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Senator fuses controversial IP bills into big, bad package

arstechnica.com — A bill introduced Thursday by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would increase penalties for counterfeiting, empower federal prosecutors to bring civil suits against copyright infringers, create a federal copyright czar to coordinate IP enforcement, and provide for the seizure of property used to violate copyrights and trademarks.

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MakiMaki 79 days ago, made popular 79 days ago

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oxymoron69, on 07/25/2008, -16/+8***** THE US of Aa!

Sorry, it didn't work without 2x the a.
imacommi, on 07/25/2008, -1/+46This is such *****! A huge part of the problem are these rediculous packaged bills. They need to vote on this stuff one issue at a time rather than in a huge bill package that hides all the crap they are trying to pull. I'm really getting sick of this less than representative government. When does anybody have a say in anything? These people don't give a ***** about the citizens of this country because they are too concerned with being greedy and corrupt. ***** these people, time for a revolution.... not the digital kind, the bloody kind!
- positron, on 07/25/2008, -1/+17Read the Bills Act:
  http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/27
  One Subject at a Time Act:
  http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/83
- overridemymind, on 07/26/2008, -1/+9Anyone else besides me want to replace the US Constitution wikipedia entry with the phrase "Decommissioned Legal document -- formerly the basis for the United States government. Replaced by Patriot Act..." and some ***** commie laws and acts like this one in there too -- with as much as Wikipedia is used for reference, I'm pretty sure that would cause a stir of some sort... especially if it kept happening. Just a thought.
- magus_melchior, on 07/27/2008, -0/+3No legislation without representation.
JMilton, on 07/25/2008, -3/+54I can't believe we used the phrase evil empire to describe the Soviet Union back in the days. Just take a look at this ***** America is turning into the past few decades. I can't believe we still have the audacity to call our society democratic and free with so much ***** going on. We made so many mistakes trusting our politicians, that we deprived ourselves of any kind of choice.

Well, ***** them all. ***** McCain and Obama and this Patrick Leahy. Go on fanboys, bury me for spitting on your idols and for pissing on their empty promises and lies. Click the bury button while we sink deeper into fascism and totalitarian state. Click while you still have the internet.
- chrisvc86, on 07/26/2008, -2/+25You shall be dugg, not buried, our fellow brother of the revolution.
  - Spuy767, on 07/26/2008, -5/+7Is that the revolution that you're taking part in by sitting in your desk chair eating cheezits?
  - norman619, on 07/26/2008, -8/+3No it's the revolution happening between his legs. :-P
  - norman619, on 07/26/2008, -8/+3chris: you are quite the armchair revolutionary. The enemy is shaking in their boots.
- supermanly, on 07/26/2008, -2/+15Click while you can still can, donate to the ACLU.
  
  http://www.aclu.org/
  
  They'll never stop fighting for rights of anyone and everyone.
  - norman619, on 07/26/2008, -8/+2***** the ACLU. They are selfe serving scum. How about taking REAL action? Oh wait that would involve actually going outside. Nevermind....
- vexvex, on 07/27/2008, -0/+3Here, Here! Dugg!
  Why doesn't anyone stop to think that maybe after a couple of hundred years these leeches at the republican and democratic parties had a sit down and said, ' ya know, if we work together, we could really own the place'. And guess what, they did. Behind closed doors, in the shadows. They'll throw words around all day accusing each other of this and that, of being too liberal or too conservative, of being traiters or fascists, or communists, or hitler, or whatever drives you further into a false dichotomy. But in the end, there's really only one master they both bow to. And it aint the people.
theNazz, on 07/25/2008, -2/+40Another President appointed 'czar' ... what ***** country is this again? Land of the free, home of the brave? Not even close.
- JohnFive, on 07/26/2008, -1/+14Land of the slaves home of the pussies...
  - norman619, on 07/26/2008, -1/+9Sad but true. All this time living the good life has made our populous weak. We don't have the balls of those who fought for our independence and formed this amazing nation. It will take something crazy bad to mobilize the people. The scum in office all know this sad fact which is why they don't fear the people as they should. Our forefathers would be incredibly disappointed in us for what we have done to our country.
- crispytown, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3No this one would be a Democratic Congress appointed IP CZAR.
  
  Read about the person that brought it to the floor. You are just like everyone else that puts everything that our government does on the president... unless you like it then it was congress.
giantkicks, on 07/26/2008, -10/+2The state has a responsibility to maintain the state. The state is based on capitalism..the bill protects capitalists. If the bill protected pirates, as you seem to imply it should, America would collapse.

- I own and frequently wear my "FILE SHARING SOLDIER" t-shirt
- giantkicks, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1from http://www.zeropaid.com/
- johndi, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5Where is that in the Constitution?
chrisvc86, on 07/26/2008, -0/+21No longer will you be sued by big media for seeding that torrent, but by the US Federal Government. At taxpayer's expense, no less.
10stackz, on 07/26/2008, -0/+9I fail to see how the MPAA and RIAA keep getting away with their argument of illegal downloads are costing them "billions" of dollars. If our Justices of our failed justice system took one look at the billboard charts (specifically Little Waynes release of the "Carter 3" it sold over a million copies in the first week) and just this past week of "Batman" numbers should completely discredit their allegations. Just those 2 things proves if they come out with quality content people will buy it no matter how much its bootlegged(not saying that Lil Wayne is quality content thats left up to opinion but the numbers dont lie.). Another issue is with technology becoming more affordable and powerful people can create for a few thousand dollars an album that rivals the biggest budget productions. I speak on the music side of the entertainment industry because thats what ive been following.
- dwhitbeck, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6Absolutely, it is utter crap to make a comparison to pirating cargo ships on the high seas. Who knows, maybe I "could have made" millions of dollars in my life or billions, must have been somebody's fault, or maybe just all the taxes I had to pay for government corporate welfare.
- Spuy767, on 07/26/2008, -4/+3You had me until your called anything by "Li' Wayne" quality content.
DrPaul2008, on 07/26/2008, -1/+15Please check out, and join, DownsizeDC.org. It's purpose is to give us ordinary citizens a collective voice so that our "representatives" at least acknowledge what it is we want before they sell their influence to the lobbyists offering the biggest bribe.

Here are two great campaigns they're currently presenting (though there are many other excellent ones)...

The "One Subject at a Time Act";
http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/83

...&, of course, the ever popular "Read the Bills Act" (cause the don't currently, folks);
http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/27

This is a brilliant idea, and it's worth supporting. Please check it out @ http://www.downsizedc.org
sk11, on 07/26/2008, -0/+11Well it worked so well to eliminate drug use...oh wait.
FreeTalkLIve, on 07/26/2008, -3/+18Shoulda had a Ron Paul!

/Slaps your head
SouthsideIrish, on 07/26/2008, -7/+9Don't worry, the Obama child will save us all. Oh, but he is a Democrat right? I guess I should get ready to go to prison.
- lordmike, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2I don't see Senator's Obama listed as one of the bill's cosponsors... but, there are plenty of Republicans on that list..
  
  If anything, Obama's support of net neutrality, and his reliance on millions of individual donors instead would make him more responsive to opposing such a bill if we raise our voices in protest.
  - Dauntless1, on 07/30/2008, -0/+0His support of the fisa bill makes him a ***** hypocrite.
smacksaw, on 07/26/2008, -2/+6The only good Leahy is Jim Lahey from Trailer Park Boys. There is absolutely nothing I like, nothing redeeming, NOTHING about Sen Leahy.

Man he needs to retire.
- magus_melchior, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1It's as if Fritz Hollings and Howard Berman infected this guy.
3tcp, on 07/26/2008, -0/+11WTF democrats? All these incumbents in the pocket of their corporate fundraisers need to go.
- jdaniel284, on 07/26/2008, -3/+2>> WTF democrats?
  
  WTF wild poisonous snake? You poisoned me when I reached down to pet you.
  - sekhui, on 07/26/2008, -3/+1 back to kindergarten, bitch. shut your ***** mouth until you learn to express yourself coherently.
kirado4, on 07/26/2008, -1/+9so does this mean the the assets of the RIAA and MPAA can be confiscated because of the copyright infringements THEY have made.. bring it on.. they need to realise that their hands are dirty to.. I say throw all the people in jail who have VCR's and have been recording on them since the 70's.. you ***** should be in jail!!
KibblesnBitts, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3In more relevant news, the same senator Patrick Leahy made a cameo appearance in The Dark Knight as one of the guests at Harvey Dent's Fundraiser
z28com, on 07/26/2008, -0/+10I would LOVE these people to seize my house for uploading 0 Day Warez. This would help me get out of it since I owe $75,000 more than it's worth. It would be so cool if they could stick me with a $25,000,000 fine that could never be paid even under multiple-lifetimes of work. Why do they even bother? Why don't they just make it a $10,000,000,000,000 fine? What's the difference of a $2 million or $10 billion fine? Why not a $2 Trillion Dollar fine? Or even more! It's ALL THE SAME! NO common person has the ability to ever repay these unless you're Bill Gates. And if you had the means to pay them, you wouldn't be downloading in the first place. They are the rich robbing the poor. Very, very stupid.
Zerophnx, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Wonderful, as if IP hasn't been abused enough.
LukasSmith, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1Britain is starting to crack down hard too. Beware Music Downloaders! The Day of Judgement is at Hand!!
dfekke, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Leaky Leahy is at it again. To quote Dick Cheney, "Go f^(k yourself Pat".
insurgente, on 07/26/2008, -2/+2The only ones who can consistently be opposed to intellectual property are socialists, as intellectual property is just another form of private property. Private property being the basis of all capitalist (liberal and conservative) ideology.
- Travelsonic, on 07/26/2008, -1/+3"The only ones who can consistently be opposed to intellectual property are socialists, "
  
  Unless / sarcasm, you are an idiot, mainly because the "Only X think Y way" mindset never works.
  - insurgente, on 07/26/2008, -2/+2Of course a liberal can be opposed to intellectual property, but it wouldn't be consistent with the rest of her or his ideology. That's all I said, not that she or he couldn't be opposed to it.
- lordmike, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1So, you like the bill then?
  - insurgente, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Doing so would make me an inconsistent socialist, so no, of course I don't like it.
- icmp, on 07/26/2008, -1/+3You say that as if socialism is a bad thing. But, I would suggest the nomenclature used is subject to ambiguities. What I think you mean to say is Communists ... as at least in a contemporary sense, the term socialism has come to mean not just the marxist transitional period to full communism but a system of government that is more representative of its populace than of corporations -- it doesn't necessarily controvert the idea of any kind of market-based economy at all (it isn't unregulated capitalism, but it also doesn't necessarily delineate state-owned markets either).
  
  In any case, as a former self-professed anarcho-capitalist (i.e: the most extreme kind of proponent for market capitalism as you can get), I have come to realize that private property can only be regarded as theft. In some fashion, it serves to steal labour, wages, sustenance, time, and/or land (which should be free to all..who can rightfully 'own' something we are all born into and should therefore share with everyone else? Every other species of this planet, for the most part, shares the resources of the planet except for us -- and in what advanced capacity is it for us to suggest such a natural wonder is "ours" ? It's fundamentally fascist, by definition. To further extrapolate, this requires that national borders are nonsensical, artificial creations to further divide the ***** sapien species where we would otherwise not be--Thomas Paine and Carl Sagan, and no doubt countless others, both have excellent quotes to this end as well.)
  
  The labour and wage theft should be clear to see for anyone, too. Wages in industrialized countries are largely , fairly, determined by the market, but those countries are also supported by the insultingly low wages and poor conditions in developing countries-- which are all supported and determined by market/consumer forces. How is that just?
  
  All that I'm trying to say is that we are wasting our lives working in pursuit of the almighty dollar before any other -- and most of that is vainly executed in reality while your corporate owners continue to distance themselves from everyone else. There HAS to be a better way. Music and the arts weren't always subject to immense profits, and in my humble opinion, have declined significantly in quality since profits were introduced into the equation. So, with all of that said, don't try to act like capitalism is some great, progressive, equalizer when history has consistently proven it to be far from it.
  - insurgente, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1How was I implying socialism is a bad thing? As a socialist, and even more so as a communist, I can't help but feel a bit offended.
    
    Regarding your views on property, wages, land, nations and markets, they pretty much perfectly line up with mine, so we are definitely on the same page.
  - icmp, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1Sorry man .. I was tweaking a bit still from a can of bawls and I guess I didn't read, and fully comprehend, your comment before I decided to reply. I wasn't expecting to find a fellow digger who shared the same views on private property as me -- I'm used to arguing with conservatives on IRC lol..
    
    So, I guess keep fighting the fight comrade ;) Maybe one day we'll make a substantive difference.
- AlwaysAwake, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1The law already protects intellectual property. No new law needed for that. This about something very different from protecting intellectual property.
- arek467, on 07/29/2008, -0/+0So you're advocating violating the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable searches and seizures of private property) for the sake of "protecting" intellectual property?? This law isn't about the concept of intellectual property, it's about Communist Democrats deepening their command on the free market exchange of ideas. Our ever-expanding government wants to control how and when we share ideas. Comrade Leahy's turning this country into the Soviet Union. Follow this line of thinking and we'll end up with Minority Report-style arrests for future IP crimes and artists outputting whatever high holy big government thinks is "art."
  
  The recording and film industries have a right to protect their intellectual property, no matter how much money they make. They can exercise their right to seek legal action against those who violate their IP rights. Deciding that the government needs to take over these cases is an ABSURD abuse of power.
crapmatic, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5It's about time we make lobbying and political action committees illegal. Corporations do NOT need to be influencing public policy and making back room dealings. If we can't do this we need to make a point of VOTING OUT those who are in bed with CEOs.
- Dauntless1, on 07/30/2008, -0/+0The only problem is, they all are.
scyon, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1The Internet is the greatest copy machine ever created. Prove this by e-mailing your disgust of this bill to your senator.
- AlwaysAwake, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1It certainly is the greatest "round file filler" in Lawmaker"s offices.They only read emails from Rothschild's messengers.
azathothx, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1You remind me of my father.
lordmike, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5Ah, the entertainment industry.... the fourth branch of government. they get whatever they want. I hope this goes nowhere, but, chances are it will get into law quicker than the patriot act. Both parties *LOVE* the MPAA and RIAA. Unfortunately, the net effect of this will be bigger than prohibition... Almost everyone has a copy of something they probably shouldn't have... most without malicious intent.

As for "trademark" infringement... I wonder if they will seize the assets of companies that violate another's intellectual property (like patents)... the courts are flooded with these types of cases somehow, I think not...

The good news is that now that the Democratic party is more accountable to its actual members than ever before thanks to Obama's campaign... we can derail this is we work hard enough.
NipGrip, on 07/26/2008, -1/+3Is there ever a time when MakiMaki doesn't have 3 stories on the front page being Dugg? Fishy.
sb66, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6I'm surprised property seizures are so popular in the land of the supposedly free? First for drugs and now copyright infringement? Meanwhile murderers and rapists don't have their property siezed.

Americans sure have strange priorities.
- keyfitter, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Not so strange after all. Murderers and rapists
  are not as lucrative as everyone else. It's
  all about money. Liberty and justice doesn't
  mean a damn thing in this police state.
  - Dauntless1, on 07/30/2008, -0/+0***** A.
- Abomonog, on 07/27/2008, -0/+3It's not about priorities. It's about preserving the money flow.
  
  Police will use more resources to track down a suspected drug dealer than a serial murderer simply because: A: They can seize his property even if he is acquitted and B: there are bonuses both personal and to the police department if the drug dealer is arrested. Then there are the payoffs to the politicians from the companies that benefit from keeping drugs illegal.
  
  It is quite obvious that the RIAA and MPAA has started greasing the palms of the politicians and only a matter of time before the bribery gets down to the enforcement level.
keyfitter, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Think things are bad now? We have a rotten runaway government that needs to
feel the effects of a full blown tax revolt!. Oh wait,
thats what the FEMA detention centers are for! Too late now.
Bluezdood, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Well shucky darn. One of the most liberal representatives coming up with one of the worst ideas in history. A whole group of diggers is about to implode.
RationalXubrnce, on 07/27/2008, -0/+3 The very concept that different laws and conditions can packaged into the same bill to voted yes or no makes a mockery of everything we are supposed to stand for. Each law should have to be voted on it's own. No matter how long that takes. Maybe if they worked some more realistic hours they'd have the time.
alricsca, on 07/27/2008, -0/+2What I do not get is why the big houses like Google are not going mad about this. The bill allows the confiscation of any property used and does not distinguish between counterfeiting and copyright violation, what does Google think will happen to You Tube if even one mistake is made and the issue is pushed?

Part of the problem with confiscation when not limited to purpose specific property is the collateral damage. Say your kid downloads a copyrighted image and e-mails it to a friends. That means they can take your and their friends computers. Lets say they upload a song to your built in mp3 player in your car. They can take your car. Lets say they do this via your built in house network, they could cease your house. Without a clear and severely limiting definition they could take virtually anything.

This bill already stinks, but this is insane. It is like a mass property grab by the US government, where will it end? You have to understand, it is nearly impossible even for the most ardent IP advocate to prevent every form of copyright infringement. For example, some could use a borrowed font to print this bill's text and this law would therefore allow them to cease the publishing equipment of congress. Shoot a amusing joke sent via a text message that uses a copyrighted line could give the right to cease cellphones. It makes no sense and is dangerous as it is written now. Lord knows we cannot depend on their better judgment. They have proved that.
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Senator fuses controversial IP bills into big, bad package

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