[FYI] Seven years jail, $150,000 fine if you don’t tell the world your email and home address

["Axel H Horns" <axel.h.horns@gmx.net>]

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/35376.html>

Seven years jail, $150,000 fine if you don’t tell the world your 
email and home address

By Kieren McCarthy

Posted: 05/02/2004 at 22:13 GMT

If you don’t tell the world your email, home address and telephone 
number you could face a seven-year jail sentence and a $150,000 fine 
under new legislation that the US Congress is trying to push past 
today.  

Senator Lamar Smith of Texas - chairman of the Courts, the Internet 
and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary 
Committee - yesterday produced from nowhere extensions to the 1946 
Trademark Act that would make giving false contact information for a 
domain name a civil and criminal offence.  

His bill (HR 3754) was discussed today at 10am Washington time in his 
Subcommittee. It was live here.  

No you’re not dreaming, this is what the Bill proposes. Mr Smith’s 
attempt to “provide additional civil and criminal remedies for domain 
name fraud” may be laudable, but his approach is as unthinking and 
blinkered as the Intellectual Property lobbyists that have his ear.  

The extensions to the Trademark Act would make the provision of 
misleading contact details when registering a domain an offence. Not 
only that but a “willful” offence - which in American law means three-
times normal payout. Also, anyone “acting in concert with the 
violator” or “maintaining or renewing such registration” would also 
be guilty. In the case of a trademark infringement on the domain “the 
maximum imprisonment otherwise provided by law for a felony offense 
shall be increased by 7 years”.  

The intention for this legislation is clearly peer-to-peer sharing 
networks, but by making the provision so wide, it is pulling in 
millions of normal Internet users and businesses. Not to mention 
registrars.  

[...]



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