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Stiffer Penalties for Copyright Violations
smallfries writes "US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has proposed much harsher punishments for copyright violations, including jail time. The Intellectual Property Protection Act [PDF Warning] doesn't appear to change the fundamentals of US copyright law but does allow more leeway for the police when investigating suspected crimes, and harsher punishments for those convicted. A response with a link to one site's look at the bill is up on Linux Electrons. Now that attempting the crime has such severe consequences, who will be the first to go to jail for running a p2p client?"
Remember - the law is a neutral weapon - much like a landmind. It can be used against friend and foe alike. The key is to see how a law can help your cause - even if taht was not the original intent.
The proposed law adds a new weapon against someone who violate Linux' EULA - and now makes it a criminal action to even try to violate it.
Think of the law a giant real world RPG - you need to understand teh rules and bend them to your ends.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
But unfortunately copyright is already criminal law. This doesn't call for such a fundamental change; it just calls for harsher penalties.
I could almost support this bill if it wan't that the entertainment industry openly bribes the senators who'll vote on this legislation, example, Orin Hatch, entertainment contributions for the 2004 cycle were $180,000+.
If you follow the trail it looks like most of this kind of legislation is bought and paid for by the very people it benefits.
Let's not also forget Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' hardline stance against porn depicting consenting adults as well. This is someone who is clearly the most dangerous man for the job.
And I'm speaking as a moderate conservative. This guy scares the shit outa me.