128 lines
5.9 KiB
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128 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
From fork-admin@xent.com Mon Aug 26 15:31:28 2002
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From: Tom <tomwhore@slack.net>
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To: fork@spamassassin.taint.org
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Cc: vox@mindvox.com
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Subject: The GOv gets tough on Net Users.....er Pirates..
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 19:01:45 -0400 (EDT)
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from http://www.arstechnica.com/
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"There has mostly been talk thus far and little action, but the Department
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of Justice says it may be ready to file criminal lawsuits against
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individuals [1] who distribute or receive unauthorized copyrighted
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material over the Internet. Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Malcolm believes
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that "criminal prosecutions of copyright offenders are now necessary to
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preserve the viability of America's content industries." Malcolm also
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believes that people who trade copyrighted material think they are
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participating in a legal activity. I certainly think people who download
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copyrighted works understand that such distribution--barring provisions
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such as fair use--is not authorized, and it is not surprising to see
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businesses continue to look for means to discourage distribution of
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copyrighted works.
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"Some prosecutions that make that clear could be very helpful...I think
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they would think twice if they thought there was a risk of criminal
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prosecution," said [RIAA President Cary] Sherman, who was on the same
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conference panel.
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I'm not too confident that lawsuits would have the effect Sherman is
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hoping for. Although infrequent, there have already been civil suits or
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warnings issued to private individuals, and they have served as minor
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deterrents to the file-sharing community at large. Criminal lawsuits
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carrying with them the possibility of prison sentences may generate
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further animosity against groups such as the RIAA and may be difficult to
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initiate because of the "schooling" effect of millions of systems
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participating in file sharing. Only servers would seem to stand out from
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the crowd.
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The article cites the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act [2], which defines
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illegal activity and maximum penalties for copyright infringement:
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Criminal infringement: Any person who infringes a copyright willfully for
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purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or by the
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reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any
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180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more
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copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000....
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For purposes of this subsection, evidence of reproduction or distribution
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of a copyrighted work, by itself, shall not be sufficient to establish
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willful infringement.
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...
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The term "financial gain" includes receipt, or expectation of receipt, of
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anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works.
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Therefore, receipt of a work of value would be defined as "financial gain"
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even if no money is involved. The NET Act excerpt does not clarify how the
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value of a work is determined; an album or movie could be worth only $15
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to millions of dollars depending on whether the value is assessed from the
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perspective of the consumer or copyright holder.
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The statute of limitations:
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507. Limitations on actions
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(a) Criminal Proceedings.--No criminal proceeding shall be maintained
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under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within five
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years after the cause of action arose.
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(b) Civil Actions.--No civil action shall be maintained under the
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provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after
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the claim accrued.
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The penalties are too extensive to list here, but they can be found in
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Section 2319: Criminal infringement of a copyright. In general, first-time
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criminal offenses will carry a maximum prison sentence of 1 year.
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I'm still not sure where the DOJ would start in choosing people to
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prosecute because of the aforementioned "schooling" effect, but my guess
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would be that, just like speeding, primarily the most prominent
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individuals who operate large servers or transfer the most data will be
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targeted in order to discourage more recreational file sharers. Thanks to
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MonaLisaOverdrive for pointing out this story.
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"
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[1] http://news.com.com/2100-1023-954591.html?tag=fd_top
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[2] http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/17-18red.htm
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http://xent.com/mailman/listinfo/fork
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