Decius wrote:
] ] File-swappers who distribute a single copy of a
] ] prerelease movie on the Internet can be imprisoned for up
] ] to three years, according to a bill that President Bush
] ] signed into law on Wednesday.

No one here is going to say pirating things is legal. Its not. You will get punished for it. However, like some of the "manditory" drug sentencing, this way too extreme.

What I am surprised about is no one (other than CNN) is reporting what *else* this law does. It protects starts ups and other projects that circumvent DVDs "Do not skip" feature among other things.

The MPAA had said that aftermarket devices that skip through scenes or change dialog are illegal because they are modifying the MPAA's copyrighted work. However this law basically says changing the content on a DVD, or skipping through scenes/removing dialog is perfectly legal. "Unlocking" your DVD to get around this annoying features is now legal. Creating devices that control the DVD, even if they circumvent, is legal.

This is a good thing for Fair Use. I'm willing to put up with some larger than necessary punishments for an illegal act for that.

RE: Bush signs law targeting P2P pirates | CNET News.com