Email to: jeffrey_miller at judiciary-dem.senate.gov (Democratic Chief Counsel)
August 3, 2004

Good Morning, Jeffrey:

I am writing as a Madison, WI constituent to express my complete
opposition to the Leahy, Hatch absurdity, the induce Act.

I would like to know where Senator Kohl stands on this?

We'll be using P2P (bittorent) tools to share All City Swim Meet Videos
later this week

http://www.allcityswim.org/AllCity2004/SeminoleSwim2004/Main.html

Nearly 2000 K-12 swimmers participate in this event, one of the largest
of its kind in the nation.

I would like a statement from your office as to where the Senator stands
on this. I plan to share this information with all of the visitors,
along with the implications on our ability to create and share our own
media in the future.

Who can forget the many amazing quotes that the MPAA/RIAA folks have
thrown at this "fair use" issue over the years.

http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/002065.shtml

I'll post your reply on my blog: http://www.zmetro.com and on the
allcityswim site.



Jim

===============

I received this response August 30, 2004 from Senator Kohl

August 30, 2004

Mr. Jim Zellmer
Virtual Properties, Inc.
P.O. Box 45197
Madison, Wisconsin 53744-5197

Dear Mr. Zellmer:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I value the
correspondence I get from people back home in Wisconsin. I
apologize for the delay in my response and would like to take this
opportunity to address your concerns.

As you may know, S. 2560, the "Inducing Infringement of
Copyrights Act" (INDUCE), was introduced by Senators Orrin
Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on June 22, 2004. This
bill addresses growing concerns with piracy and the protection of
intellectual property rights. This legislation would target copyright
infringement associated with peer to peer software by creating a
new offense for intentional inducement to cause copyright
infringement.

Opponents argue that the introduction of inducement as a
concept in copyright law will not only lead to very broad
application, but that it will also chill the innovation of new devices
among consumer electronics manufacturers. Proponents, on the
other hand, maintain that the INDUCE Act is necessary to protect
the intellectual property rights of those involved with creating
music, software and games.

The INDUCE Act has been referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, of which I am member. The committee held a hearing
on July 22, 2004 entitled, "Protecting Innovation and Art while
Preventing Piracy." Please be assured, I will keep your views in
mind as I work with my colleagues to find a solution to growing
concerns about piracy and intellectual property rights while also
considering the implications of this legislation on current
infringement laws.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate knowing
your views on this important issue.


Sincerely, Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator