August 17, 2006
Legislators Debate Digital Piracy
By Faye Frey
A recording industry official on Wednesday urged state legislators to target anti-piracy laws at state universities – which he called “ground zero” for digital thefts. But consumer rights advocates discouraged legislation and use of encryption devices that would interfere with technology.
Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the states need to “balance progress with the rule of law." He was a panelist at a policy session on copyright and theft issues at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2006 Annual Meeting.
Bainwol said revenues for the recording industry rose during the 1980’s and 90’s, only to plummet four-fold in 1999, amounting to $15 billion in lost revenue, which he attributes partially to digital theft at universities where increased bandwidth allows quicker downloading. Gigi B. Sohn, president of Washington, D.C.-based Public Knowledge contends that the music and motion picture industries are more concerned with their profits than protecting the artists.
"Technology is not your enemy – it’s your friend," Sohn said. "(Those in the industry) don’t want you to choose what you watch."
Veronica A. O’Connell, senior director of government affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association encouraged legislators to "strike the right balance" when drafting legislation. She pointed to projections of the demise of the movie industry when the VCR became available. O’Connell said the "economy has not fallen" as a result of new technology.
Theft of music and movies has become more prevalent this decade as reproduction technologies have advanced. As Delegate Kumar Barve, the House majority leader in Maryland, pointed out, back in the ‘70s, every time you copied music and video the quality degraded. Today, that’s not the case.
This summary is provided for information purposes only. NCSL does not endorse any views it contains.
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