Bill to Protect Right to Copy Digital Files

A congressman who has played a key role in high-tech issues said Monday that he will introduce legislation aimed at protecting the right of consumers to make copies of digital files, such as songs on a CD.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), who sits on the Judiciary subcommittee on the Internet and Intellectual Property, said he would try to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was designed to limit piracy in the digital age.

Critics of the act, which is aimed at preventing illegal copying, say it is being used by the entertainment industry to prevent all types of copying, including copying that is allowed under intellectual property law.

The copyright act criminalizes tools that can be used to copy--such as software that can break electronic locks on DVD movies--regardless of whether the copies are legal.

Boucher believes such tools should be legal, but anyone making illegal copies should face sanctions.

The move comes a day after a Los Angeles Times story explored the way new technologies are trumping copyright law, preventing consumers from making legal copies of music, movies or books.

Boucher also sent a letter to the Recording Industry Assn. of America suggesting that copy-protected CDs may violate the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act.

Under that law, consumers pay a few extra pennies each time they buy a blank recordable CD, and that money goes to the entertainment industry as compensation for losses caused by copying.

The payments were established as a legislative compromise at the dawn of the digital age to allay fears that the industry would suffer disastrous economic consequences from piracy.

But Boucher said the industry may be breaking that legislative agreement by using tools such as encryption.

“I am particularly concerned that some of these technologies may prevent or inhibit consumer home recording,” he said.

Boucher’s letter included questions about the technology, how it’s being used and the industry’s objectives that he wants the RIAA to answer. The RIAA said it will respond to Boucher’s request.