Copyrights and Wrongs, from The Netly News

[Declan McCullagh]

*********

http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1588,00.html

The Netly News (http://netlynews.com/)
November 20, 1997

Copyrights and Wrongs
By Declan McCullagh (declan at well.com)

     If you think nothing of trading copyrighted software with
your friends, think again. A new law passed by Congress
will make even casual copyright breach a crime punishable
by a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in a federal
prison.

     While you're cooling your heels in Club Fed, you'll
have plenty of time to consider your misdeeds -- which in
this case could have been making just three copies of Adobe
Photoshop (cost: $389). The legislation covers anyone who
copies compact discs, videocasettes or computer software
worth at least $1,000. The No Electronic Theft Act, which
President Clinton is expected to sign later this month,
will be the first law in the history of the U.S. to
imprison copiers looking to save (not make) a few bucks.

     The President's signature will come not a nanosecond
too soon for the software and recording industry lobbyists
who have demanded this legislation for years. "The function
of the criminal copyright law is to deter people from
commercial-scale piracy, just as it is to penalize those
who prosecutors take to court," says Mark Traphagen, vice
president of the Software Publishers Association, the
software industry's largest trade organization.

[...]


-------------------------
Declan McCullagh
Time Inc.
The Netly News Network
Washington Correspondent
http://netlynews.com/