Arlen Specter as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: any better than Orrin Hatch?

The Washington Post wonders what is going to happen with the copyright debate now that Arlen Specter is taking over as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Essentially, he isn't as interested in, or dedicated to pursuing, IP issues as Hatch was. On the other hand, Specter could put Hatch at the head of the IP subcommittee and allow him to keep steaming forward. So it all depends on how much Specter wants to assert his agenda over that of Hatch's. We'll just have to wait and see. Here's some good bits from the article:

In the realm of protecting music and movies from electronic theft, Hatch has been the entertainment industry's most powerful ally in Congress. A songwriter himself, Hatch has waged war against illegal file swapping, backing laws to stiffen copyright protections and keeping the issue in the spotlight with a steady stream of high-profile hearings.

In 2005, term limits require that Hatch hand over his chairman's gavel to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) -- an otherwise routine power shift that could have far-reaching implications for high-tech firms, movie studios, record companies and the future of downloading.
...
Opponents of the entertainment industry in the copyright debate -- including high-tech companies, Internet service providers and civil-liberties advocates who have long argued that stiffened protections come at the expense of lost technological freedom -- see Specter's ascension as an opportunity to gain ground in a fight that they say has been stacked against them.
...
'It's not clear to me what [Specter's] positions are on these issues but I think he's generally going to be a little more balanced. Hatch has really been an unabashed friend of the content industry and Specter has no such record,' said Gigi Sohn, the president of Washington-based Public Knowledge.
Wherever Specter comes down on the copyright debate, it's an issue that will almost certainly take a back seat to other matters, at least at the outset of his chairmanship, former Specter staffers said.
'What he's going to care the most about are the judicial nominations, with asbestos and class action coming [second and third].'
...
But while opponents of the recording industry may be salivating at the prospect of starting the Senate debate from scratch, sources familiar with Hatch doubt the outgoing chairman will cede his copyright role that easily.

"To the extent that people think ... the center of power over intellectual property issues will shift from Senator Hatch to Senator Specter, they may be quite mistaken," said a former judiciary staffer who now lobbies on behalf of copyright owners.

The aide, who asked to remain anonymous, said Specter might be inclined to let Hatch keep holding the reins. Specter "has been a follower rather than a leader on these issues," the aide said.

Former staffers for both senators said that if Hatch wanted to re-launch the intellectual property panel, Specter would probably play along.
...
Still, regardless of where Hatch ends up, Specter will play a major role in how the electronic piracy debate evolves in the upcoming congressional session. Even if Hatch is chairing a subcommittee and churning out bills, it'll be up to Specter to determine what moves.
...
He may get a chance to make those decisions early in the term. In addition to Induce, two other anti-piracy measures supported by Hatch -- one which would have allowed the Justice Department to slap downloaders with financial penalties, and another which would have made it easier to jail file swappers -- failed to pass at the end of the 2004 session.

"Copyright issues are important and they're going to percolate up, and it's really impossible for [Specter] to ignore them," said David Green, vice president for technology and new media at the Motion Picture Association of America. "He might be right now more interested in something else, but because these issues are important to America they are going to be important to Arlen Specter."

These issues are important to America? Important to the RIAA and MPAA is more like it. Actually they are important to America - it's important that bills like IICA don't pass so that our tech industry can keep moving forward without the content industry holding a veto over their production of new tech that's capable of copying. It's also important for regular people who want access to such mixed-use technology, like cd-burners and mp3 players and so on. It's important to American citizens and to the economy, but not in the way the RIAA understands. Hopefully Specter will bring a measure of sanity to the copyright debate in the Senate and worry about more important issues.

Here's the article: Uncertain Landscape Ahead for Copyright Protection (washingtonpost.com)