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PRO-IP Act Passes Judiciary Committee
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Pro-IP Act has passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously, thanks to the support of committee chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI). We've discussed this before — it's the same bill which would create copyright cops with the power to seize computers, when powers like that have been systematically abused in other areas. But, apparently, they think the bill is just wonderful now, simply because they cut the provision that would've increased statutory damages while keeping the rest. This is the same bill that William Patry called the 'most outrageously gluttonous IP bill ever introduced in the US.'"
While we're on the subject of intellectual property, Canadian law professor Michael Geist gave a talk on Monday about "copyright myths."
I mean the secret police worked out well for Nazi Germany right?
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
Just like in the war on drugs and the war on terror, right?
How we know is more important than what we know.
It didn't start with killing.
Seed cops; Those seeds are copyright - you cannot plant them/you violated copyright by planting them
IP cops; thank you for welcoming us to your business, we will now audit all of your computer systems
RIAA cops; thank you for welcoming us to your home, we will now audit all your media for copyright violations
MPAA cops; You know when you pirate a movie a small child dies in a third world country, you should be ashamed of yourself
And of course the "say goodbye to innovation cops", these guys will be the thought police come to audit your head for having ideas that just happened to already be copyright.
Big Mother in sooo many ways.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
The copyright cops have to follow due process and you have the right to a jury tail.
My goodness, what a protected life you must lead.
The reality is that cops follow procedure when and if they feel like it. Furthermore, merely being accused of a crime is a punitive action in this country (taken before you even get your due process and your jury trial.) Getting arrested is no fun, especially if you haven't done anything. Then you have the joyful experience of defending yourself before said jury, and when you lose because the copyright owners have unlimited funds and you do not, you're life is thoroughly trashed. That's even more true when you're fighting for your rights in a criminal court, versus a civil one.
So be very, very careful of accepting any newfound powers our government arrogates to itself, especially those granted at the behest of the private sector.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Bad analogy: There are exactly zero US citizens held on drug charges without access to courts and lawers. There is exactly one (1) US citizen being held without trial on terrorism charges.
Well, one held without trial on terrorism charges that we know about. I would be surprised if there weren't more.
What are you, stupid? They're not exempt from the laws; they're exempt from the enforcement. In other words, they decide who gets investigated, so they simply decide that it won't be them!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Dude, police appropriate goods that are "believed" to have been purchased with drug money all the time. It's up to the owner to prove that they were not. If that's not a violation of due process (innocent until proven guilty?) then what is?
How we know is more important than what we know.
I have a picture for you. Look familiar? Killed in captivity. He entered that death camp alive and in good health. There's another death camp down in Cuba. We're lobbing missles at civilians with impunity in Somalia and carting off "terror suspects" to more death camps in Ethiopia. You have citizens disappearing off the street, being held in secret and tortured, with no trial or charges for years. Tell me, when does it get to be Nazi enough for you??