IPac today announced that it has shipped the first 12 iPods to Senatorial campaign committees as part of the group’s “Your Senator Needs an iPod” campaign, which was created to help enlighten Senators who work on legislation affecting technology on the importance of balancing copyright and the public interest. Senators receiving iPods include Gordon Smith (R-OR), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), John Sununu (R-NH), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Conrad Burns (R-MT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), John Ensign (R-NV), John Kerry (D-MA), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), George Allen (R-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Trent Lott (R-MS).
The iPods sent were pre-loaded with a bounty of public domain and Creative Commons-licensed content, all of which IPac has made available for free download.
Each iPod has music from artists such as Chuck D and The Beastie Boys, hundreds of photos from flickr.com, and classic literature such as the complete works of Shakespeare. Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig also recorded a special video presentation specifically for IPac’s campaign that was included on the Senator’s iPods and is now available for download.
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