Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement

CNet News Blog ^ | May 15, 2007 | Declan McCullagh

[dayglored]

Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy.

"To meet the global challenges of IP crime, our criminal laws must be kept updated," Gonzales said during a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Monday.

The Bush administration is throwing its support behind a proposal called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, which is likely to receive the enthusiastic support of the movie and music industries and would represent the most dramatic rewrite of copyright law since a 2005 measure dealing with pre-release piracy.

...

• Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright...
• Create a new crime of life imprisonment for using pirated software...
• Permit more wiretaps for piracy investigations...
• Allow computers to be seized more readily...
• Increase penalties for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention regulations...
• Add penalties for "intended" copyright crimes...
• Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America...

...

[caver]

Unfortunately, you are correct. We keep geeting the same caliber of politician no matter what we do.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Your respective pings?

[caver]

“Same goes for the illegal aliens and border issues.”

Those are the first two laws that our AG ought to be enforcing.

[Afronaut]

Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America

That word... Require

[caver]

“I guess Gonzales saved his job when the Dems finally realized he agreed with them on more issues than they thought.”

That would be humorous, if it weren’t so true.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Ok, slow day for me. Thanks anyway.

[pointsal]

This should have been published by Scappleface!

[caver]

“I dont like my legislative branch running wars and I dont like my executive branch making laws!”

Well said! Nor do we like our judicial laws making laws.

[caver]

Typo:

Nor do we like our judicial branch making laws.

[Tirian]

Hear, hear. This has gotten out of hand.

[tiger-one]

Like, attempting to pass as a U.S Citizen

[printhead]

No mention of sending a delegation to China. No IP theft over there.

[Sloth]

I’m warming up to the moonbats’ impeachment talk...

[dayglored]

> Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America. That word... "Require"

Scary, isn't it, how completely BOUGHT our government is??

[Still Thinking]

It’s illegal enough already, they don’t need to stiffen the penalties. And then what are they doing about the RIAA and MPAA eroding fair use rights of long standing. they work for legislation and implement technical measures they say are to fight terrorism, but that legislation and those measures fail to respect rights the consumer had long before piracy was a problem. Typical, sell something using a popular bogeyman, then use it for something else. They’re crooks and they shouldn’t get away with it; it has nothing to do with “liking” or not “loking a given industry.

[BlazingArizona]

I change my mind. Time for him to go.

Don't forget that Gonzales was also behind the prosecution of Ramos and Compean.

Let's be the first to impeach Gonzales. Don't let the lefties have all the fun.

[Still Thinking]

I’m beginning to think that he appoints people based on whether he likes them personally, rather than on their graps of the principles of, and devotion to, the Constitution.

[dayglored]

> No mention of sending a delegation to China. No IP theft over there.

Nah, that would require actual EFFORT. It's much easier to HUNT DOWN AND IMPRISON AMERICAN CITIZENS instead.

GRRR-R-R-RRR...

[aruanan]

So.... minorities can be stupid also.

[BlazingArizona]

Stealing other people’s property is immoral and illegal. Saying that we are using the government to “prop up” an industry that you don’t care for is incorrect.

The RIAA stealing college students' life savings based on accusation - not conviction - of copyright infringement. That organization needs to die horribly, not be given more special legal privileges.