[FYI] (Fwd) FC: Sen. Biden wants to ban spoofing of digital rights m

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Mon, 29 Jul 2002 10:07:06 -0400
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
Subject:        	FC: Sen. Biden wants to ban spoofing of digital rights management
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com



http://news.com.com/2010-1071-946732.html?tag=politech

   Pirate this, go to jail
   By Declan McCullagh 
   July 29, 2002, 4:00 AM PT

   WASHINGTON--Sen. Joseph Biden has become one of the newest field
   marshals in Congress' intellectual property wars.

   After the 59-year old Delaware Democrat took over the Foreign
   Relations committee last year, the software and entertainment
   industries enlisted him in their anti-piracy struggles. That
   prompted Biden to convene a hearing where he denounced copyright
   thievery in stentorian tones. "Windows XP was available for illegal
   use on the streets of Moscow two months before it was released in
   the U.S. by Microsoft," Biden said. "Every episode of "Seinfeld" is
   now available to download free to anyone with access to the
   Internet."

   At the hearing in February, Biden released a 52-page report written
   by his aides and titled: "Theft of American Intellectual Property:
   Fighting Crime Abroad and At Home." One section devoted to
   counterfeit products expressed the worry that "counterfeiters flood
   markets with their underpriced products and steal a great deal of
   revenue."

   A few weeks later, Biden introduced a bill titled the
   "Anticounterfeiting Amendments of 2002." It originally targeted the
   kind of large-scale pirates who manufacture fake Windows holograms,
   but in a little-noticed move this month before being sent to the
   Senate floor, the proposed legislation was rewritten to encompass
   technology used in digital rights management.

   Biden's new bill would make it a federal felony to try and trick
   certain types of devices into playing your music or running your
   computer program. Breaking this law--even if it's to share music by
   your own garage band--could land you in prison for up to five
   years. And that's not counting the civil penalties of up to $25,000
   per offense.

   [...]



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