If you are not aware of the INDUCE Act currently before the Senate, you should be. If passed, it will essentially overturn the landmark case Sony vs. Universal (known as the Betamax decision), which established the legality of recording devices such as VCR's. Because such devices have legitimate uses, the court ruled that media companies may not hold the device manufacturers liable if someone violates copyright law using them. The INDUCE act reverses this, effectively giving Hollywood the power to shutdown the development and sale of a broad variety of recording and storage devices including VCR's, tape recorders, CD-burners, iPods, and TiVos whenever it desires to do so.

The act does more than give media corporations a tool for fighting piracy; it gives them complete control over any technology that could be used to record audio or video. Opposition to the act in incredibly broad and includes conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation; tech companies including Google, Yahoo, eBay, Intel, and Verizon; the Electronic Frontier Foundation; the NY Times Editorial Board, and a slew of other groups.

How did the act get this far? Media corporation groups such as the RIAA and the MPAA have made major campaign contributions to the Senators that drafted the bill and are its primary supporters. Most in congress have assumed this an issue out of the public eye.

I urge you to call your senator on Tuesday the 14^th, the day selected for everyone to call in order to maximize impact.