CRAZY New American law they are trying to pass !!!

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

http://www.stoppoliceware.com/cbdtpa_bill_text.php

I came accross the link to this while searching for a new place to download music now that Audiogalaxy has been killed. Basicaly what the law says is that if it is passed ALL new computers must be fitted with policeware!! This policeware will report any transmission of copyrighted information over the net and across state lines. So if you are on AIM or MSN and send your friend in another state an MP3 you would be reported and charged with a crime !! It is yet another attemt by U.S. lawmakers to get rid of peer to peer file shareing , like Napster and now Audiogalaxy.

Here is a snip out of the middle of the bill:

(16) Unprotected digital content on the Internet is subject to significant piracy, through illegal file sharing, downloading, and redistribution over the Internet. (17) Millions of Americans are currently downloading television programs, movies, and music on the Internet and by using "file-sharing" technology. Much of this activity is illegal, but demonstrates consumers's desire to access digital content. (18) Piracy poses a substantial economic threat to America's content industries. (19) A solution to this problem is technologically feasible but will require government action, including a mandate to ensure its swift and ubiquitous adoption.

As you can see by this piece of the law , according to the Government if you use a file shareing program then you must be a software pirate and a criminal. IMNSHO this is a load of horseshit!! I think it would be in every American on this boards best intrest to sighn the pettition on the site , get your friends to sighn the pettition , AND try to get as many people as possible to write and call their representatives and tell them to NOT pass this bill into law!! What we do with our computers and the internet should be no ones business but our own.

[caleb]

"What we do with our computers and the internet should be no ones business but our own."

Unless its illegal

[Yorick]

Except if you take my music, copy it and pass it around without my permission. Then it becomes my business because you're distributing that which isn't yours. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Bring it on I say. When I was in Berlin, I witnessed hundreds of young turks flooding out the easy everything netcafes robbing musicians of their rightful yet paltry earnings by swapping mp3s they were all downloading. Brazenly, openly, yelling accross the room how they'd found some rare track and then connecting an mp3 player or two to the computer.

Hunter, just out interest did you object to ticket collectors on the door of Irving Plaza the other night? Where you go is your business right?

Why is it different with a recorded performance?

[Larry_OHF]

I just recently bought a CD burner so that my wife could do her school work and make her presentations on CD, then take it to class to present it. Will I have to remove my CD burner if this goes into affect? Do I have what would be considered illigal hardware?

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Yorick: Except if you take my music, copy it and pass it around without my permission. Then it becomes my business because you're distributing that which isn't yours. [img]smile.gif[/img] Bring it on I say. When I was in Berlin, I witnessed hundreds of young turks flooding out the easy everything netcafes robbing musicians of their rightful yet paltry earnings by swapping mp3s they were all downloading. Brazenly, openly, yelling accross the room how they'd found some rare track and then connecting an mp3 player or two to the computer. Hunter, just out interest did you object to ticket collectors on the door of Irving Plaza the other night? Where you go is your business right? Why is it different with a recorded performance?

Yorick, I couldn't argee more! I'm an Illustrator (artist that gets paid ) If I catch someone copying my art I'll sue their shorts off off'em. It's how I make my living , how I feed my family. The art is Mine to sell or give away, I created it! If it was so easy how come you didn't create it?

[Sir Goulum]

I doubt it. I think it only applies to downloads etc., Larry

[Chewbacca]

Its not about sharing copyrighted material, its about policeware. Look we are innocent til proven guilty here, if they have evidense gained by due process that I am sharing the newest lawrence Welk compilation with my friends and loved ones that use a file sharing service and thats illegal , fine get a warrant and search our PCs. Until then....Stay out and dont tread on my rights.

BTW: I dont listen to Lawrence Welk. [img]smile.gif[/img]

(edited for off-topic content) [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 06-25-2002, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]

[Chewbacca]

I sell music, And I work aggressively with record label reps to shutdown the bootleggers that litter the streets of Boston. Thanks to filesharing and cd burning (two thing I love) the newest album by any top 40 artist is available on the streets weeks before street date. And once its out, it can be easily shared amongst peer-groups thanks to cd burners and cassette decks( think the 80's, cassette recording didnt hurt album sales, did it?).

Some industry anylysts say that filesharing actually helps album sale. Its a shame that the RIAA persude litigation instead of business partnership in response to consumer demand for digital media. Not only were they caught off their digital horse when Napster exploded, but they broke its legs by their own weight when they finally got on.

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Chewbacca: Its not about sharing copyrighted material, its about policeware. Look we are innocent til proven guilty here, if they have evidense gained by due process that I am sharing the newest lawrence Welk compilation with my friends and loved ones that use a file sharing service and thats illegal , fine get a warrant and search our PCs. Until then....Stay out and dont tread on my rights. BTW: I dont listen to Lawrence Welk. [img]smile.gif[/img] Off-topic but here is a link that shows how many Americans each year have goverment nosing in their lives for how they choose to live and how much it costs us taxpayers by the second: http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm For 30 years of failure, thats alot of $$$$$$$!

My understanding copyright violation is punishable by civil penalty, not criminal, so there is NO innocent until proven guilty, it does not aply in any shape form or fashion. There is no prison time for copyright violations, just loss of money, which is fair since copyright violators have taken money from the rightful owners of the copyrighted material. ie: If you copy my artwork I have to sue you, and win. If I sue you and lose you can then sue me for the damages caused by bringing an unjust suit.

Edit for spelling (Who put the "T" key so close to the "Y" key)

[ 06-25-2002, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: John D Harris ]

[Morgeruat]

the problem is the musicians making all the fuss are huge groups like metallica, or the RIAA, which is looking out for it's right to collect royalties and give the artists very little for their effort, persoanlly i like to preview songs before i BUY the cd, or to try and track down obscur music that my parents had that i enjoyed. and a previous ruling said it's ok to own a digital copy of the music as long as you own a hardcopy.

Why not let it stand at that?

[ 06-26-2002, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]