Sunday, March 28
The Importance of...: PIRATE Act Reveals Sen. Hatch as Strange Ally of Pornography Industry
From: The Importance of...: PIRATE Act Reveals Sen. Hatch as Strange Ally of Pornography Industry
The PIRATE ActThis is all too true. The RIAA is going to have to go to court some day, and that day is not going to be a pretty day for them. Not at all. Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 3/28/2004 12:18:00 PM
Xeni Jardin of WIRED was, I believe, the first traditional journalist to write about the bill (Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P).
The essentials of the bill are actually quite straight forward. Instead of being required to bring only criminal copyright infringement prosecutions, the Act would permit the DOJ to bring civil copyright infringement lawsuits against copyright scofflaws. The bill does not change the standards for triggering DOJ concern under 18 USC 506 (basically, willful infringement for commercial advantage or a lot of willful infringement for no gain). The bill also establishes a pilot/training program and requires an annual report from the DOJ. Up to $2,000,000 may be allocated for the program.
There is one other important aspect of the bill. Once a copyright infringer has been busted by the DOJ and forced to pay a fine, the copyright owner can still sue the infringer for more damages. With a successful federal prosecution in hand, such a lawsuit would be a slam-dunk. Until the statute of limitations runs out (generally three years), a government-busted infringer is basically at the mercy of the copyright owner, who could likely bankrupt them on a whim. The only limitation on this is that any restitution payed due to the DOJ lawsuit would reduce or "offset" any subsequent civil action penalty. With a minimum penalty of $750 per infringement (and up to $150,000), this still leaves a major sword hanging over the head of DOJ-busted infringers.
Analysis and Commentary
Joe Gratz is absolutely right when he says this proposed act is simply rent-seeking (RIAA's Next Step: A $2 Million Gift From Taxpayers):
[The Act] shifts the costs of civil copyright enforcement from copyright holders to taxpayers. The direct cost is $2 million dollars — a quick, easy $2 million wealth transfer to rent-seekers from society at large. Perhaps the larger cost is the further erosion of the public's belief in the separation between government and big business.
Furdlog points out another cost of the Act; let's call it an "opportunity cost" (OK, That's It):
Maybe these legislators think that the FBI should be spending their time on KaZaA instead of helping to explain the threat of terrorism to Condi Rice and the rest of this administration?
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