Those who share music and movies over P2P networks like Kazaa
could face a maximum three-year jail sentence under a proposed US
law, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, which took its first,
tentative steps towards the statute books on Wednesday.
The bill aims to criminalise file-sharing; to demand funding for
the Justice Department to initiate an internet use education
program; and to give the FBI powers to create an anti-piracy
program that will warn those caught infringing copyright and share
information about such incidents with copyright owners, enforcement
agencies and ISPs.
According to the bill, those who make available: over $1,000 in
copyrighted materials; 1,000 or more copies of copyrighted
material; one or more copies of copyrighted materials worth $10,000
in value; or one or more copies of one copyrighted pre-release
material, shall be liable to a maximum of 3 years imprisonment – or
6 years for a second or subsequent offence.
The trigger-level of $1,000 of copyrighted materials
approximates to making available the tracks on around 70 albums.
Those convicted shall also be liable to a fine, up to a maximum of
$250,000.
The intellectual property subcommittee of the House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Wednesday,
but it still has a long way to go before it becomes law.
First, the bill must be approved by the full Judiciary
Committee. Then it faces the scrutiny of Congress and the
Senate.
The news was welcomed by the Recording Industry Association of
America. Chief Executive Mitch Bainwol commented, "This is a common
sense bill that ensures that federal prosecutors have the tools and
expertise to fully enforce the laws on the books".
