Re: SENATE PASSES ONLINE COPYRIGHT EXTENSION

Steve Nordquist (signa@tfs.net)
Mon, 18 May 1998 04:05:53 -0500


CobraBoy wrote:

> > The Senate unanimously approved the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which
> > offers the same protection to online computer software, music, movies and
> > written works that they enjoy in more tangible form.

All those sinister, beguiling people asking me to 'take in a movie' hadsolely this
in mind: a 76mm throat..

> > In a key provision,
> > the legislation exempts libraries and online services from prosecution for
> > copyright violations committed by patrons and customers. Individuals who
> > violate copyrights for financial gain will be liable for $1 million in fines
> > and up to 10 years in prison. (Wall Street Journal 15 May 98)

...and you really have to love a film badly to pirate it from prison.

> Well maybe I'm just stupid, but this pretty much says that I can run a
> pirate board as long as I don't make any money off of it.
>
> Anyone have any other opinions?

yyyup. I watch subbed Anime all I can, and to get the subtitle on tape (not
entirely necessary, but then I don't get paged for e-mail in the middle of the
nicest scenes) ya end up making a copy of something that may or may
not be commercially available in the US. LDs are made incompatible with
US players, and so on with DVD if your player follows the standard.
It's 'grey market.' On the other hand, there were some people selling
5th gen Hokuto no Ken (DragonballZ for servers) for $130 a pop, and
it took a while to establish distributors-in-course (i.e. the anti-fans
feeding the good stuff to pirates) as not only illegal, but illegal enough
to get 'em arrested and searched and confiscated and publicly
investigated.

This of course is your golden opportunity to set up a TV campaign
to stop congress from investigating software firms when doing so would
generate:
a black market for Chinese (PRC) versions of the software
consumer riots in the venerable OS distribution chain
unhealthy trade in active components
and won't they please write their senators straightaway?

MacOS X: The Clamp X 1999 pugilists fights the Chromeheads on the SDF11?