Congress allows DVD players to have filters

WASHINGTON — Congress on Tuesday legalized DVD players that "sanitize" movies by skipping over violence, profanity and nudity, siding with parents over big-name directors in a fight over creative integrity.

Softening the blow for Hollywood, the bill also strengthens anti-piracy laws, establishing prison terms for selling pirated movies, music, software and computer games, up to five years for first-time offenders and up to 10 years for a second conviction.

The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act also makes it a federal offense to create bootleg films by using recorders in theaters, punishable by up to three years in prison, and gives theaters the right to detain suspects for questioning until police arrive.

"Pirates have taken over the ship of distribution and now provide users with sound recordings before they are released (and) copies of movies for $1 on the street," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif.

The legislation, approved by voice vote in the House, heads to the White House for President Bush's signature, which has been assured, said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio and main sponsor of the bill.

Smith has championed the "sanitizing" technology in use by ClearPlay, a Utah company that creates movie-specific filters that can be plugged into a specially equipped DVD player. The filters let viewers edit three types of violence, five levels of sex and six types of profanity, said Bill Aho, ClearPlay's chief executive.

Because the DVD skips scenes without permanently altering the movie, Smith likened the filters to covering a child's eyes with a parent's hand.

But several Hollywood stu- dios and directors disagreed, filing a lawsuit against ClearPlay in 2002 that claimed the filters alter the director's vision and the film's meaning in violation of trademark and copyright rules.

When more than two years of negotiations failed to provide a settlement, Smith said it was time for Congress to intervene.

"A lot of parents, me included when my children were smaller, felt that a lot of what is in the movies these days assaults their values, assaults their desire to protect their young children from the graphic sex and wanton violence and serial profanity," Smith said.

The act exempts companies from claims of copyright infringement for using tech- nology that edits without permanently altering the original movie.

Berman supported the act despite misgivings about the ClearPlay provision, which he called an inappropriate intervention that shields one company from legal challenges.