I f I were Senator Hatch’s press secretary and I was trying to back him out of the remark reported in this Washington Post article where he allegedly said that maybe the only way to teach some people about copyrights would be to allow the copyright holder to destroy their computers, I would suggest to him that he say that he was not referring to destroying the computers of home users who might have in effect shoplifted a few CDs or movies, but was instead referring to those professional counterfeiters who use their computers as illegal printing presses to distribute counterfeit works on a large scale.  In that sense what the senator is suggesting is not so different from the remedies for destruction of means of infringement as provided already in Section 503(b) of the Copyright Act and Section 36 of the Trademark Act. Except for the due process thing.  Or maybe he should just deny ever saying it.

UPDATE: What Senator Hatch’s press secretary told him to say in real life here.