Corridor 9

For Who?

The DMCA already makes it illegal to copy a DVD due to the fact that you must reverse engineer or crack the copy protection scheme. This goes a long way from the old days where you were able to make a copy of a CD to play so your original wouldn’t get scratched or damaged in any way.

Now we have the Intellectual Property Protection Act will make it a illegal to own anti-copyprotection software. Even if it was purchased prior to the act being put into effect. It will make it illegal to even research how copy protection acts and/or how to disable it. The act will also make the owning of this software a FELONY!

Get this! It will permit wiretaps and investigations of copyright crimes against those suspected. WIRETAPS?!?!?! This isn’t terroristic actions people… this is someone making a copy of a DVD! Even if you OWN a dvd legally and want to make a use copy, you are breaking the law.

This act allows for the creation of a new copyright unit inside the FBI with a new $20 million dollar budget.

Whats the kicker you say?!?! It amends current copyright protection laws to allow for criminal enforcement EVEN IF THE MATERIAL ISN”T COPYRIGHTED! So, lets say I draw a little picture of a koala here on my desk… and I happen to see something that resembles that koala being used by someone else. I can SUE them, even though I didn’t copyright the material?!?

Penalties you ask: 10 years in a federal lockup for simply copying something. 10 years if you like my drawing and make a xerox to hang on your wall. 10 years for doing a college paper on copyright protection and copyright protection schemes.

Something to think about: Current laws make it illegal for me to take a cd we own and put it on my IPOD. I already paid for it, but the recording industry wants me to buy a copy for every device I wish to play it on. LUDICROUS!