FITUG e.V. Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft

FC: Sen. Biden wants to ban spoofing of digital rights m

------- 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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