p2pnet.net News Feature:- When the US congress reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the general elections, some lawmakers who won’t be in the next congress are dubbed “lame ducks”.

Now, Hollywood might try to have its One-Stop ‘anti-pirate’ act forced through congress during the lame-duck session that starts this week.

The Intellectual Property Protection, Bill HR 2391, “could send thousands of Internet music and movie downloaders to jail, but the legislation faces opposition from groups that say it would unfairly punish consumers,” says the Washington Post.

It’s a, “comprehensive bill that opponents charge could make many users of peer-to-peer networks, digital-music players and other products criminally liable for copyright infringement,” says Wired News.

“The bill would also undo centuries of “fair use” - the principle that gives Americans the right to use small samples of the works of others without having to ask permission or pay.”

Public Knowledge lists the act’s eight components. Included are:

H.R. 4077 Piracy Deterrence in Education
Establishes “offering for distribution” as basis for criminal copyright violation and “making available” for civil violation, regardless of whether there is any distribution or copying, let alone infringement. While traditional infringement employs a higher, “willful” infringement standard, this new cause of action lowers the standard of infringement to “knowing with reckless disregard.” Passed the House Sept. 28, 2004 on voice vote.

S. 2237 The Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation (PIRATE) Act
… would authorize the Justice Dept. to file civil actions against copyright infringers. We believe that is an inappropriate use of federal funds to enforce private rights of action. Passed Senate June 25, 2004 under unanimous consent. Passed the Senate June 25, 2004.

S. 1932 The Artists’ Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2004 (ART Act)
… would make the unauthorized use of a video camera in a movie theater to transmit or make a copy of a copyrighted work into an imprisonable offense. Fair use protections guaranteed under copyright law would not apply. Text was folded into H.R. 4077. Passed the Senate June 25, 2004.

H.R. 4586 The Family Movie Act
The provisions were included in H.R. 4077 as passed by the House. The original House version of this bill provided an affirmative right for those who used technology to skip objectionable material, such as profanity, violence, or other adult material, in the audio / video works that they legally purchased. This is a right that most believe manufacturers of technology and consumers already have - regardless of H.R. 4077. The entertainment community has hijacked this provision and turned it against consumers and the tech community. Now, the affirmative right to watch and skip parts of the content that a consumer has legally obtained only exists if certain conditions are met: no commercial or promotional ads may be skipped. Additionally, technology manufacturers must provide a notice at the beginning each showing stating that ‘the motion picture is altered from the performance intended by the director or copyright holder of the motion picture.’ This sets the functionality of the everyday VCR and TiVo on its head.

Public Knowledge has joined the Consumer Electronics Association, Verizon, the American Conservative Union and other groups in opposing the package, “which so far has steamrolled toward passage with little opposition,” says the Post story.

The entertainment industry has been lobbying hard for quick Senate passage during the lame-duck session, with opponents gearing up for a tough fight, says Wired News, adding:

“Hollywood’s involvement has even irked the American Conservative Union, which holds considerable sway with conservative Republicans in Congress. The ACU plans a major print ad campaign this week to oppose the bill, mainly because some provisions would require the Justice Department to file civil copyright lawsuits on behalf of the entertainment industry.”

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See:-
broader audience - Congress May Act on Internet Piracy Bill, Washington Post, November 16, 2004
criminally liable - Senate May Ram Copyright Bill, Wired News, November 16, 2004

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2004 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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