Re: Sentencing for Electronic Copyright Infringement

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 7:35 PM -0800 1/6/98, John Young wrote:
>The United States Sentencing Commission published in the
>Federal Register today an RFC on changes in sentencing
>guidelines. Here's an excerpt on electronic copyright
>infringement:
....
>    (1) If the loss to the copyright or trademark exceeded $2,000,
>increase by the corresponding number of levels from the table in
>Sec. 2F1.1 (Fraud and Deceit).''.
....

The upshot of all this "spreadsheet sentencing" is that nearly all of us
have some number of infringing materials, illegal copies, or unauthorized
downloads on our systems.

Or we have more than the allowable number of backup copies of our important
programs. Or even of our unimportant programs.

When the ninja narc raiders cart our computers off for analysis, I'm sure
they can find enough violations to send us away for as many years as they
wish.

Even though I'm not a "warez" trader, or even a software pirate, and even
though I have perhaps foolishly bought many thousands of dollars worth of
now-discontinued and now-unused products ("shelfware"), I am quite sure the
Authorities could find dozens and dozens of violations of these new laws.

Welcome to Amerika.

--Tim May



The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."