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Justice Department Promises Stronger Copyright Punishments

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the dancing-the-big-business-polka dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has stated that the Justice department will be getting even harder on copyright infringement, targeting repeat offenders. The new 'Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007' is headed for Congress promising to 'hit criminals in their wallets' hoping to ensure that any 'ill-gotten gains' are forfeited.

5 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Nobody panic by KlomDark · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That guy still hasn't resigned? Hasn't he already done enough damage?

  2. it's a good thing ... by darkuncle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    that the scale of problems facing our nation is so trivial that federal law enforcement can afford to waste their time^W^W^Wgive this matter the attention it deserves ...

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    illum oportet crescere me autem minui
  3. What about when there are NO monetary gains? by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's all well and dandy for those pirates who actually make money off of piracy- but that's a small percentage of the pirates out there. The grand majority are either making use of what used to be considered fair use: Mix CDs and tapes for friends, backups of media purchased legally, copies for educational use, etc. If you're going to crack down on piracy and hit them in the wallets so to speak, what do you do when the wallet is empty and has never had any cash in it?

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    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  4. Great thinking, guys by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because if the $100,000 maximum fine per infringement isn't a strong enough deterrent, maybe $200,000 will do the trick, right?

    In other news, the State of Texas will now kill you *twice* if the crime is *really* serious.

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    Apology to Ubuntu forum.
  5. There is a reason the Founding Fathers hated IP by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Interesting

    America was founded on piracy of intellectual property, after all, starting with textiles, and extending to many engineering marvels.

    I for one miss the days of a single 17 year patent life, and a copyright that ended after 21 years.

    And I say that as a published (paid) writer.

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    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --