Newly proposed law may affect PSP homebrew users

[8th lutz]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales proposes new crime: 'Attempted' copyright infringement

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9719339-7.html

[warmachine]

I'm pretty sure that this law would affect more than just psp users.

 

Welcome to the police state.

Where thought become a crime.

Edited May 16, 2007 by warmachine

[Jess Ragan]

The Bush Administration sure loves its draconian laws, doesn't it? Maybe someone should tell the chimp-in-chief that "freedom" means more than blowing up other countries.

 

JR

[8th lutz]

I'm pretty sure that this law would affect more than just psp users.

 

Welcome to the police state.

Where thought become a crime.

I know, it effects more then psp owners when I posted the topic.

Edited May 16, 2007 by 8th lutz

[+remowilliams]

Wow, there's some really over the top 'thinking' in this one.

 

Of course the Bush administration supports it. They're the biggest bunch of absolute shitheads in quite some time. Good job guys!

 

Why don't they just cut to the chase already and suspend all civil freedoms and rights, declare martial law and institute arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

[Jess Ragan]

That won't happen until president Jeb Bush takes office.

 

JR

[JB]

Before this gets shuffled off to politics and religion, I'd just like to ask...

Who was it that signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? Because this is basically just DMCA2.

[+remowilliams]

Before this gets shuffled off to politics and religion, I'd just like to ask...

Who was it that signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? Because this is basically just DMCA2.

That would have been Clinton's shithead legislation. DMCA was bad enough, this is far worse if it gets enacted with anything like what's in that article.

 

Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America ... when CDs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds, or sounds and images, of a live musical performance" are attempted to be imported.

Wow, I feel safer already!

Edited May 17, 2007 by remowilliams

[warmachine]

I wonder what the government's stance on flashcarts is.

[ninjarabbit]

Heaven forbid that the government actually tries to protect IP rights

[Jess Ragan]

He's from the RIAA! Get him!

 

JR

[Cheese007]

The phrase "at least we have our freedom" becomes less and less true every day.

[warmachine]

Well it's the responsibillity of the IP holders to better protect their wares from being distrubted illegally.

 

As taxpayers, we shouldn't have to pay the government to do big buisness's work for them.

we also shouldn't have to devote the already streached resources of the department of homeland security

to go after these "terrorists" (copyright offenders) when they are doing a barely acceptable job in the first place.

 

If big buisness would keep their filthy hands out of the government, the country would be a much better place,

But laws like this just show how much disdain big buisness (the government) has for us "taxpayers" (potential terrorists).

[Albert]

As taxpayers, we shouldn't have to pay the government to do big buisness's work for them.

we also shouldn't have to devote the already streached resources of the department of homeland security

to go after these "terrorists" (copyright offenders) when they are doing a barely acceptable job in the first place.

This whole bill will be further erosion of our rights should it pass--things are really getting out of hand. And I'm stupified that the the "Department of Homeland Security" has any role at all in protecting the IP rights of organizations like the RIAA. I can only hope that someday the electorate wakes the hell up and elects into office a congress and president that will put the rights of its citizens first, because things are quite lopsided right now.

 

..Al

[supercat]

This whole bill will be further erosion of our rights should it pass--things are really getting out of hand. And I'm stupified that the the "Department of Homeland Security" has any role at all in protecting the IP rights of organizations like the RIAA. I can only hope that someday the electorate wakes the hell up and elects into office a congress and president that will put the rights of its citizens first, because things are quite lopsided right now.

 

I have stood up for President George W. Bush on many issues. The appointment of Mr. Gonzoles is not one of them.

 

It seems too many people in such positions of power, regardless of party affiliation, are averse to going after dangerous criminals, so they feel a need to create non-dangerous criminals so they have something safe to do to look busy.

[chrisbid]

Heaven forbid that the government actually tries to protect IP rights

 

 

lets shoot people for shoplifting and speeding while we are at it

[ninjarabbit]

Heaven forbid that the government actually tries to protect IP rights

 

 

lets shoot people for shoplifting and speeding while we are at it

 

In some countries you get your hand chopped off for shoplifting

[Cheese007]

Does that mean that it's a good idea?

[shadow460]

Any politician who votes for that won't be getting my vote the next time around. Crap, it looks like my ballot's going to be blank.

Why can't we spend our tax dollars on something useful, like fixing the potholes on my street?

[Segataritensoftii]

That's It! I'm moving out! You can't have any freedom in this country anymore.

If this happens every building in America will have to become a prison because so many people would be charged for copyright infringement. I think the US should just adopt the GPL and Creative Commons licenses and screw the current copyright laws.

Edited May 18, 2007 by Segataritensoftii

[kevincal]

That won't happen until president Jeb Bush takes office.

 

JR

 

ANOTHER Bush in office!?!? Kill me now...

[christianscott27]

Should this become law, and thats a huge "if", it wont be broadly applied, it will be a selective punishment. Just like we look the other way at 99% of illegal aliens working openly and settle instead for a few headline grabbing raids. Its not like they're gonna have 1000s of agents swarming over bittorrent and newsgroups. Every now and then they'll single out some poor college dorm hacker out for a show trial while turning a blind eye to the crazy crap China gets away with when it comes to copyrights.

 

The idea that the intent to commit a crime is morally the same as actually commiting the crime is so profoundly unconstitutional and illogical it could only come from a Bush appointee. Considering that Alberto is fighting for his political life and whole Justice Dept is going off the rails I dont think this will go anywhere this term.

[misspent_youth]

COnsidering the deep pockets and lobbying influence that the cultural industries hold in the US, and the fact that cultural industries are one of the biggest moneymaker the US has, you can rest assured that some form of this law will be in pkace in the near future.

 

The best bet is for the tech industry to throw its weight around against the cultural industries, like Apple is doing with its push for DRM free digital music downloads.

 

Unfortunately, I believe that this propsed law is the direct result, as IP owners' focus shifts away from technological protection toward legal punishment. And you can bet that IP owners will keep the pressure up on law enforcement to enforce any law like the proposed one once it is enacted. Why spend money suing people when you can pressure the government and law enforcement to do the job for you?

[rockman_x_2002]

Honestly, from what I'm reading this seems like a rather outlandish proposal. I see little chance of this getting passed, and even if it does, it can probably be contested in courts and thrown out for being unconstitutional. Really what is proposed here is quite laughable and so limiting that I just can't fathom this getting very far.

 

Then too, the DMCA "seemed like a good idea at the time" too, to enough folks to get it passed, at least.

 

But I hate to tell them that they've tried to stop piracy in the past, and it has actually only made it more rampant. Pirates who want to push pirated software aren't scared of breaking the law, so making a new law isn't going to stop them. Way they see it, that's just one more law they get to break. And the harder they (politicians who want to limit rights of the public concerning copyrighted works) try to push, pirates are going to push back harder just to slap them across the face to make a point. It's just the nature of how things work. When you tell someone "You won't do something", and the only reason you give for it is, "Because I said so." Guess what's going to happen?

 

Now, I don't condone piracy, but I have to say that circumventing firmware on my PSP because I want to write cool, useful homebrew apps and games, and for other legitimate purposes... well that's my business. Not Sony's. I didn't "rent" or "lease" the PSP from them. I bought it, lock stock and barrel. I like my emulation, and I like my ability to run whatever I want on my PSP like a little pocket-sized computer. That's handy and quite useful. So it does irk me slightly that they are now trying to take that away, or at least make it illegal to do so (I grant you people won't stop doing it just because it's illegal).

 

But I can imagine that in the future, game console manufactures, whether it be the current three now or another set, are going to go the way of satellite TV companies. You can't "buy" a reciever. You can only "rent" it. That's how they'll control what you can and can't do with the machines. Their claim will be, "You only rent the machine. It still belongs to us." When that happens, that's when I will no longer upgrade to the "next big thing."

 

And one other thing:

 

* Create a new crime of life imprisonment for using pirated software. Anyone using counterfeit products who "recklessly causes or attempts to cause death" can be imprisoned for life. During a conference call, Justice Department officials gave the example of a hospital using pirated software instead of paying for it.

 

If I play Super Mario Bros. on an emulator, and it excites someone so much to see it that it causes them to keel over with a heart attack and "buy the farm," does that mean I get life imprisonment for playing a video game? Does it really?

 

What a world... whatever happened to good old-fashioned sanity anyway?

Edited May 20, 2007 by rockman_x_2002

[Lauren Tyler]

Should this become law, and thats a huge "if", it wont be broadly applied, it will be a selective punishment. Just like we look the other way at 99% of illegal aliens working openly and settle instead for a few headline grabbing raids. Its not like they're gonna have 1000s of agents swarming over bittorrent and newsgroups. Every now and then they'll single out some poor college dorm hacker out for a show trial while turning a blind eye to the crazy crap China gets away with when it comes to copyrights.

 

The idea that the intent to commit a crime is morally the same as actually commiting the crime is so profoundly unconstitutional and illogical it could only come from a Bush appointee. Considering that Alberto is fighting for his political life and whole Justice Dept is going off the rails I dont think this will go anywhere this term.

 

Given the stupidity of President Bush, I wouldn't be surprised if it actually passes. Then again, you know just about the entire country will be furious about it if it were to pass.

 

Further reason we need Bush out of office... now.