News Induce Act Draws Support, Venom

More on Hatch's devil child. According to the latest from Wired, other Senators rally to support INDUCE, whilst a steady stream of derision is being poured on the act by opponents:

Until recently, much of the discussion among tech enthusiasts about a controversial anti-piracy bill known as the Induce Act has focused on the proposed law's improbability.

Put forth by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), the bill has been ridiculed by techies as so poorly written that it could unintentionally ban an infinite range of everyday tools -- iPods, DVD burners, even paper and pencil.

But since its introduction, nine co-sponsors have signed on, both Democrats and Republicans.

And significantly, that list of co-sponsors now includes two of Congress' most influential members: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota).

Also known as the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (SB2560), the bill would punish tech companies and consumer electronics makers who develop tools that could "induce" or encourage users to make unauthorized copies of copyright material such as music, movies or software.

With the present congressional session due to end in October, time for debate is running out. The coming two weeks may be the last chance for both proponents and opponents of the bill to make their voices heard.

Last week's appeals court decision that determined P2P services Grokster and Morpheus were not against the law has sparked a new round of attention for the Induce Act.

In an apparent reaction to widespread criticism of the current draft of the bill, Hatch solicited help in drawing up alternative language. A number of groups have responded: One coalition proposed a counterpoint "Don't Induce Act," and a wide array of technology and free-speech advocates have developed others.

Entertainment industry organizations which back the bill in its present form, including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, have not submitted alternate proposals.

More here

 

oh god no,

If that passes, i think i wanna move to europe. (Currently in America).

 

this just shows politicians are idiots

 

Damn him.

I think an angry letter may be in my future.

Whoever tried to send him that anthrax a while back... (leaves out rest of comment for flame resistance, figure it out yourself)

I agree with 1337modderman

 

Americans, Respond!

You know how we all picture ourselves writing to congress, the president, state or local officials, but we never actually get around to it?

Well, go to Congress.org , enter your zip code, and click who you want to rant to, right there online! I haven't used a stamp in years, so I know this is the only way for me. [Edit: you can also see thier voting record]

Have fun knowing that SOMEone is having to read it.
Here is what I sent to my congress people:
--------------
This regards the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (SB2560) under
consideration this session.

While I agree that theft of intellectual property is a serious issue, the
methods of addressing this issue outlined in this proposal are basically
ridiculous.

Permit a crude analogy:

I am not "induced" to stab someone because I have a knife in my kitchen.
More importantly, it is NOT THE MANUFACTURER'S RESPONSIBILITY if I chose
to do so. I don't want all products made of foam rubber. I could take
any tree limb and beat someone with it.

My points are:
* Presence of a tool does not cause me to use it
* Manufacturers are not responsible for how their products are MISused
* Implementing a law punishing them for products capable of misuse will
restrict thier development and innovation of new products
* Those who want to steal intellectual property will still do it, only
with different tools

I am counting on your common sense to help ensure that a different method
is chosen to address the issue of intellectual property theft.

 

Common sense with regard to piracy and related issues is almost non-existent now.

 

The sad and seriously annoying fact is that i cant vote against these people! yet, they decide whether what software i can use or not.

*******s.

 

CannonFodder here brings up a very good point, although I'm not sure he meant to.
a country that has so little restrictions for GUNS wants a law to stop anything that can help copyright infringement?!

let's compare:

GUNS:
-only do 2 things. hurt people, and kill people, even if it is in self defence, that's what they do.
-potential crime: murder, robbery, rape and much more
-ease of use: pull trigger.

P2P:
-Used for sharing files, both legally and illegaly.
-potential crime: copyright infringement
-ease of use: not so easy, can take anywhere between 3 mins and 3 weeks to get a file. much harder then pulling a trigger.

I'm not bored enough to go into RW's and VCR's now. you get the point. guns are legal and the "induce" killing much more then these things induce piracy.

 

The difference being that gun companies lobby for no new restrictive rules - which is a lot easier to do than pass laws and which they are doing successfully.

The record companies want restrictions all over the place and they are getting that.

It's got nothing to do with common sense or which ones more difficult - it's got to do with who has the money and what they want.

 

No including downloading the software, setting up your connection, finding the files you want, then finally downloading it.

 

This is so silly initially I thought it a joke.

Only two things? Such a limited view, but thats to be expected if you get your 'facts' from tv.

Your point is severely misleading since you use the biased negative outcome. Guns are used to protect property and life - that was their intent when they were invented, that was and is their only intention for existing. Name a single gun incident involving a sane person who used it that is NOT for that purpose. Just because some use them to protect drug property or their own life against a police officers is not the gun manufacturers fault....just as it's not Kazaa's fault people use their software to trade pirated software or copywrited songs.

Guns induce nothing, just like kazaa induces nothing.

Just a note...everyone I know that has installed Kazaa (a lot) has got it with the INTENTION of downloading copywrited songs or pirated software. Everyone I know that has bought a gun (also a lot) has done so with the INTENTION of protecting their family or hunting animals during hunting season.

How many people you know downloaded Kazaa with the INTENT to find legal software/downloads?


btw, I do not support the INDUCE act though I do support looking into ways of regulating gun use.

EDIT: you must have never used a gun if you think it's as simple as pulling a trigger. If so, then the correct analogy for a p2p would be "clicking the file you want"