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UK Bill Introduces 10 Year Prison Sentence for Online Pirates (torrentfreak.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The UK Government's Digital Economy Bill, which is set to revamp current copyright legislation, has been introduced in Parliament. One of the most controversial changes is the increased maximum sentences for online copyright infringement. Despite public protest, the bill increased the maximum prison term five-fold, from two to ten years. Before implementing the changes the Government launched a public consultation, asking for comments and advice from the public. But, even though the vast majority of the responses urged the authorities not to up the prison term, lawmakers decided otherwise. As a result, a new draft of the Digital Economy bill published this week extends the current prison term from two to ten years (PDF). The relevant part amends the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and simply replaces the word two with ten. Copyright holders have lobbied for this update for a long time. According to them, harsher penalties are needed to deter people from committing large-scale copyright infringement, something the Government agrees with.
Now if they're impose the same criminal penalties for interfering with fair use, we'd be all set.
What's the maximum sentence for embezzling government money? What's the sentence for financial fraud that leaves thousands penniless? In other words, can you maybe name a few or a few dozen crimes that actually have victims that have lower sentences?
Mr. Fawkes? Could you rise from the grave and try again? I promise, nobody is going to stop you this time.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Because this is obviously just as bad as threatening to kill someone or administering poison with intent to endanger life, which both have 10 year sentences in the UK...
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
Look at capital punishment versus life imprisonment as a deterrent to murder, if you will... hardly any homicide in Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
what are the sentences for rape, violent beatings, the sort of thing that can ruin a person and make them dysfunctional for the rest of their lives? Are crimes of violence still comparable to the potential loss of speculated future profits of large corporations?
Haven't the British been going after pirates for hundreds of years? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
For what purpose?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
source
Is this really worse than rape?
When the government ignores consensus of 98% the population, this is not a democracy. If not corporatocracy, the government has at least been corrupted by large financial incentives or threat.
I'm as sceptical as anyone about the abuse of penalties for IP-related behaviour, but you're way off on this objection. The laws in question were created to fight large-scale, commercial copyright infringement, that is how they've actually been used in practice, and it is extremely likely that those profiting from infringement in that way are effectively stealing real profits from the legitimate rightsholders since people were actually paying for copies of the works that they may well have assumed were lawful. The penalties are akin to those for fraud.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
How many decades should companies like Disney hold copyright? These businesses hire artists to create intellectual property, but none of it would be possible without the centuries of human history and culture to build on.
There is a reasonable number of years for protection, and the reasonable number is probably not the current 120 years.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
You wouldn't steal a handbag...
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Copyright is the new marijuana for our prison system.
Get less time for shoplifting and there they have hard evidence.
in the US:
14 years (1790), 28 years (1831), life + 50 years (1908), 75 years (1976), life + 70 years or 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation (1998), 50 years for broadcasts (2008).
I am curious if the UK had similar increases in copyright duration. I am certain these increases reflect the nature of commercial lobbying and is not the will of the people.
In 1998, Ray Repp sued Andrew Lloyd Webber for plagiarism, based on the similarities between Phantom of the Opera and an earlier work by Repp. Instead, the court found similarities between Repp's work and an even earlier piece by Lloyd Webber.
There are only 12 semi-tones in Western scales. How can anything be original?
Downloading his music? 10 years!
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10...
that politicians and lawmakers consider themselves beholden only to lobby groups and corporations:
"But, even though the vast majority of the responses urged the authorities not to up the prison term, lawmakers decided otherwise."
The electorate? Fuck'em. That's what governments say, and they're starting to say it more and more openly. Citizens around the world need leashes on their 'leaders' - and for at least the worst offenders, I'm NOT speaking figuratively.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
I call these things 'insultations' now. The government (national or local) asks a question, we waste time formulating reasoned answers and then they do something else after saying something like 'we are concerned by your issues'. There's a huge disconnect between UK government/Westminster (in principle, our 'representatives') and the people now, part of the reason for the recent surprising Brexit vote, it was probably just anger, in many cases, not a real desire to leave.
On y va, qui mal y pense!