Register Of Copyright Suggests That Personal Downloading Should Not Be Seen As 'Piracy'

from the good-to-see dept

We've been discussing Maria Pallante's plans for copyright reform, which include a whole bunch of ideas -- some good, some bad and many as yet undetermined. In hearings today before the House Judiciary Committee, Pallante discussed a lot of this, but one surprising point that she had not clearly stated before is that "piracy should not be about the teenager downloading music at home." Instead, she talked about focusing on "the big pirates" who were doing it as a business. This is a fascinating statement as it may be the first time I've heard the Copyright Office suggest that personal use maybe shouldn't be considered infringement. I'm sure we'll have more on the (still ongoing) hearing later, but for now, this admission was a bit of a surprise worth noting.

Filed Under: copyright, copyright reform, maria pallante, personal downloading, piracy