Lawrence Lessig on the Induce Act: “This should be clear: Using copyright law to set innovation policy is not much different than letting the coal industry set environmental policy.”
The Induce Act is a controversial piece of legislation introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy, aimed at shutting down P2P Networks. The act is ruffling feathers because it would penalize technology companies and electronics makers for creating anything that could “induce” or encourage users to break copyright law. Critics say the broad scope of the bill could make CD burners, digital camcorders, and even Apple’s iPod illegal.
An interesting footnote: Between 1999 and 2004, Sen. Orrin Hatch received $159,860 in campaign donations from the TV, movie and music industries while Patrick Leahy received $220,450.