Intellectual Property Protection Act to make attemped infringement illegal

[jayfish]

Source: Ars Technica

Gonzales' proposed legislation would also go after counterfeiters, and those found guilty of running counterfeiting operations that "pose health and safety dangers" could face up to 20 years in prison or even life imprisonment if the person convicted "knowingly or recklessly causes or attempts to cause death."

The FBI's wire-tapping powers would also be expanded to cover some copyright infringement investigations. Law enforcement officers investigating criminal copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods and services would be able to get warrants to tap voice and electronic communications.

Although they have yet to publicly comment on the IPPA, the recording and movie industries will be pleased with the Department of Justice's proposed legislation. They have supported both the INDUCE Act and the Pirate Act in the past, and the IPPA goes further than either of those two bills when it comes to expanding the scope of IP enforcement efforts.

In order to pass, the IPPA will have to find a sponsor in Congress, which shouldn't be too difficult. Once that happens, it may face the same uphill fight as other overly-broad IP legislation.


Read more: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070515-intellectual-property-protection-act-to-make-attemped-infringement-illegal.html

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Horray, more wire-tapping power for ShrubCo. Oh, and counterfeiting operations that "pose health and safety dangers"? WTF is that?

[bemildred]

1. What the heck is "attempted infringement"?

How do you fail to infringe if you set out to do it? Is that like when I try to post too long of an excerpt here and the database is hosed so it doesn't get posted? Or what? Do these weasels even know what they are saying? How would they prove you meant to infringe a copyright if you failed to accomplish it? Do they have mind scanners now?

[jayfish]

2. I Think It's Like When You Make A Mix-Tape For...

your S.O. but when you attempt to play it back, to make sure it turned out ok, it gets eaten


... oh crap wrong century.

Jay

[bemildred]

3. LOL. Yeah.

I forgot to ink my printing press.

[jayfish]

4. I Prefer A Ditto Machine Myself.

Jay

[NashVegas]

5. Making Home Copiers Like Drug Dealers?

When will we say enough on forfeiture laws and reverse that travesty?

The IPPA would come down harder on those found to have violated the DMCA, subjecting them to new forfeiture and restitution provisions. "Any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or facilitate the commission of the offense" of violating the DMCA could be confiscated, according to the text of the legislation.

The junta must be truly desperate if they're sucking up to the entertainment industry this hard.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. Have you read it yet? It's a piece of crap

You can tell that it was composed by a graduate of world-renowned Liberty University and School of Charm. Misspellings, references to non-existent sections of text, awkward warding even by legalese standards -- it's dreadful.

And, as many people have pointed out, the drive to a) make intellectual property law infractions into criminal matters, and b) to criminalize all such "attempts" (however they may be defined) is Orwellian. Merely owning a computer is sufficient to be in violation of this law.

The law is so badly written that it also theoretically allows criminal prosecution of journalists if they come into possession of incriminating documents.

In addition, the law is written to make intellectual property "crimes" analogous to drug crimes!

The law is ostensibly written to crack down on bogus drugs, but the word "phonorecord" is used prominently and often to the exclusion of the phrase "drug or medicine". So it's mainly just a gimme for the RIAA, the MPAA, Microsoft, and the Church of Scientology. I would guess it will also be used to build a "case" to gripe at China, which is now our main competitor for middle eastern oil.

This week, Microsoft also announced that Open Source software violated 235 of their patents. The FCC is also intent on passing new regulations that would effectively destroy Internet radio programming. This all seems to be part of a single, coordinated push to enhance the monopoly powers of large IP holders.

This isn't just an issue of concern to Linux users, music downloaders, and cyber-libertarians. It's part of a serious push to control not just intellectual property, but everyone's intellectual lives.

--p!

[Danger Mouse]

7. Sickening and scary...

:scared:

[jayfish]

8. I Haven't Read It...

because I didn't want to waste my beautiful mind on something like that. The "war on drugs" correlation was on of the first things that popped into my mind also. Don't forget the dismal state our patent system is in either. I swear to a deity the some company will try to patent the wheel. They might even get it.

Jay


Edit for superflous comma usage.

[Dogmudgeon]

9. How 'bout the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich?

Smucker's got a utility patent for it a few years ago.

--p!

[SpiralHawk]

12. "All your data are belong to us." - BushCo Cabal of corrupt republicon Cronies

"So sit down, shut up, and pay pay pay the corporate borg for every bit and byte, you nasty noisy proles."

- BushCo Cabal of Corrupt republicon Cronies

[Odin2005]

13. These fuckers are asking for us Gen-Yers to come and hang them.

:grr:

[provis99]

10. can you patent the Bronx Cheer? or "the Finger"?

the next time Cheney tells someone to fuck off, I want to sue him for patent imfringement.

[provis99]

11. can you patent the Bronx Cheer? or "the Finger"?

the next time Cheney tells someone to fuck off, I want to sue him for patent infringement.

[HuffleClaw]

14. "The FBI's wire-tapping powers would also be expanded to cover some..."

translation: a carte blanche


what insanity

[twilliams82]

15. WTF!!!!

So are they saying we can take your house if your downloading music there???

Imagine if this becomes law, and they take you house cause your kid downloaded a song???

Im sure they would use the old..if you had been watching you kids crap.

I just dont see how our country would let this pass.

TW