Orrin Hatch, software pirate?

Amish Technical Support (Blog) ^ | 06/17/03 | Laurence Simon

[CoolGuyVic]

Orrin Hatch, software pirate?

Check your software and digital media licenses, folks, because some day you might just have to fend off The Computer Terminator, dream-child of Senator Orrin Hatch.

WASHINGTON POST: Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.

The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.

During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.

"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to disrupt music downloads. One technique deliberately downloads pirated material very slowly so other users can't.

"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."

The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."

Well, isn't that a fine how-to-do?

Feeling the geek-heat, Orrin did a little revision of his remarks today: HATCH COMMENTS ON COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT

Washington – Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement:

“I am very concerned about Internet piracy of personal and copyrighted materials, and I want to find effective solutions to these problems.

“I made my comments at yesterday’s hearing because I think that industry is not doing enough to help us find effective ways to stop people from using computers to steal copyrighted, personal or sensitive materials. I do not favor extreme remedies – unless no moderate remedies can be found. I asked the interested industries to help us find those moderate remedies.”

So he's still in favor of "targeted assassination" still being a viable option for media companies/government to deal with copyright violators or unlicensed software.

Fine.

Senator Orrin Hatch's website uses a very impressive set of Javascript code for its menus, developed by Milonic Software.
A professional developer's license is $34.99, and a corporate side-wide license goes for $899.00. However, non-profits seems to have access to the code for free as long as a license number is obtained.

EVERY copy of our JavaScript menu now needs to be licensed, however, this will not affect customers who already have a license to use the website menu.

Milonic Solutions have not changed the original licensing scheme for non-profit organisations. You can still use the website menu free of charge but you must obtain a license number in order to do so.

So, does Orrin Hatch and his web support staff have a license number, or is he guilty of using unlicensed software himself? There's a "* i am the license for the menu (duh) *" comment in the View - Source, but no license ID number.

Strange.

Bigwig suggested to me that I compare his site's code to a licensed site's code. So I checked The Warren Human Society... no tag in the HTML mentioning licenses with a (duh)...

I checked a corporate client, The UPS Pressroom and noticed the following:

DHTML Menu version 3.3.19 Written by Andy Woolley Copyright 2002 (c) Milonic Solutions. All Rights Reserved. Vist http://www.milonic.co.uk/menu or Email menu3@milonic.com You may use this menu on your web site free of charge as long as you inform us of your intentions with your URL AND You place a link to http://www.milonic.co.uk/menu AND ALL copyright notices remain in place in all files including your home page

I compared that to the code on Orrin's site:

DHTML Menu version 3.3.18 Written by Andy Woolley Copyright 2002 (c) Milonic Solutions. All Rights Reserved. Vist http://www.milonic.co.uk/menu or Email menu3@milonic.com You may use this menu on your web site free of charge as long as you inform us of your intentions with your URL AND You place a link to http://www.milonic.co.uk/menu AND ALL copyright notices remain in place in all files including your home page Comercial licenses and support contracts are available on request.

Not only does he not include a link to the software's home page, but his software's out of date. Close enough for government work, I guess, and he's too busy threatening to blow up copyright violators' computers to have his technicians maintain their systems (the software is actually up in the 3.4.x release level now, if I'm correct)

Since I'd hate for one of the representatives of my country to be caught as a hypocrite on such an important issue (well, except for Robert Byrd, but after all these years he probably can't find his Klansman robe), I've sent a note to the author of the software:

Recently, United States Senator Orrin Hatch make remarks regarding the possible use of the threat of damaging a person's personal computer as "the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6241-2003Jun17.html

After looking at Senator Hatch's website, I noticed that your extremely
useful and robust menu system was in use on it, and I looked up the very
generous licensing agreement for it:
http://hatch.senate.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/~hatch/mmenu_license.js

* Please feel free to use this code on your own website free of charge.
* You can also distribute and modify this source code as long as this
* Copyright notice remains intact and that you send me notice that you
* intend to use this code on your website.
*
* Limited support for this script is provided
* Commercial licence agreements are available on request for use & full
support.
* You can send email to menu3@milonic.com

I'm curious... has Senator Hatch or any member of his staff sent you a
notice that he has used your menu system's code on his website?

And to be fair (since violators under Hatch's scheme get two friendly warnings before having their computers smoked), I have also sent a note to Orrin Hatch/his web support staff requesting confirmation that his use of the menu software is legit:

I am very impressed with your web site, Senator. However, I'm assuming that you are using Milonic Solutions DHTML menu under the non-commercial license agreement, correct?

Have you or any member of your staff notified Milonic Solutions as to your intentions regarding the use of this software as per the license agreement? Also, why isn't there a link back to Milonic Solutions on the main page as per the requirements in the license linked within the source code of the page?

Thank you for your time.

Just curious,
Laurence Simon
Houston, TX

Here's the automatic response:

Thank you for contacting me via my website. I created this webform because I was concerned that important comments, questions, and requests would get lost in the immense flood of e-mail correspondence. The new system categorizes and organizes my incoming mail more efficiently, enabling me to respond more quickly and without the risk of losing messages in the shuffle. If this new format does not suit your needs, you are more than welcome to call, fax, or mail a letter to my office in the future.

If you provided me with the contact information requested on the webform, I will reply to your message by mail. As you might expect, the convenience of e-mail has significantly increased the volume of correspondence I receive, and I regret that I am unable to respond personally if you are not a Utah resident. Again, thank you for sharing your views.

Sincerely,
Signature
Orrin G. Hatch
United States Senator

I would not mind if a Utah resident were to follow up on this issue, and I'll keep everyone posted as to any responses I get.

[CoolGuyVic]

Just had to post this little gem.

[B Knotts]

Funny!

Also, the fancy menu doesn't work right in some browsers... :-)

[Richard Kimball]

After making this little announcement, all I can say is, I hope the Senator has one h*ll of a firewall.

[hole_n_one]

This same "article" was posted last night on this forum and subsequently pulled with the reason being.....

Horse Hockey

[CoolGuyVic]

Sorry. Missed the one last night.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Please continue this good work. The old elder of Salt Lake is looking more like the Palpatine character every day (Lucus, let me know if I owe you any money for mentioning your work.)

[Navy Patriot]

So I conclude that the internet Ronin are sharpening their swords with Hatch's LAN reflected in the sides of their baldes.

[Navy Patriot]

baldes=blades, sorry.

[hole_n_one]

The FNC's Bill O'Reilly isn't ready to call it horse hockey

On now......

[NewRomeTacitus]

As the "software manager" for a small company I get migraines interpreting the legalese most folks don't bother to read and try to insure my company would pass a BSA shakedown anytime they might rush in with local law-enforcement and rape our systems (that's their standard approach).
Even most freeware cites penalties for use beyond the contract restrictions, so applications worth money to the big dogs have to be totally legitimate. Hatch is merely trying to work off his thralldom to the BSA's masters: Hollywood, record labels and software companies who wouldn't be as popular as they are now had piracy not spread their work across the planet.
Hatch would be on the side of the law but that law was lobbied over time to protect those interests (riders, addendums and amendments: the Ted Kennedy Arsenal).

[Jhoffa_]

Bwahahahha!!

The emperor has no clothes.

[pointsal]

This is a celestial PING....for all the LDS readers....maybe someone will reach under the robe and give old Orrin a little tickle....,if you know what I mean.

[Mulder]

So when is this stickler for the law going to demand that Ashcroft files charges against Hitlery for assaulting a federal agent, as a Newsmax article reported.

[Dan from Michigan]

Destroy my computer, and you'll be buying me a new one. One way or another........

[E. Pluribus Unum]

This same "article" was posted last night on this forum and subsequently pulled with the reason being.....

Horse Hockey

Same topic, different article.

I emailed Jim Robinson to ask why he pulled it.

The reason was that the idiot poster titled it "Sen Orin Hatch Suffers Debilitating Stroke?"

It was a legitimate AP article: Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

[firewalk]

.

[hole_n_one]

You're right......

it was the bogus title.

[rwfromkansas]

lol....I might call his office tomorrow and ask if they have any comment on this.

[rwfromkansas]

Send this sucker to Drudge

[jordan8]

Group Capt. Saaf: Is it really necessary to destroy hundreds of thousands of computers, sir?
Gen Hatch: I can no longer sit back and allow Pirate subversion, and the international Software Pirate conspiricy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids...