November 10, 2005 12:29 PM PST
Justice Dept. pushes stiffer antipiracy laws
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, speaking at an antipiracy summit here hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the Department of Justice recently submitted to Congress a "legislative package" aimed at toughening up intellectual-property enforcement amid evolving technology.
Alberto Gonzales
U.S. attorney general
According to the proposal (click for PDF) being circulated by the department, the measure would create a new crime called "attempting to infringe a copyright" and subject it to the same penalties as more serious infringement offenses.
The proposal would also permit authorities to seize and destroy pirated and counterfeit goods--with a special nod to music, movies and digitally obtained materials. Also on that list are any goods used to produce pirated or counterfeit material, as well as property obtained with proceeds from the sale of pirated or counterfeit material.
In addition to possibly serving prison time, those convicted of infringements would, under the new law, have to pay the copyright holder "and any other victim of the offense" a sum to compensate for out-of-pocket losses resulting from the crime.
The Justice Department is also seeking in its proposal greater latitude for prosecutors. Right now it's only possible to enforce against copyrights that are registered with the government. The new proposal would make that true only in civil cases, allowing prosecutors to go after pirates regardless of whether the copyright is registered.
"The burden of checking whether each work was registered would substantially slow down investigations and hinder the government's ability to prosecute these violations, especially infringement of works owned by small businesses that have not had the time or resources to register," the department wrote in a document explaining its proposal.
Overall, the changes are necessary because new technology is "encouraging large-scale criminal enterprises to get involved in intellectual-property theft," Gonzales said, adding that proceeds from the illicit businesses are used, "quite frankly, to fund terrorism activities."
The Business Software Alliance--whose president lamented at Thursday's event the $33 billion annual toll from piracy on the software industry--applauded the move, saying the group looked forward to reviewing the proposed legislation. The Recording Industry Association of America also issued a statement of support.
That sentiment was not shared by the digital rights group Public Knowledge, which said in a statement that it wished the department "had devoted some analysis as well to protecting the fair use rights of consumers."
"We are concerned that the Justice Department's proposal attempts to enforce copyright law in ways it has never before been enforced," the group wrote.
It was unclear Thursday how Congress would handle the proposal. A representative of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary said staffers had received and were reviewing the proposal.
Intellectual-property enforcement has been a recurring feature on the government's agenda this term, from increasing prison sentences for Net pirates to legislative fall-out in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark file-sharing decision this summer to ongoing debate over the broadcast flag, a controversial device designed to prevent copying of digital content.
The Justice Department's hunger for increased antipiracy powers is hardly new. Last fall, it issued a report recommending other sweeping changes strongly favored by the entertainment industry.
CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report.
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Alberto Gonzales
stripping the rights of consumers in the name of "terrorism," after
all, it's the same lame excuse they've been using to strip
American's of all of their other rights. Not to mention, Washington
has it's johnson so far up Hollywood's crapper that they'll do
anything to please the entertainment mafia. You know, that's not
really fair to the mafia, to paint them the same shade as Hollywood.
These kinds of law don't stop people from doing what they think is right. It just reassures their understanding that some laws are abitrary and there is no reason to respect them.
months jail time for the guy who uploaded movie using Bittorrent.
I wonder how long will US take to follow Hong Kong's lead.
i'd sure like some tangible proof of this. oh, i guess the folks who are able to prove this are still too busy chasing wmd's in iraq, though, aren't they?
i personally discourage ip theft, but what a crock!
mark d.
The point of the story.... The internet does not belong to any country or person... Its wide open... If you don't like the pirates then get out of the software business because they are here to stay as long as you continue to charge way too much money for softwar.
Quoting our buffoon of a president?
Robert
Now they're trying to cash in on the terrorist phobia to justify their actions. I don't condone piracy, but to use this lame excuse is beyond belief.
For example, the "separation of church and state" was an idea that was intended to PREVENT people from suing the government concerning religious matters - such as the posting of the Ten Commandments. To PREVENT people from being able to sue the school board simply because the teacher used the Bible in the classroom. To ENSURE that prayer in the classroom would always be allowed.
Another example is the growing authority that the federal goverment has in everyday life. Their goal was to place all authority at the city and state level. They would be horrified to see how that system has been perverted.
Yes, they're most certainly rolling in their graves.
- Downloading is not criminal
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by hyl715
November 18, 2005 4:03 AM PST
- I totally agree. There are so MANY other "crimes" out there that deserve our attention. This downloading stuff is ridiculous. Quite frankly, I would say that all this attention to the downloading thing has caused record sales to slump much further than they would've if such a "stink" had not been caused over it. People are SICK of hearing all this. Concentrate on the terrorists and oil prices, etc etc.........
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