If I weren’t already overworked and undergruntled today, I’d be waxing long and apoplectic over the latest volley in the copyright wars. Congresscritters at the behest of Big Media are cutting the Gordian Knot of how to balance Fair Usage and First Purchase rights vs. We Paid Money To See This Made So It’s Ours Forever by simply making copyright uber alles. Given that copyright now extends and indefinitely length into the future, the direction our Representatives are taking us is to say that if Company X has the intellectual property ownership of Medium Y, you will never own more than the narrowly defined stake they decide you can own. Buy a CD? Cool, but don’t expect to be able to rip it to your iPod, or (in the future) listen to it more than the defined times/inside the defined period the media makers (and media player makers) decide you are allowed to.
In the latest effort, we not only don’t get a rationalization of the DMCA, but the DMCA gets expanded and all sorts of cool criminal penalties latched onto it. Woo-hoo!
For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite. A proposed copyright law seen by CNET News.com would expand the DMCA’s restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections and grant federal police more wiretapping and enforcement powers.
The draft legislation, created by the Bush administration and backed by Rep. Lamar Smith, already enjoys the support of large copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America. Smith, a Texas Republican, is the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees intellectual-property law. A spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee said Friday that the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006 is expected to “be introduced in the near future.” Beth Frigola, Smith’s press secretary, added Monday that Wisconsin Republican F. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the full House Judiciary Committee, will be leading the effort.
This is all necessary because, of couse, people burning copies of their favorite music track as an MP3 file and passing on to their friends for a listen to are, naturally, in cahoots with Osama bin Ladin.
During a speech in November, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales endorsed the idea and said at the time that he would send Congress draft legislation. Such changes are necessary because new technology is “encouraging large-scale criminal enterprises to get involved in intellectual-property theft,” Gonzales said, adding that proceeds from the illicit businesses are used, “quite frankly, to fund terrorism activities.”
Of course, the DoJ and the RIAA haven’t been getting much press for putting the screws to Big Copyright Violating Criminal Enterprises. But what we have heard a lot of is the RIAA suing the snot out of individual citizens — who will now find, under the suggested law, that they can be wiretapped by the Feds, server logs concerning anywhere they’ve been can be examined, and the PC they used to make a copy of some music can be confiscated.
The proposed law scheduled to be introduced by Rep. Smith also does the following: […] Creates civil asset forfeiture penalties for anything used in copyright piracy. Computers or other equipment seized must be “destroyed” or otherwise disposed of, for instance at a government auction. Criminal asset forfeiture will be done following the rules established by federal drug laws.
Because we all know how well that’s worked out.
As it’s put in the Ars Technica article:
Piracy isn’t the issue here. With the federal government’s help, the labels and studios are aiming at is complete content lockdown. It’s worth quoting Ken’s article on the analog hole from last fall:
These laws aren’t about piracy, and anyone who thinks they are needs to stop, look, and listen. Once the MPAA and pals have their way, you’re going to pay through the nose for even the most basic of Fair Use rights. You’re going to pay for the right to rewind and “re-experience” content. The Copy Prohibited Content class, complete with its asinine insta-delete feature is nothing but a back door into attacking what the content industry hates most: your ability to timeshift content. Yes, Jack Valenti said the VCR would destroy Hollywood, and while these moonbats no longer believe that, they do know that the rhetoric works.
To put it bluntly, the claims of the content creation industry do not add up. Here’s what the equation really looks like: Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006 + analog hole legislation + the broadcast flag = zero Fair Use rights + pay multiple times for the same content. If you don’t like that math, it’s time to get in touch with your congressperson and senators.
Feh.
(via Les)