Last week the presidential campaign for Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released a long-awaited technology position paper, which followed one from the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) issued late last year. So how do the two candidates square off on copyright?
Here’s an excerpt from McCain’s position paper:
The entertainment industry is both a vital sector [...]

Rights are worthless if they aren’t enforced. When copyright owners and creators see their rights as having meaning through enforcement, all of society wins through creation of new works. We also benefit from more jobs and more tax revenues and investment in the US economy, benefits that cannot be understated given this country’s current economic [...]

You know the cliche in movies and TV shows where one character distracts another by looking aside and saying “What’s that?” only to punch the other character while he’s distracted? I see that a lot in the comments sections of news columns and blogs dealing with copyright.
In this BBC News column, for example, Darren Waters [...]

All the right things were said at this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on copyright protection. (Find witness testimony and the opening statement of Chairman Patrick Leahy [D-VT] here.) The focus of this hearing was the health risks of copyright, including unsafe electronics with fake UL approval labels, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and knockoff automobile parts such as brake pads or timing belts. The witnesses mentioned the growing role the Internet plays in facilitating this counterfeiting. The hearing served three important purposes: 1) It emphasized that IP enforcement enjoys strong bipartisan support. 2) It showed that there are real dangers associated with counterfeiting.

I had the good fortune of speaking on a panel Thursday afternoon at the IACC's Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C. Counterfeiting usually is considered to involve physical goods. I certainly see that with some of my members in CDs, DVDs, software, etc. Of course, the creative works on those pieces of plastic can also be traded online, which is proving its own challenges. (I have other members who have more "pure" counterfeiting problems, such as the sports leagues who see jerseys and other licensed apparel counterfeited.)