Newswise — In 1998 the U.S. Congress made dramatic changes in the copyright code, changes that have proliferated around the world. These, along with supplementary legislation now wending its way through Congress, killed or currently threaten such consumer electronics products as DVD rippers, TV recorders with advanced features, cheap digital television tuner cards, and analog-to-digital converters, and even products that have yet to leave the development laboratory, like digital radio recorders. Indeed, the trend is toward a world in which federal regulators, not creative engineers, would dictate many product features and design decisions.
Legislation discussed in the IEEE Spectrum article includes the "broadcast flag mandate," also known as the Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act of 2006, sponsored by Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-N.J.) and the "analog hole bill," also known as the Digital Transition Content Security Act, introduced by Reps. F. James Snesenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisc.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.).
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