We know that the emergence of the computer networks forming the backbone of the national information infrastructure in this country and the global information infrastructure worldwide, hold enormous promise for our nation’s continued economic health and growth … We have to legislate in ways to promote the continued growth of the Internet while providing a fair allocation of responsibility.
Predictor: Leahy, Patrick
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 report from a joint hearing of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Courts and Intellectual Property subcommittees, testimony from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) includes the following statement: ”We know that the emergence of the computer networks forming the backbone of the national information infrastructure in this country and the global information infrastructure worldwide, hold enormous promise for our nation’s continued economic health and growth. The next generation especially, young people will just be used to tapping into this. Now like anything else, there’d be a lot of stuff out there we don’t need, and it will fall by the wayside as we go along. But more and more we will refine and define what we need on the computer networks … We do need to update our copyright laws to protect the intellectual property rights of created works available online … In the future growth of computer networks and digital electronic communications that requires an update on our copyright laws. Otherwise you’re not going to find people willing to put significant intellectual property online. If that happens, then you may be limited to just looking at congressional home pages, and that would be a sad and limited world altogether. I’m speaking only for myself, of course. The report of the working group on intellectual property rights put it this way, ‘all the computers, telephones, fax machines, scanners, cameras, keyboards, television monitors, printers, switchers, routers, wires, cables, networks and satellites in the world would not create a successful NII if there’s no content.’ The drive is the content. And we have to legislate in ways to promote the continued growth of the Internet while providing a fair allocation of responsibility.”
Biography:Patrick Leahy was a U.S. Senate member who played an important role in Congressional discussions of the Internet in the 1990s. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: November 15, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Copyright/Intellectual Property/Plagiarism
Name of publication: Federal News Service
Title, headline, chapter name: Joint Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property; SUBJECT: Copyright Bills
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=b8671b5d18dd0524f4030a0976eddb6d&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVzz-lSlzV&_md5=58330f05a63ed1dfd3dfb89620f1e768
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Little, Brandi W.