Legislation proposed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will criminalize "attempts" to infringe copyrights, permit wiretaps for piracy investigations, and allow easier seizure of PCs and other hardware used to commit copyright infringement.On the very same day that cable modem companies, DSL providers, broadband over powerline, satellite internet companies, and even some universities had to finally meet the FBI's requirement allowing it to essentially "wiretap" internet users, the Attorney "Generalisimo" himself, Alberto Gonzalez, was submitting a legislative proposal to the Democrat Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to take advantage of this new found law enforcement capability. The Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007 wil crack down on file-sharing and enforce intellectual copyright protections in ways the United States has never seen before. Download an MP3 or movie illegally and the Feds would then be able to seize your PC. Yep, you heard me right, SEIZE YOUR PC for illegal file-sharing, and the worst part is that after yesterday's deadline for CALEA compliance they now have the tools at their disposal to do so. I hate to say "I told you so" but, this news comes on the heels of yesterdays reporting about yesterday's deadline for compliance with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act(CALEA). The IPPA of 2007 would criminalize "attempts" to infringe copyrights, permit wiretaps for piracy investigations, and allow easier seizure of PCs and other hardware used to commit copyright infringement. Gonzalez writes: Because intellectual property is critical to not only our economy but also to the public's health and safety, the Attorney General is strongly committed to the protection of intellectual property rights, the safeguarding of our citizens, and the punishment of those who violate the law.What's odd though is that the govt can prosecute individuals for copyright infringement even if the copyright for that material has not yet been registered and therefore not lawfully copyrighted. Gonzalez continues: Prosecutors cannot control whether or when a copyrighted work is registered. Because prosecutors work for the public good, they should be able to institute an infringement prosecution even if the copyright has not yet been registered.Pretty startling right? They can bust you even if the content has not yet been properly copyrighted! As usual, the devil's in the details, and the details of the IPPA of 2007 are enough to make you shake your head in astonishment. Highlights of the IPPA of 2007
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1. Creates a new Federal offense of "...attempting to commit criminal copyright infringement," saying that "...those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so."
http://news.com.com/Congress+readies+broad+new+digital+copyright+bill/2100-1028_3-6064016.html
Gonzales has tried at least three time, counting this latest attempt, to make a crime of "attempting to infringe". He tried with a propose in 2005 http://static.publicknowledge.org/pdf/20051110-doj-ip-prot-act.pdf again in 2006 as mentioned above, and now this. Indeed this propose seems to be mostly a resubmission of his 2005 proposal, except then it was called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005. Also the NET Act of 1997 provides for forfeiture and destruction in criminal cases.
I dint mean to imply that the RIAA or the MPAA could snoop on their own, rather I meant to note that they would now be able to lobby the govt to better enforce copyright rules and regulations being that the technology to better do so is now in place.
Now they can just whine before the Feds in Senate hearings about all of the supposed losses due to piracy, and the govt could then take action.
Or more simply put, before the RIAA and MPAA had a mere IP address to go on and then would try to get your ID via your ISP. Now they can just sit back and leave it to the hands of law enforcement.
Lets just hope nothing comes of this proposed legislation once again as you have pointed out and things stay as they are.
Amen.
On another note what would happen if Gonzalez fell off the tomato truck that kind of thing happens every day....
But they have already passed enough "laws" to "stop" p2p and infringment? But has it stopped it? I don't THINK SO!
Fact is, you can make all the laws you want, but it is the enforcement that is the key. The US Government can't even secure our ports and borders from terrorisim...what makes people think they can pull this off?