Overnight Tech: Copyright exemptions spark new calls for reform

LEDE: Lawmakers took another opportunity to call for copyright reform after the Librarian of Congress on Tuesday announced a fresh round of exemptions to current law. 

Every three years, the agency outlines a series of exemptions from a section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which currently bars people from bypassing technology that protects copyrighted work. A few dozen exemptions were outlined Tuesday, including one for researchers to investigate cyber vulnerabilities in cars and other devices, as well as a host of renewed carve-outs allowing customers to unlock and jailbreak cellphones and other devices. 

{mosads}Advocates applauded the exemptions but also renewed calls to reform the process. The provision in question was written to act as a backstop for infringement. But as technology has progressed, more and more technologies, which have little to do with creative work in need of copyright protection, appear to fall within the law. 

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the “process for granting exemptions” is “broken,” and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) renewed his call for the Copyright Office to study how consumers “can use software-enabled products without running afoul of the law.”

The Register of Copyright said many of the issues raised during its exemption review should be debated in Congress and other relevant agencies. The register also said the exemption process “soundly affirms” the need for the House’s ongoing review of copyright law. 

DVD EXEMPTION GETS REJECTED: Public Knowledge expressed disappointment that its proposed exemption to allow people to make personal copies of DVDs was rejected. The public advocacy group had argued the law “clearly allows consumers to move their media between their personal devices.” In a statement, the group said: “These results continue to show the flaws in the law and the process of the DMCA.”

NET NEUTRALITY JUDGES PICKED: The three-judge panel that will decide the legality of net neutrality regulations includes two Democratic appointees and a Ronald Reagan appointee. Judge David Tatel — one of the three judges — was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and wrote the opinion against the FCC’s previous rules last year. Stephen Williams is the senior judge on the court and was appointed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Judge Sri Srinivasan, who will also hear the case, was appointed by President Obama and confirmed in 2013.

HOUSE PROBES MOBILE BROADBAND: One day after congressional leaders revealed a budget deal that included changes to spectrum policy, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will host a hearing on obstacles to broadband deployment.

Expect a fair amount of talk about the “dig once” bill, from subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.), which mandates that federally-funded highway projects lay down fiber conduit in certain cases. The committee will also weigh five other draft bills aimed at reducing barriers to broadband deployment. “If enacted into law, the six bills before the Subcommittee today will collectively make a real difference in bringing broadband into both unserved and underserved communities,” Eshoo plans to say.

ROSENWORCEL’S NOMINATION QUESTIONNAIRE: FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel donated $1,000 to President Obama in 2008, has testified before Congress nine times and believes her main priorities at the commission are protecting consumers, securing access and providing certainty to companies. Those are a few facts that were disclosed in a questionnaire filled out ahead of her re-nomination hearing in front of the Senate Commerce Committee. 

DORSEY MAKES MENTION OF DEVELOPERS: During an earnings call, Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey touted a developers conference held last week that was aimed to “reaffirm our support of the developer community and improve our tools for them.” The conference made waves in the political word because Dorsey made a short speech in which he promised to turn around the company’s relationship with developers, giving a specific shootout to Politwoops, which archived the deleted tweets of politicians. Twitter revoked the tool’s API access earlier this year, effectively killing the project. 

INDUSTRY WEIGHS IN ON SPECTRUM BUDGET LANGUAGE: Though CTIA President Meredith Attwell Baker praised the Spectrum Pipeline Act as “an important first step forward in meeting the wireless industry’s long-term need for additional spectrum,” it also said it wished lawmakers had gone further. “As other countries around the world are allocating large paired blocks of spectrum for future broadband needs, it is disappointing that we were not able to do more now to meet Americans’ demands for 5G and the Internet of Things,” she said.

ON TAP: 

At 9:30 a.m., the Internet Innovation Alliance will hold a discussion on modernizing the federal Lifeline program. 

At 10 a.m., the House Oversight subcommittee on National Security will hold a hearing on “social media and the rise of terrorism.”

At 10 a.m., an Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on “breaking down barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment.”

At 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will hold FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s re-nomination hearing. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

A former Obama administration official was tapped Tuesday to lead the creation of an independent control board for the fantasy sports industry, as it takes fire from policy makers inside and outside of Washington.

The Librarian of Congress on Tuesday clarified that researchers can tinker with software embedded in cars to investigate security flaws without running afoul of copyright law. 

The European Parliament approved a net neutrality bill on Tuesday, but voted down amendments that critics said would close loopholes that weakened the law.

House lawmakers continued a months-long tussle over the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new net neutrality regulations in a Tuesday hearing that probed the rules’ impact on investments. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would auction off wireless spectrum controlled by federal agencies under a budget deal released by congressional leaders late Monday night.

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