Orrin Hatch: “This is even more true for a bill that has copyright as its subject matter, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright…”

“This is even more true for a bill that has copyright as its subject matter, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the conference report which passed the Senate today by unanimous consent. But the DMCA is one of the most important bills passed this session, as the distinguished majority leader stated yesterday. "Digital Millennium" may seem grandiose, but in fact it accurately describes the purpose of the bill--to set copyright law up to meet the promise and the challenge of the digital world in the new millennium. Digital "world" is appropriate here, because the Internet has made it possible for information--including valuable American copyrighted works--to flow around the globe in a matter of hours, and Internet end users can receive copies of movies, music, software, video games and literary and graphic works that are as good as the originals. Indeed, the initial impetus for the DMCA was the implementation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties on copyright and on performances and phonorecords. The WIPO treaties and the DMCA will protect the property rights of Americans in their work as they move in the global, digital marketplace, and, by doing so, continue to encourage the creation of new works to inspire and delight us and to improve the quality of our lives.”