Pro-IP Act is signed into Law

[Jman1236]

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/10/13/bush.signs.pro.ip.act/

As of now, if you download a .mp3 or any copyrighted materal, your computer and in fact all computers and storage devices in the property can be conficated and you would be fined for each copyright infingement. On top of that, if you can't pay it, they take your property, assets, anything you own and their value would be used to pay the fine. Can't pay it with your posesion's value? You just became Bubba's *****.

 

[searanox]

Sounds like punishing thieves for thievery to me. What's the issue?

 

[AceDiamond]

Sounds like punishing thieves for thievery to me. What's the issue?

There's punishment and then there's just being a dick, this is the latter. This is basically saying "now you HAVE to accept our invasive DRM or lose everything!" not specifically in those words but...that could be one of the issues.

plus it's rich people taking everyhing from the not-so-rich. I will feel wonderful in knowing that because of cracking down on piracy, Lars Ulrich could finally buy his 10th Platinum-coated HumVee.

 

[Jman1236]

The issue is that not only does the goverment, yet again, get to put it's nose where it doesn't belong and have local police inforce copyright laws, but even end users who didn't plan on selling the downloaded music or files, would get treated like a crimal. The day they send a five year old to jail for downloading a nes rom, that is when there will be riots in the streets.

 

[Emmitt_Nervend]

After this, it's going to be illegal to use codecs that don't support DRM. Soon after that, copying a CD you legally purchased to your computer will be banned. Quickly to follow, it will be punishable by law to sing a song you heard on the radio.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

The issue is that not only does the goverment, yet again, get to put it's nose where it doesn't belong and have local police inforce copyright laws, but even end users who didn't plan on selling the downloaded music or files, would get treated like a crimal. The day they send a five year old to jail for downloading a nes rom, that is when there will be riots in the streets.

this is what you get when you have lobby groups that can write and submit laws, when corporations write laws bad things happen

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Well I now feel safer knowing my government will make sure I don't do anything stupid. It feels good not having to think for myself and have a giant bureaucratic nanny watching me.

 

[xitel]

There's also the fact that this means that what should be a civil case is now a criminal violation with obscene fines.

 

[werepossum]

Sounds like punishing thieves for thievery to me. What's the issue?

There's punishment and then there's just being a dick, this is the latter. This is basically saying "now you HAVE to accept our invasive DRM or lose everything!" not specifically in those words but...that could be one of the issues.

plus it's rich people taking everyhing from the not-so-rich. I will feel wonderful in knowing that because of cracking down on piracy, Lars Ulrich could finally buy his 10th Platinum-coated HumVee.

Actually it's rich people taking from not-so-rich thieves. Bit of a difference there. If you have more much money than I, do I then have the right to take your stuff, as long as you still have lots of other stuff? This is saying you have to accept our invasive DRM OR not enjoy our work product. You still have choices - deal with the DRM, steal the work product and hope you don't get caught, or do without it. I wanted Bioshock; I did not get Bioshock because of the invasive DRM. That does NOT give me the right to steal it.

To those defending stealing as long as you have no intention of selling the stolen property, would it be okay if I steal your car and take it for a joy ride as long as I bring it back? What about if I steal your MP3 player and later bring it back? Can I come into your home and use it while you are out? You still have your car, your MP3 player, your home, so that should be okay, right?

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

The issue is that not only does the goverment, yet again, get to put it's nose where it doesn't belong and have local police inforce copyright laws, but even end users who didn't plan on selling the downloaded music or files, would get treated like a crimal. The day they send a five year old to jail for downloading a nes rom, that is when there will be riots in the streets.

this is what you get when you have lobby groups that can write and submit laws, when corporations write laws bad things happen

which is why now is the time when we the people rise up and end the corporations' strangleholds on our country

 

[werepossum]

The issue is that not only does the goverment, yet again, get to put it's nose where it doesn't belong and have local police inforce copyright laws, but even end users who didn't plan on selling the downloaded music or files, would get treated like a crimal. The day they send a five year old to jail for downloading a nes rom, that is when there will be riots in the streets.

this is what you get when you have lobby groups that can write and submit laws, when corporations write laws bad things happen

which is why now is the time when we the people rise up and end the corporations' strangleholds on our country

Luckily, music, games, and movies will miraculously continue appearing even though the corporations producing them no longer get paid. It's the "magic cupboard" theory supported by almost everyone whose IQ qualifies them for government support, so it must be true..

 

[Alex_P]

Sounds like punishing thieves for thievery to me. What's the issue?

Umm, because this is a gross corporate gimme and nothing else?

The existing system was sufficient for protecting copyright holders' legal rights. Under existing copyright legislation, companies under the banner of the RIAA and MPAA were already able to sue infringers for both high statutory damages and (very high) legal costs -- this lead to most defendants settling to avoid the huge penalties that could be imposed. The biggest problem with the current system is that the MPAA and RIAA absolutely suck at using technology to effectively discover infringers, and they suck at public relations even harder.

The PRO-IP Act would create a part of the executive branch that has to do all the same shit -- including lobbying other countries to tighten up their copyright law as far as possible -- at the taxpayers' expense.

Groups with a lot of money already try to wield IP lawsuits like a club [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_Election_Solutions#Leaked_memos]. Giving them a special government force devoted to sucking their dick isn't going to help that along.

Instead of creating a new copyright and trademark enforcement arm, why isn't the government funneling more money into the patent office to make sure that we're not falsely giving people patents for unpatentable stuff, or into courts that handle IP cases to make sure that they are ruling on cases in a just and timely manner? Both of these moves would do much more to help everyone -- both IP owners and the public.

-- Alex

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

.

The issue is that not only does the goverment, yet again, get to put it's nose where it doesn't belong and have local police inforce copyright laws, but even end users who didn't plan on selling the downloaded music or files, would get treated like a crimal. The day they send a five year old to jail for downloading a nes rom, that is when there will be riots in the streets.

this is what you get when you have lobby groups that can write and submit laws, when corporations write laws bad things happen

which is why now is the time when we the people rise up and end the corporations' strangleholds on our country

Luckily, music, games, and movies will miraculously continue appearing even though the corporations producing them no longer get paid. It's the "magic cupboard" theory supported by almost everyone whose IQ qualifies them for government support, so it must be true..

You kind of missed my point... first of all it was a joke, and second of all I said was release the corporations' strangleholds on our country, not destory or dismantle.

 

[Jindrak]

Man, my library is going to be mad.

 

[JMeganSnow]

What's the text of the actual law? It's fine to read what various media pundits say about it, but what does it actually do? I don't see any indication thus far of the criminalization of piracy--the linked article still describes it as a civil matter.

The real threat here is in the government granting itself more power to intrude into citizen's lives, not the corporations, who are simply trying to protect their property. Like western cattle ranchers during the times when the government was not protecting their cattle, they seem to be resorting to lynch law. If so much money is at stake, why is it so difficult for them to hire a couple of kids to run searches and compile lists of people to prosecute?

Idiocy.

 

[jim_doki]

Oh Noes! Now you'll have to pay for this crap instead of stealing!

 

[Alex_P]

What's the text of the actual law?

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h4279/text

-- Alex

 

[Alex_P]

Well, sucks for the US but has no bearing on my Canadian ass.

Part of the bill asks for special copyright ambassadors to lobby other countries to follow suit. Given how Canada already came pretty close to getting a ridiculous **AA-authored copyright law, I think you should be at least a little bit wary.

-- Alex

 

[TheBluesader]

I'm not sure who's really going to get hit by any of this. I know a couple of people with easily over $10,000 in illegal media and modified hardware, and they're not even careful about who they brag to about it, and they've never had any problems. One of them even managed to set up an illegal Japanese PS3 online account, and it worked for a week until it suddenly started asking him to confirm his prefecture and he wasn't bright enough to look at a map and pick one.

As for me, I stopped downloading illegal music when Metallica killed the first version of Napster. All I do now is extract mp3s from game .dat files. Is that even illegal?