Don’t even think about it.
by T. Colin Dodd
If a new bill becomes law, it may soon be illegal to attempt (even if you fail) to share copyrighted material.
“Attempted infringment” appears in new House intellectual property bill
One of the bill’s controversial features is the fact that people can be charged with criminal copyright infringement even if such infringement has not actually taken place. “Any person who attempts to commit an offense under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt,” says the bill.
Read the gory details here. (pdf)
July 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Pretty standard legal wording in criminal code I think. You get caught before the burglary, you still do the time. But keep looking for those conspiracies under every rock.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Fair point.
And certainly attempted murder, assault, burglary…sure just the attempt is criminal. I get that.
But for copyright enforcement?
Is it really that big of a problem?
July 31st, 2007 at 2:13 am
So how about breaking DRM, is that considered an ‘attempted’ copyright infringement? I could imagine a variety of different situations where I might be forced to break DRM. Take Zune for instance, it corrupts every audio file with DRM whether it is a non-restricted (and legally copiable) file to begin with. I believe this deliberate hijacking of public domain should be outlawed too.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:16 pm
As far as I understand it, ANY attempt, including any circumvention, successful or not, of any DRM is off limits.
And yes, whenever a right you used to enjoy (making fair use copies of copyrighted works, for example) no longer counts, it’s a problem.