Anti-File Sharing Bill Changes Name, Little Else

from the bad-law,-bad-policy,-bad-news dept

Last week we wrote about the so-called INDUCE Act, that would outlaw inducing or even counseling someone to infringe on copyrights. The bill was supposed to be introduced last week, but some of the publicity around the leaded version made the sponsors hold back a few days. If you thought they used that time to change the bill, you were wrong. They did change the name, getting rid of the laughable "child exploitation" part in the name, but leaving the actual law the same. The bill is now called, The Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (IICA), which must upset those politicians who love bill names that spell out words related to the bill. Either way it's a dreadful and somewhat scary bill that would clearly outlaw file sharing networks, along with VCRs and other methods for infringing copyrights. Unfortunately, it appears to have strong bi-partisan backing, that's looking to rush it through Congress. If it did pass, it would be disastrous for the tech industry which (stupidly) is supporting it in the form of the BSA and the ESA. The RIAA is also thrilled about it. All three are missing out on the fact that they're basically trying to kill off the best distribution system that's ever been handed to them -- one that's been shown to have strong promotional value. It's amazing how badly these industries, with their pocketed politicians are shooting themselves in the foot. This bill would make it impossible to create something like the VCR or TiVo today. It's dangerous, it's stupid and it's going to damage our economy if it passes. Update: TechLawAdvisor points out the fact that "counsels" has been dropped from the bill.