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Jail Time for Movie Swappers 953

ArmenTanzarian writes "The MPAA is at it again, reports CNET in a story from yesterday. Apparently, suing the pants off of teenagers RIAA-style isn't good enough, they want to go ahead and throw you in jail. To that end, their senators will introduce the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act today; which carries with it a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Here's the best part: you don't have to infringe on copyright to be found guilty!"
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Jail Time for Movie Swappers

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:25PM (#7466642)
    It'll be a juvenile detention center for those under 18.
  • at least (Score:5, Funny)

    by xbrownx ( 459399 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:27PM (#7466653)
    It's nice to see Democrats and Republicans working together
  • Never Fear (Score:5, Funny)

    by platipusrc ( 595850 ) <erchambers@gmail.com> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:27PM (#7466658) Homepage
    Looking at the acronym for the bill, it's the ART Prevention Act. If it passes, we won't have to worry about having any quality movies to share!
    • by cK-Gunslinger ( 443452 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:51PM (#7466967) Journal
      I don't get this part:

      "Piracy for too long has been high-reward and low-risk," Taylor said. "Legislation such as that being introduced tomorrow will go a long way toward changing that equation."

      What exactly is this "high-reward" we get for sharing movies? Am I missing out on all the fame and fortune by not having broadband and sharing screeners? Or do they actually believe that being able to watch a screener 1 week before the movie is in theaters counts as some sort of "reward?" Are they that arrogant to think that there is such great value is being able to watch their latest multi-million dollar dreg on a 17" monitor a few days early?

      Such is the glamourous life these pirates live! I bet they cruise the strip in their caddies, picking up babes left and right by waving their Matrix Revolutions screener out the window and flashing their platinum teeth. Bling, bling!
      • Re:Never Fear (Score:3, Insightful)

        by enjo13 ( 444114 )
        The behavior of those swapping the movies would suggest that there is great value in it.

        In college (I finished in 2001) I knew many many kids who would spend hours of every day trying to find new releases. It was an obsession. To be the first one to get ahold of the next big movie was the goal. All for the satisfaction of being able to say 'I already saw that.. it sucked' days before the movie opened. They craved being 'in the know' above everyone else.

        That made these movies incredibly valuable to this gr
      • Re:Never Fear (Score:3, Insightful)

        Are they that arrogant to think that there is such great value is being able to watch their latest multi-million dollar dreg on a 17" monitor a few days early?

        Yes. They really are. I live in Hollywood, and you can't even cross the street around here without slipping in a giant puddle of 'tude dripped by the latest wannabe producer. Conversations with people in the entertainment industry about filesharing are disappointing; a lot of them really do seem to think that pure gold issues forth from their movi

    • Yeah, and I actually hope the people that released the damn thumbnail-sized, crap quality vcd set of Old School get some jail time. Thanks for wasting my leech time, bastards.
  • by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:28PM (#7466666) Homepage Journal

    /me mutters something about "the best legal system money can buy.."
  • by The_Rippa ( 181699 ) * on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:29PM (#7466678)
    At home right now in my laptop I have a DVD in the tray. That drive is shared automatically as D$.

    Come arrest me!

    Idiots.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:29PM (#7466679)

    Here's the best part: you don't have to infringe on copyright to be found guilty!

    From the first paragraph of the CNet article:

    A forthcoming copyright bill backed by key U.S. senators would place file swappers in prison for up to three years if they have a copy of even one prerelease movie in their shared folders.

    How is this not violating copyright again? Last I heard, copying movies fell into that category.

    • by Anonymous Coward
      Copyright law usually has specific situations under which actions become illegal. For example, showing a movie at home to your friends: legal. Same situation but charge each friend $1: illegal.

      Being in possession of a pre-release movie: legal. Distributing a movie without consent of copyright holder: illegal.

      Having a movie on your hard-drive, even shared, can be legal, falling under some fair use provision. Under certain circumstances, it is the copying that is illegal.

      This has been, at times, a poin
    • by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:52PM (#7466970)
      I get pre-release DVDs from time to time as my company works with some companies in the movie industry. Most of them are pre-screeners that allow people to watch the movie before they are released on DVD. They usually do not have features commonly found in DVDs like chapters, alt. soundtracks, etc. If I one of these DVD's is in my DVDROM drive at work and I share the DVDROM in my corporate network, then I'm guilty even if no one actually saw the movie including me. That's why this bill is so bad; it is too vague.

      If some senators made possession of a Saturday night special illegal citing how many gun crimes are committed using these guns , they ignore many law biding citizens who use these guns for purposes other than crime: Personal protection, private security forces, etc.


    • Having a copy of a video on your hard drive is (arguably) fair use. If your next door [nasa.gov] neighbor [toonopedia.com] makes a copy of it, then that was and will still be copyright infringement. Under the new law, however, merely having the file up on an open FTP server or Samba share will count as copyright infringement EVEN IF IT CANNOT BE PROVED THAT YOUR NEIGHBOR MADE A COPY-- or for that matter, even if he DIDN'T make a copy. Because it's possible, you're guilty of copyright infringement

      Huzzah for the senator from the MPAA
    • Well, two points you bring up

      Obviously, this is covered by existing laws. C'mon.

      More importantly, though, is the pre-released clause:
      The threat of a three-year prison term kicks in when anyone makes an illicit copy of a movie "available on a computer network accessible to members of the public," when the film "was intended for commercial distribution but had not been so distributed at the time." Once the film is commercially distributed, the felony penalties appear to no longer apply.

      Um, WHERE do pre-r
    • How is this not violating copyright again? Last I heard, copying movies fell into that category.

      It's the same as the difference between selling somone a kilo of cocaine and planning to buy a kilo of cocaine that you are willing to sell.

      Next we're going to see people charged with "intent to violate copyright".

      LK
  • Click here [virgulinux.com.br] and have a look at my 550+ divx colection...

    Please... don't you download any, that's just for saying "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT" to those fuckers!

  • by i_want_you_to_throw_ ( 559379 ) * on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7466688) Journal
    Anytime you see legislation like this. Feinstein has taken payoffs to the tune of $264,566 [opensecrets.org] from the Tv/Movies/Music lobby. No one should be suprised by her involvement.
  • by MS_leases_my_soul ( 562160 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7466690)
    So, if you post a movie before it hits the theaters, you go to jail. If you release it the same day it hits the theaters, you just get fined? This whole bill is just stupid.
  • by Accord MT ( 542922 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7466693)

    So what are we going to do about this? Now is the time to contact your representative, NOT the day before the bill is passed! Send a typed SNAIL MAIL letter to your representative's office calmly detailing your take on the issue, making a clear and concise argument, avoiding unnecessary detail and personal attacks.

    Here is a sample letter which I base my other letters on, for reference:

    Dear Senator Xxxxx:

    I am writing to you regarding senate bill [XXX] currently under consideration. This bill is not in the best interests of your constituents for the reasons I am about to point out. I ask that you vote NO on this bill.

    There are many reasons senate bill [XXX] should not be passed, but here is just one: You are an ugly, fat jackass. The smelly, balding, pale carcass you haul around under your neck makes people cringe in disgust every time you walk near them. The vomitous body odor blasting from your underarms is matched in wretchedness only by your sewer-like breath. One can only imagine the amount of sweat, food crumbs and small animals you have hidden in the rolls of fat you attempt, with little success, to cram into your shirt and pants every morning. You are the sap of your family tree. Your mother's green, crooked teeth make your father's genital warts look pleasant. If I ever meet you I will kick your ass. I feel that by simply writing this letter to you I have irreversibly corrupted my precious bodily fluids. The world can only hope you one day mistake a shotgun for your boyfriend's penis and the trigger for his balls. I believe that this is the biggest problem that makes senate bill [XXX] bad for the citizens of this good state.

    I know you are a busy man, with many pressing issues that require your attention, but I hope you take the time to consider the points I have outlined above.

    Thank you.
    • by Zed2K ( 313037 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:33PM (#7466738)
      On a serious note though, I already tried that once. The reply I got was basically they are right, I'm wrong, but please vote for me anyways.
  • Hmm (Score:5, Funny)

    by Space cowboy ( 13680 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7466694) Journal
    Given how poor the **AA have been at identifying files, yet now they want to make it a jailable offence for simply having the files in a public FTP site (what if it's password-protected, so only you can get it ?) I wonder if we should start doing


    dd if = /dev/random of=/path/to/ftp/TrueLies.mpg bs=4500M


    At least their bandwidth costs will go up :-)

    No, I don't condone theft, but I think the draconian laws are worse than the offence they try to prevent....

    Simon
  • Copyright law (Score:5, Insightful)

    by cyber_rigger ( 527103 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:31PM (#7466699) Homepage Journal
    Copyright law is a civil law not criminal law. As least it's supposed to be.
    • Re:Copyright law (Score:5, Informative)

      by stubear ( 130454 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:39PM (#7466816)
      Actually it's both. There are limits that must be met before criminal prosecution can set in but you can be fined and/or imprisoned for infringing copyrights, typically through distribution for financial gain.
  • Priorities? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kefoo ( 254567 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:32PM (#7466718)
    It reassures me to know our "leadership" is spending its time on important things like catering to the complaints of insanely rich corporations instead of trying to fix trivial problems like the state of public education or massive government waste.
  • by athakur999 ( 44340 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:32PM (#7466720) Journal
    Before anyone gets too worked up, read the article.

    The threat of a three-year prison term kicks in when anyone makes an illicit copy of a movie "available on a computer network accessible to members of the public," when the film "was intended for commercial distribution but had not been so distributed at the time." Once the film is commercially distributed, the felony penalties appear to no longer apply.


    This is only for movies that haven't yet been released. Your copy of Matrix won't land in the slammer, but your prerelease screener for RotK will.

    • by Gldm ( 600518 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:42PM (#7466862)
      Ok, how about OLD movies? Say, something you have a copy of that has since gone out of circulation on DVD and has no chance in hell of being re-released in theaters or shown on TV? This happens with books and music quite often, not everything is in circulation.

      So do my files become jailbait again when the studio decides it's no longer profitable to press more copies and blockbuster ditches it to clear shelf space?
  • Felony? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gclef ( 96311 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:32PM (#7466727)
    In general, I'm okay with making it illegal to share pre-release videos/music...after all, that goes after personal acts, not technology, which is an appropriate use for law.

    My only concern is whether the punishment fits the crime. Is sharing one movie really grounds to lose your right to vote for the rest of your life?
    • by FreeUser ( 11483 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:47PM (#7466923)
      In general, I'm okay with making it illegal to share pre-release videos/music...after all, that goes after personal acts, not technology, which is an appropriate use for law.

      What if it is MY prerelease for MY movie that I'm trying to get into the hands of critics so that it sees the light of day despite my not being part and parcel of the MPAA?

      This is as much an attack on Indie film makers trying to break into the market as it is copyright violators ... indeed, the fact that one explicitly does not have to violate copyright in order to run afoul of this law is rather telling. I suspect non-MPAA film makers and potential competitors are the primary target of this legislation, and that, as usual, copyright violators are merely a convinient pretext for passing fundamentally anticompetative legislation.

      Legislation attempts like this, and the intellectually bankrupt philosophies that engender it, lead me to believe that we will soon be little more than an economy of monopolies and trusts, with all of the worst traits of capitalism combined with all of the worst traits of a planned, noncompetative economy. Welcome to Our Brave New Future: more of the same on a much tighter budget, without the distractions of human rights or human respect.
    • Re:Felony? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by ictatha ( 201773 )
      Isn't this already illegal based on intellectual property or copyright laws (or something else? Why does this industry deserve special attention from the government?? (in an ideal world that is... a previous post showed the real reason [opensecrets.org].)

      I agree that this practice should be illegal and punishable. However, it seems as though it already is (but IANAL, of course). This CERTAINLY does not warrant a criminal offense punishable by 3 years in prison, IMHO.

      What happens if you release a scanned or text copy of a n
  • by GodHead ( 101109 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:33PM (#7466739) Homepage
    Obviously the only reason you have a TV and a DVD player is to watch pirated DVDs. The only reason you have a computer is to download pirated music and movies. The internet is only for porn and bomb making instructions you damn dirty pirates.

    Be glad that it's not "supporting terrorism" to have a downloaded movie.

  • huh? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:33PM (#7466740)
    "Piracy for too long has been high-reward and low-risk," Taylor said. "Legislation such as that being introduced tomorrow will go a long way toward changing that equation."

    What's the high reward for giving away an $8 movie to anonymous strangers?
  • reversed position... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jason.hall ( 640247 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:33PM (#7466741)
    it does not say any actual copyright infringement must take place--only that the file be available in a shared folder, Web site or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site. "It says we don't care if anybody got any of these copies," Jaszi said. "We're going to conclude that at least 10 people did. It relieves the copyright owner of having to prove that any violation of their rights actually happened."

    Good thing these guys aren't involved in the security of the retail sector. If I owned a store, these guys might put ME in jail because I have merchandise sitting out, available for someone to steal!!
  • by Niomosy ( 1503 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7466748)
    We can now assume that any gun owner has killed people because he/she has a gun and ammunition?
  • Spin (Score:3, Interesting)

    by emc3 ( 22477 ) <dougal@gunters.org> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7466751) Homepage
    Don't you just love how they spin things by calling it the "Artist's Rights and Theft Prevention Act"? Wouldn't a more apropos name be the "Big Fat Hollywood Studio Thoughtcrime Prevention Act"?
  • by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06NO@SPAMemail.com> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7466754)
    We're going to conclude that at least 10 people did. It relieves the copyright owner of having to prove that any violation of their rights actually happened.

    What a wonderful breakthrough in law enforcement: assuming that an actual crime has been committed and acting accordingly. In a day and age when people can be automagically declared enemy combatants and permanently removed from the legal system, I guess this was the next step.

    Since we're all theoretically capable of criminal actions, I think we should all pre-emptively surrender to the proper authorities.

  • by dabraun ( 626287 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7466760)
    Really - how do pre-release moveies end up on internet shares? People they trust with them leak them. Those are the people they should prosecute if they had any common sense. Why can't they use their brains? If you're going to give out 100 copies of a movie to reviewers pre-release then maybe you ought to watermark them so the reviewers have some reason to not give them out. There's plenty of options for DRM they could apply to their pre-release copies but they don't - perhaps this is proof that the RIAA will never really manage to sell DRM content to the masses ... they can't even manage to use DRM in limited quantities to known parties.
  • by wcrowe ( 94389 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:35PM (#7466771)
    In the past, totalitarian governments were usually based on some flavor of fascism or communism. We are now witnessing the birth of a new form of totalitarianism -- corporatocracy. In this form of government, the corporations inform the "people's representatives" of what laws are to be passed, as well as what specific punishments are to be imposed for breaking those laws.

    It's not that I think that copyright infringement is OK. It is just that the punishments for breaking the law seem extremely harsh, given the nature of the crime. It also seems backwards that corporations can dictate what legistlation gets passed rather than the people, whom the legistlature supposedly represents.
    • by foqn1bo ( 519064 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @04:04PM (#7468002)
      In the past, totalitarian governments were usually based on some flavor of fascism or communism. We are now witnessing the birth of a new form of totalitarianism -- corporatocracy.

      That's an important point about what we're on the brink of here, but dude. Fascism *is* corporatocracy. Just ask Mussolini(or if that doesn't cut it, a book or website about him). Or Berlusconi, the current media mogul prime minister, head of the EU, with strong ties to the neo-fascist party. One of the key goals of the fascist agenda(although one which was never fully realized) was the merging of government of economy into the Corporate State. As I recall, anyway.
  • er? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by syle ( 638903 ) * <syle AT waygate DOT org> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:36PM (#7466781) Homepage
    The draft bill will "help law enforcement pursue those who are already violating the law...

    If they're already violating the law, how will a new law help catch them?

  • by One Louder ( 595430 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:36PM (#7466783)
    The irony of this is that the bulk of prereleased movies come from insiders, not random college students.

    Effectively they're avoiding dealing with the fact that they have a serious leak problem within the suite of companies with which they deal, like duplicators, advertising agencys, studio employees, etc.

    Note that the only guy that gets nailed is the one who puts it in the shared folder - nobody involved in the actual leak is affected - because it's them.

  • by Euphonious Coward ( 189818 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:36PM (#7466786)
    It says, "The Cornyn-Feinstein bill also creates another federal felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, for using 'an audiovisual recording device' in a movie theater to make a copy of a film and boosts civil penalties available to MPAA member companies when suing over prerelease movies placed on the Internet."

    I wonder whether one person making an audio recording, and another just recording video, would each qualify for prosecution. Is making a copy of a movie really worse than making a copy of a concert performance, with no video?

    • This is along similar lines to what I was thinking.

      My belief is that if something isn't available for you to buy, it's ok to get it some other way, since the owner isn't losing money. So the fact that most bands don't sell recordings of their live shows means (for me, at least) that it's ok to collect bootlegs of them.

      The fact that this legislation only applies to movies which aren't available for purchase seems counterintuitative. You'd think that people trading DVD rips when the DVD is commercially avai
    • I mean, it sorta kinda records. Playback is increasingly fuzzy with time (with the odd exception of tag lines from SNL near office water coolers, or Monty Python quotes in environments lacking in females)

      "sorry, sir, but after we search your backpack, please step into the operations theater for a quick lobotomy. Yes, sir, this is required. No brains allowed in the movie theater. Ha ha, sir, yes, no brains in the the industry either."

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7466792)
    A couple weeks ago, I chanced upon the John Titor story [johntitor.com] (another site here [strategicbrains.com]. Somebody posted a link on /. when the time-travelling spammer story came up.

    In any case, we don't know if John Titor was a real time traveler from 2036 or not....his postings/messages make a lot of interesting reading though. He "predicted" the development of CERN's blackholes, China's space mission, and more importantly, the American Civil War, which is supposed to start in the next two years (2004-2005) or so.

    The primary reason he mentioned was the ever increasing highhandedness of the US government (this was in 1999-early 2000), before Sept 11 happenings/Patriot Act etc.

    Anyway, what he said was, that people got tired of the US government monitoring them all the time, passing more and more unjust laws favoring corporate America, and curbing basic freedoms of the people.

    True or not, every time another such YRO story comes up on /., it makes me wonder where America is headed.

  • by EmCeeHawking ( 720424 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7466795)
    From the article:

    The Cornyn-Feinstein bill also creates another federal felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, for using "an audiovisual recording device" in a movie theater to make a copy of a film and boosts civil penalties available to MPAA member companies when suing over prerelease movies placed on the Internet.

    This is truly astonishing, and to my knowledge, unprecedented. Note that all cases of prohibition of cameras, tape recorders, MD recorders, etc from concerts, variety shows, etc, have ALWAYS been civil matters; rules set and enforced by the persons or companies doing the entertaining.

    This is the first instance I can think of where this type of activity has crossd over from civil to criminal jurisdiction. The only possible good that can come out of this is that a conviction will require unanimous guilty verdict from a jury, whereas civil cases are decided by judicial fiat or a majority of the jury.

  • Just a thought? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bryhhh ( 317224 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7466798)
    I don't use p2p myself, but I'd be interested to know where the MPAA & RIAA would stand if a huge worm hit 10,000's of windows systems and installed a p2p client, and then hosted infringing movie/music titles for others to download using any of the currently available p2p apps.

    If the worm had a high propogation, surely this would make life very difficult for the MPAA & RIAA.

    Come to think of it, if such a worm got into a computer system through a weakness in the operarting system, could the creators of the operating system be held responsible?
  • I'm a bit confused (Score:5, Insightful)

    by GreenCrackBaby ( 203293 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7466800) Homepage
    If you actually read the article, it is quite clear that this is specifically meant to target those who share movies that are not yet released in theaters. However, the following line contradicts this:

    "this legislation will go a long way toward targeting one of the most serious contributors to piracy right now, which is the practice of camcording motion pictures. It's the first time the U.S. Senate has had legislation that specifically addresses the threat of camcording."

    How does this address the "threat" of comcording, since this is normally done post-release.

    Another nitpick about this is the complaint that no copyright violation is needed...the movie just has to be in a shared folder. Well, if no one downloads the movie, how the hell can the verify what is in that shared file???
  • by Ianoo ( 711633 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:38PM (#7466812) Journal
    This is a step in the right direction for sure! Hopefully in 5 years they'll be handing down the death penalty for premedidated file sharing and file sharing with children, far far worse crimes than file sharing with consentual adults!
  • by 3Suns ( 250606 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:40PM (#7466835) Homepage
    ...it does not say any actual copyright infringement must take place--only that the file be available in a shared folder, Web site or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site.

    Only shared folders (SMB?), Websites (HTTP), and FTP are covered? Looks like Kazaa is out of this bills reach. They can't even draft stupid laws correctly.
  • by Dirtside ( 91468 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:48PM (#7466942) Journal
    It's good to know that I'd spend more time in jail for pirating a movie than I would for beating Jack Valenti with a lead pipe. I think I'll head over to the MPAA's offices right now!
  • Quick tip (Score:3, Interesting)

    by davmoo ( 63521 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @02:54PM (#7467006)
    For those of you who didn't bother to read the article before you posted (which is 99.9999 percent of you), this proposed law would only apply to those who have prerelease items that they are not entitled to have, NOT just any damned thing, which is what most of you want to think/imply. "Prerelease" is a $10 word for "not yet available to the public".

    If it is not available for release to the general public, and if you don't have permission of the copyright holder to have it, then gee...you're violating copyright.

    So here is a quick tip on how to avoid getting busted under this act if it does become law:

    Don't have prerelease copyrighted material on your system if you don't have permission of the copyright holder.
  • by whoever57 ( 658626 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @03:02PM (#7467092) Journal
    Wasn't the original justificiation for DMCA the ease with which digital copies could be transferred without loss of quality?

    Yet, another part for this bill appears to be to stop people recording movies using camcorders -- clearly the original quality of such a copy is going to be low.

    What this is really about is that the primary sources of illicit pre-release versions of movies are within the movie industry itself. What this act will allow is prosecution of those who receive copies while not prosecuting the original copyright violator who is most likely a movie industry insider.
  • by imnoteddy ( 568836 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @03:03PM (#7467104)
    A three year prison sentence for sharing a prerelease movie?

    For comparison, the sentencing range in my state for first degree manslaughter (when a person recklessly causes the death of another person) is 31 to 41 months for a person with no previous criminal record.

  • by Phoenix666 ( 184391 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @03:20PM (#7467318)
    But the only way to stop all of this stuff, the DMCA, ridiculous patents, et al is to get involved in the political process and vote each and every one of these special interest-pandering congressmen out of office.

    I'm involved in the Dean campaign, and it has cleared up a great deal of the mystification surrounding government and how it works. It's not really that hard. In fact, it's so straightforward and easy that you smack your forehead at how difficult you thought it once was.

    When there is deep, latent consensus on an issue like this, movements to counter it pretty much organize themselves, given a catalyst. Think of it as seeding clouds to make it rain. Or ice-9, if you prefer.

    We can point out the injustice of current copyright law, declare over and over again that fair use protects file sharing, scheme up new file sharing software that escapes monitoring, and on and on ad infinitum, but that's really only treating the symptoms of the disease. The cause of the disease is the government in Washington D.C. and its members who only listen to the wishes of monied special interests. Root that out, and all our lives will be much, much easier in tech.

    I know that most techies loathe politics because they associate it with student government and the popular kids in it who spat on us in our formative years, but they have clearly made it their business to come after us and make our lives difficult. So we had better go after them, or we will get what we deserve: nothing.
  • by t_allardyce ( 48447 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @03:21PM (#7467346) Journal
    Hi, i'm sherif john bunnel, and tonight, we're gonna show you, [SMASH] what happens, [WACK] when criminals, [BANG] break the law! Comming up: How a violent homocidal pedophile is finally caught and given a speeding ticket.
    What happens when drunken teenagers get behind the wheel.
    And the car theif that just couldnt say no to a 3 month relaxed probation deal.

    But first:
    Orange County Florida, and police are about to raid a known file sharer, but suddenly little Jonny Doe tries to outsmart law enforcement officers by dropping his files in the recycle bin.

    Law enforcers act quickly to secure the machine "DROP THE MOUSE DROP THE MOUSE" the outlaw fails to comply. Shots are fired and the teenager is down.

    "I had entered the room and i saw him in the corner with a mouse in his hand, we are trained to just shoot if we see a mouse because we cant afford to take risks, if there was a hostage in the room we couldnt take the risk that they may view copyrighted material."

    Thats one kid that will learn, that when you play with computers, with no regard for the law, you can expect the cold end, of an officers gun!

  • by jkabbe ( 631234 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @03:55PM (#7467885)
    I am most upset about the general trend towards increased prison sentences.

    Is taking a camera into a movie theater something that is on par with accidently killing someone?

    Is taking a camera into a movie thater enough of an offense that it is worth spending $150,000+ to incarcerate someone for 5 years, not to mention the costs to actually convict them?

    This is the kind of criminal act that would be very unevenly applied. And the penalties seem very extreme compared to the seriousness of the offense.

    Remember that these penalties often stack. If you film a movie, put it on the internet, and burn a copy for your friends they will probably get you on at least three offenses right there. That's the kind of thing that leads to outrageous prison term (that and stupid drug laws!)
  • by Charles Dodgeson ( 248492 ) <jeffrey@goldmark.org> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @04:10PM (#7468080) Homepage Journal
    I don't like many aspects of DRM schemes, I think that the DMCA is evil, and I dispise the recording industry.

    But I simply don't get what the problem is here. If one "shares" material in a manner which violates to copyright conditions, or receives something shared that way, it's a copyright violation.

    And if you don't like the copyright conditions, than you are perfectly free not to obtain a copy. If you don't like the price, don't buy it, but don't steal it either. I don't like buying things from greedy, exploitative, monopolistic entities any more than others do. So, I only rarely consume their products.

    As for "sharing" being a violation even if there is no evidence that someone took it, that seems fair enough. If people blatently commit a crime and run around shouting, "you can't catch me; you can't catch me," then of course there will be changes in the types and standards of evidence used for prosecution.

    I think that it is realistic to say that the current level of threat of prosecution and penalties has not prevent widespread copyright violtion. So it is not evil or insane to look at raising penalties and enforcement. (Even if it is a very stupid tactic). Each instance of copyright violation is a very small crime. But if it is widespread it can be very destructive. I guess it is like spam in that respect.

    Just because the [RM]IAA are evil, doesn't mean that we should feel justified in violating the copyright. As I've said before [slashdot.org], it's not civil disobience if you try to evade prosecution.

    Sorry for the rant. And I certainly don't intend this to be a troll (and I hope it won't have the effect of one). Anyone who feels a real need to rake me over the coals for this, should feel free to email me. (A small amount of digging will find my address).

  • by Lord Ender ( 156273 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @04:51PM (#7468590) Homepage
    ----Corruption----
    Widget Industry: We will donate a ton of money to your campaign if you promise to pass legislation to help our industry.
    Politician: In that case, I will enact the legislation if elected.

    ----NOT Corruption----
    Politician: If elected, I will enact legislation which will help the widget industry, because I believe it is the right thing to do.
    Widget Industry: In that case, we'll donate shitloads of money to your campaign, so that you are more likely to get elected.

    So it's a fine line, and not very different, functionally. One thing is for sure, though. If 2 people are running for the same office, and a company donates money to BOTH of them, that is a sign that, at least, the company thinks they are corrupt. Otherwise, the company would only donate money to the politician that would be most favorable to them regardless of whether they donate money or not.
  • How to prove? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Nucleon500 ( 628631 ) <tcfelker@example.com> on Thursday November 13, 2003 @05:41PM (#7469184) Homepage
    As I understand it, this makes possessing or offering a file which cannot be legally copied illegal, even if you never actually uploaded it. How do they intend to prove what the file was? Based on the filename? Remember the DMCA C&D of an OpenOffice mirror? My point is, without them downloading the file (or confiscating your computer), they can't prove you have it.

    It's completely unnecessary - the laws are strong enough as they are. This law, like the DMCA, at best serves only to lower the burden of proof, and make it more economical to sue. My guess is that there is something more sinister hidden in the wording.

  • by geekee ( 591277 ) on Thursday November 13, 2003 @05:58PM (#7469363)
    Although the poster took great pains to point out "It would not require that any copyright infringement actually take place.", he completely left out the actual description of the bill, which is "A forthcoming copyright bill backed by key U.S. senators would place file swappers in prison for up to three years if they have a copy of even one prerelease movie in their shared folders.". If you want to bash a bill on the front page of /., you should at least give the readers who don't RTFA a chance to understand what you're disagreeing with.

/earth: file system full.

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