Schwarzenegger Stiffens Penalties on Counterfeit CDs

[Jared Moya]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently stiffened the penalties for trafficking counterfeit CDs, a move that was applauded by the RIAA. The measure, signed into law by Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, will lower the threshold needed to issue a felony charge. Specifically, those found selling 100 discs can now receive the heavy penalty, down from 1,000. That falls in line with levels for the film industry. "We applaud Governor Schwarzenegger, the members of the California Legislature and in particular Assemblymember [Rebecca] Cohn for their work to provide the music industry with this much needed enhancement to the state’s physical piracy laws," commented Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the RIAA.


Illegal file-sharing is a major piracy drain for the recording industry, though counterfeit discs are also a serious concern. Both are interrelated, and the ubiquity of both broadband connections and CD/DVD burners are fueling both areas. In California alone, more than one million counterfeit CDs were seized during the past year, with a heavy percentage involving Latin music. That follows a string of seizures and arrests across the country, often involving more sophisticated duplication plants and shady retailers. And globally, the issue is quite pronounced. In June of 2005, the IFPI reported that more than one-third of all discs sold are counterfeit - a total of 1.2 billion CDs. Major hot-spots include Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Paraguay and Spain, all a focus of IFPI enforcement efforts.


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[boogiedan]

my opinion of him- He's a dik..
Stiffening the penalties well
he should be working on other more inportant matter's

[shawners]

iMAGINE if we signed into law steroid use and being born in another country makes you ineligable to run for governor or any house office.

[Signa]

"the IFPI reported that more than one-third of all discs sold are counterfeit - a total of 1.2 billion CDs"

that just sounds impossible 1.2 billion. reminds me of family guy "we received 12 complaints last night and because one call represents 1 billion people, *12* billion people were angered by the show!"

[shawners]

I dont hear that the millions of people who bought the counterfeit cd complaining to state of california, I heard them when they bought Sony-BMG rootkit Drm cd's.

[MorphineInduced]

when was the last time we have heard of a law past that helped any of the citizens in this country from being ass raped by big corporations ........ but yet all they can do is the exact opposite of what really needs to be happening. ........

[Jared Moya]

Its the same old govt BS, they probably count the CD copies you burn for a friend as counterfeit also.


But it 's just like the so-called "Bankruptcy Reform Law," where Corps said too many people were declaring bankruptcyy too easily, but what they didnt telll you is that >70% of those that do so do it because they dont have health insurance, get injured and cant shell out 80,000 for the medical bills anytime soon.

[VAMPYRE BLADE]

When is every one going to learn the government is not your friend, only one they help is the ones with money that pay then off with those huge donation aka bribes. only reason we have any rights is because all the governments of this world cant get along and work together as one unit, if they could we would be nothing more then slaves. its my opinion, like it or not.

[Jared Moya]

When is every one going to learn the government is not your friend, only one they help is the ones with money that pay then off with those huge donation aka bribes. only reason we have any rights is because all the governments of this world cant get along and work together as one unit, if they could we would be nothing more then slaves. its my opinion, like it or not.

Some govts do have it right though like Britain, where they have whats called a "negative law" system, where system where you can do anything unless explicitly have law saying otherwise. Here what you can do is spelled out in lawbooks. Everything from where you can sit, walk, and stand. Its totally different.

[VAMPYRE BLADE]

Doesn't sound very free does it, they tell you exactly what you can and cant do just like a slave.

[mountain_rage]

They push the land of the free slogan just to creat blind patriotism. But how many of those patriots know half of what the hell is going on. Also note its impossible to become a slave of your country unless somehow the majority of the population accept it bending down. If it gets far to out of hand people will rebel, and opera will make a special about it.

[DwarfBaby]

Some govts do have it right though like Britain, where they have whats called a "negative law" system, where system where you can do anything unless explicitly have law saying otherwise. Here what you can do is spelled out in lawbooks. Everything from where you can sit, walk, and stand. Its totally different.

Um Ok, I "assume" (the key word is located in the first half of that word) that you either live in Britain and are being controlled by some hidden camera V-chip implant or you have never been to Britain. There are not enough words in the English language to describe a "true negative law system". In fact to do so would dwarf the library of Congress to the point of none-existence. Common sense is lacked in both Britain and the US and the spaces between the lines are filled in by Dollars, Pounds, Euros and whatever currency the "Law" happens to except.

I will agree with you on one point however the British do like the phrase "negative law" that's why they have so many freakin god damned signs everywhere telling you what you can't do. Out of spite Britt’s do it anyways just because the sign told them not too (and that's not a joke, they really do.)

They have it right, I think not. Get sent to a British court and tell them no sign told you not to do it and see how well that turns out.