New Liability Law May Sail Through Congress

Tech companies and consumer groups are trying to persuade the U.S. Congress to hold public hearings before it adopts the so-called Induce Act, which would hold companies that manufacture file-trading software liable for the illegal actions of its users. The issue of secondary liability is far more complicated than many of the bill’s sponsors seem to realize, but Congress’s desire to pass some sort of serious copyright reform quickly may trump the need for further debate.