Anti-Piracy Lawmakers to Push One Bill on Hill

[mikenycLI]

Courtesy of Reuters...

Anti-Piracy Lawmakers to Push One Bill on Hill

Fri July 25, 2003 11:20 PM ET

By Bill Holland

WASHINGTON (Billboard) - House lawmakers pushing bills to step up anti-piracy efforts on the Internet plan to forge a single measure to give it a greater chance of passing, Billboard has learned.

The shift in focus follows complaints from Internet users and some copyright scholars. They say a provision in the most recently introduced bill is over-reaching.

If there is a hearing this fall, "there's going to be a lot of fireworks," says Peter Jaszi, a copyright law professor at American University.

Members flew home July 25 for the August recess, a four- to six-week retreat from the heat and humidity of the nation's capital. But staffers on the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property say they will hold discussions during the recess to lay the groundwork for a compromise bill. Members would begin crafting the measure after Labor Day.

Opponents have zeroed in on a section that effectively allows prosecutors to view the uploader of an unauthorized copyrighted file to a public network as a possible felon. Infringers could be fined $250,000 and face a five-year jail term.

"A criminal law doesn't come with a user's manual," Jaszi says. "It's not good public policy to write an overbroad law and then cross your fingers.

"This provision applies to activity on any publicly accessible network, like the one I use with my students, and to any copyrighted material, not just music," he adds. "There's no checks to restrain abuse of this legislation."

The authors say the reasoning behind the provision hits at the core of why peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are so lethal to the industry: One casual upload is downloaded by many thousands, if not millions, of file traders.

Thus, such an upload, they say, meets the legal threshold employed in the physical-goods world that dictates that felonious copyright infringement occurs when 10 or more copies of a work worth $2,500 or more are distributed.

The provision is viewed as the boldest legislative effort yet by an exasperated Congress to short-circuit the P2P networks that are devastating the record industry.

The authors said in a statement that the measure is not over-reaching but "a reasonable approach." A prosecutor would still have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a copyright infringement occurred and that it was willful. "This is a very high standard for a prosecutor to have to meet," the statement said.

The bill -- the Author, Consumer and Computer Owner Protection and Security Act of 2003 -- was introduced July 17 by Reps. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., and Howard Berman, D-Calif.

Among other things, it would give the FBI $15 million to develop public awareness programs about the dangers of illegal file sharing and other pirate activity.

The earlier bill, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003, was introduced June 19 by Rep. Lamar S. Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the subcommittee.

It does not contain the so-called felony provision, nor does it offer funding for new anti-piracy programs at the FBI and other federal agencies.

The Smith bill grants authority to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to seize infringing material. It also requires the U.S. Attorney General to ensure that "at least one agent" dealing with copyright infringement would be assigned to any unit at the Department of Justice responsible for investigating computer hacking or intellectual property crimes.

Berman and Conyers are co-sponsors of Smith's bill. They say they crafted their own measure to offer more enforcement muscle. Smith pulled his bill from a markup vote after the new measure was introduced.

Both bills have industry support.

"We applaud the efforts of Mr. Berman and Mr. Conyers to facilitate the enforcement of existing laws against Internet theft," says Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Assn. of America. "The provisions contained in this legislation, in addition to those contained in the Smith/Berman enforcement bill, will help serve to deter illegal activity online."

Jay Rosenthal, co-counsel for the Recording Artists' Coalition, says the RAC supports the Smith bill but has problems with the Conyers-Berman measure.

"It needs fine-tuning to minimize the possibility of abuse or misuse by authorities unfamiliar with the copyright law and this problem," he says. "No one wants to see a kid looking at jail time, especially for a first offense. Perhaps a 'three strikes and you're out' concept would work better."

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., the veteran Internet champion who also sits on the subcommittee, says the provision is fraught with possibilities of potential misapplication.

"It is not the mission of the FBI to have to learn copyright law and then inform people what they may or may not do," he asserts.

Reuters/Billboard

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jht ... ID=3163385

[lukpac]

The provision is viewed as the boldest legislative effort yet by an exasperated Congress to short-circuit the P2P networks that are devastating the record industry.

Bill Holland wrote that great vault piece a few years back, but that line is just poor writing. That are devastating the record industry? More like "that the industry wants you to believe are devastating the industry."

The authors said in a statement that the measure is not over-reaching but "a reasonable approach." A prosecutor would still have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a copyright infringement occurred and that it was willful. "This is a very high standard for a prosecutor to have to meet," the statement said.

It doesn't seem like it would be hard at all to prove an infringement took place. Was it "willful"? I'm not a lawyer, but it doesn't seem as if it would be that hard to prove.

I find it a bit sad/amusing that they want to make it a bigger crime to use a P2P network than to beat your wife or drive drunk...

[britre]

I find it a bit sad/amusing that they want to make it a bigger crime to use a P2P network than to beat your wife or drive drunk...

Thats it in a nutshell. The business of the recording industry should stay that way and the goverenment needs to stay away from those souless bastards. Let em' suceed or die by their own transgressions, not be protected by enacting law after law to reverse every right the constitution does give a American citizen.

It is sad to say, a America of Madonna, Britney, and The King Of Pop 24 hours a day all day is coming to your radio. Welcome to communist America

[mikenycLI]

At least we can tell, a little bit easier, who is getting all of the money, from the RIAA, and the Music Industry lobbyists, on Capitol Hill, these days.

[britre]

At least we can tell, a little bit easier, who is getting all of the money, from the RIAA, and the Music Industry lobbyists, on Capitol Hill, these days.

And we all believed Payola was illegal

[Xenu]

I find it a bit sad/amusing that they want to make it a bigger crime to use a P2P network than to beat your wife or drive drunk...

Indeed...glad to know someone else noticed that. Also, I love the RIAA guy's suggestion that a "three strikes and your out" approach might be best...because we totally know that the drug war application of that policy works 100%.

I'd like to know what Arthur Lee thinks of that.

[Ron]

Don't be surprised by whatever legislation that may be passed. The current administration, with backing from a very well-off Republican party, will do all in its power to push for anything that protects big business. [But having said *that*, maybe not. Too many Democrats in that particular industry. Now, *radio*--well, that's a different story.]

[mikenycLI]

Don't be surprised by whatever legislation that may be passed. The current administration, with backing from a very well-off Republican party, will do all in its power to push for anything that protects big business. [But having said *that*, maybe not. Too many Democrats in that particular industry. Now, *radio*--well, that's a different story.]

The Democrats are just as bad, in their own way. It comes down to MONEY, so all of them line up for it.

[britre]

I have the ultimate punishment:

Make em join either the BMG or Sony Music Record Club (hey, we don't forget about American choice), and no free ones. You gotta buy twelve at full price to fulfill your punishment. And we all know at $20.00 a CD after tax title and shipping, thats a hefty price tag for twelve of em'.

Record company recovers mega profits, file sharer gets music and pays for it, what could be better