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State "mini-DMCA" bills raise alarums




http://news.com.com/2100-1028-994667.html

    DMCA critics decry state-level proposals
    By Declan McCullagh

    March 28, 2003, 7:37 PM PT
    WASHINGTON--Critics of the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act
    said Friday that they were disturbed by proposals for similar laws at
    the state level.

    Quietly, opponents said, with few people paying close attention, state
    legislators are considering bills that would be even broader than the
    controversial DMCA, which restricts bypassing copy-protection
    measures.

    The DMCA critics reacted with dismay this week after learning about
    the existence of the state bills when a lobbyist flagged one as
    disturbing, an industry source said. On Friday, library groups quickly
    dashed off a note to Arkansas and Colorado warning politicians there
    that their "proposed legislation is deeply flawed and should be
    rejected."

    [...]

    The group primarily responsible for the state bills is the Motion
    Picture Association of America, one of the most vocal supporters of
    the federal DMCA. The MPAA rejects the characterization of the state
    legislation as similar to the federal law, saying the state measures
    update cable and satellite protection laws to catch up with today's
    hacking technologies.

    [...]

Also see Ed Felten's writeups at:
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/




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