Rep. Berman: Those Who Don't Like The PRO IP Bill Just Want To Steal Stuff

from the say-what-now? dept

Now, we all know that Rep. Howard Berman, who represents a district right next door to Hollywood is in favor of strengthening intellectual property laws. He's made absolutely no secret of that. It's quite questionable then, as to why he should be considered an impartial overseer of intellectual property laws. But, in a talk on Friday he made some very bizarre statements that make it clear he doesn't care at all what those who disagree with him think. First, he claims that there's not much controversy concerning the PRO IP bill, which is a huge understatement. However, the real kicker, is that when asked about the groups (like the EFF) opposing the bill, he brushes them off as follows:

"There are people who want to steal intellectual property. Their lobby is distributed, diffuse, but unfortunately very popular."

This, ladies and gentleman, is the guy who's in charge of determining our intellectual property laws. He simply assumes that anyone who disagrees with him "wants to steal intellectual property" (which, of course, isn't possible -- you can infringe, but not steal it). But, even more to the point, the folks he's talking about are most certainly not even defending the infringement of copyrights. They're talking about trying to bring the laws more in line with what's reasonable. To paint them all with the brush of defending "stealing" isn't just wrong, it's rather obnoxious.

Filed Under: copyright, howard berman, pro ip, theft

Will Howard Berman Step Down From Leading Copyright Subcomittee?

from the the-representative-from-Disney-goes-international dept

A year ago, we noted how ridiculous it was that Congress was allowing Rep. Howard Berman to run the Congressional subcommittee dealing with intellectual property issues. Berman is a well-known supporter of Hollywood and the major record labels (and they, in turn, support him back). He's from LA and has been referred to as "the Representative from Disney" or "Hollywood Howard," and he's yet to meet a bill proposing stricter copyright laws that he hasn't been in favor of approving. As Larry Lessig noted at the time of Berman's appointment, it was like allowing a representative from Detroit to head a committee on auto safety standards. However, Copycense alerts us to a story from the Hollywood Reporter, suggesting that Berman may leave the chairmanship of the subcommittee in order to take on the more prestigious and desired role as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

If Berman does step aside, then the next in line for the job would be Rep. Rick Boucher, who has been a very strong (perhaps the strongest) fighter for consumer rights when it comes to copyright issues. For many, many years he's been pushing to rewrite the DMCA, for example. So having him take over the subcommittee would be big step forward. However, as the Hollywood Reporter notes, Boucher may be too busy on other committees that are more closely related to his Congressional district and the head of the full Committee (the IP part is just a subcommittee), is Rep. John Conyers, another friend of Hollywood, who probably wouldn't allow Boucher to push initiatives that lessened the power of copyright law. If Boucher doesn't take the job, then the article notes it would likely fall to Rep. Jerry Nadler, who represents parts of Manhattan that happen to include many major entertainment companies. It's not clear what Nadler's stance on these issues are, but he was a supporter of the ridiculously backwards bill to extend copyright protection to fashion designs, a policy that is both unnecessary and potentially dangerous to the industry -- suggesting that he's fairly susceptible to poorly reasoned arguments in favor of stronger copyright.

Filed Under: congress, copyright, howard berman, jerry nadler, john conyers, rick boucher

Justice Department Comes Out Against PRO-IP, While Howard Berman Complains That It's Not Strong Enough

from the compare-and-contrast dept

We've made no secret of how ridiculous we think the new "Pro-IP" bill is. If anything, it's actually anti-IP. Surprisingly, it appears that the Justice Department actually agrees. In hearings on Thursday about the bill, the Justice Department slammed the bill as unnecessary and counterproductive. That's a bit of a shift from the DOJ's point of view under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who started pitching ridiculous IP legislation to have something to talk about other than the controversy surrounding everything else he was doing. Of course, the real reason why the DOJ is against it appears to be that they don't want enforcing copyright laws to be taken away from the DOJ itself, which would happen if the bill becomes law and an "IP Czar" position is created within the Whitehouse.

Of course, not everyone feels that way. Howard Berman, affectionately known as the Representative from Disney, who really should not be in charge of the intellectual property subcommittee, spent some time at those same hearings to suggest that the PRO IP bill doesn't go far enough, and it's time to get rid of the DMCA's safe harbor provisions. Yes, he wants to take about the only reasonable part of the DMCA and get rid of it. Safe harbors for service providers make perfect sense. They make sure that third party tool and service providers aren't held liable for the actions of their users. It's about making sure that companies can't just blame whoever is biggest or easiest to serve with a lawsuit -- but those actually responsible for breaking the law. Berman wants to get rid of those safe harbors, of course, because the entertainment industry hates them. Safe harbors mean they can't get away with, say, suing YouTube for $1 billion, which is much easier than adapting to a changing market place. Berman has always insisted that he's not just pushing Hollywood's perspective, but it's hard to see how that's the case when he makes statements like this.

Filed Under: copyright, dmca, howard berman, justice department, pro-ip