U.S. Copyright Office Drafts New Version of Induce Act
CNET News.com reports that the U.S. Copyright Office has drafted its own revision of the “Induce Act,” a controversial bill designed to ban file-sharing networks and any other device that might “induce” one to commit copyright infringement. The Copyright Office draft would limit somewhat the broader terms of Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) original draft, which critics have said could in theory ban devices like the iPod or even the PC. Mike Godwin, of the “fair use” advocacy group Public Knowledge, was still skeptical of the Copyright Office’s revisions. “I think one can read it through pretty carefully and not be sure who will be liable and who isn’t. One thing we would like to get out of this process is that if a bill is going to be passed, it’s going to be clear,” Godwin told CnetNews.com.
