[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2569-E2570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE DIGITAL TRANSITION CONTENT SECURITY ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2005

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Digital 
Transition Content Security Act of 2005. This legislation is designed 
to close the ``analog hole'' that has arisen as a result of the 
transition to digital transmission technologies. The term ``analog 
hole'' refers to the use of devices to convert analog content into 
digital versions which can easily be uploaded onto the Internet. 
Although many of those who convert analog content into digital form are 
not engaging in any illegal conduct, there are unfortunately criminals 
who take advantage of existing deficiencies in current law and 
technology to obtain copyrighted content in order to redistribute this 
content for profit at the copyright owner's expense.
  There is no doubt that piracy of intellectual property can be a 
profitable criminal activity. Just this week, a software pirate pled 
guilty in Alexandria, VA, to making $20 million in sales of counterfeit 
intellectual property. The House Judiciary Committee has extensively 
examined efforts to strengthen and update intellectual property laws to 
address intellectual property theft made possible by new technologies. 
This legislation is no different.
  The ``analog hole'' is unfortunately a potential source of pirated 
content that becomes an attractive target for pirates as high quality 
sources of content are made available to the public in high definition 
format. Congress is already considering another technology, the 
``broadcast flag,'' to address the redistribution of high definition 
content. The analog hole is its counterpart.
  Congress has previously mandated the use of technology to limit and 
frustrate redistribution of video content. Enacted at 17 U.S.C. 1201(k) 
as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Congress required the 
use and detection of Macrovision technology in several analog devices. 
This new legislation builds upon this existing law by mandating the 
detection and response to two separate technologies that work together 
to defeat pirates. The two technologies are the Content Generation 
Management System--Analog, CGMS-A, and Video Encoded Invisible Light, 
VEIL.
  The timing for this legislation is readily apparent. New technologies 
have made the widespread redistribution of copyrighted content 
significantly easier. Some have referred to the Internet as the world's 
greatest copying

[[Page E2570]]

machine. While the Internet has without question been a huge benefit to 
society on a number of levels, some have used the Internet for criminal 
gain, notably the redistribution of copyrighted content without the 
copyright owner's permission. Enactment of the Digital Transition 
Content Security Act of 2005 will help ensure that the rights of 
copyright owners are respected.
  The legislation would require that devices that convert analog 
content pass through the CGMS-A and VEIL content protection signals 
contained in the original version. To ensure that the technology used 
does not become outdated, the Patent and Trademark Office is authorized 
to conduct ongoing rulemakings to update the technology.
  The Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and 
Intellectual Property held a hearing on a discussion draft of this 
legislation last month. Witnesses from the Motion Picture Association 
of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Consumer 
Electronics Association, and Public Knowledge testified. Their 
testimony covered piracy issues generally as well as more specific 
issues regarding the legislation.
  The bill I am introducing today makes several changes to the original 
discussion draft. Various provisions of the bill have been rewritten to 
ensure that the intent of the bill is clear. The references to several 
tables in the original draft have been clarified so that the Patent and 
Trademark Office develops these tables after an open, public 
rulemaking. The original draft had assumed that these tables would have 
been developed by the industry groups in time for the introduction of 
this legislation. This has not yet happened.
  Finally, I urge all interested parties to continue to negotiate to 
see if a private sector solution can be fully developed to address the 
``analog hole.'' This issue is simply too important for parties to 
avoid negotiations. I look forward to working on this and other 
legislation to protect intellectual property in the second session of 
the 109th Congress.

                          ____________________