Posted on 06/11/2008 4:15:32 PM PDT by LibWhacker
This is one of the most frightening things I've learned in a long time. Over in the US, a bill has passed the House of Representatives and is heading to Congress – with a huge amount of support.
The PRO-IP bill, H.R.4279, significantly increases the state's power to detect and prosecute IP infringement, carrying with it a whole host of new law enforcement positions and capabilities. It establishes an IP Czar, someone with the job of overseeing zealous action on behalf of copyright and trademark owners, and includes such powers as the ability to seize equipment if it contains just one file thought to infringe.
Importing and exporting infringing material will attract harsh penalties, and there's a $30,000 per-track fine on music (so that's half a million dollars for an album), The list goes on, and I thoroughly recommend you go out and Google to educate yourself on the many quite overwhelming powers the US government wants to give itself in its apparent determination to put file sharing on a par with drug dealing, gangsterism and other great crimes against society.
Thank goodness we're not in America? That hardly helps. Among the many provisions is the establishment of "five additional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators in foreign countries to protect the intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens [...] increase DOJ training and assistance to foreign governments to combat counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property." -- and if you think their job is just to lead the rest of the world in the way of American righteousness, think again.
Transferring a file between the US and the UK, however you do it, will most certainly count as importing or exporting: that will include BitTorrent, web hosting, FTP, Usenet and all those popular ways of moving stuff around the Internet without worrying about who's doing it or where they are. Even if you're scrupulous in avoiding the obvious areas of naughtiness, I doubt very much you know how much of the stuff you've browsed today was hosted in the US, let alone how legal or illegal it strictly was. And if you're a torrent fan, well, good luck to you.
As a UK citizen, you no longer have any effective defence against a US demand for deportation. Under the Extradition Act 2003 the US can apply for a UK citizen to be extradited without having to present any evidence to face charges of a crime committed in the US – for which the UK citizen need not have been actually present.
For an example of how this works, take a look at the case of Brian Howes and Kerry Ann Shanks, who have had seven months detention in the UK and are now facing deportation to Arizona and potential 100 year sentences. They ran an Internet chemical supplies company selling, among other things, iodine and red phosphorus – which is perfectly legal in the UK but not in the US, where they're controlled as precursors to methamphetamine production. Quite a lot of these chemicals found their way into quite a lot of meth labs in the US meaning, say the Americans, that Howes and Shanks knowingly supplied the substances.
They haven't been charged with anything in the UK, but the only defence they have against the extradition is to show that it didn't follow the right procedures. There's no test of evidence, and should they be deported they'll have no access to legal aid.
It can certainly be argued that it's wrong to supply drug factories with chemicals on an industrial scale. In that case, the normal rule of law should apply: make it illegal in this country and test the cases in UK courts.
It's far harder to argue that IP infringement – still basically a civil matter, frequently of debatable harm in most cases – should put UK citizens in peril of a foreign judiciary with no effective safeguards whatsoever.
But this could happen. It could happen to you or me – are you in total compliance with all your copyright material? I know I'm not: I actually read EULAs.
See you in the state pen.
I stay away from file sharing strictly for security reasons.
I also refuse to buy CDs because of this crap. To he%% with the music industry.
So, the Leftists in Congress scream bloody murder against the government having power to snoop international phone calls and to detect Jihad terrorists plotting to kill Americans, but they are all for empowering themselves to snoop on all of your internet surfing to detect any music you happen to have on your computer.
Tyranny of the absurd.
Sponsor: Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]
Status: Passed House (Bipartisan support
Thanks.
When I was a kid, I had a friend who kept a blank audio cassette in his tape-deck all the time in case one of his favorite songs came on the radio.
When the DJ announced the next tune in the line-up, he would hit the "record" button immediately.
Behavior like that would probably get him thrown into a jail cell with today's RIAA absurdities.
I was just a little kid, but I remember back in the 50s when tape recorders first started taking off in popularity, there was a HUGE fight in the courts over it at the time.
I was under the impression that the recording studios had lost big. Therefore, afterwards everyone used tape for decades with complete impunity.
But they’re baaaaaaaaaaaaack, big time. Wouldn’t be surprised to see that earlier decision revisted before this is over.
The entertainment industry has huge political power. As a practical matter, how many music sharers can be prosecuted is questionable.
It’s outrageous that a foreign country should be able to extradite a British national for something that is perfectly legal in the UK.
Well, I suppose it’s also outrageous that Americans are also subject to British libel law for anything they publish on the web, even when no British party is involved.
Seems like national boundaries are becoming almost irrelevent when foreign justice systems can claim juristiction over anyone anytime and anywhere.......
Funny, when I have to ping both of you guys, It’s always bad news....
The notion that a single infringement of one song is worth damages amounting to $30,000 is preposterous. What an absurd proposition.
Thanks democrats (and nearly as worthless republicans).
They can start by going after every Chinese hacker that violate every copyright known to man. If they don’t they should not be allowed to go after any American. And who gets this $30,000 dollar fine? The artists, the record industry, or the government. My guess is the Congress-critters. The artists can starve but the gov will get thier pound of flesh. I hereby remove my consent to be governed by these criminals.
Is the House of Representatives for some reason no longer part of Congress?
If you don’t pirate music you won’t have anything to worry about.
You can still make a copy of something that’s being broadcast on public radio frequencies for your own personal use. Just don’t put that copy out on the internet for others to make infinite free copies of it.
So not only can Canada take away your MP3 player and fine you, they can send you back to the U.S. for prosecution.
Sort of like those guys at Duke? If you don't commit rape you don't have anything to worry about.
Nifong's just a figment of folks' imagination.
And the local jurisdiction complies.
I've been reading in the paper that some folks can no longer go to Canada because of crimes (like a DUI conviction) decades ago. Well, okay, Canada has the right and I do not dispute that but I wonder? How did Canada get the ability to check on entering U.S. citizens' backgrounds?
It can only be because the feds GAVE that information to Canada in order for it to be used against Americans who have presumably completed their penalty.
There's something else going on here I can't completely characterize but which so far I don't like. The country's government is working hand-in-hand with other governments against its own subj... er, citizens.
Heads' up, folks. I don't think this is the end, I suspect it's only the beginning. Of what, I don't know yet.
YMMV
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.