Stop Congress from making the next iPod or VCR illegal - Save Betamax - National Call-In Day September 14
Stop Congress from making the next iPod or VCR illegal - Save Betamax - National Call-In Day September 14Save Betamax - National Call-In Day September 14
Why Save Betamax?
The short version: We're organizing a call-in day to Congress on September 14 to oppose new legislation that would undermine the Betamax decision (INDUCE Act).
Here's why: The Betamax VCR died more than 15 years ago, but the Supreme Court decision that made the Betamax and all other VCRs legal lived on. In Sony vs. Universal (known as the Betamax decision) the Court ruled that because VCRs have legitimate uses, the technology is legal—even if some people use it to copy movies.
Stop Congress from making the next iPod or VCR illegal
EFF: Letter to Senator Hatch
EFF: Letter to Senator Hatch
July 6, 2004
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Chairman
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
RE: S. 2560, the "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004"
Dear Chairman Hatch:
The undersigned organizations and companies respectfully request that you hold hearings on S. 2560, the "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004" before your Committee takes any action, in order to fully explore the critical issues raised by this legislation.
We understand your concerns for protecting children and addressing activity that infringes copyright. We share these concerns. As currently conceived, however, S. 2560 would undermine the 20-year old Supreme Court decision in Sony v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984) ("Betamax"). InBetamax, the Supreme Court held that the manufacturer of a product could not be held secondarily liable for infringing uses of the product by others so long as the product was capable of substantial noninfringing uses. In other words, technology, in and of itself, could rarely be considered unlawful in the copyright context.
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