CS 312 Yevgeniy Bangiyev

Summary of “U.S. Agency Loses Case in Piracy Battle”

In May of 2005, the US federal court ruled against a law that would have required computer and TV manufacturers to use anti-piracy technology in their products. The article calls the ruling a victory for “libraries, consumer groups and civil liberties organizations” and a bitter defeat for the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. TV networks.

The FCC law, which was scheduled to become active in July of 2005, aimed to prevent people from distributing digital programs illegally. However, opponents argued that the regulations imposed by the law would seriously limit legal use of TV material available in libraries, making research difficult. After the appeal to the federal court by the American Library Association, it was ruled that the FCC “exceeded its authority” with the law.

The commission adopted the restrictions due to requests of TV networks for measures to be taken to protect their copyrighted material. With the rise in digital programming, the TV industry fears that it will face the same problems the music industry is experiencing. And now with the law being repealed, studios and broadcasters demand that it be reinstated or they will significantly reduce the amount of digital programs to be aired in the future.

The regulations would have actually forced hardware or software to be installed in TV sets and computers that would identify copyrighted material and prevent it from being copied and distributed. This was too much for the court to approve as such regulation of tech products and their use is out of the control of the FCC. One of the judges told a lawyer representing the commission, "you've gone too far, are washing machines next?"

Labaton, Stephen. “U.S. Agency Loses Case in Piracy Battle.” The New York Times 9 May 2005. 27 February 2006

<http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/08/business/piracy.php>.