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EFF at DMCA Reform Hearing
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Today at 10:00 AM., the House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on Trade, Commerce and Consumer Protection is holding a hearing on H.R. 107 , also known as the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA). Introduced by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), the DMCRA aims to reform the DMCA and require the recording industry to label CDs containing technological barriers that restrict consumers' rights.
This is the first time a DMCA reform bill has made it to the hearing stage. Its success is a testament to the efforts of the roughly 30,000 citizens who have used EFF’s Action Center to write to Congress to support the DMCRA, as well as the efforts of 321 Studios, which has hired top-drawer lobbyist talent to explain the importance of fair use in the digital age.
“The DMCA was intended to stop digital pirates but instead is becoming the law-abiding consumer's worst nightmare -- unlabeled copy-protected CDs that won't play nice with your iPod, DVDs that can't be backed up, printer cartridges that you can't refill,” said staff attorney Fred von Lohmann. “Fortunately, despite the efforts of Hollywood lobbyists, the message that the DMCA is broken and needs fixing got through today."
Von Lohmann is attending the hearing and blogging (link) his impressions. Meanwhile, visit the Action Center and keep sending those faxes!
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