A bill that would streamline the process for music services such as iTunes to obtain licenses from record labels and musical composers to distribute songs online cleared a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday. But the bill — Section 115 Reform Act of 2006, or SIRA — is being denounced by a coalition of media and technology companies, and the American Association of Law Libraries.
The coalition says the legislation, HR 5553, would undermine fair use and stifle technological innovation because it would require all incidental copies of music to be licensed, even those stored in a computer’s memory. The group sent a letter this week to Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, and Rep. Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat, outlining its concerns. The letter is available online.
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