2002 Ed Cone.
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