IP bills continue to float along despite shift in control of U.S.
- From: J Flenner <varney@[redacted]>
- Subject: IP bills continue to float along despite shift in control of U.S.
- Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:07:03 -0400
http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZYU1HOYOC
Full Steam Ahead: IP bills continue to float along despite shift
in control of U.S. Senate
Brenda Sandburg
The Recorder
July 10, 2001
The party switch in the U.S. Senate may have
rattled most political insiders -- with at
least one notable exception.
The IP community seems just as happy with Sen.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairing the Senate
Judiciary Committee as they were when Sen.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was at the helm.
"Hatch and Leahy share a lot of common ground,"
said Jason Mahler, vice president and general
counsel of the Computer & Communications
Industry Association.
"Leahy has been a friend of the tech community
and sympathetic to content holders," Mahler
added. "You can't assume what he will do on any
given issue."
The common ground among Democrats and
Republicans on IP issues means lobbyists who
focus on the area probably won't have to change
their strategy all that much. That's good news
for them, because a boatload of IP bills is
floating through Congress this session.
They range from bills dealing with the use of
copyrighted material in online -- or "distance"
-- education to funding for the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
Both Leahy and Hatch appear to have similar
priorities for what bills will be considered.
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