[Am-info] REGULATION: Bill Could Force Copy Control On IT Firms

[Fred A. Miller]

REGULATION: Bill Could Force Copy Control On IT Firms

A bill sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., would make IT 
vendors implement certain copy-control technologies in their 
products to protect movies and other digital content from being 
illegally distributed over the Internet. Attorneys say the bill, 
known as the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act, 
could slow the development of the technologies it seeks to 
regulate by shifting the attention of the industry from product 
development to lobbying. Ultimately, the legislation could cost 
IT firms billions of dollars by forcing them to adopt 
copy-protection technologies, says Jim Berger, an attorney with 
the Washington law firm of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, which 
represents a collection of IT companies. "Telling us what systems 
to pay for and implement to protect someone else's property 
doesn't make sense," says Berger. 

Hollings' legislation, which is scheduled to be heard at an Oct. 
3 hearing, is supported by Hollywood heavyweights like Walt 
Disney Co. and News Corp. Essentially, it seeks to establish a 
time line for development of government-approved copy-control 
technologies, mandate the use of those technologies, and 
criminalize circumvention. But Berger and others caution that if 
the legislation passes, everyone involved would have a tough time 
changing directions if the sanctioned technologies prove 
ineffective. "If this is the studios' move, they have to 
understand what they're getting themselves into," says Webnoize 
analyst Ric Dube. "They may get what they wish for." 

The so-called "5C" companies that make the encryption 
technologies underlying copy control--Hitachi, Intel, Matsushita 
Electric Industrial, Sony, and Toshiba--clearly would like to 
keep the issue out of government hands and let the IT and movie 
industries continue to address the problem themselves. "We 
understand the issue [the studios are] trying to solve," says 
Seth Greenstein, policy chairman for the 5C and an attorney with 
the Washington law firm McDermott, Will & Emery. "We're more than 
willing to work with them." In the meantime, Berger says IT 
companies should work with their trade associations to develop 
unified opposition to the bill and counter Hollywood's 
considerable influence on Capitol Hill. - Tony Kontzer

For background on this issue, read
Don't Regulate Free Data Exchange 
http://www.informationweek.com/thisweek/story/IWK20010821S0001?section=opinion

DeCSS Case Could Change Your IT Shop 
http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eEbj0Bce7K0V20RmN0AL

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----/ /  _                	Fred A. Miller
---/ /  (_)__  __ ____  __	Systems Administrator
--/ /__/ / _ \/ // /\ \/ /	Cornell Univ. Press Services
-/____/_/_//_/\_,_/ /_/\_\	fm@cupserv.org