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Re: Clinton signs draconian antipiracy law, from the Netly News
At 01:47 PM 12/18/1997 -0700, Tim May wrote:
>All of this about jail time for copying CDs is nonsense, even under the new
>law.
>
>Some years back, circa 1989-91 or so, Congress passed a new tax on blank
>tape and other such blank media...we've all been paying a little bit for
>blank media as a result of this law. (The name of the law is no longer on
>the tip of my tongue, but it was something about intellectual property
>rights, or somesuch--the name may be the "Home Recording Act," it now
>occurs to me.)
>
>One of the key provisions was that home taping, or archival taping, or
>taping for any _noncommercial_ use was now fully legal, with not even the
>hint of illegality.
But new laws generally override old laws. After all, the old Copyright law
excepted "fair use" copies from its coverage. The mere fact that they're
still taxing blank tape doesn't mean they can't re-criminalize copying.
Thanks!
Bill
Bill Stewart, [email protected]
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