Copyfighters beat down Tennessee bill
Copyfighters in Tennessee have scored a massive win, defanging a crappy, RIAA-written state bill:
SB3974 is a Bill written by the RIAA, and sponsored by Knoxville Sen. Tim Burchett, that forces any institution of “higher learning” to monitor all public university students and (according to the RIAA) expel any who access copyrighted content...Link (Thanks, Chris!)Earlier today, SB3974 (the “copyright” Bill) was passed unanimously. Remarkably, the Bill was amended to reflect the concerns of all those who had called, mailed, and gathered in protest. As a result, the Bill will no longer:
(1) Prohibit the non-infringing use of copyrighted material
(2) Restrict an educational institution’s use of copyrighted material under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 107
See also:
Nashville copyright bill protest this Weds
Nashville copyright craziness -- success! Rematch on Mar 5
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"The current Amendment corrects many of these errors - although it continues to demand a system that will police and criminalize students."
I'm having difficulties seeing this as a win. The RIAA can continue their prosecution of p2p-users as before, but now the universities are forced to do the legwork for them.
#2, I agree. The universities should teach, not police. I'd say it's impossible to do both.
But with Peerguardian, forced encryption and a random listening port, they'll never catch copyright infringing students anyway.
Senator Burchett is from my town, and he's a real piece of work, lemme tell you. Among his other exploits:
- He once held a loaded gun on some unarmed teenagers who tried to break into the warehouse where he stores his motorcycle collection. He said later that he "wouldn't have shot anyone."
- Soon after the start of the Iraq war, he gave a speech in which he said that everyone who criticized the President for starting the war should be deported.
This does sound rather like "I was stabbed, beaten, and shot, but I'm happy because I talked them out of stealing my wallet as well".
@ Lazyesq
That video doesn't seem to have anything to do with the topic.
I checked out the smoinge site, you getting paid to place 'strategic' ads?
Seems a little dishonest to me
@Wadefranklin: if you're interested I interviewed Senator Burchett, (as well as the RIAA lobbyist Wendell Moore who wrote the bill), for a podcast I do here in Nashville, (pardon the self-link :) - you can hear it here: http://worldcriminal.com/lta/?p=694
In fairness to the Senator I'm sure it can be difficult to keep up with the changes in technology and culture - there's a big divide between those who are conceptually aware of the internet as a 'copy machine' and people who see downloading as 'theft of the physical', (as Tiim Burchett says in the interview comparable to shoplifting a book in a bookstore or stealing gasoline).