http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/20/41...to-overhaul-us
A few highlights:
"In her Columbia speech, Pallante said the time is right for "Congress to once again think big," and create "the next great copyright act." As she outlined the areas of the law she believes need to be fixed, she focused on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA, created to deal with copyright issues on the internet, is much maligned in both Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Many in tech and in entertainment believe the law should favor them more and the other less. Before wading in, Pallante paused and took a swig from a water bottle. Anyone about to tackle the DMCA, Pallante told the audience, should have a drink.
Considering the task ahead of her, she might want to try bourbon."
"At the center of the discord is the DMCA. Passed in 1998, the DMCA was intended to protect copyrighted materials on the internet without stifling technological innovation. The controversial Section 1201 outlawed the circumvention of copy-protection schemes and increased the penalties for infringement. At the same time, Congress also sought to shield internet service providers from violations committed by customers (Section 512). But critics say the DMCA has raised as many legal questions as it answered, especially since lawmakers in 1998 couldn't foresee now-ubiquitous technologies like smartphones, user-generated video, and peer-to-peer networks. Like any law that purports to regulate technology, the DMCA was doomed to be nearly obsolete from the start. "The DMCA was a pretty good idea," said the artist's manager. "But it has become the mother lode of unintended consequences."
"Certainly, there's no shortage of people who would like to set fire to the DMCA, especially after Pallante's office sent unlocking a cell phone back into legal limbo. More than 100,000 names were on a petition against the new unlocking rule posted to the White House website last month."
In short, the DMCA simply does not work!
