Thursday, August 19, 2004

The Czech Republic is also concerned about IICA

Here is a great op-ed in the Prague Post concerning the Induce Act. The story even mentions Ernest/Hatch's hit list over at The Importance of. Seeing articles and op-ed's about IICA appearing all over the world demonstrates how important the issue really is, and not just to the US economy and its businesses and citizens.

Because the US is a major producer of pop culture, media content, and technological innovation, a bill such as IICA actually affects people everywhere. IICA will not only limit tech innovation and the spread of content in the US, but also abroad because it will limit what companies in the US can create and export.

A few short years ago, technology enthusiasts used to claim that technology moves too fast for the law to hold it back. Those predictions turn out to be overly optimistic. In fact, U.S. lawmakers trying to put a stop to one evil are likely to create dozens more with legislation about a field they don't fully understand. Vague language designed to catch potential technological workarounds can put a stop to innovation in completely unrelated areas.
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Companies creating multipurpose technologies would have to be prepared to defend themselves against allegations of copyright infringement. To avoid that scenario, the Business Software Alliance has proposed changes to the bill, including a limit on frivolous lawsuits and a provision for products with legitimate commercial purposes to be exempted from liability. Faced with so many unintended consequences, the U.S. Congress needs to consider whether this solution to copyright infringement is not worse than the original problem. The digital music landscape could change next year, or even next month, in ways that the Induce Act would be unprepared to deal with. The law could undoubtedly cut off some avenues of technological innovation.

Prague Post article here.

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