Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: MegaByte on March 11, 2011, 05:49:39 PM
Title: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: MegaByte on March 11, 2011, 05:49:39 PM
Fuckers are trying to make imports illegal now, make circumventing DRM a criminal offense even in cases where there is no copyright infringement (for example, running said imports), among other horrible things (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/00104713434/us-proposals-secret-tpp-son-acta-treaty-leaked-chock-full-awful-ideas.shtml).
Edit: split into its own topic since it has far-reaching implications that deserve more discussion.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Stogi on March 11, 2011, 05:56:53 PM
Wow...
That's...
That's just wrong...
I gotta a feeling Geohotz case with Sony might set a precedent that would abolish the foundation for those ideas. All the more reason to support his cause.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Ian Sane on March 11, 2011, 06:23:35 PM
I know we can't talk politics here and what I'm about to say more or less is political but it's relevant to the link Aaron posted.
What bothers me the most about the contents of that link is that it essentially implies a global government. How can I have a democracy where I elect the government of my country when the government of another country, which I have no representation in, can call the shots?
I problem with IP is that it isn't really a limited resource anymore. It just isn't, which can suck for a creative person wanting to make a living off of his creative works, but that is just how things are. If we could copy any natural resource from nothing, like we can essentially do with IP, it would just destory the concept of selling goods. It's a losing battle. At the core of it capitalism is very much a deal to distribute resources. Not everyone has access to everything so we buy that which we cannot obtain on our own. I don't think "boy that grocer is screwing me by controlling the food supply" I think "good thing I can buy this since I don't have the time grow my own food." Once something is plentiful there is no real reason to buy it from an instinctive survival mentality. I would never pay for apples when I've got my own apple tree pumping out more apples than I could eat. Better to save my money for something else.
This is where we're at with IP. I don't HAVE to pay for it to get it so the only real reason to do so is to either be nice or to grasp the concept that new IP often needs money and if no one buys it, it just isn't going to get made at all. But the average person isn't so smart to think of that longterm effect. They're thinking "hey I can get this for free" and the idea of videogames becoming an amateur's pursuit (ie: rich people only) because there is no way to make a living with it doesn't cross their minds.
But it is inevitable and the problem is that greed is a powerful motivator. The guy selling the apples isn't necessarily happy to find out that I have my own apple tree and don't need to buy his product. The mutual exchange of goods that is the core of capitalism doesn't favour his greed so he needs to protect the favourable circumstance he has. Thus we're constantly under the threat of oppressive legislation to force an artificial scarcity so that those who no longer have a limited resource can continue to profit from it.
Of course there are little people involved too. Every movie, TV show, music album, or videogame has a big team of people involved and a lot of them aren't rich. Their livelyhood is disappearing as well. In that situation they would want to fight back out of mere survival just like any person can get angry about getting laid off because their job is no longer a limited resource they can "sell". The way it all works is that everyone contributes something and in return gets something else. If you don't contribute anything, you just don't fit in.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 11, 2011, 08:16:14 PM
I don't get the problem. States and countries are free to ban whatever they want. Just because something is legal in on place doesn't mean others have a right to buy it. For example, brass knuckles are illegal in New York. They are legal in other states, but legally companies can not ship them to places in New York. It would be disappointing if this news story is true, but that won't make me support Hotz or other hackers.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 11, 2011, 08:58:07 PM
The government should not be free to do this. There is no legitimate reason to ban the import of these kinds of things. You could make a case against it as a First Amendment violation.
The DMCA is already slanted too much against consumers, and this would take it way further. This can't be allowed to happen.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 11, 2011, 09:31:10 PM
How is it a 1st amendment violation? The government is not taking away your right to free speech with it, your right to peacefully assemble, your right to practice or not practice religion, or the press. You could attempt to argue the first amendment, but you would fail because there is nothing in it related to this situation. The DMCA is a good law, it protects the people who actually put in the effort to create stuff.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 11, 2011, 09:40:05 PM
The government would be censoring expression by banning people from seeing and hearing information from outside the country. Games have been upheld by the court system as being protected by the First Amendment, which means the government can't ban or censor them.
And the DMCA is not a good law. It's a law with a good ideal behind it, but shitty execution.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 11, 2011, 10:02:53 PM
The government would be censoring expression by banning people from seeing and hearing information from outside the country. Games have been upheld by the court system as being protected by the First Amendment, which means the government can't ban or censor them.
And the DMCA is not a good law. It's a law with a good ideal behind it, but shitty execution.
Importing is not a form of expression. The government would not be censoring or banning the games (a publisher could still publish the game if they want to). Please show me how this would be unconstitutional, because so far your arguments have been wrong.
I also don't see why you think the DMCA has been bad, unless you have done something banned by it (like pirating music or games).
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 11, 2011, 10:16:59 PM
Okay, that's it. I'm not arguing with TJ Spyke anymore. There's only so long you can beat your head against a brick wall before you say "no more."
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: ShyGuy on March 11, 2011, 10:22:32 PM
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 11, 2011, 10:26:24 PM
insanolord, if you can come up with legit arguments then I would be happy to listen. You tried to say a law against importing would be unconstitutional, and I showed why it wouldn't.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: King of Twitch on March 11, 2011, 11:12:47 PM
Isn't it the President's job to make treaties, and the Senate's job to ratify?
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BranDonk Kong on March 12, 2011, 12:46:05 AM
TJ, you are absolutely ridiculous. In fact, I don't even think you believe any of the stuff that you say. You absolutely *HAVE* to be trolling us all, just to get a reaction.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: MaryJane on March 12, 2011, 11:38:00 AM
Gotta say that I agree with TJ, even though I disagree with the law in itself.
The government has every right to regulate imports. Unfortunately, I think this time they are using that right to help big business and not every day people. I think there needs to be a separation of corporation and state, just like there is a separation of church and state.
@Ian It's not a global government, but a global economy, and a global economy really helps protect intellectual property. If you make something in Canada, it will be illegal for people in Russia, China, India, and other countries to steal your creation. Governments with similar interest working together and instituting cooperating laws is more effective than one country trying to force their opinions on others. Each country makes some concessions and everyone benefits. Of course that's the perfect model, and mistaks can be made, but I don't want to get political; I think it's much more about economics.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BranDonk Kong on March 12, 2011, 02:11:49 PM
If it's a global economy, then you should be free to support the economy of any part of the globe, and have the freedom to import whatever you want.
I rest on your face.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 12, 2011, 02:49:48 PM
If it's a global economy, then you should be free to support the economy of any part of the globe, and have the freedom to import whatever you want.
I rest on your face.
Except that is not true even in the same country. Something can be legal in one part and illegal in another (as I pointed out earlier in this thread). Just because something is allowed somewhere else does not guarantee you the right to it where you live. You can still support the economy there, you just won't have the right to import it.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: MaryJane on March 12, 2011, 03:02:40 PM
You rest on my face? We don't even know each other ;).
And the global economy is a regulated one, just like every other economy on the globe.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: oohhboy on March 14, 2011, 03:19:14 PM
For those only interested in some of the potential effects in America, this treaty would violate First sale doctrine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine).
For those who don't want to read the whole article.
Quote
The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright) that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States) in 1908 (see Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbs-Merrill_Co._v._Straus)) and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_of_1976), 17 U.S.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_17_of_the_United_States_Code) § 109 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/109.html). The doctrine allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e., sell, lend or give away) a particular lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. This means that the copyright holder's rights to control the change of ownership of a particular copy ends once ownership of that copy has passed to someone else, as long as the copy itself is not an infringing copy. This doctrine is also referred to as the "right of first sale," "first sale rule," or "exhaustion rule."
Here is the potential aftermath from the removal of first sale from copyrighted goods.
Quote
In 2009, in Pearson Education, Inc. v. Ganghua Liu,[8] the District Court in the Southern District of New York (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York) ruled that the first sale copyright doctrine does not apply to products that are lawfully manufactured abroad and then imported and sold in the U.S without authority from the copyright holder. The court reached this conclusion reluctantly, saying that it found nothing in the copyright statute that limits the doctrine to copies manufactured in the U.S., but it relied upon dicta in the 1998 Supreme Court (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court) opinion in Quality King Distribs., Inc. v. L’anza Research Int’l, Inc. (discussed above) to reach its conclusion. That case is currently before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, on petition for leave to appeal, a decision on which has been deferred pending a ruling in a similar case. The argument that § 109(a) does not apply to copies made abroad is often approached as a means for a copyright owner to seek to prevent the "gray market" importation of copyrighted goods made abroad without finding the first sale doctrine to be an obstacle, and thereby enabling the copyright owner to engage in geographic price discrimination without fear that copies it sells more cheaply abroad will find their way back into the United States and undermine the higher prices they seek to extract from U.S. consumers. While this theory has some appeal in economic circles, the implications of such an interpretation are much broader, as it would mean that any object (perfume, an automobile, a cell phone, a home appliance) bearing a copyrighted label or containing copyrighted computer code, where the label or code was made into a copy while outside of the United States, could not be lent, sold or given away without the permission of the owner of the copyright in that work[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]. Given that modern technology allows literally thousands of discrete copyrighted works to embody the same tangible medium, just one copyright holder in a work that was reproduced onto the object, while outside of the United States, would effectively give the copyright owner power over the object[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]. For example, if a new cell phone was made in China, where it was pre-loaded with a number of copyrighted computer programs, the owner of the copyright in each program could sue anyone who let someone else borrow their phone. Even where everything was initially made in the United States, if a student downloaded a "patch" or upgrade to a computer program while temporarily abroad would be committing copyright infringement by lending the computer to someone else upon returning to the United States
You all know the shooting war LG and Sony got themselves into? I bolded that part for a reason. This will kill trade as anything of significant value or use these days has copyright or patents. A patent troll on the lowest level demand to be paid for something without merit because they managed to slip something through the over worked and broken patent office.
Legal departments would explode in size as companies from the most mega to the smallest would be forced to gain approval from each and every copyright owner or else it can't be imported in fear that somebody with an obscure claim could ban a product.
Companies engaged in patent wars would find themselves in the trade equivalent of nuclear war where even the smallest guy could be packing a nuclear suit case.
For those who didn't read the original article.
Quote
It would require criminal enforcement for certain cases of circumventing DRM even when there's no copyright infringement, going beyond existing treaties even when there's no copyright infringement. There are some exceptions, but rather than allow countries to determine their own exceptions, it defines the exceptions and actually says countries cannot go beyond those.
If you have a freeloader disc, a switch at the back of your Gamecube that allows you to switch regions, ever use VLC or another program to watch a DVD from another region, transcoded a movie or episode for your ipod, you fall under this and are potentially a criminal.
Here is the original article (http://keionline.org/node/1091) that the opening post sources from. It is a lot more dry and the commentary is at the end. At the end there is a link (http://keionline.org/sites/default/files/tpp-10feb2011-us-text-ipr-chapter.pdf) to the original leak in PDF form. It's a lot of it is unreadable due to the brutal amount of complexity that is international legal language, but the summary is accurate. This is bad for anyone, companies and especially people who need to import generics to live due to cost.
Quote
Pharma-favored provisions included in many recent U.S. trade deals extend drug company monopolies and keep prices high. But price-lowering generic competition is essential to advancing global access to medicines. For example, over the past 10 years, generic competition has played a key role in reducing the costs of first-line HIV/AIDS medicines by 99 percent, enabling 5.2 million people worldwide to access lifesaving treatment.
New Zealand has manned up against this in a leak (http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=3227).
Quote
The leaked New Zealand paper states the parties “should be cautious about moving beyond TRIPS [Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights] standards under [the] TPP,” noting “there is a tendency towards overprotection of IP in all our societies, particularly in the areas of copyright and patents.” New Zealand proposes an alternative “TRIPS-aligned” structure, focusing on operational coherence and enforcement, and capacity building in developing countries.
I would vote for John Key if he came out and out by giving the middle finger to the US industrial lobby over this, even after that embarrassing capitulation clarification over the hobbits movie.
If this passes TJ, I hope you never, ever catch an illness that could be cured or controlled by generics because there will be no fucking way you are rich enough to live.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 14, 2011, 03:26:39 PM
Thanks you for breaking it down into laymans terms with examples that I can understand. [applaud]
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Ian Sane on March 14, 2011, 05:09:17 PM
I get that something like brass knuckles can be illegal in one area and not in the other so you can't bring them in between. But that makes some sense in regards to public safety. This isn't anything like that. This is just company X doesn't want you importing their product from this country or that country. That doesn't exist to serve the public, it exists to serve the interests of individuals and private companies.
The thing is I get irritated enough about stuff like duty. I've had times where I'm bringing something in from the States and *I* know it is technically not the same product available in Canada. The guys at the border don't get or care about the subtle difference so they charge me. Let's say for whatever reason some videogame was censored here in North America but was available without it in Europe. I want to the "real" version but I can't import it because they say "nuh uh". That sucks. Typically if I'm going to trouble of importing it is because the product is not available in my country or not available in the format I would like. Ignoring the law, I should be able to buy that if I want to. To me that's just the freedom to decide what goods I buy and who I buy them from.
And I'm not talking about the situation where it is the is same product but the local price is so much higher that importing and paying for shipping is actually cheaper. In those situations, which I never run into with videogames thankfully, the pricing is largely artificial. It isn't based on demand or what the public is willing to pay, it's based on laws that more or less fix the price. It's like if I go across the street to buy the same bread at a lower price. The guy who owns the store on my side of the street doesn't like it so he gets a big wall built up around the competing store to force me to go to his store and pay more. That's not real competition, that's not a real market, that's just a rigged game designed to favour the store owner.
We're not talking about pirated stuff here. We're talking about real products that don't have any real dangerous element to them, that we're being told we can't buy because it doesn't fit the business interests of certain companies. That's ridiculous.
You can point out that it isn't unconstitutional (which is useless for me anyway since I'm not American) but that doesn't make it right. Freedom and liberty is instinctive, not something that is granted by laws.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: SixthAngel on March 15, 2011, 04:09:18 AM
Tarrifs cause some of what you are talking about Ian. They will be more expensive in your country and cheaper somewhere else in order to keep the manufacturing and jobs in your country. I agree with you about the ridiculousness of the situation Megabyte talks about though.
IP and copyright laws only get worse and worse. These were all originally made to encourage creativity by giving the original creators time to make money but they both stopped doing that a long time ago and now actually actively hurt creativity.
The combination of companies pouring money into the system and old judges who frankly don't even understand half of the internet stuff much less use it is a recipe for disaster. Sadly I don't see anyway to stop it.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: MegaByte on March 16, 2011, 02:11:51 AM
Quote
The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making "illegal streaming" of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: ShyGuy on March 16, 2011, 02:18:10 AM
All I know is I'm against gun control.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: oohhboy on March 16, 2011, 03:52:57 AM
So they want to fill the already full prisons that are currently loaded with drugies who need treatment, not jail time with the remaining population off the United states that has or will ever share an anime music video, downfall parodie, redubs, recuts, gameplay video, videos of cans of coke, anything copyrighted or looked at Hollywood funny.
This is 21th Century Probation. Instead of alcohol, it's information. Captain Picard is too tried and old for this ****.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BranDonk Kong on March 16, 2011, 10:13:52 AM
This country is turning into bullshit. That's not politics, it's an observation. I can see them getting mad at people that stream say HBO, or other subscription-only channels, but anything on basic cable or OTA should not be included, since when you stream content, you also stream the advertisements, which is all that the TV channels care about anyway.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 16, 2011, 11:44:29 AM
It's because when you stream the channels (at least cable), you are illegally watching the channels since they are pay channels.
As for this proposal, illegal streaming is already illegal (duh). All this would do is make the punishment harsher. They have been cracking down already, just the other day they shut down a company that was streaming MMA and wrestling PPV's. I don't have a problem with OTA channels being streamed though since those channels are already free.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Stogi on March 16, 2011, 01:18:10 PM
This is not a big deal. P2P sharing of copyrighted files has been illegal for sometime, so streaming services will do exactly as they did -- move to Sweden haha.
As the internet becomes faster, cable will soon be a thing of the past, especially if Internet Ready TV's become more the norm. No need to have both.
This is just the cable industry lobby at work.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Morari on March 16, 2011, 01:36:58 PM
The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making "illegal streaming" of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.
I didn't know that the FBI was looking for permission to wiretap innocent civilians? After all, they can just yell "terrorism" and get whatever they want, right? Fear and distraction is a pretty timeless ploy. But this? This is just lip service. These corporations (byway of their government subservients) already have what they want. Between the DMCA and ICE's recent domain seizures, it's become pretty clear that freedom of speech and the unabated exchange of ideas scares the hell out of those running the show. The internet is a liability because it is made up of ideas and information. Those are the things that topple governments and make corporate supply channels obsolete.
I suppose it's good for them that the internet becomes less useful everyday. What used to be a seas of information and ideas is shrinking to just be a few corporate controlled portals. Most people don't even know it exists if it isn't on Facebook, Wikipedia, or YouTube. It's reverting back to the idea of AOL "key words" and it's very sad.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 16, 2011, 01:52:11 PM
Freedom is more open now that ever before. If anything, it's too open (see the morons in the Tea Party, the Westboro Church, Fox News, etc.). There are people who spread lies and fears about DMCA and ICE, and get their underwear in a bunch (streaming of video is already illegal, this will just make the penalties more severe). Also, the FBI has to present evidence that someone may be doing something illegal to get a wiretap (well, except terror suspects, but I have a lot of problems with the USA PATRIOT Act). The government is embracing technology and trying to make it easier for people to access it, and trying to make it more open than ever before (and before anyone mentions Wikileaks, Wikileaks took STOLEN classified documents and posted them.)
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 16, 2011, 02:36:51 PM
Depending on where you're "streaming" from, because most places will use the torrents of the shows that have already cut all the ads out. But that's exactly why they are so popular in the first place. No Advertisements.
That's why lots of people will download the torrents over even DVRing the program when they have the DVR. They don't want to bother with having to fast forward through all the commercials, not to mention that if you live on the West Coast, you have a chance at watching the show before it even airs and commercial free.
Now if they got rid of the neilsen system the way it is and made every cable box a neilsen box, and let everyone know about it, maybe more people would tune in to their favorite shows through the trackable systems to ensure that their favorite shows continue to be made. It would be like letting the people know that their vote does count and not the select few who they've chosen to poll.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 16, 2011, 02:45:02 PM
Now if they got rid of the neilsen system the way it is and made every cable box a neilsen box, and let everyone know about it, maybe more people would tune in to their favorite shows through the trackable systems to ensure that their favorite shows continue to be made.
I would love for this to happen, but you would have some people (like Morari) complaining about Big Brother and every other anti-government claim they can think off. It would also let more accurate ratings happen instead of using a few thousand people be used to guess what millions watch. Right now it doesn't matter if I watch a show or not because my house is not tracked by the Nielsen company.
And people who torrent even when they have DVR? That is just lazy, it takes about 10 seconds to skip past 2 minutes of commercials.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 16, 2011, 03:01:52 PM
2-4 minutes of commercials 4-6 times during a 1 hour program on faulty DVR box that likes to skip back and forth when you hit the play button after FF or REW.
Not to mention that you can only DVR so many shows at once, so instead of waiting the next day for it to pop up in Hulu, you opt to download and watch it commercial free that night instead.
I'll admit that I sometimes torrent shows because my DVR is retarded. A show will not get recorded sometimes because the pevious show (on a different channel) had a 1-3 minute overlap and I can't set it to automatically series record the rerun that comes on at 11pm instead of at 9pm since the one at 9pm is the only one labeled as NEW.
As a matter of fact I find it much more convenient to torrent the TV shows just for the fact that I don't have to FF through commercials and play the skip forward/back game with the box just to start the show right when the commercial ends instead of catching the last 7 seconds of a commercial or just miss the first 7 seconds of the show after the commercial instead.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Stogi on March 16, 2011, 03:04:04 PM
Lazy is a human condition. It what spurs us to become...more lazy.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 16, 2011, 03:07:44 PM
And I would actually call it being impatient over being lazy.
Being lazy would be just not watching the show at all or getting around to it at some later time.... maybe after it showed up on Hulu. But being impatient, I put in the effort to watch it NOW and not later. In some cases, I could even do it before it aired.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: Stogi on March 16, 2011, 03:16:40 PM
True. That's a better term for it.
Being impatient is what has spurred a lot of creations. No denying that.
Title: Re: TPP: 'Son of ACTA' IP disaster in the making
Post by: oohhboy on March 16, 2011, 04:39:34 PM
The problem with this 20 page White paper is that it sets out the administrations policy in a very broad and unspecific way without even attempting to understand why people do what they do. This is a very clear example of "Every problem is a nail" if the only tools your willing to use is a hammer.
Whats disturbing on a life and death level regarding counterfeit drugs. Yeah, they are bad, but why does America have such a massive "Black" market on prescription drugs? For one thing Pharmas are constantly bombarding the public with messages promising to make you faster, better, stronger and hard enough to cut a diamond in order to sell drugs that people just don't need. Then they price everything from the life saving to sugar pills to a level that is unaffordable to the average person. Coupled with the broken healthcare system that is stuck in a tornado of increasing costs, an education system they doesn't teach you anything. It gets worse when they turn doctors into their sales reps instead of leaving them alone to be doctors.
Copyright infringement on a Commerical scale has always been a felony, therefore a federal crime. However this paper seeks to elevate all copyright infringement to a felony. This a is a massive problem to to how broad it intends to cast the net. There is nothing regarding fair use or reverse engineering. Increasing penalties for repeat offenders is problematic as it has been shown before that, each time someone you upload, you are essentially repeating the offence, therefore it could be very possible that you could serve more time for it than much more serious crimes.
By shifting all IP infringements to felony level, it also not only shifts the burden of enforcement, it dumps it on to the government, with it's, shifting most importantly to the industry, the associated costs, but disturbingly also widens the tools usable.
So in the future it is quite possible that people are going to start getting no-knock warrants served and treatment that is so common in drug raids. Hell Americans even show the raids on TV and boast about getting a grand in cash and a bag of weed. I mean did that really require you to make a tactical entry over? I am not even getting into the issue of raiding the wrong house and the resulting cluster **** that results in.
Freedom is more open now that ever before. If anything, it's too open (see the morons in the Tea Party, the Westboro Church, Fox News, etc.). The government is embracing technology and trying to make it easier for people to access it, and trying to make it more open than ever before (and before anyone mentions Wikileaks, Wikileaks took STOLEN classified documents and posted them.)
Tea party and Westbro are an idiotic bunch, but I do defend their right to free speech as offensive or asinine as they are. To enjoy certain things you at times have to defend the indefensible.
However, Fox news and all American media outlets is given, but should not have such a level of defence given as they have the additional responsibility of providing factual information, but don't. They would fall under the same level of shouting fire in a theater. Back when American outlets were respected decades ago, this was an unspoken understanding.They reported the news like they were describing drying paint. If they didn't know what was happening, they would say so. No slant to the news besides whatever emotion the news reader or reporter couldn't hold in check. American news is a self parodying mess that have parodies that contain more journalism.
Wikileaks understands and prepares for the release of such documents. While there is no doubt both people and government needs secrets to function, there is a point where it is counter productive, a point the US government had passed a long time ago. Well pass the point anybody of reason people could agree to like "Losse lips sink ships".
Leonard H. Courtney (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leonard_H._Courtney)
Quote
There is an imperialism that deserves all honor and respect — an imperialism of service in the discharge of great duties. But with too many it is the sense of domination and aggrandisement, the glorification of power. The price of peace is eternal vigilance.
Or missed attributed to Thomas Jefferson, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
