The last time Congress made a major revision to the Copyright Act, "the more advanced 8-track tape was pushing aside the less advanced reel-to-reel tapes in the audio marketplace," Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said during a speech last month at the Library of Congress.

That was 1976 — before the Internet, electronic books, and before music and software pirating became big business. These technologies have ushered in complex and unsettled legal issues that affect the public at large.