Topic: Life imprisonment for using pirated software

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

The Bush administration is throwing its support behind a proposal called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, which is likely to receive the enthusiastic support of the movie and music industries, and would represent the most dramatic rewrite of copyright law since a 2005 measure dealing with prerelease piracy.

Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright.

Create a new crime of life imprisonment for using pirated software.

Add penalties for "intended" copyright crimes.

Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America.

[Sarek]

There must be some kind of problem with the server, the site's masthead reads CNET but clearly it should say The Onion.  Either that or Gonzalez has lost his mind.   

[Electric Eye]

He probably has lost his mind, I think I would be under stress mentally if most of America was screaming for me to resign as Attorney General of the U.S. too! 

I guess we will have to lock up half the soldiers in Iraq, they buy pirated DVDs from the Iraqis.

http://www.stripesonline.com/article.asp?section=104&article=20534&archive=true

Nice to see that we turn a blind eye to Iraq while coming down hard on the rest of the world. 

[Lieutenant_Q]

You know, why don't you read the whole article?  I was going to say something earlier but figured that everyone was mature enough to do so.

Life Imprisonment is only applied if the use of the Pirated software causes a fatality.  The exact quote is, 'Anyone using counterfeit products who "recklessly causes or attempts to cause death" can be imprisoned for life.'

It's really not changing anything that is already being done, it's just making into an iron clad law that can't be J'inned to death in court.

[Sarek]

But trying to kill someone with legit software is ok?  What does piracy have to do with murder? 

[Fedman NCC-3758]

Just shows what this society values more.  Innocent life or money.

[Lieutenant_Q]

No of course not.  The whole article is much ado about nothing.  They are merely making WHAT IS ALREADY DONE, more concrete and set into law so that a Lawyer doesn't come along and pick it apart.  Let's face it, when you've got as much problems as the Federal Circuit Court system has now, you have to do something to make sure that the laws are actually enforced. 

[Electric Eye]

Life Imprisonment is only applied if the use of the Pirated software causes a fatality.  The exact quote is, 'Anyone using counterfeit products who "recklessly causes or attempts to cause death" can be imprisoned for life.'

Everyone watch out for that killer counterfeit software! 

[Nemesis]

* Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright. Federal law currently punishes not-for-profit copyright infringement with between 1 and 10 years in prison, but there has to be actual infringement that takes place. The IPPA would eliminate that requirement. (The Justice Department's summary of the legislation says: "It is a general tenet of the criminal law that those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so.")

1 - 10 years in jail for attempting to infringe copyright?  How much for assault?  Rape? 

* Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America. That would happen when CDs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds, or sounds and images, of a live musical performance" are attempted to be imported. Neither the Motion Picture Association of America nor the Business Software Alliance (nor any other copyright holder, such as photographers, playwrights or news organizations, for that matter) would qualify for this kind of special treatment.

Is this really what the Department of Homeland security is for?  Should they be involved in merely criminal cases or should they be turning them over to those legitimately in charge of smuggling and copyright violations?  Why also just the RIAA and not the actual copyright holders?  Copyright holders who may not belong to the RIAA?  Why just music?  Why not movies, software or books?   Why is music singled out?

How about going back to what was originally intended?  For a LIMITED TIME.  More than the statistical human lifetime is effectively unlimited.  Allowing minor changes to give you a new copyright (you could edit the bible and get a new copyright date!).

[Electric Eye]

How much for manslaughter? That black female singer in Cali that killed someone with her reckless driving faces 1 year, that's right folks, 1 year and a 1,000 dollar fine for driving like the idiot she is!  Of course she'll probably do the "Paris Hilton" special and be put in a "special needs" facility.

You brought up a good topic Nem regarding the Dept. of lack of Homeland Security. I had to go with wifey to San Antonio Wednesday to the regional office for the interview where they check to make sure that you are not married for money or doing anyone favors. This frigging Fed agent asked me why I only had her on the rental contract and just recently the bank account since I was married for 2 years. I just smiled and told him that Federal regs state that a foreigner must go through INS first and have a work permit before they will be issued a Social Security number, and most things in our country run off a Social Security number.

He then told me that I was missing a document, the marriage certificate. You'll love this one. I freaked out when I got home and looked all over Hades for it. Then I got on the internet and called the El Paso County clerk's office. Uh duh, the marriage license IS the marriage certificate in Texas as it has two parts on the same page, the top is the license, the middle is where the judge signs off on it with witnesses after performing the marriage. The dudround wasted my time and had it right in front of his face and did not even know his job??? WTF? I wish I had a scanner, you would love the way I "intelligently belittled" the sorry dudround.

Last but not least he tried to softly threaten my VA benefits by telling me "You know if you are married for money or convenience it is a Federal crime and you will go to prison and lose your Federal benefits." Sorry Charlie, latest regs on VA service-connected compensation (Not pensions or non-service connected compensation) state that if I go to prison, I get half my money each month, the wifey gets the other half.

Off topic I know brother, but the Feds just blow my mind. We do things legally and they harrass us and fluck things up, yet those that are breaking the law get away scot free.

At least I did not ask him "Don't you have better things to do like go catch illegals instead of harrassing your veterans?"

 

I totally agree, it is the Dept. of Lack of Homeland Security.