Newly proposed law may affect PSP homebrew users

[7th lutz]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales proposes new crime: 'Attempted' copyright infringement
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9719339-7.html

[boatofcar]

From the blog comments:

"o Increase the maximum penalty for counterfeiting offenses
from 10 years to 20 years imprisonment where the defendant knowingly
or recklessly causes or attempts to cause serious bodily injury, and
increase the maximum penalty to life imprisonment where the defendant
knowingly or recklessly causes or attempts to cause death;"

Notice that the increase only occurs where it can be proved that the defendant's actions caused or attempted to cause bodily injury. The increase to life in prison only applies where the defendant can be proved to have caused death or have attempted to cause death by his actions.

We routinely apply just that kind of thinking to every other crime in which bodily harm is caused or attempted, or in which death (murder) is caused or attempted. Hello? There's a problem here? The "attempted" part is the bodily harm or murder--not the IP theft.

The blog also makes it sound as if this law is aimed at law-abiding Americans everywhere in the US. Here's what the press release reveals:

"Expansion of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual
Property (CHIP) network of federal prosecutors dedicated to the
prosecution of high-tech and IP crime. The total number of CHIP
prosecutors has increased to 230 (with at least one in each
U.S. Attorney's Office), and the number of specialized CHIP
Units has nearly doubled in the past two years to 25 cities
nationwide."

230 prosecutors to police 60-million American citizens on a daily basis on the Internet? Hah... It's for sure that this legislation is not aimed at the average American citizen--*especially* the average American teenager or college student for "file sharing." It reveals a distinct lack of intellect to even postulate that this is what the press release proposes.

More to the point, by the examples provided in the press release it is very clear the kind of criminal target by this approach: big, millions- of-dollars-for-profit counterfeiting rings. This has *nothing to do* with the RIAA's idiotic civil attack on teenagers and college students. Rather, it has to do with getting the *real crooks* out of circulation--the for-profit counterfeiters.

I mean, one obvious conclusion the blog fails completely to note is the fact that this is just the Justice Department blowing its own horn to Congress in the hopes of getting Congress to *give it a larger budget each year.* This couldn't be more obvious.

I have no idea why it is, but every time the government attempts to do something, anything, to thwart real crime or real terrorism--in which people lose not only their property but their lives--we can count on CNET being right there to try and undercut the notion of a government trying to protect its law-abiding citizens.

[njiska]

God, i'm proud to live in a country that's on the IP watch list. Fair use lives on!

[The_4th_Survivor]

It's funny.

You'd think that with all the scrutiny that Gonzales is under himself, he'd try and concentrate on those issues first, before trying to deal with something else which isn't as important.

[petewhitley]

I don't see how this will affect PSP homebrew users, as most homebrew users are already "breaking the law" at the present time. Not to mention the fact that this is but one of a multitude of proposed laws, most of which never come to pass. A lot of hot air if you ask me.

[GarrettCRW]

I don't see how Gonzalez actually expects Congress to listen to him.