IP: a danger to science and the usefulness of the network --

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

I have looked at the bill, unless there was a very last microsecond change
(and I doubt that) this bill would have a deadly effect on the Internet and
science. It would make it advisable to remove articles you have written
from your web page if you don't own the direct copyright (note most
Journals own your article copyright) else off to jail you might do if it is
a popular enough article and if you have made a unfriend with the local
federal prosecutor .. how.. 


Quoting from a DRAFT letter I and others have written for the US ACM --
This bill would make it a criminal violation if materials worth more than
$1000 are copied, even if the copying could have been legal under fair use.
 If the cumulative value of the copied documents exceeds $2500, then the
author could be prosecuted as a federal felon and subject to up to five
years in jail and a fine of $250,000.  Because the technology of
reading/browsing on the web entails making copies on the computer, an
author whose documents are frequently read on-line could be quickly
transformed into a felon.  Even without prosecution, the bill would have a
massively chilling effect upon scientists and professionals in universities
and research labs.  It is likely that many institutions, not wishing to
defend their staff and institution against prosecution, will mandate that
all copyrighted documents be removed from the net, whether or not the law
is ultimately determined to be constitutional. 




Dave




http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1588,00.html


The Netly News (http://netlynews.com/) November 20, 1997


Copyrights and Wrongs By Declan McCullagh (declan () well com)


If you think nothing of trading copyrighted software with your friends,
think again. A new law passed by Congress will make even casual copyright
breach a crime punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in a
federal prison.


While you're cooling your heels in Club Fed, you'll have plenty of time to
consider your misdeeds -- which in this case could have been making just
three copies of Adobe Photoshop (cost: $389). The legislation covers anyone
who copies compact discs, videocasettes or computer software worth at least
$1,000. The No Electronic Theft Act, which President Clinton is expected to
sign later this month, will be the first law in the history of the U.S. to
imprison copiers looking to save (not make) a few bucks.


The President's signature will come not a nanosecond too soon for the
software and recording industry lobbyists who have demanded this
legislation for years. "The function of the criminal copyright law is to
deter people from commercial-scale piracy, just as it is to penalize those
who prosecutors take to court," says Mark Traphagen, vice president of the
Software Publishers Association, the software industry's largest trade
organization.


[...]




------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network
Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/














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