Congressional Elections and Copyright Reform

In the wake of the Democratic win in the House of Representatives, some chairs will be rearranged. Democratic representatives will take over as chairmen of the House Committees. Of the committees most relevant to copyright in the digital age is the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee which is currently chaired by Republican Lamar Smith of Texas. The ranking Democrat (and soon to be chairman) is the Honorable Howard Berman of California.

Mr. Berman, according to the National Journal, can be expected to support restrictive copyright and intellectual property laws. Representing the Los Angelos / Hollywood area, Berman will "protect his nearby Hollywood interests by cracking down on piracy and protecting against copyright infringement of TV, music and movie productions." In the past, he has supported legislation allowing copyright owners to "file blocking, redirections, spoofs and decoys" to fight piracy.

Furthermore, according to the independent site opensecrets.org,the top industries contributing to his campaigns are "TV/Music/Movies" and "Lawyers/Law Firms" - the two industries most interested in further expanding copyright.

Update: Techdirt has a great post on the same subject.