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ACTA Text Leaks; US Caves On ISPs, Seeks Super-DMCA

An anonymous reader writes "Given the history of ACTA leaks, to no one's surprise, the latest version of the draft agreement (PDF) was leaked last night on KEI's website. The new version — which reflects changes made during an intense week of negotiations last month in Washington — shows a draft agreement that is much closer to becoming reality. Perhaps the most important story of the latest draft is how the countries are close to agreement on the Internet enforcement chapter. In the face of opposition, the US has dropped its demands on secondary liability for ISPs but is still holding out hope of establishing a super-DMCA with digital lock rules that go beyond the WIPO Internet treaties and were even rejected by US courts."

35 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Copyright Law Reform by DarkKnightRadick · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We only get once chance to defeat ACTA.

    --
    "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
    1. Re:Copyright Law Reform by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unless we defeat it. Then we'll get another chance, ad infinitum, like one of those timeless creatures of evil that will never truly die.

    2. Re:Copyright Law Reform by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The US already has a DMCA law, and if ACTA comes about, wouldn't that just mean that other countries have to have DMCA?

      Let me guess... you're American aren't you? Why should the rest of the world have to suffer under the same shitty IP regime you guys have?

    3. Re:Copyright Law Reform by phoomp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What is this "chance to defeat ACTA" of which you speak? The process has been specifically designed to keep us excluded it's too far along to change. At this point, the best we can hope for is wisdom from countries that are less concerned about the freedoms of their corporations and more concerned about the freedoms of their citizens.

    4. Re:Copyright Law Reform by Khyber · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "We only get once chance to defeat ACTA."

      No we don't. We have several chances, the most likely one being a full-out armed insurgence against the government.

      Remember Mr Discovery Building and what he said? There will be bloodshed coming very soon.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    5. Re:Copyright Law Reform by Khyber · · Score: 3, Interesting

      'The process has been specifically designed to keep us excluded it's too far along to change'

      You FORCE inclusion of yourself by holding the fucks responsible for this hostage or killing them outright.

      Let me point you to the two places you need to go - Hollywood, and the Northeastern USA.

      These two places are responsible for this. If you KILL THEM, this nonsense will go away.

      It's that simple.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  2. Surely not by Chrisq · · Score: 4, Funny

    ACTA Text Leaks

    Surely not. That would be infringing their copyright.

    1. Re:Surely not by Hardolaf · · Score: 3, Interesting

      105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

      http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#105 It's not copyrighted.

  3. **sigh** by skyride · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The goverment officials dealing with this have absolutely no understanding of how this law will affect the world for generations to come.

    We're getting awfully close to needing the 4th box...

    1. Re:**sigh** by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The US isn't the world. China won't give a shit, and they are building the military hardware to allow them to continue not giving a shit for generations to come.

    2. Re:**sigh** by rotide · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure they do. Their children, children's children, and so on will benefit from all the money the corporate lobbying has brought. Oh, you mean the world that also resides outside the paid for politicians? The officials don't really pay much attention unless it's election time. Damnit, I wish that was hyperbole.

    3. Re:**sigh** by jonwil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The officials dont pay attention even when it IS election time (remember the US mid-term elections are comming up soon).

      Heck, even if GOD himself came down from heaven, stood in front of congress and asked for an end to draconian copyright and IP policies, the congressmen and senators would STILL favor the large briefcases full of money they get from Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Universal etc.

    4. Re:**sigh** by hedwards · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In this one area, and mostly because if the Chinese people had to actually pay for the property like the rest of us they'd be much more likely to be pissed off about how the Chinese government is purposely keeping them in poverty.

    5. Re:**sigh** by nabsltd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ACTA isn't JUST about internet filesharing, but also about counterfeint pharmacuticals and other stuff.

      You, sir, are the dream of the ACTA negotiators.

      The whole point of bundling "file sharing" with "counterfeit pharmaceuticals" is so that you can get the same sort of penalties for both. I don't think anyone will disagree that labeling sugar pills as some vital drug is a huge danger, but the way ACTA is written, a generic is also considered "counterfeit". Likewise all the following are treated the same by ACTA:

      • file sharing
      • copying DVDs
      • copying DVDs and selling them
      • creating your own DVD, labeling it as if it were the legitimate DVD and selling it
    6. Re:**sigh** by WillDraven · · Score: 3, Funny

      They would probably tell god that his residence in the holy land 2000 years ago disqualifies him for US citizenship and thus he has no standing to sue.

      --
      This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
    7. Re:**sigh** by jambarama · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You've stumbled onto the reason Larry Lessig left copyright reform to study government corruption.

  4. Time to get encryption working by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 3, Informative

    Now is really the time to get encrypted, decentralized networks with Onion routing working at a practical level and not just for academic enjoyment. I've had great expectations in GNUnet, but apparently it is pretty hard to port. Freenet has also never convinced me whenever I tried it. Are the technical obstacles really so hard to overcome? What about pervasive email encryption with automatic installation and more widespread use of SSL? What is holding all these technologies back?

    1. Re:Time to get encryption working by Kjella · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Encrypted is not really complicated, use https sites and turn encryption on in your torrent client. Anonymity is hard, really hard. For open P2P networks encryption without anonymity doesn't really help anything, everyone can connect and collect data as a peer. Some of the issues are:

      1. Anything like TOR and Freenet has lots of overhead due to relaying
      2. Latency is also hurt, and it's also dangerous for timing attacks
      3. You can collect statistical data, it's difficult to hide patterns
      4. You can "isolate" nodes and then track all their traffic

      On top of that, you get endless amounts of flak for being a "free haven" for all sorts of $boogeymen. That drives away developers, users, funding, everything. Many people would actually prefer they caught "real" criminals rather than create the true information anarchy. Total anonymity means no consequences, so on top of those you get endless waves of spam and trolls and they can post far more offensive things than they could on slashdot. If someone created it, you would long for the good old days when the worst you could get linked to is the goatse.cx guy.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  5. And of course... by Haedrian · · Score: 3, Funny

    Since this effects all of us in a huge way, there will be some sort of referendum which will see what the PEOPLE want and not just the corporation-bribed governments.

    Experts say it'll happen on the 30th of Feburary at Half Past Never.

    1. Re:And of course... by v1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not that it's surprising that this happens, but it is a bit surprising that our "diplomats" are allowed to sign agreements that our own court system has already determined to be illegal. Though in this instance it appears they're not just signing off on it, but pushing for it.

      Should try them for treason when they get back stateside ;)

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  6. terrible effects for software patents by ciaran_o_riordan · · Score: 4, Informative

    ACTA has many bad parts, such as entrenching DRM and the deadly effects of pharmaceutical patents, but it also has terrible effects for software patents:

    http://en.swpat.org/wiki/ACTA_and_software_patents

    http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Criminalising_patent_infringement_is_draconian

    1. Re:terrible effects for software patents by jambarama · · Score: 3, Informative

      Those aren't the only bad parts of ACTA. Here are some more odious provisions, in my opinion:

      * ACTA would impose the DMCA's "no circumventing DRM" clause everywhere
      * ACTA imposes 3rd party liability for infringement everywhere (it already exists in the US & much of Europe)
      * ACTA creates ISP safe harbors (plus notice & takedown), but raises the bar for qualification, e.g. ISPs must have some plan to curtail repeat infringement by subscribers
      * ACTA offers statutory damages to copyright holder, as well as actual damages, and as Jammie Thomas can tell you, that wipes out any relevance to damage
      * ACTA targets transferring pharmaceuticals across the border, which is mostly designed to get those going from Canada to the US
      * ACTA requires criminal penalties for "willful" infringers, and their aiders/abettors, which is looser than the current US standard
      * The forfeiture provision for large scale infringers is vague enough to possibly be a problem
      * ACTA has broad

      China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, New Zealand, & Japan really don't like it for a lot of reasons. To a some extent, the developing world doesn't like it because it would cost policing resources enforcing copyright/trademark when the resources are needed for more important activities, like stopping crimes. The US & Western Europe are the largest proponents.

  7. Re:YOU VOTED FOR THIS by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why do you blame Democrats for the DMCA? The bill was introduced into the House by a Republican, it faced pretty much zero Republican opposition in the House and had unanimous support in the Senate. Oh and let's not forget that the current head of the RIAA is a former Republican staffer and GOP lobbyist. So exactly why is it the Democrats fault despite the fact that this bill was introduced and had basically universal support from the Republicans in Congress?

  8. Encryption wont protect you from informants. by elucido · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now is really the time to get encrypted, decentralized networks with Onion routing working at a practical level and not just for academic enjoyment. I've had great expectations in GNUnet, but apparently it is pretty hard to port. Freenet has also never convinced me whenever I tried it. Are the technical obstacles really so hard to overcome? What about pervasive email encryption with automatic installation and more widespread use of SSL? What is holding all these technologies back?

    Once something is made significantly illegal and if the government is motivated enough, they'll pay their informants to infiltrate your private encrypted network and capture the IP addresses that way. The informants will host the exit nodes.

  9. Re:Copyrights and patents must be abolished by elucido · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This has to be drilled into everybody's heads.

    Copyrights and patents must be abolished, they are part of the death of economies, just like governments regulations, taxes, subsidies, wars, corporate involvement, corruption, stimulus borrowing/printing/spending and bailouts.

    All of the above things are killing the economies, these things are making industrialized world uncompetitive and jobs are leaving and no amount of cash can be spent to make the industrialized world competitive again ever because the reason cannot be simply removed by spending.

    The reason of the underlying structural breakage of economy is lack of useful production/manufacturing jobs, whose loss has resulted from lack of competitiveness. Competition is the only correct solution to this problem, and copyrights, patents, regulations, wage laws, taxes, subsidies, bailouts, stimulus, wars, corporate corruption are all tied to one main entity: government.

    Government is the ultimate force with the power to compel people to do what they do not want to do, and it does so because it craves power, through people who join the government because they crave power, and for them gov't is the ultimate way to get power and money by sharing with corporate friends.

    Government involvement in economy must be removed completely and that is the only way to remove incentives to corrupt the government, spending all the money in the world on buying the gov't should NOT buy you a free ride and destruction and structural removal of any competition.

    This comment is the actual answer to the question: what the fuck happened to the economy?

    That is unrealistic. Copyright and patents should not be abolished. They just shouldn't last forever. They should last X amount of years that society agrees upon, not an arbitrary number decided by the copyright holders themselves but a number of years decided by that individual culture or that society.

  10. Re:Copyrights and patents must be abolished by roman_mir · · Score: 4, Interesting

    it's called a crisis. In a crisis situation rules change, if they don't then that 'unrealistic' situation will actually meet reality, and reality will win, and there will be no economy left to speak of, while the rest of the world would just completely ignore any position a country, whose economy fell apart takes, and they'd be correct not to care. Losers do not tell winners what to do.

  11. Re:YOU VOTED FOR THIS by russotto · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not to get too political here, but those of us in the know knew that this sort of thing was going to come up when we voted for Obama since we were well aware of Biden's industry-friendly attitude. Unfortunately, it was this or some of the worst, laughable "politicians" you could ever consider to be put into a Presidential Office. Either way, I'm still glad that the alternative did not make it into office.

    Particularly since the alternative would have done exactly the same thing.

  12. If it's in the treaty it will supersede U.S laws by Eternal+Vigilance · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the US ...is still holding out hope of establishing...rules that go beyond the WIPO Internet treaties and were even rejected by US courts.

    That would be precisely why the forces of intellectual darkness and their minions within the U.S. government are pushing for this with such rabidity, and in such secrecy. Unless it's flat-out unconstitutional (a much, much narrower standard than simply "illegal"), anything in this treaty will supersede U.S. courts and U.S. law.

    "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little...ah, fuck it. We do the unconstitutional immediately, too."

  13. Re:You can't have it both ways. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Your ass, dude. It's not like the United States is the Lone Ranger, riding at the cutting edge of technology, all alone. FFS, pimple faced kids around the world manage to hack into the Department of Defense computers. Our high tech people sweat at night, worrying about China hacking into their computers. Information your ass. Our PRIMARY export right now is "entertainment". The word is placed in quotations, because it is hardly entertaining to anyone with a lick of sense. Only the brainwashed, ignorant masses can actually PAY for the drivel pumped out from Hollywood and the music industries. I might consider paying them to STOP PRODUCING!

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  14. Re:Copyrights and patents must be abolished by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nice rant but totally unrealistic. Economies can't grow without limits as the raw materials are not boundless.

    Manufacturing jobs will always be eliminated over time as automation replaces people. The US right now has the largest manufacturing output of any nation in history, and it's doing it with only 8% of its population. The US output is larger than China, India and Brazil combined.

    White collar jobs are headed the same way as software replaces people.

    So what is left? Simply make do public sector jobs funded by taxation on productive work. There isn't any other possible outcome.

  15. Enough is enough by vadim_t · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the DMCA provision passes, I promise that from that point I won't spend a single cent on anything made by anybody who supports or takes advantage of it, and that I will make every effort discourage other people and companies from purchasing those things.

    All my money will instead go on software, hardware and music without DRM and under liberal licenses, as well as organizations that oppose this kind of legislation. I will especially contribute to any attempts to eliminate patents and heavily restrict copyright.

  16. Re:YOU VOTED FOR THIS by swilver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I find this so funny... letting the people just blame one of the two parties in America and bickering about it amongst yourselves seems to me to be the ultimate weapon politicians devised to keep you under their rule.

  17. Re:You can't have it both ways. by Rakarra · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Our PRIMARY export right now is "entertainment". The word is placed in quotations, because it is hardly entertaining to anyone with a lick of sense. Only the brainwashed, ignorant masses can actually PAY for the drivel pumped out from Hollywood and the music industries. I might consider paying them to STOP PRODUCING!

    Ah, another snob with poor taste who believes everything everyone else likes is crap, that he's somehow the enlightened one, and wishes with every fiber of his being that everyone else would just WAKE UP.

  18. Re:You can't have it both ways. by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 3, Informative

    Our PRIMARY export right now is "entertainment".

    No it isn't. Not by a long shot.
    The most recently available number for total hollywood studio revenues is $42.3 billion in 2007.
    Total US exports were a hair over $1 trillion in 2009.

    So even if every single cent hollywood made came from exports, they would still be a drop in the bucket.

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  19. Re:Congratulations, Media conglomerates by mjwx · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You thought you should get paid for everything for forever and a day. But, you're like a parasite who thinks your host will continue to tolerate you forever. When the chickens come home to roost, you want to disavow blame. My finger is pointed squarely at you. This is your fault.

    There, fixed that for you.

    Remember who is really driving this, it's not about enforcing current copyrights at home, ACTA is about enforcing US copyright laws and indefinite copyright in other nations.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.