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CBDTPA Finds A Champion In the House
pshoemaker writes: "Wired is reporting that House member Adam Schiff of Burbank is seeking a co-sponsor for his House version of Hollings' CBDTPA. His 'Dear Colleagues' letter lays-out the same inspired thinking: that without copy protection there can be no broadband entertainment." Another reader suggests: "Be sure to also check out who's been paying him just so you know who it is he's representing..."
Don't email, don't write -- FAX!
h tml and fill out the brief form.
Go to this site: http://www.digitalconsumer.org/cbdtpa/cbdtpa-inf.
It includes a sample letter that you can editor accordingly and then it will automatically fax it to your government representatives, encouraging them to act against this bill (and potential law!).
I Personally Recommend monolinux
For anybody to lazy (or paranoid) to click on the link:
March 27, 2002
Promote Consumer Use of Broadband and Prevent Digital Piracy!
Dear Colleague
I invite you to join me in supporting legislation that would
encourage demand for broadband Internet service and protect
creative enterprise from the threat of digital piracy.
The promise of the Internet has not been fully met. While
consumers have unprecedented access to information resources
on the web, there is still a demand for more. Congress has
recently debated ways to better serve our constituents by
improving access to broadband Internet service, yet the demand
for this technology is severely lacking. This is simply
because consumers can't get what they want -- high quality
digital content like movies, music, and video games.
The reason for this has become very clear. Our nation's
creative enterprises have been hesitant to offer their
products over the Internet out of fear of piracy --
intellectual theft. And their concerns are justified. The
movie studios estimate that they lose over $3 billion annually
to piracy, yet private industry has stalled in developing
technology to prevent this illegal activity.
I would like to direct your attention to the following op-ed
written by Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of Disney.
Mr. Eisner points out the profound historical significance of
intellectual property rights and draws on one early and
aggressive advocate of protecting such property rights, the
16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
I plan to introduce legislation that would safeguard digital
content by spurring the rapid development of copyright
protection technology. Similar legislation, S. 2048, has been
introduced in the Senate by Senators Hollings, Stevens,
Inouye, Breaux, Nelson and Feinstein. I believe this is a
necessary step and I encourage you to join me in this effort.
If you have any questions or would like to become an original
cosponsor, please contact me or Jen Briggs of my staff at
5-4176.
Sincerely,
Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
I think the words of the immortal Thinkgeek can pretty much sum up the /. reader's attitudes towards 90% of senators.
"Go away or I will replace you with a very small shell script"
In the interests of maintaining "closer ties to the community" (ie getting reelected), many Senators and Representatives have local offices in their home districts/states.
How hard really is it for you to look up their number/address, and pay them a phone call/visit? When you call up, ask questions about the bill, is: "I have certain reservations about this bill", or "could you clarify what exactly this clause means, as the way I read it, it could inadvertently affect the sale of software by small businesses."
The staffer will generally be clueless, relying on public statements by the senator/representative to phrase a reply. If no statement exists, this means you have an opening to shape that future statement, by having them take down some of your concerns to be addressed by your congresscritter.
For example, I called an office of one of the CBDTPA co-sponsors, asked for clarification on the bill, and failing that, asked them to take down a few concerns I had. I intend to follow up on this later, maybe with another phone call, or a personal visit to the local staffer's office.
Calling/faxing/mailing, just before a vote is pretty much useless, since they know it's a spur of the moment, inflamed by pseudo-grassroots thing - it doesn't matter for squat. However, if we get involved in the actual debate, and make our presence known then, it will be much easier to get staffers and representatives on our side, informed on the issues that we want addressed. The best way to get involved is to touch base with them, in an interactive manner, before they get swamped and start blowing people off.