Ehrlich on Washington column, January 17, 2000

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of January 17, 2000 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Cyber-Congress No invention since the advent of the automobile has changed our daily lives as profoundly as the personal computer and the Internet. The ingenuity of the Department of Defense followed by the private sector has created the virtual universe, called "cyberspace," which has brought the freedom to shop, invest and learn with a simple click of a button. During Thanksgiving week alone, online users spent more than $500 million on Internet purchases. Amazingly, we have only scratched the surface of this new technology. This past year, my colleagues and I on the Commerce Committee recognized and are addressing the power and potential of this new electronic technology. We have carefully crafted laws that foster technology’s promise while shielding Americans from its potential abuses. We imposed a three-year moratorium on sales tax on Internet purchases. This put a stop to the haphazard crop of Internet taxes springing up in several states and gave Congress an opportunity to consider whether such transactions should be taxed at all. Congress also adopted important legislation that allows all satellite TV viewers across the country to legally receive local news, weather and sports. Before, a federal court injunction based on federal copyright laws prevented satellite TV owners from obtaining network programming. This bill keeps satellite broadcasts competitive with cable, thereby lowering costs through competition. Congress passed two bills: the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and the Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1 999 which will encourage even more high-tech innovation and creativity. The Copyright Damages Improvement Act triples the maximum damages for copyright infringement of intellectual property such as computer software (from $100,000 to $300,000). With the stronger protection from bootleggers, companies will create new, innovative programs for viewers. c