RIAA BEGINS ANTIPIRACY ADS AS BERMAN BILL GETS HEARING

As debate on protecting content online has heated up on Capitol Hill, many critics of Hollywood and record labels have suggested that aggressive PR campaign was needed as much as, if not more than, legislation. News Corp. Pres. Peter Chernin admitted at Aspen Summit last month that he had daily conversations with his son about morality of downloading, and few months ago large ISP Verizon offered to help fund TV spots. Rosen said spots were being financed by record labels through MUSIC (Music United for Strong Internet Copyright) Coalition. Ads ask question “Who Really Cares About Illegal Downloading?” then answer with diverse list of nearly 90 major recording artists and songwriters, including such superstars as Eminem, Madonna, Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, Luciano Pavarotti, Brian Wilson, Britney Spears and Natalie Cole. and would feature artists such as Eminem and The Dixie Chicks. Print ads ran Thurs. in Roll Call as well as L.A. Times and N.Y. Times.

Rosen was one of 3 witnesses Thurs., praising HR-5211 by subcommittee ranking Democrat Berman (Cal.) and Chmn. Coble (R- N.C.), along with songwriter Phil Galdston and Media Defender Pres. Randy Saath, whose company creates technology tools to thwart P2P piracy. That is thrust of HR-5211, enabling content owners to avoid criminality under antihacking laws when attempting to interfere with file sharing of copyrighted works. Asked whether successful PR campaign against illegal file-sharing might lessen need for legislation, Rosen said her industry “certainly does not depend on legislation.” But EMI Recorded Music Vice Chmn. David Munns said labels needed multiple tools to combat piracy, and “legislation on a range of different issues is another plank.” Other scheduled witness was Public Knowledge Pres. Gigi Sohn, whose relatively new group was established to defend public commons. She has concerns about possible violations of fair use under Berman’s bill and other proposed legislation.

Most technology trade groups have opposed HR-5211 but Assn. for Competitive Technology (ACT) has largely been supportive. ACT Pres. Jonathan Zuck wrote Berman and Coble Wed. restating ACT’s “general support for HR-5211… We believe your approach focuses on encouraging technological solutions and is far superior to the attempts by some in Congress who would rather institute government technology mandates.” ACT has several companies that market digital rights management software, most notably Microsoft but also smaller players, and Zuck said that market could reach $3.5 billion by 2005. But he did raise concerns with portions of bill, and took aim at criticism by Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA) labeling it as “vigilante” bill, saying that Morpheus parent StreamCast Networks was CCIA member.

ACT echoed record industry’s PR campaign in suggesting to Berman and Coble that many youths downloading illegal works “could be persuaded to voluntarily abandon the network if given a notification of the potential consequences posed under this bill and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” perhaps in form of data file P2P user might download. On more serious note, ACT raised concern that PC users who had their PCs affected by Hollywood self-help tool wouldn’t know it: “To remedy this concern, content owners should notify all users on which these technologies have been implemented either electronically or by mail through their ISP.” ACT also proposed that copyright holders give notification of specific IP addresses to Dept. of Justice to “provide a record that could not be altered by the copyright holder.” Finally, ACT recommended that phrase in bill “unauthorized distribution” be changed to “illegal distribution,” saying term “unauthorized” was “confusing given the ongoing debate surrounding fair use.”

Last week Berman tried to woo libertarians to his cause by sending his counsel Alec French to Cato event (French was last- min. substitute for Berman himself). French read Berman’s prepared speech that argued that libertarians should embrace his approach that was focused on empowering copyright owners rather than mandating DRM standards. But essay written by Cato Dir.- Technology Studies Wayne Crews and Dir.-Telecommunications Studies Adam Thierer Wed. said “it remains unclear why copyright owners would need any new legislative authority” to interfere with P2P networks. Spoofing (i.e., planting of false music files) already is legal and potentially effective, they argued. Noting Berman’s comparison of file sharing to bicycle stolen from one’s yard, they wrote “the problem with that analogy is that intellectual property is a somewhat different beast than tangible property.” They said critics of Berman bill who simply were anti-Hollywood were “silly,” but “there are other valid reasons to be concerned with the measure.”