US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs illegal
 

Anyone who has ever used an iPod, taped TV shows, or made a mixtape
for their friend needs to read this! Hollywood is pushing Congress to
pass a bill that could make the VCR, CD-Rs, and iPods illegal.
http://savebetamax.org/

In late 70s, Hollywood tried to make the VCR illegal. Now they're at
it again. Back then, Hollywood's lawyers argued that because *some*
people might use a VCR to make illegal copies, they had a right to sue
*any* business that sold VCRs.

Fortunately for the future of technology, the Supreme Court said that
any new technology with "substantial non-infringing uses" was legal
and should be allowed to flourish. That wisdom, known as the "Betamax
decision" (after VHS's short-lived predecessor) was great news for the
economy: dozens of markets sprung up that would otherwise have been
smothered by the fear of litigation and liability. And it was good
news for Hollywood too: soon they were making billions in the same
video rental market they tried to litigate out of existence.

But now Hollywood (and the major record labels) are trying to undo
"Betamax" with a new law that would let them sue any business that
gave their customers freedom to make legal copies. The music and movie
companies claim they only want to ban p2p filesharing software like
Kazaa. But legal experts say that dozens of products--even Apple's
hugely popular "iPod"--would soon find themselves under the gun. We
need to stop this from happening, and the time to act is now.

http://savebetamax.org/

This legislation is called the INDUCE Act, and it's opposed by the
mainstream technology industry (eBay, Google, Intel, Verizon, and
Yahoo have all lobbied against it) along with public interest
advocates like Public Knowledge and even librarian Groups. These
companies and organizations are all making their voices heard in
Washington, but now it's time that members of Congress hear from the
public (you!).

We're organizing a national call-in day. The plan is: Senators who are
siding with Hollywood against the public interest will receive a
steady stream of phonecalls for as long as it takes. Think of it like
a consumers' rights march on Washington that you can do from your home
or your desk at work. Hollywood and the record companies have millions
of lobbying dollars, but all we have are our numbers. If you think
keeping the VCR legal was a good idea, we need you to act
now:http://savebetamax.org/

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Well, I am no lawyer and no expert of US governance but I believe that it is not hard with common sense to see where it would lead, to make recording devices illegal would cripple US industry, economy, etc. beyond any recognition. It seems to me that it would be another Version of DMCA . Good luck for your campaign.

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Sounds like they are just siding with the more-money companies against the small-money companies. Standard "good for jobs, good for the economy" policy.

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Vaguely related. Very interesting and highly entertaining: Here in the UK we've been subjected to a campaign trying to peruade us that DVD piracy funds terrorism. This guy exposes it a s a pack of lies-

http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/ip1.htm

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

I have always wondered why video recorders are legal. You can't copy commercial tapes, yet you can copy anything on TV.

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Another step to The Right to Read

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Fair use. I pay for the television service. I don't have to watch a show immediately when it airs. I can record it and watch it later. I may have been at work, or at dinner, sleeping, or any other number of reasons.

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

That's the same sort of drivel that RIAA has been pushing on Capitol Hill. The narrow cynicism of this industry is beyond belief. Whatever the concern of the day is, RIAA pops up and claims that P2P trading on the internet is supporting it. Drugs, porn, terrorism. Anything that gets people excited they immediately send some 'expert' to claim that the P2P networks are carrying it, or supporting it.

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

You pay for television service? Television is free. Like radio.
Gandalf Parker

Re: US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs ill
 

Broadcast television of a handful of syndicated network channels, yes. There are a lot of stations for which you have to pay for cable, satellite, etc. acces to see... such as Comedy Central and Sci Fi channel.