Update on the INDUCE Act (now renamed the "IICA")

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: June 23, 2004 9:38:34 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Update on the INDUCE Act (now renamed the "IICA")


Two updates to last week's note on the so-called INDUCE ACT to stiffen
copyright enforcement activities.   I will also note that the bill  
title has
been changed to something a bit more rational than its prior proposed  
title
-- it's now known as the "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act  
(IICA)."

I wonder if the OS vendors will be considered as inducing infringement  
by
allowing their systems to connect to the internet. Or how about for
providing protocols such as ftp, scp, smtp, etc. that facilitate P2P
sharing?

Are the inmates running the asylum?  No, wait -- don’t answer that.

- rick
Infowarrior.org


UPDATE (1): Some quick thoughts on the revised bill and its broader  
goals

TechLaw Advisor Susan Crawford also reports that  "counsels" - an overly
abusive term used here - has been dropped from the bill. Unfortunately  
there
is no copy of the bill available at the moment. Susan also hears that  
the
bill is fast-tracked to the Senate floor after a quick hearing either
Thursday or Friday of this week. Susan's tech-law blog is located at:
http://techlawadvisor.com/blog/ 
2004_06_13_archive.html#108744622389089703

Susan also links to a discussion document at the Senate Judiciary
Committee's website that shows the desire to make P2P equated as  
software
that's illegal, illicit, immoral, etc.  The Senate document is found at:
http://judiciary.senate.gov/special/content_protection.pdf


UPDATE (2): More in-depth information from News.Com

Senate bill bans P2P networks
 By Declan McCullagh

The Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act, which was made public
Wednesday, represents the latest legislative attempt by large copyright
holders to address what they see as the growing threat of peer-to-peer
networks rife with pirated music, movies and software. Violations of the
IICA would be punished with civil fines and, in some circumstances,  
lengthy
prison terms.

< snip >

The IICA is designed to overturn an April 2003 ruling from a federal  
judge
in Los Angeles that said file-swapping services StreamCast Networks and
Grokster were legal to operate.

In that decision, which the entertainment industry has appealed to the  
9th
Circuit, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson wrote that "Grokster and
(Morpheus operator) StreamCast are not significantly different from
companies that sell home video recorders or copy machines, both of  
which can
be and are used to infringe copyrights." Wilson said those networks  
were not
as centralized as Napster, which the 9th Circuit declared to be illegal  
in
2001, and could continue to exist.

< snip>

http://news.com.com/Senate%20bill%20bans%20P2P%20networks/2100-1027_3 
-524479
6.html?tag=techdirt

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