Betamax is dead, long live the judgment.

This article comments on the impact of the proposed Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act on the U.S. telecommunication industry. The author discusses the issue that involved Sony's betamax tapes as the background for the copyright infringement draft. The case that both involved Sony and Universal has created a foundation that has protected emerging products and technologies that can be used to infringe on the rights of copyright holders. Without this judgment, the media and entertainment companies would have been able to attack any product or technology by which they felt threatened. The bill introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch makes it a crime to aid, abet or induce copyright infringement. For thousands of customers possessing their iPOD digital music player, this means that are susceptible to liability for each song illegally copied, making iPODS illegal for use. The article ends by encouraging the public to rally against the draft legislation.