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Bush Signs Law Targeting P2P Pirates

Posted by Zonk on from the another-victory-in-the-war-on-terror dept.

BlakeCaldwell writes "CNet is reporting that President Bush signed into law the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act (previously-reported). A lawbreaker can land in jail for up to three years for distributing a single copy of a prerelease movie on the Internet. The MPAA's president Dan Glickman applauded the move, stating he wanted to 'thank the congressional sponsors of this legislation for their strong advocacy for intellectual property rights.'"

4 of 727 comments (clear)

  1. Not that bad... by mfh · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Before we hear people slamming this (because it's Bush related), read what the EFF has to say about it...

    Straight from the EFF's Fred von Lohmann:
    April 22, 2005

    As many have reported, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 (S.167/H.R. 357), recently passed the House, which also issued a committee report about the bill. Since the identical language had already passed the Senate in February, the measure now goes to President Bush for signature.

    There has been some alarmist reporting about the bill. While it's decidedly a mixed bag, I think the bill should be marked as more victory than a defeat for the public interest side in the copyfight.
    ...And the bottom line from the EFF:
    The real silver lining here emerges when you consider where the entertainment industry started back in 2003, and where they've ended up in 2005. After two years of heavy investments in lobbying Congress for a host of outrageous changes to copyright laws (like the Induce Act), the entertainment moguls managed to enact only a tiny sliver of their agenda, and only by granting concessions to ClearPlay.
    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Not that bad... by garcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real silver lining here emerges when you consider where the entertainment industry started back in 2003, and where they've ended up in 2005. After two years of heavy investments in lobbying Congress for a host of outrageous changes to copyright laws (like the Induce Act), the entertainment moguls managed to enact only a tiny sliver of their agenda, and only by granting concessions to ClearPlay.

      And yet after 229 years of lobbying Congress the flesh and blood people of this fine country and losing their rights sliver by sliver to those "people" created out of paper and ink.

  2. the word sponsor just leaves a bad taste.... by VMaN · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ....in my mouth..

    I just can't understand how "buying" laws is considered perfectly natural and good legislation... (I know that's not exactly the context the word was used in, but still)

  3. lets get drunk and drive... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If we're caught, we'll do less time than if we somehow managed to get a low quality copy of a movie from the theater. Heck, we can even lose control, slam into another vehicle, and kill an entire family on their way to visit grandma, at most we'll be slapped with a small fine and told how naughty we are.

    Welcome to MegaCorp, where we make the rules, and frankly, human life is far less important than our profits.