Digital Millennium Anti-Connectivity Act Introduced

(There's just no stopping them.  First the DMCA; now a "DMACA."  Utterly
unwilling to confront reality, they simply turn their fellow citizens into
felons, rather than consider that outmoded, unfounded, and useless notions
of exclusive rights must not be allowed to take priority over newfound
capacities to exercise our freedoms.  -- Seth)

> http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Politics&storyId=764305


Bill Would Put Net Song Swappers in Jail  

By Andy Sullivan
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 5:10 p.m. ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet users who allow others to copy songs from
their hard drives could face prison time under legislation introduced by two
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday.

The bill is the strongest attempt yet to deter the widespread online song
copying that recording companies say has led to a decline in CD sales.

Sponsored by Michigan Rep. John Conyers and California Rep. Howard Berman,
the bill would make it easier to slap criminal charges on Internet users who
copy music, movies and other copyrighted files over "peer-to-peer" networks.

The recording industry has aggressively pursued Napster, Kazaa and other
peer-to-peer networks in court and recently announced it planned to sue
individual users as well.

In a series of hearings on Capitol Hill last spring, lawmakers condemned
online song swapping and expressed concern the networks could spread
computer viruses, create government security risks and allow children access
to pornography.

Few online copyright violators have faced criminal charges so far. A New
Jersey man pleaded guilty to distributing a digital copy of the movie "The
Hulk" in federal court three weeks ago, but the Justice Department has not
taken action against Internet users who offer millions of copies of songs
each day.

The Conyers-Berman bill would operate under the assumption that each
copyrighted work made available through a computer network was copied at
least 10 times for a total retail value of $2,500. That would bump the
activity from a misdemeanor to a felony, carrying a sentence of up to five
years in jail.

It would also outlaw the practice of videotaping a movie in the theater, a
favorite illicit method of copying movies.

"While existing laws have been useful in stemming this problem, they simply
do not go far enough," said Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary
Committee.

A Conyers staffer said the bill had won the backing of many Democrats but
Republicans had yet to endorse it.

The staffer said backers hoped to discuss the bill at a hearing on Thursday
and combine it next week with another sponsored by Texas Republican Rep.
Lamar Smith.

A Smith spokesman was not immediately available for comment. 


-- 

DRM is Theft!  We are the Stakeholders!

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