

Senator Franken breaks his silence on PIPA. - cowmix
http://blog.alfranken.com/2012/01/20/lets-talk-about-intellectual-property/

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bcn
Too little too late... And, this quote (from the article):

"If we don’t protect our intellectual property, international criminals — as
well as legitimate businesses like payment processors and ad networks — will
continue to profit dishonestly from the work these Americans are doing every
day. And that puts these millions of jobs at serious risk."

...is some serious FUD.

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Uhhrrr
Yes. That and this, "If this bill really did some of the things people have
heard it would do (like shutting down YouTube), I would never have supported
it." indicate that he still doesn't technically get it.

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ohyes
I think the issue is that it is technically correct that this bill wouldn't
'shut down' YouTube. There is no language in the bill that prohibits sharing
of non copyright infringing videos on the internet.

However, the language of the bill would make a website like YouTube a
practical impossibility. They wouldn't be able to keep their doors open
because there would be too much overhead in complying with the new laws, and
they would be under constant threat of being shut down tomorrow, because
someone claimed infringement.

I sympathize that someone who really doesn't understand how websites work and
how something like YouTube functions would not understand this distinction.

However, if you don't understand the technical details about this, you should
have a hearing and defer to experts rather than asking a bunch of MPAA and
RIAA lobbyists to write a bill for you. It is like asking a militant vegan to
design your slaughterhouse.

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aptwebapps
To be very literal, I don't think that Youtube itself would have been in much
danger of being shut down if the bill(s) had passed. They're too big now. But
tomorrow's Youtube, that's another matter.

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wvenable
These laws just give these corporations a blank check to wield with minimal
due process and without recourse if they abuse it. The DMCA is currently being
abused by these companies but no politician talks about that.

The issue isn't that this bill may or may not shut down Youtube. It's more
that it might make Youtube, or future sites like Youtube, too legally
difficult to run. That the responsibility for policing piracy would be an
unfair burden on legal Internet businesses. Or that the lack of due process
and consequences will result in legitimate sites being wiped from the
Internet.

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SpikeDad
Strangely, he didn't include his large campaign contributions from the
Entertainment industry in his analysis of the laws.

I might respect his position a bit more if he commented on this. However, I
can see the position of these guys since this is really the ONLY way to hurt
non-US-based sources of pirated and "fake" merchandise.

Of course, no analysis from the industry or Congress has every shown any
conclusive evidence that piracy or "fake" consumer goods causes any major
financial hardship towards manufacturers. Many people contend that these goods
would just not be purchased if people's only option was the "full price" or
"legal" versions.

