The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property plans...
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property plans a hearing on legislation to permit cellphone users to unlock their phones to switch carriers. The hearing, scheduled for June 6 at 10 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn, will evaluate the bipartisan Unlocking…
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Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act (HR-1123), which was introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. (CD March 15 p15). Witnesses haven’t been announced. Goodlatte’s legislation is a companion piece to a Senate bill with the same name (S-517) (CD March 13 p10), which was authored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt. The bills were introduced in March after a White House official advocated for legislative fixes to give consumers more control over their devices, after the Copyright Office last year removed an exemption for cellphone firmware unlocking granted in previous triennial reviews of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The bills offer a legislative fix that restores an exemption to the 1998 law for cellphone firmware unlocking that permits consumers to use their phones with other carriers once their contract terms have expired. Under the DMCA, those who unlock their phones without permission from their carriers may be subject to civil lawsuits, criminal fines or imprisonment. Goodlatte’s bill also would direct the Copyright Office to determine whether similar treatment should be given to other wireless devices, like tablets. HR-1123 is cosponsored by House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich.; IP Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble, R-N.C.; Ranking Member Mel Watt, D-N.C.; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Hank Johnson, D-Ga.; Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.; and Ted Poe, R-Texas.