[IP] File Traders Could Do Hard Time
just in case DoJ has spare people to help one industry avoid
modernization. djf
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 29, 2004 6:43:17 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] File Traders Could Do Hard Time
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Note: This item comes from reader Mike Cheponis. DLH]
File Traders Could Do Hard Time
Reuters
Story location:
<http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,65122,00.html>
04:23 PM Sep. 28, 2004 PT
WASHINGTON -- Users of internet peer-to-peer networks, already dodging
lawsuits from the recording industry, could face up to three years in
prison under a bill passed Tuesday by the U.S. House of
Representatives.
The House voted to enlist the government to a greater degree in the
entertainment industry's fight against those who trade copies of its
products over the internet.
Federal agents would be directed to educate the public about copyright
rules and go after those who allow others to copy their music
collections through peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa and Morpheus.
Those who secretly videotape movies when they are shown in theaters
would also face prison sentences of up to three years under the bill,
which passed by voice vote.
"The internet has revolutionized how Americans locate information,
shop and communicate," said Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, a
sponsor of the bill. "We must not let new internet technologies become
a haven for criminals."
The Senate approved a similar bill in June, but differences must be
reconciled before President Bush signs it into law.
The Motion Picture Association of America applauded the bill's
passage, while consumer groups, conservative groups and libraries said
it would radically broaden copyright law and drag the government into a
battle that should be handled by the entertainment industry.
Movie studios and recording companies have pressed Congress to help
them in their fight against file-trading networks and their millions of
users.
The recording industry says file trading is partly to blame for a
slump in CD sales, and movie studios have reacted with alarm as
blockbuster films appear online before they're even released in
theaters.
The recording industry has sued more than 3,000 individuals over the
past year for copyright violations, but the Justice Department so far
has brought only a handful of cases against the heaviest traffickers.
The bill would train agents to investigate intellectual-property
crimes and allow them to send warnings to users they suspect of copying
songs illegally. Those found to be sharing more than 1,000 copyright
files would face jail time.
One provision of the bill is likely to anger Hollywood, as it shields
companies that edit out sex and violence from movies to make them more
"family friendly." Movie directors have sought to shut down such
companies in court.
Copyright bills are likely to loom large in the waning weeks of
Congress. The Senate this week is expected to consider a measure that
would make it easier to sue peer-to-peer networks. The bill has drawn
spirited opposition from the technology industry.
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