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Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Copyright Cops

Posted by kdawson on from the keystone-of-the-law dept.

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the EIPA (the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008), which would create copyright cops. And these cops would take over the RIAA's War on Sharing by filing civil lawsuits and using civil forfeiture laws to take any and all computers engaged in infringement. Worse, they would even seize computers (such as servers or database farms) that house the data of innocent people, and these people would not have any right to get their data back. At best the 'virtual bystanders' who happened to have data on a computer used for infringement could get a protective order saying that no one should go rummaging through their stuff. Perhaps the only good thing in the bill is that they've excluded DMCA circumvention from the list of grounds for seizure. So while the Senators believe this is needed to combat foreign copyright infringement cartels, it's entirely likely that innocent people will be harmed by this law."

4 of 483 comments (clear)

  1. won't somebody ... by conureman · · Score: 1, Funny

    please think of the children.

    --
    The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
  2. In other news... by Thelasko · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Chicago Cubs won over the St. Louis Cardinals 3 to 2.
    [knock knock]
    Hang on, someone is at the door.
    Who is it?
    The Copyright Cops
    What's this about?
    Descriptions of games are copyright of Major League Baseball. I'm afraid you'll have to come with us.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  3. Re:Foreign copyright infringement? by deniable · · Score: 4, Funny

    Team America: World Copyright Police. (Puppets of the RIAA/MPAA, how fitting.)

  4. Re:it's more than likely by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can only wonder what senators have been smoking.

    I'm guessing rolled up $100 bills.