The question of how to protect intellectual property on the Internet is due to heat up in Congress this fall, and Senator John Ashcroft has produced a proposal he says will accomplish the feat.
The Missouri Republican's Digital Copyright and Technology Education Act aims to sort out the sticky issue of who pays for the transfer of pirated materials over the Internet. The bill exempts ISPs from liability for transferring pirated materials without their knowledge. It also encourages the use of the Internet in education.
"This legislation will keep the scales of copyright law balanced, providing important protections to creators of content while ensuring widespread distribution of material through the Internet," Ashcroft said in a statement Thursday.
The bill comes just as Congress is set to debate the ratification of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright treaty and performances and phonograms treaty, introduced in Congress this summer. The Clinton administration and Congress have been slow to ratify the treaties, and many nations are waiting for the United States to approve the accords before approving it themselves. Congress is scheduled to begin debating the treaties next week.
Greg Harris, a spokesman for Ashcroft, said that the bill is a companion to the WIPO treaties, meant to "fill in the gaps."
ISPs have complained that the treaties do not excuse them for liability for transferring pirated materials over the Internet. Computer software companies have heralded the pacts for updating copyright laws for the digital age.
