2004-05-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., is seeking support for passage of his Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act. The bill seekd to allow consumers the same ability to back-up and cross-platform they now enjoy with LPs, cassette tapes, DVDs and VHS movies. The bill would ammend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which currently prevents consumers from circumventing digital "locks" on DVDs. The Motion Picture Association of America, is currently seeking to kill the bill. The MPAA argues there is no way for devices to distinguish between personal copies and copies sold on the street corner. The MPAA, however, recently sued 321 Studios, makers of DVDXCOPY, to prevent consumers from making back up copies of DVDs, despite DVDXCOPY's numerous anti-piracy features. Lawmakers have recently announced their dismay that the DMCA is restricting consumers beyond its contemplated objectives.

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