Music downloads could be on an upswing this year. Sales of digital tunes in 2004 in the United States will reach $270 million, more than double the takings from the previous year, according to a report released by JupiterResearch on Monday. That revenue will rise to $1.7 billion, or 12 percent of total consumer spending on music, by 2009, the …

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary said Thursday that a ban on file-trading networks is urgently required but agreed to work with tech companies concerned that devices like Apple Computer’s iPod would be imperiled. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he intended to move ahead with the highly controversial Induce Act despite objections from dozens of Internet …

In a move that’s alarming technology firms, the U.S. Copyright Office is about to endorse new legislation that would outlaw peer-to-peer networks and possibly some consumer electronics devices that could be used for copyright piracy. Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, is planning to announce her support for the measure at a Senate hearing on Thursday. The Induce Act, …