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Trans-Pacific Partnership Enables Harsh Penalties For Filesharing
An anonymous reader writes: The Electronic Frontier Foundation went through a recent leak of the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, an international treaty in development that (among other things) would impose new intellectual property laws on much of the developed world. The EFF highlights one section in particular, which focuses on the punishments for copyright infringement. The document doesn't set specific sentences, but it actively encourages high monetary penalties and jail terms. Its authors reason that these penalties will be a deterrent to future infringement. "The TPP's copyright provisions even require countries to enable judges to unilaterally order the seizure, destruction, or forfeiture of anything that can be 'traceable to infringing activity,' has been used in the 'creation of pirated copyright goods,' or is 'documentary evidence relevant to the alleged offense.' Under such obligations, law enforcement could become ever more empowered to seize laptops, servers, or even domain names."
You don't get a vote.
I wish this was America, I hear we would be tried by a jury of our peers and I've always seeded generously http://xkcd.com/553/
More like enshrining the outdated copyright cartels into law with their own legal enforcement powers so they can keep funneling money into political campaigns
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"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
It's even worse than that. Under TPP a corporation can sue sovereign governments in secret courts if such governments are deemed to have impinged on the corporations right to sell product. Laws such as those to protect against excessive toxins released into the environment. Or if a local government decides to make cheaper generic drugs, instead of buying the corporations more expensive patented product.
If we continue to cultivate a society where even the most crafted and artisan digital items are throwaway flash sale detritus, how can we expect to continue enjoying the talented minds that create them?
interesting.
when profits drop to reasonable levels for music and movies, they'll get made / created by people with a love for the art, as opposed to a love for money. sounds fine.
Intellectual monopoly is a danger to real property rights. You cant own something if you aren't allowed to configure it how you want.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
As the saying goes: "There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo. Please use in that order."
But treaties circumvent three of those boxes.
Guess which one is left.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Harsh penalties have virtually eliminated illegal drugs, right? it's gotten to the point where I could purchase methamphetamine on the street far easier than purchasing legal Sudafed at the drug store.
I personally don't care what the TPP terms are, the process is irredeemably corrupt. It is an attempt for corporations to obtain in secret negotiations what they could never obtain through actual democratic processes, and should be opposed by anyone who supports our system of government.
If they want to enact this, publish it, and submit it as a Treaty to the Senate for ratification. We have a Constitution for a reason, quit trying to do an end-run around it.
"destruction, or forfeiture of anything that can be 'traceable to infringing activity,' has been used in the 'creation of pirated copyright goods," So we can get the mpaa's members' equipment, cameras, sound stages and whatnot destroyed or forfeited because all the pirated copyright goods trace back to where the material was created and distributed?
Sounds like a recipe for government confiscation of private property.
You "take" only in the sense that you take a photograph, and you "should be paying" in the same way any group of thugs says "I'll hit you if you don't pay me for doing this".
What if your girlfriend made a 3D printed dildo replica of your penis, and every time she used it, she would say "no one loses anything if I just make a copy".