[Ecommerce] CA Bill up for "dumbest law of the year award"?

[Manon Ress]

----- Forwarded message from Barbara Simons <simons@acm.org> -----

  USACM-INFO,
Below are two concatenated emails about a new law that has been
introduced in California.  It strikes me as a good candidate for the
dumbest-law-of-the-year award.  Mark has asked that the information be
as widely distributed as possible.
Regards,
Barbara

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Mark Lemley" <MLemley@law.stanford.edu>
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:02:00 -0800
To: cyberprof@lists.Stanford.EDU
Subject: [CyberProf] the next step


not only will we shut down software development, we'll put the developers in
jail . . .

CA BILL CALLS FOR POTENTIAL JAIL TIME FOR P2P DEVELOPERS
A bill introduced in California's Legislature last week has
raised the possibility of jail time for developers of
file-swapping software who do not stop trades of copyrighted
movies and songs online. If passed and signed into law, the
bill could expose file-swapping software developers to fines
of up to $2,500 per charge, or a year in jail, if they do
not take "reasonable care" in preventing the use of their
software to swap copyrighted music or movies, or child
pornography. Bill at
http://cainducebill.notlong.com
Coverage at
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5540937.html

Mark

On 1/19/05 17:34, "Mark Lemley" <MLemley@law.stanford.edu> wrote:


 >>
 >> Oh, it gets better.  p2p is defined as:
 >>
 >> "peer-to-peer file sharing software" means software that
 >> once installed and launched, enables the user to connect his or her
 >> computer to a network of other computers on which the users of these
 >> computers have made available recording or audiovisual works for
 >> electronic dissemination to other users who are connected to the
 >> network.
 >>
 >> As far as I can tell, distributing and Internet browser is a crime
under this
 >> bill.
 >>
 >> Mark



Mark A. Lemley
William H. Neukom Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Director, Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology
Of counsel, Keker & Van Nest LLP
mlemley@law.stanford.edu
http://www.law.stanford.edu/faculty/lemley/

------ End of Forwarded Message
--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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