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FBI, DoJ Add 35 Positions For Intellectual Property Battle
coondoggie writes "The FBI and Department of Justice said they were going to go hard after intellectual property crimes this year and so far they seem to be keeping their word, as today the agencies appointed 15 new Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents dedicated to fighting domestic and international IP crimes. The 15 new AUSAs will work closely with the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section to aggressively pursue high tech crime, including computer crime and intellectual property offenses. The new positions will be located in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The 20 FBI Special Agents will be deployed to specifically boost four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where intellectual property crimes are of particular concern. The four squads will be located in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the District of Columbia."
From a historical perspective, the illegal file-sharing crowd reminds me of the hacking crowd of the 80s and 90s. LOD, Control-C, Kevin Mitnick, and E911. By hackers I mean crackers, although they didn't view themselves that way.
They saw their actions as morally justified. They were seeking knowledge (of other people's systems, nevermind that they could have gotten more knowledge from a college degree). They weren't in it for the money. They hacked the 911 emergency system, and came up with justifications for why it was ok (basically, it was what they wanted to do). They had aspirations to change the political system in the US (but had no clue how power actually works in the world).
Slowly, as law is slow, the legal system caught up to them, and the police started going after them. Now the hackers of that style are gone, they've either become parts of criminal organizations or white/grey hat hackers. The closest thing we have these days is DEFCON, but even they make efforts to stay within the law.
It may end up the same with file-sharers. Eventually the law will catch up with what they are doing, chase them down, and make the potential cost of sharing too much higher than the cost of music/movies. That's clearly what these guys are trying to do.
Qxe4
Oh shut up. If you can't tell the difference between fraud and smoking, just shut the hell up and kill yourself.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
You probably bought into the propaganda for this guy...sorry! You probably thought this government was to be, as his campaign touted "Open and Honest", but clearly neither is true. I can't find a single promise kept.
What he/they WANT is to have the tiniest hint of legitimacy in dealing with the net, so they can tax and censor it. Scaling up on IP means being on the net to show a "Demon" to fight, just like AIG, just like Goldman, so they can do whatever it takes to control that part of our lives, too.
You guys 'bomb' me all the time for being a troll...this is a very liberal enclave. But this man and his comrades in the congress are taking it all away from us. I've known the nature of this 'new America' for almost two years.
Don't be fooled...again...that this government is doing anything for openness nor fairness. It's all about control.
Not opinion: just look at the news stories. Look at the 150 banks put out of business, the health insurance companies about to fold, and the nationalization of industries.
It just might be that we're not permitted on the net, come November. He'll need every vote he can beg, borrow, steal, or fraud to stay in power.
Now: MARK ME AS A TROLL FOR WARNING YOU.
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov