Government Bill May Ruin the Internet?
So a lot of people around the interwebs are in uproar over the piracy bill that has been put to Congress.
Now, let me be the first to say, I know nothing about it. I honestly don't want to know anything about it. Right now my world revolves around completing all my homework for this semester with grades of C's and better. I know that may sound bad but that is what impacts me directly right now.
What I would like to say about this bill is a quote from my friend Nota from Advanced Anime, it goes as following:
I actually went through and read most of the bill. I didn't read the whole thing because I didn't want to go insane, but I skimmed through all of it. I just didn't read every part about foreign law. The first part covers, in the words of the bill: TO PROTECT U.S. CUSTOMERS AND PREVENT U.S. FUNDING OF SITES DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY.
To put it into practical terms, this means that a US site can't be stolen and repurposed by another country. For example, you can't create "facebook.de". It doesn't matter whether or not this website steals things directly from facebook (it could be a website about books with faces on them, for example), you just can't use the domain name facebook.
This isn't the section that people are upset over, so I moved on to the "streaming of copywrited works", which is the place where I'm assuming people have issues. I'm just going to quote it.
Quote:
`(a) Criminal Infringement-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, if the infringement was committed--
`(A) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
`(B) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, or by the public performance by means of digital transmission, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works, when the total retail value of the copies or phonorecords, or of the public performances, is more than $1,000; or
`(C) by the distribution or public performance of a work being prepared for commercial dissemination, by making it available on a computer network accessible to members of the public, if such person knew or should have known that the work was intended for commercial dissemination.
It further goes on to say:
Quote:
(3) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term `work being prepared for commercial dissemination' means--
`(A) a computer program, a musical work, a motion picture or other audiovisual work, or a sound recording, if, at the time of unauthorized distribution or public performance--
`(i)(I) the copyright owner has a reasonable expectation of commercial distribution; and
`(II) the copies or phonorecords of the work have not been commercially distributed in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner; or
`(ii)(I) the copyright owner does not intend to offer copies of the work for commercial distribution but has a reasonable expectation of other forms of commercial dissemination of the work; and
`(II) the work has not been commercially disseminated to the public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner;
`(B) a motion picture, if, at the time of unauthorized distribution or public performance, the motion picture--
`(i)(I) has been made available for viewing in a motion picture exhibition facility; and
`(II) has not been made available in copies for sale to the general public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner in a format intended to permit viewing outside a motion picture exhibition facility; or
`(ii) had not been commercially disseminated to the public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner more than 24 hours before the unauthorized distribution or public performance.'.
Basically, you can't distribute things unless you have permission to. This refers more to the streaming of movies/music. Or in English: don't post full movies online.
Reading the bill, it becomes apparent that the main target is not necessarily intellectual property rights, but intellectual property rights abroad and how they relate to other countries. If you don't want to read it because it's boring as hell then just skim the titles of the different sections. Aside from the one that defines what streaming is, they all have to do with foreign relations.
This is to crack down on sites that step around American copyright laws/intellectual property laws by streaming and/or downloading American movies on non-American sites. Anyone who has experience with watching movies online is probably familiar with this. Ever hear of "videoweed.es" or "divxstage.eu"? That's what this is primarily referring to.
Note that the quoted above is the only place that specifically refers to what criminal infringement is and what the punishment is. The rest talks about foreign sites. There's nothing about using pieces of movies (such as for AMVS) or about artwork at all. It's talking about distributing music and movies online. AKA pirating.
In this case youtube would be at risk not because people are making AMVs, but because people are using youtube to upload, and by extension distribute, movies.
EDIT: Here is a link to the protect IP act, which is the other bill that's mentioned in the petition. It says essentially the same thing, although it defines what an internet site dedicated to infringing activities means:
Quote:
(7) the term ‘Internet site dedicated to infringing activities’ means an Internet site that--
(A) has no significant use other than engaging in, enabling, or facilitating the--
(i) reproduction, distribution, or public performance of copyrighted works, in complete or substantially complete form, in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement under section 501 of title 17, United States Code;
(ii) violation of section 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
(iii) sale, distribution, or promotion of goods, services, or materials bearing a counterfeit mark, as that term is defined in section 34(d) of the Lanham Act; or
(B) is designed, operated, or marketed by its operator or persons operating in concert with the operator, and facts or circumstances suggest is used, primarily as a means for engaging in, enabling, or facilitating the activities described under clauses (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A);
More details about intellectual property.
EDIT EDIT: I don't pretend to be an expert in the American legal system or how laws work. I'm just reading the bills and discerning their meaning.
Now, let me be the first to say, I know nothing about it. I honestly don't want to know anything about it. Right now my world revolves around completing all my homework for this semester with grades of C's and better. I know that may sound bad but that is what impacts me directly right now.
What I would like to say about this bill is a quote from my friend Nota from Advanced Anime, it goes as following:
I actually went through and read most of the bill. I didn't read the whole thing because I didn't want to go insane, but I skimmed through all of it. I just didn't read every part about foreign law. The first part covers, in the words of the bill: TO PROTECT U.S. CUSTOMERS AND PREVENT U.S. FUNDING OF SITES DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY.
To put it into practical terms, this means that a US site can't be stolen and repurposed by another country. For example, you can't create "facebook.de". It doesn't matter whether or not this website steals things directly from facebook (it could be a website about books with faces on them, for example), you just can't use the domain name facebook.
This isn't the section that people are upset over, so I moved on to the "streaming of copywrited works", which is the place where I'm assuming people have issues. I'm just going to quote it.
Quote:
`(a) Criminal Infringement-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, if the infringement was committed--
`(A) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
`(B) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, or by the public performance by means of digital transmission, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works, when the total retail value of the copies or phonorecords, or of the public performances, is more than $1,000; or
`(C) by the distribution or public performance of a work being prepared for commercial dissemination, by making it available on a computer network accessible to members of the public, if such person knew or should have known that the work was intended for commercial dissemination.
It further goes on to say:
Quote:
(3) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term `work being prepared for commercial dissemination' means--
`(A) a computer program, a musical work, a motion picture or other audiovisual work, or a sound recording, if, at the time of unauthorized distribution or public performance--
`(i)(I) the copyright owner has a reasonable expectation of commercial distribution; and
`(II) the copies or phonorecords of the work have not been commercially distributed in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner; or
`(ii)(I) the copyright owner does not intend to offer copies of the work for commercial distribution but has a reasonable expectation of other forms of commercial dissemination of the work; and
`(II) the work has not been commercially disseminated to the public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner;
`(B) a motion picture, if, at the time of unauthorized distribution or public performance, the motion picture--
`(i)(I) has been made available for viewing in a motion picture exhibition facility; and
`(II) has not been made available in copies for sale to the general public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner in a format intended to permit viewing outside a motion picture exhibition facility; or
`(ii) had not been commercially disseminated to the public in the United States by or with the authorization of the copyright owner more than 24 hours before the unauthorized distribution or public performance.'.
Basically, you can't distribute things unless you have permission to. This refers more to the streaming of movies/music. Or in English: don't post full movies online.
Reading the bill, it becomes apparent that the main target is not necessarily intellectual property rights, but intellectual property rights abroad and how they relate to other countries. If you don't want to read it because it's boring as hell then just skim the titles of the different sections. Aside from the one that defines what streaming is, they all have to do with foreign relations.
This is to crack down on sites that step around American copyright laws/intellectual property laws by streaming and/or downloading American movies on non-American sites. Anyone who has experience with watching movies online is probably familiar with this. Ever hear of "videoweed.es" or "divxstage.eu"? That's what this is primarily referring to.
Note that the quoted above is the only place that specifically refers to what criminal infringement is and what the punishment is. The rest talks about foreign sites. There's nothing about using pieces of movies (such as for AMVS) or about artwork at all. It's talking about distributing music and movies online. AKA pirating.
In this case youtube would be at risk not because people are making AMVs, but because people are using youtube to upload, and by extension distribute, movies.
EDIT: Here is a link to the protect IP act, which is the other bill that's mentioned in the petition. It says essentially the same thing, although it defines what an internet site dedicated to infringing activities means:
Quote:
(7) the term ‘Internet site dedicated to infringing activities’ means an Internet site that--
(A) has no significant use other than engaging in, enabling, or facilitating the--
(i) reproduction, distribution, or public performance of copyrighted works, in complete or substantially complete form, in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement under section 501 of title 17, United States Code;
(ii) violation of section 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
(iii) sale, distribution, or promotion of goods, services, or materials bearing a counterfeit mark, as that term is defined in section 34(d) of the Lanham Act; or
(B) is designed, operated, or marketed by its operator or persons operating in concert with the operator, and facts or circumstances suggest is used, primarily as a means for engaging in, enabling, or facilitating the activities described under clauses (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A);
More details about intellectual property.
EDIT EDIT: I don't pretend to be an expert in the American legal system or how laws work. I'm just reading the bills and discerning their meaning.