The "Pro-IP" bill passed the US House of Representatives earlier this month.
The bill is backed by the likes of the RIAA and the MPAA. It,
ostensibly, is there to make fighting illegal file sharing easier.
However, it has potentially much more severe repercussions, because it
doesn't limit itself to file sharing, but just talks about IP protection
in general (especially copyright).
One provision of the bill lets law enforcement seize equipment that is
needed for an investigation into a copyright infringement claim. Note
that no crime needs to be proven. Clearly, anyone running a large system
where user-created content is allowed would go down the tubes pretty
quickly if their servers were all carted off to a warehouse somewhere.
The offensive opportunities for an unscrupulous competitor are
staggering! (And you thought nuisance suits under the DMCA were bad?)
So, for those of you who are currently allowing user-created content, or
who are considering allowing user-created content in your games and
virtual worlds, I urge you to take action and let the senate know about
these problems before it is too late! If you're just a lowly coder or
artist, then you owe it to yourself and your company to let the business
persons in your company know how bad this can be for online gaming
providers, because the law would allow any copyright infringement
allegation to shut you down (by carting off your hardware), regardless
of merit, depending on the claim and relation of the entity making the
allegations.
Sincerely,
jw
--
Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double entry accounting.
Forterra Systems is looking for superstar engineers, managers and artists to help
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