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Anti-P2P Law Looms over the Horizon
Adrian Lopez writes "MIT's Technology Review has a piece by Eric Hellweg about pending legislation known as the Intellectual Property Protection Act. According to Hellweg, IPPA could make it illegal to skip past commercials and could 'criminalize the currently legal act of using the sharing capacity of iTunes, Apple's popular music software program.' More information on IPPA is available at the Public Knowledge website."
Further along the horizon is legislation that will require all citizens to actually buy the products that the see advertised. Being exposed to an advertisement and not purchasing it is a breach of contract, punishable by large fines or death.
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bypassing the networks sponsors is not QUITE a victimless crime, as the networks are losing money by it.
And damn you if you don't read every ad in your newspaper. If people did, the paper would get paid more for them. You selfish bastards.
OK, I'm going to record an MP3 reading of the Intellectual Property Protection Act (all 200,000 pages) and intersperse commercials in support of the bill throughout the MP3. I will share it on my network (there's no place like http://127.0.0.1) and present you with a dilemma. You can stream the reading off my network and break one part of the legislation. Or, you can choose not to listen and thus disregard my commercials and break another part of the legistlation. Don't worry, it's not supposed to make sense, unless your IQ is less than the average Hollywood filmmaker.
This sig donated to Pater. Long live
The funny thing is that Edison did get involved in a huge commercial/patent war over the delivery of electricity with Westinghouse, who was using Tesla's AC power delivery system. one side effect was the invention of the electric chair, when Edison tried to "prove" that AC was deadlier.
Not only is stupidity not illegal, it can frequently get you elected.
Check out the full text of H.R. 4077, the one that says: "To enhance criminal enforcement of the copyright laws, to educate the public about the application of copyright law to the Internet, and for other purposes." ...in the abstract.
Okay, now: skip all the text, and jump right to the bottom- "TITLE II--MISCELLANEOUS." Section 201, the designation of national tree.
"The tree genus Quercus, commonly known as the oak tree, is the national tree."
Can someone more informed in the ways of law tell me what this is all about?