Although the RIAA quickly backed down when people (ie anyone with half a brain) found out about their proposed amendment to the USA Act that would legalize hacking for copyright holders attempting to stop piracy -- presumably by cracking warez sites.

I see this as further evidence that the RIAA (and others) won't be satisfied with digital copyright law until they get a pay-per-play arrangement. Oh yeah, don't forget that the same groups are also working to extend copyright indefinitely, which is not the original intent of copyright law.

The full text of the amendment is posted below:

"Section 815(d)(2) [of the Senate antiterrorism legislation] currently amends section 1030(g) (the provision of 1030 which creates a civil cause of action) by adding a sentence at the end providing: 'No action may be brought under this subsection for the negligent design or manufacture of computer hardware, computer software or firmware.'

We would propose adding a new sentence to the end of this as follows:

'No action may be brought under this subsection arising out of any impairment of the availability of data, a program, a system or information, resulting from measures taken by an owner of copyright in a work of authorship, or any person authorized by such owner to act on its behalf, that are intended to impede or prevent the infringement of copyright in such work by wire or electronic communication; provided that the use of the work that the owner is intending to impede or prevent is an infringing use.'

OR

'No action may be brought under this subsection arising out of any impairment of the availability of data, a program, a system or information, resulting from measures taken by an owner of copyright in a work of authorship, or any person authorized by such owner to act on its behalf, that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent the unauthorized transmission of such work by wire or electronic communication of such transmission would infringe the rights of the copyright owner.'