[Upd-discuss] #2 Copyright Brief History

[Michael Hart]

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 Jsavirimuthu@aol.com wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 06/09/2004 16:18:39 GMT Standard Time, hart@pglaf.org
> writes:
>
> MY  criticism of WIPO is that it is really a multinational cartel
> whose major  purpose is to create monopolies for the publishers,
> yet it is disguised as  part of the United Nations.
>
> To those familiar with the anti-circumvention legislation - the WIPO archives 
> will reveal the post-Napster representations by the RIAA which preceded the 
> wave of legislation in the EU.

Yes, I couldn't agree more, the RIAA [and the MPAA]
[Recording Industry Association of America and the
Motion Picture Association Of Amercia] are major
players in supporting WIPO's efforts to make as
much of possible of our culture be pay-per-view
and as little as possible in the public domain.

BTW, did you see the article in which the Fortune
500 are being encouraged to do what was illegal
for Napster, Morpheus and Kazaa to do???

***
>From The Sep 8 issue of The Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter



U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE DRAFTS NEW VERSION OF INDUCE ACT

[Right, Fortune 500 companies such as Sony and Apple can do it,
but the little guys face total destruction.]

Responding to strong criticism of the recently introduced Induce Act,
the U.S. Copyright Office has written a revised version of the
legislation. The "discussion draft" offered by the Copyright Office
attempts to shield devices such as Apple's iPod from prosecution for
inducing consumers to commit copyright violations while outlawing
networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for doing just that. The draft
limits liability to those who "intentionally induce" piracy--a more
stringent definition of wrongdoing than in the original bill. The
Copyright Office's draft has sparked new criticism, however, based on
requirements that ISPs and technology companies must take all
"reasonably available corrective measures" and cannot "actively
interfere" with efforts to locate copyright violators. Sarah Deutsch,
vice president and associate general counsel of Verizon Communications,
noted that the language in the draft is vague and could make an ISP
liable, for example, if it refused to provide copyright holders with a
list of the company's subscribers.
CNET, 2 September 2004
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5345528.html