INDUCE vs Technical Progress
p2pnet.net News:- Yesterday we featured an action site set up ostensibly to save iPod from the ravages of Orrin Hatch’s INDUCE Act.
Clearly, INDUCE is about a lot more than iPod. (And let’s not forget Apple’s black collaboration with Pepsi and the RIAA in an iTunes promo which used a group of naïve teenagers who’d been sued by the RIAA as its focus.)
iTunes, an iPod loss leader, mostly uses ‘product’ supplied by the Big Five record labels. They, in turn, own the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and are in their turn, integral to the entertainment industry, which inspired INDUCE.
The act, “would put a foot on the throat of anyone coming to market with a new device, software product, or home networking system that handles copyrighted content,” as Gary Shapiro, chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC), sums it up.
But INDUCE is not just a serious problem for the US: if it passes, it’ll ricochet powerfully, affecting the entire world of technology. And this concern was brought home by a post from a Taiwanese student.
You may not be an American, and you may not live in the US, but INDUCE could affect you. So maybe a few faxes from non-US citizens would also help to convince the American powers-that-be that INDUCE needs to be stamped out.
Not at all incidentally, it might also be time for congress to investigate the activities of the many prominent American politicians who are so obviously committed to looking after Hollywood’s, rather than their constituents’, interests.
Be that as it may, here’s the letter. The first paragraph comes from a note the site suggests should be faxed to individual represetatives.
“Hi, I am a Taiwan student,” says the p2pnet reader.
“I want to fight this situation, but I do not live in America, and my English is poor, so I’d like to ask for your help to translate this letter to good English and mail it to appropriate senator. Here is my letter, sorry for my English. I think even a foreign student as me should help, because once the bill pass in America, another day it will pass in Taiwan.”
Now read on >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I strongly oppose ‘The INDUCE Act’ because it is broad, over-reaching legislation that threatens to make illegal many products and services that have legal and legitimate uses. Technology used every day by millions of Americans, such as VCRs, filesharing networks, and Apple iPods could be subject to lawsuits.
The writer of the bill, Orrin Hatch, once come up with a plan which allow police to remotely destroy a p2p user’s computer if the police believe that the p2p user is infringing copyright law. That bill is very draconian, but not comparing to this one (the INDUCE act) which outlaw everything which could be used to infringe copyright law, including MP3 player, CD-R writer, even the MP3 or DivX technology itself. The formal [former], though frightening, only destroy infringing device if anyone break the law. However, the more destructive INDUCE act will destroy everything that can be used to infringe copyright before anyone can use them for any purpose.
The DMCA section 512 merely prohibit any device that is designed to break anti-copy protection. The INDUCE act, however, prohibit not anything that can be used to infringe copyright law, but also anything which can “induce” one to infringe copyright law. The DMCA, since it was designed improperly, has caused serious bad effect:stifling scienctific research, being used for anti-competitive purpose, using “protection” to gain extra power which is not defined in the law (e.g:you can play your legally purchased DVD in a single area). The DMCA caused such devastating effect to science and technology by merely prohibit “circumvention” of “protection”. If the INDUCE act is passed, the bad effect will be much stronger the DMCA, by magnitude.
The writer of the bill, Orrin Hatch, used “Child Porn”, “protecting children” as his excuse. Some people believe that his purpose is to destroy P2P network. However, I believe, his real intension is not limited to destroy P2P network, but to destroy everything which endanger the copyright holders(e.g:CD writer, MP3 player, P2P network, broadband, DivX, CD burning software….) all in once. The real intension of the INDUCE act is not to protect children. If it is, why there is no hearing, no debating, and the speed of the bill is as fast as lightening? As if they are trying to “sneak” the bill to the law.
The least but the most important, the bill is being passed, the speed is very fast. If no senator stands up, the bill could be passed fast without any hearing or debating,and deprive the right of customer,causing severe damage to technology and economy. I sincerely hope you senator to strongly stand up against the bill.
June 29th, 2004 at 3:47 pm
The reason why I post the letter is because I think that the “Power of persuade” in original letter in “Save the iPod” website is not strong enough.I think that we should give the senator enough reason to oppose the bill:
I believe we should send these message to honest senators:
1.Hatch is not honest.He is trying to pass the bill EVEN HE KNOW THE BILL IS ACTUALLY WRONG(So he is afraid of hearing,debating…..)
2.The bill hurts economy,technology.
3.The bill is more draconion then allowing remotely destroying someones computer and the section 512 of DMCA.
4.The bill deprive customer’s right.
5.The bill chills innovation because a product can be outlawed even the designer’s intension is 100% pure unevil(Best example:iPod)
and many many reasons
I believe,if we give senators enough and strong reasons,there will be some honest senators to stop the madness.
And again,sorry for my poor English.