As most of you are no doubt aware, the Department of Justice yesterday issued a lengthy report (PDF) outlining its plans for taking the war against intellectual property "theft" to the next level. So what is John Ashcroft's answer to our copyright infringement problems? As Declan McCullagh writes, "more spending, more FBI agents and more power for prosecutors." Meaning, of course, H.R. 4077/PDEA, which among other things threatens to make automatically skipping commercials illegal, and the widely reviled Induce Act, which would put technological innovation into a deep chill and/or send it overseas.
Ah, but that's not all. The plan also includes:
Wiretaps for some IP crimes;
"Updating" the law so we can charge intellectual property criminals under US law anywhere in the world, no matter what the local regulations say; and
Education programs to teach children "respect" for copyright law, so they can "Just Say No to Copyright Infringement."
The DoJ is evidently claiming that the new "war" will be as "forceful and aggressive" as the war on drugs. And no doubt just as effective.
Wow. Just...wow. I would just like to preface my post by saying that the Department of Justice image you see to the left was not lifted from this document. It's password protected, and I don't want the DOJ coming after [Read More]