During consideration of a bill (H.R. 2391) to make it easier for researchers to win patents, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, without objection, a substitute amendment on October 7 incorporating anti-piracy legislation (H.R. 4077) that includes the text of the Family Movie Act (H.R. 4586). The House approved H.R. 4077 on September 28 (see The Source, 10/1/04).
Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Family Movie Act would exempt from copyright protection and trademark laws technology and software designed to filter out unwanted audio and video content on a DVD or videotape for individual consumers as long as no fixed copies are created. The bill would require that the software manufacturers provide clear and conspicuous notice that the movie being shown has been altered in a way that was unintended by the director or copyright holder. The notification requirement would apply only to technology manufactured 180 days after the bill’s enactment.
