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Congress Declares War on File Leakers

Posted by timothy on from the man-v-the-state dept.

An anonymous reader submits "Bush is expected to sign a law that essentially makes it a crime punishable by up to three years in jail for a user to put a single 'copy of a film, software program or music file in a shared folder and should have known the copyrighted work had not been commercially released.' Whichever side you're on in the copyright debate, you have to agree this legislation is draconian and excessive, to say the least."

2 of 1,345 comments (clear)

  1. There is no "copywrite" by Angstroem · · Score: 5, Informative

    Write 1000 times: "It's called copyright. There is nothing like a 'copywrite'."

  2. Re:Draconian? by mlyle · · Score: 5, Informative
    Your statement is simply untrue. ...and if the suspect is convicted federal judges are required to impose the maximum possible sentence for that crime.

    From the Washington Post:
    Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A01

    The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that federal judges are no longer bound by mandatory sentencing guidelines but need only consult them when they punish federal criminals.
    Note that judges were not required before this to always impose the "maximum possible sentence", but rather one determined by sentencing guidelines. And now, with the SCOTUS ruling, the guidelines are purely advisory.

    In addition, federal prosecutors retain prosecutorial discretion. So you're 0/2.