President Signs ProIP Bill Into Law; White House Gets Copyright Czar

from the don't-you-feel-safer? dept

Tue, Oct 14th 2008 5:22am — Mike Masnick

Apparently, having our elected politicians completely lie to the President, combined with various business groups using totally made up numbers about the so-called "costs" of piracy was enough to convince President Bush to sign the ProIP bill into law, and accept the addition of a "Copyright Czar" position to the White House. It also strengthened copyright laws, yet again, despite little evidence they needed any strengthening. This law is nothing more than a weak attempt to prop up some struggling businesses who made the mistake of clinging to an obsolete business model far too long. All it will actually serve to do is to limit more creative forms of expression and much more innovative business models from being allowed to thrive.

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Filed Under: congress, copyright, copyright czar, pro ip, white house

31 Comments

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CastorTroy-Libertarian, Lover, General Annoyance f, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:04am

I copyright "Copyright Czar" you all owe me money, and the government does too...Ill take a get out of jail free card, and a no tax for life card in return for leaving you alone :)
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Steve R. (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:09am

Copyright Czar and Drug Czar
Against Monopoly has a post Under the dark of night where the copyright czar and the drug czar were compared. I just made the comment below there, before seeing this post.

"A question. Since a comparison has been made between the drug czar and the copyright czar, would the copyright czar begin to employ the same tactics as those found in the war-against-drugs? The New York Times just recently reported "NATO Agrees to Take Aim at Afghan Drug Trade".

So will we be seeing the use of military force worldwide to seize illicit CDs and DVDs in the obscure corners of the world? Initially this may not be the case, but czar's attempt to aggrandize their power as demonstrated by expanding our efforts in Afghanistan to now include an anti-drug effort. Using the military as a US "police force" to enforce our laws outside of the US detracts from its mission of protecting the US.

Somehow I think that we would be spending more (money and lives) on these police efforts than the CDs/DVDs would be worth. In a free market system, it should not be the responsibility of the government to protect your business model. If you can't make money, too bad."
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Your Gawd and Master, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:16am

just can't wait..
I can't wait to see how well this works for them once they realize that their business is still going to fail. I don't have any plans on helping them either. I don't listen or watch much **AA backed media anymore thanks to their strong arm techniques so they aren't getting anywhere from $15-$300 per month from me any longer. Those numbers add up to something very noticeable if other people have the backbone to stand up and do the same.
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Lyrael, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:23am

Re: just can't wait..
I'm with ya man, but unfortunately they seem to think that us standing up for ourselves and boycotting them simply means that we're all pirates.

I download things, sure, but I download things from artists who WANT me to download them. I doubt the RIAA can detect that subtle difference however. :(
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Permanent4 (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:48am

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Whoever wins the next election should appoint Lawrence Lessig to this post.
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Snidely, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:53am

This could be a good thing...
You never know who Bush or the next guy will appoint. If they appointed a more enlightened individual, he/she may actually be able to bring some sense to the screwed up IP world.
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eleete, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:58am

Re: I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Agreed
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:02am

Re:
"Ill take a get out of jail free card, and a no tax for life card in return for leaving you alone :)"

Sorry the republicans have lost all thier power, you should have grabbed the deal with the rest of the defense contractors when you had the chance.
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Your Gawd and Master, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:02am

Re: Re: just can't wait..
Yeah, I know..but in the long run that's just less money in their pockets and the artists who do want downloads will get even more which will in turn give more and more artists incentive to abandon the **AAs, which of course then makes the **AAs even more irrelevant and eventually leads to their demise.

To the MPAA/RIAA: we gave you your chance, now it's our turn. You have been written out of our wills so don't expect a great inheritance.
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GigaByte, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:03am

ProIP
Anything theyu can do to squeeze and try and create profit where there is none will always win over what's best for the people
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Lojiko, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:16am

As Penn & Teller said on their series, "Bullshit", I can't think of a more war-like, freedom-hating name than Czar. Now Bush is nationalizing the banks. It's as if he's doing as much damage as possible before he leaves office.
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:17am

Re: Re: I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
I agree further. Although I do not 100% agree with Lessig I think he would at least make some awesome strides towards fixing things.
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Erv Server, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:20am

Czar
well we have a drug czar too and look how ineffective that role is
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:44am

Re: Copyright Czar and Drug Czar
"So will we be seeing the use of military force worldwide to seize illicit CDs and DVDs in the obscure corners of the world? "

Yes, again, protecting property rights is why we have governments, protecting governments is why we have armies.
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James, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:58am

Rediculous
If the canned content industry really thinks this will help them, then they really are as stupid as we all believe.
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Joe Blow, 14 Oct 2008 @ 8:01am

This is great!
As someone who developes IP in software and has had it stolen from me where I lot a lot of money this is a great thing. However, I think this will be used to excess. Hopefully, they find a common ground where it can protect a lot more of the digital mediums minus music. :o)
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Joe Blow, 14 Oct 2008 @ 8:03am

Oops
I meant to say lost a lot of money above.
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Jeremy M, 14 Oct 2008 @ 8:33am

Ugh.
Well, it's good to know that politicians in the most powerful country in the world take as fact whatever drivel they're fed from lobbyist groups and force it down the President's throat... :-/

While some IP legislation is necessary in this society of software, this era of electronics, it most definitely needs to be revisited and re-legislated. Innovation can be had, but not if there's a glass ceiling of what people can do before big business alliances sue and your inspiration is left crushed and mangled.

At first, reading this blog pissed me off. But then I realized it wasn't the blog or its writers. It is the increasingly idiotic practices that are upheld and NOT updated to reflect the current state of technology's role in society. It is what happens in this world that, as another commenter hinted at, maximizes business success at the cost of what is right for the people.
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Steve Florkey, 14 Oct 2008 @ 8:34am

Today's xkcd Comic
xkcd's timing could not be better. Randal Munroe boils down the ??AA's intent perfectly -- we're all criminals. See http://xkcd.com/488/ and laugh (or cry).
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Imagine That, 14 Oct 2008 @ 8:44am

Horse Sh!t
Unfortunately for you, Joe Blow, their ultimate use of extreme force in this case, does not give a sh!t about you, whatsoever.

This has been one of their prime goals for years, just wanting to shove every American citizen's head up their azz so the only thing they can do is pay their way out of everything. Pretty soon they will be monitoring all your traffic and telling you that you can't do this because its incriminating and you can do that because you are a 'mockery' to the system. Yet at the same time, they will make sure to charge you at each turn to better their capital gains and further the stranglehold they have around your obedient neck.

People will be offing themselves into oblivion, left and right. Foreclosing homes, forfeiture of property and god awful atrocious trials for someone who had a few ripped movies being sent to jail for 3 years so they can intimidate every motherfukker in the entire country into doing what they want.

Better start figuring out where you want to be in the next 3 years, because the United States isn't going to be on your list. That is of course, you enjoy being monetarily raped into enslavement so the corporate elites can get their money and precious totalitarian control.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:17am

Re: Horse Sh!t
Thankfully, you're not bitter.
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Imagine This, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:33am

Re: Re: Horse Sh!t
Oh, Yes.. I am as you say, bitter.

This wonderful stimulus would be enough to support nearly every family victim to the hurricane in Orleans. However, lets pay off the fucking banks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown
------------------------ --------------------------------------------------
Hm, an epidemic of suicide brought on by financial crisis. Lets now start our war on piracy and go door-to-door slamming a mallet on your privacy so we can get you all, "More quality and creativity from the entertainment industry."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_re_us/financial_crisis_violence
------------- -------------------------------------------------------------
So, lets all create a new government agency who's sole job is to run around putting people into the iron zoo and stealing peoples electronics.

Perhaps it will be easier for them to move after they get foreclosed; can't be carting around all those heavy electronics, now can we? Now that I think of it, what a thoughtful gesture. I reverse my standpoint and thank thy wonderful PRO-IP.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:43am

How Much Money do you need?
From PC World: Although major industry copyright protection groups like the Business Software Alliance, Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America did not comment immediately on the president's signing the bill into law, the latter two were major supporters of the bill from its introduction last year through its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

It was just a matter of before the MPA and RIAA got organized enough to lobby congress in a big way. This really shouldnt surprise anyone. Especially from a president who said the best way for citizens to handle the terrorist threat is to go out and shop!

Can someone please tell Bush, "YOU HAVE A COUPLE MONTHS LEFT IN OFFICE. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE". 700 Billion dollars to private for profit business (AIG, Freddie, Fannie). Hey you could easily figure the economic impact from the loss of money from MPA and RIAA. After these lobby groups get stronger I wonder how much tax payer money will go to the RIAA and MPA to keep them in business? That is what we are talking about here right? If you are a huge corporate business you no longer are subject to taking loss. You just funnel money to the right government people. Democracy is dead. I wonder just how far in we are going to go when it comes to capitalism?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:50am

Re: How Much Money do you need?
And you gotta love the Czar part. They will appoint some poor sap like Scott McClellan to this position. His rulings and judgements will vary based on the opinion of the day. Should the king of Copyright fear a revolt from the people he will hold off the RIAA or MPA. LoL. Long live the King of Copyright!
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 10:17am

Re: Re: How Much Money do you need?
A government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations. Or you can replace corporations with "reallying fecking rick people".

The chance of them appointing somebody like Larry Lessig would be A) for the people (decreases chance of likelyhood from 100% -> 50% and B) Intelligent (decreases chance from 50% to .001%).
When was the last time our government did something smart and for the people?
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Liquid, 14 Oct 2008 @ 10:29am

Re:
@Lojiko

The Europeans were doing that the week before the US decided to Nationalize US banks. So he's actually following suit with the rest of the world. I also think there are a few other countries that are doing the same thing if I am not mistaken.
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teknosapien, 14 Oct 2008 @ 11:48am

Ummm
are there not much larger fish for the government to fry I mean there is a war economic issues
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eleete, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:36pm

Re: How Much Money do you need?
700 Billion, why it's a mere 850 Billion in reality. Polluticians! Yukkkkk
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another mike, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:27pm

always good to know where words come from
Czar. Russian for Caesar. Named for Roman military general Gaius Julius Caesar who overthrew the Roman Republic in a civil war and seated himself as "dictator in perpetuity" of the new Roman Empire.
Ah well, at least we have the best government money can buy.
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Rekrul, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:09pm

I used to feel slightly bad about downloading everything. I'm over it. The MPAA will never get another cent of my money. I was never into music, so I never gave the RIAA anything anyway.

And if they want to try and seize my computer or my home for downloading some movies, they're going to have a real fight on their hands. I wonder how it would look in the news if they had to shoot me to steal my property for downloading movies...
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Ambassador, 4 Mar 2009 @ 9:06pm

IP Protection
Honestly how many of you would make dinner for your family and allow people you have no clue of their intent to freely take a portion if not all your dinner away. You would not; in fact you have locks on your door to prevent (protect) what is rightfully yours. And you alone have the decision to sell the dinner or keep it to yourselves. e-ipfirm.com
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