Just caught this on Slashdot, the House has passed H.R. 4729 which would establish a band of I.P. cops with the authority to seize hardware containing data of 'dubious origin'. What I find most infuriating about this is that John Conyers, the man who sits on his hands when it comes to impeaching a criminal President, is all to ready to draft broadly worded legislation that essentially makes anyone who listens to music a criminal.
There appear to be two key components to the law, establishing a vector for forfeiture (because that's done wonders to stop people from using drugs), and establishing criminal penalties for Copyright infringement. Here are the passages:
(2) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE PROCEEDINGS- (A) The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of an offense under this section, shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed, that the person forfeit to the United States the following property:
`(i) Any counterfeit documentation or packaging, and any counterfeit label or illicit label, that was used, intended for use, or possessed with intent to use in the commission of an offense under subsection (a), and any article to which such a counterfeit label or illicit label has been affixed, which such a counterfeit label or illicit label encloses or accompanies, or which was intended to have had such label affixed, enclosing, or accompanying.
`(ii) Any property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an offense under subsection (a).
`(iii) Any property used, or intended to be used, to commit or substantially facilitate the commission of an offense under subsection (a).
For Criminal Infringement of a Copyright:
CIVIL FORFEITURE PROCEEDINGS- (A) The following property is subject to forfeiture to the United States:
`(i) Any copies or phonorecords manufactured, reproduced, distributed, sold, or otherwise used, intended for use, or possessed with intent to use in violation of section 506(a) of title 17, any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be made, and any electronic, mechanical, or other devices for manufacturing, reproducing, or assembling such copies or phonorecords.
`(ii) Any property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of a violation of section 506(a) of title 17.
`(iii) Any property used, or intended to be used, to commit or facilitate the commission of a violation of section 506(a) of title 17 that is owned or predominantly controlled by the violator or by a person conspiring with or aiding and abetting the violator in committing the violation, except that property is subject to forfeiture under this clause only if the Government establishes that there was a substantial connection between the property and the violation of section 506(a) of title 17.
`(B) The provisions of chapter 46 relating to civil forfeitures shall extend to any seizure or civil forfeiture under this section. At the conclusion of the forfeiture proceedings, the court shall order that any forfeited infringing copies or phonorecords, and any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, and film negatives by means of which such unauthorized copies or phonorecords may be made, be destroyed or otherwise disposed of according to law.
`(C) In this paragraph, the term `aiding and abetting' means knowingly providing aid to the violator with the intent to facilitate the violation.
`(2) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE PROCEEDINGS- (A) The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of an offense under subsection (a), shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed, that the person forfeit to the United States the following property:
`(i) Any copies or phonorecords manufactured, reproduced, distributed, sold, or otherwise used, intended for use, or possessed with intent to use in the commission of an offense under subsection (a), any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which the copies or phonorecords may be reproduced, and any electronic, mechanical, or other devices for manufacturing, reproducing, or assembling such copies or phonorecords.
`(ii) Any property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an offense under subsection (a).
`(iii) Any property used, or intended to be used, to commit or substantially facilitate the commission of an offense under subsection (a).
`(B) The forfeiture of property under subparagraph (A), including any seizure and disposition of the property and any related judicial or administrative proceeding, shall be governed by the procedures set forth in section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853), other than subsection (d) of that section. At the conclusion of the forfeiture proceedings, the court shall order that any forfeited infringing copies or phonorecords, and any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, and film negatives by means of which such infringing copies or phonorecords may be made, be destroyed or otherwise disposed of according to law.
`(3) RESTITUTION- When a person is convicted of an offense under this section, the court, pursuant to sections 3556, 3663A, and 3664, shall order the person to pay restitution to the copyright owner and any other victim of the offense as an offense against property referred to in section 3663A(c)(1)(A)(ii).'.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- (A) Section 506(b) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking all that follows `destruction' and inserting the following: `of property as prescribed by section 2319(g) of title 18.'.
(B) Section 509 of title 17, United States Code, relating seizure and forfeiture, and the item relating to section 509 in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of title 17, United States Code, are repealed.
Similar language holds for Unauthorized Recording of Motion Pictures, and for Unauthorized Fixation and Trafficking (whatever that means).
From the Billboard article summarizing the legislation:
"This bill will go a long way towards making sure law enforcement agencies have what they need to get the job done," says David Israelite, president/CEO of the National Music Publishers' Assn. and former Justice Department chairman of the Intellectual Property Task Force. "Of note is the fact that this legislation garnered support from a bipartisan majority of members, and a diverse group of industry, trade groups and labor unions."
Amazing how many middle-men have carved out careers getting in the way of a simple transaction between an artist, and a consumer of art, and yet the two participants at either end of that transaction had no involvement in this legislation.
The Act would also establish a formal IP Enforcement Division within the office of the Deputy Attorney General. Currently, the DOJ has an IP Task Force. An IP Enforcement Officer, appointed by the attorney general and reporting to the deputy attorney general, would head the division.
"This is a strong, common sense measure that provides new tools and resources to help protect one of this nation's most important economic engines," says Mitch Bainwol, chairman/CEO of the RIAA. "We are transitioning from a nation whose economy was driven by what we created with our hands to one driven by what we create with our minds. This creative and economic genius deserves to reach its full potential, and this bill is an important step toward achieving that goal. The unanimous bipartisan support for this legislation speaks to a widespread recognition by policymakers of the economic importance of the creative industries and the necessary tools to protect it."
And if any of you dirty hippies has an unencrypted .mp3 that you can't find the receipt for, it's off to Gitmo with you!
So welcome to the brave new world, fellow citizens. We are all equal under the eyes of the law, for we are all criminals now!