HOLLINGS CRITICIZES CEA, OTHERS FOR COPY PROTECTION SNUB

Frustrated by reluctance of high-tech industry chiefs to testify at upcoming hearing on copy protection and digital rights management standards, Sen. Hollings (D-N.C.) has told 3 trade associations he expected them to help him obtain witnesses.

In letter to CEA, Business Software Alliance and Information Technology Industry Council, Hollings said he tried to round up witnesses from technology industries for his Oct. 25 Commerce Committee hearing on need for standards covering transmission of copyrighted materials on Internet. However, he said, “despite you and your members [sic] apparent strenuous opposition to the approach I am considering, not a single senior executive witness has been proffered from any of your member companies.”

Hollings’s legislation, still in draft form, proposes that digital device manufacturers and copyright owners craft security systems standards that would then become federal regulations. If parties failed to agree, rulemaking would be initiated by Commerce Dept., Copyright Office and National Institutes of Standards & Technology. “It is my belief that government can assist in facilitating a solution in this area,” Hollings said: “But I understand that your respective association members apparently disagree.” If so, he said, groups should convince CEOs of member companies to show up for hearing to ensure “fair and open debate.”

That’s not likely, one CEA executive said. On Sept. 25, CEA asked Hollings to allow Pres. Gary Shapiro to testify at hearing, said Gary Klein, vp-govt. & legal affairs. Klein said request was rebuffed because committee wanted senior level executives, not trade association heads. Problem is that there is so much opposition to Hollings’s proposal from CEA’s various members that one CEO can’t speak for entire industry, Klein said. Most CEA members don’t want govt. involvement, but many are reluctant to jeopardize long- established negotiations with content owners over digital rights technologies, he said.

Having trade lobbyist testify next to corporate CEO violates “unwritten rule of [congressional] hearings,” one Commerce Committee staffer said. Witnesses have offered variety of reasons for not wanting to show up, staffer said. Although some reasons appear understandable, there should be someone willing to testify on high-tech industry side, staffer said. Witnesses tentatively scheduled to appear are James Meyer of Thompson Multimedia, Peter Chernin of Fox and Disney’s Michael Eisner, staffer told us.

Thomson spokesman confirmed that Meyer would attend hearing in his new role as special adviser to Thomson Chmn.- CEO Thierry Breton. “We're invited and plan to attend,” spokesman told us. “Until there’s more discussion, we're not ready to show sides, as no bill has been introduced yet.”