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August 09, 2006, 03:16 PM ET
Warnings Against Thwarting Technological Innovation
Computer scientists are urging members of Congress to proceed cautiously in their effort to enact legislation that would require computer manufacturers to design machines according to standards that inhibit copyright infringement.
In a letter last month to Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican and chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Association for Computing Machinery said that people who want to infringe on copyright-protected material will find a way to do so, regardless of any equipment mandates. Mr. Stevens supports such legislation.
"By mandating a technical approach that may be foiled, consumers and innovation will suffer, while having little impact on infringement," wrote Eugene H. Spafford, a computer-science professor at Purdue University at West Lafayette. Mr. Spafford wrote the letter as chairman of the group’s public-policy committee.—Andrea L. Foster
Categories: Research
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