"Fair Use" Missing From Tech Agreement on Copyright Issues

Key players in the computer, software and recording industries this week announced that they now see eye-to-eye on how to stem the rising tide of electronic piracy, but their accord raises questions about where the groups stand on consumers' rights to make personal copies of their music, software and movies. The Business Software Alliance (BSA), Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), issued seven "policy principles", the chief one of which said that Congress should not mandate copy-protection features in consumer products and should not interfere in any industry-wide agreements to use technology to thwart illegal copying.