Rich Fiscus
14 Oct 2007 6:41
Last week, a copyright lobbying group called the Copyright Alliance held an expo in Washington DC that looked a little more like a three ring circus, to show elected officials how serious they are about copyright. The event was filled with the paraphernalia of entertainment industry propoganda, from RIAA t-shirts reading "Feed a musicion, download legally" to Entertainment Software Association (ESA) posters proclaiming "Game Over Pirates Game Over."
And what Washington event would be complete without a few government officials. With organizations like the RIAA, MPAA, ESA, and Association of American Publishers joined by company representatives from Microsoft, Viacom, NBC Universal, and Walt Disney, it was ineveitable that visitors from Congress and the White House would be interested. Unfortunately for expo organizers, the Senate was in recess all week, and the House of Representatives wasn't in Session that day because of a funeral.
There were still a few die-hard copyright industry supporters who made brief appearances. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Commitee, responsible for copyright law, showed up for a photo op, saying "When you walk into this room, a copyright becomes real." He also referred to a bill supposedly being written in his office to "bring together" the major U.S. intellectual property regulatory and enforcement bodies. He didn't give any further details about the bill, and neither did his office when contacted later.
Source: CNet News