Back-up copies next?

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

Education programs needed to combat consumer piracy, experts say
By Staff Writer, Patent Trademark and Copyright Journal, 5/3/02
http://ipcenter.bna.com/PIC/ippic.nsf/(Index)/606020C4468C0DE485256BAC004AFE
06?OpenDocument

"The best way to stem the illegal reproduction of copyrighted digital
works is through educational programs that explain to end-users the value
of intellectual property and the illegality of copying, according to
experts at at the April 25 and 26 "Copyright Conference" in Washington,
D.C. Jointly sponsored by the Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright
Office, the meeting also featured a panel discussion on the upcoming
Supreme Court challenge to the recent 20 year extension of the copyright
term."

snip

"On the domestic side, however, a significant concern of the PC game
industry is Section 117 of the Copyright Act, which permits the
reproduction of backup copies, said Mitchell. Pirates have latched on to
this provision and advertised on their Web sites that users can download
backup copies of their software from the site.

Whether such Web sites are providing a legitimate service or not,
Kupferschmid( intellectual property counsel for the Software & Information
Industry Association) said that there is no longer a need for Section 117.
It was an exception originally designed for a world in which software was
kept on floppy disks that could be easily damaged. He said that currently
98 percent of software is sold on CD-ROMs. It is copied onto a computer
hard drive, and the CD becomes the backup copy, Kupferschmid said."

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