Feanor
11-09-02, 07:02 PM
http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2274
Bait and Switch: Anticounterfeiting Bill Hurts Your Rights!
Don't be fooled by Senator Biden's "Anticounterfeiting Amendments of 2002" (S. 2395, also known as "the Biden Bill"). It started as an attempt to stop organized crime from forging holograms and counterfeiting money, but its scope has been greatly expanded to include digital watermarks on copyrighted material. This is a sneaky power-grab that would greatly diminish the rights of the public in copyrighted works while expanding the power of copyright owners. It goes well beyond the scope of current copyright law and could:
~ Prevent universities, libraries, and consumers from enjoying the exceptions to the Copyright Act adopted by Congress. S. 2935 could prohibit the use of interface information essential for software interoperability and competition
~ Impose new responsibilities on Internet service providers and could also require consumer electronics and computer manufacturers to reconfigure their products.
~ Impose more severe criminal and civil penalties than permitted by the Copyright Act for identical behavior
Give it to Congress to call a spade anything but a spade while trying to push it through. And the new name for the SSSCA is no better, as that is really not about getting increased access to broadband or helping a migration over to HDTV.
Bait and Switch: Anticounterfeiting Bill Hurts Your Rights!
Don't be fooled by Senator Biden's "Anticounterfeiting Amendments of 2002" (S. 2395, also known as "the Biden Bill"). It started as an attempt to stop organized crime from forging holograms and counterfeiting money, but its scope has been greatly expanded to include digital watermarks on copyrighted material. This is a sneaky power-grab that would greatly diminish the rights of the public in copyrighted works while expanding the power of copyright owners. It goes well beyond the scope of current copyright law and could:
~ Prevent universities, libraries, and consumers from enjoying the exceptions to the Copyright Act adopted by Congress. S. 2935 could prohibit the use of interface information essential for software interoperability and competition
~ Impose new responsibilities on Internet service providers and could also require consumer electronics and computer manufacturers to reconfigure their products.
~ Impose more severe criminal and civil penalties than permitted by the Copyright Act for identical behavior
Give it to Congress to call a spade anything but a spade while trying to push it through. And the new name for the SSSCA is no better, as that is really not about getting increased access to broadband or helping a migration over to HDTV.