From: Alternative News Network <annnapi@cts.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 09:23:14 +0800
To: "Robert A. Costner" <pooh@efga.org>
Subject: Re: Clinton signs draconian antipiracy law, from the Netly News
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.96.971217123112.22334P-100000@beast.brainlink.com>
Message-ID: <349F11DD.9B5E22C6@cts.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



    "Criminal Intent" used to be one aspect of a crime that was required
to be proved before a conviction could be made.

Today Criminal Intent comes into play only occasionally at sentencing,
otherwise the Judiciary just ignores it.

So don't kid yourself,  the words "Willful  Intent" are just there to
preserve a veneer of reasonableness. They will as a practical manner be
ignored.

Hasn't the governments motive for this new law been discussed yet?

Universal  PC (Probable Cause) to search the computers of dissidents and
political enemies.

    How simple to upload a CD ROM of some $1000.00 piece of "Pirated"
Software and secure a conviction. Roll the CMOS Date back a while, load
the program. Then change the CMOS date to the current correct one. Now
throw in a PGP encrypted Chapter of the Gulag Archipelago (appropriate)
and then claim all related doc's are encrypted (probably terrorist plans
and the accused refuse to divulge the password (they claim not to know
it or where the Software came from.. "ha ha we know better").

Ahh...a "New High Tech Weapon in the Government's fight against  their
"enemies"...the people.


Wm.




Robert A. Costner wrote:

> At 02:42 PM 12/17/97 -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote:
> >since the infringment has to be "willful." That is, you have to
> >KNOW that what you're doing is INDEED an infringment in order to be
> >convicted.
>
> Section 506(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as
> follows:
> Any person who infringes a copyright willfully ....
>
> I know this has been discussed before, but I am unclear as to what are
> the
> differences between "willfully" and other concepts, such as
> "knowingly."  I
> wish one of the lawyer types on here could clarify this some more.  If
>
> willful means that you know what you are doing, then it might narrow
> the
> law some.  You would have to know the work was copyrighted, and you
> would
> have to know that the copying is not allowed by law.
>
> I'm confused by the law as it seems to make some actions criminal that
> I
> cannot conceive were meant to be criminal.  Since I know that by
> surfing
> the web and being on mail lists, and using usenet, I will exchange
> copies
> of copyrighted works I am confused by this new law's affirmation that
> I am
> participating in "financial gain" by reading web pages and the like.
> Since
> I am confused, perhaps my actions are not willful?
>
> Just what is the meaning of "Willful" in this context?
>
>   -- Robert Costner                  Phone: (770) 512-8746
>      Electronic Frontiers Georgia    mailto:pooh@efga.org
>      http://www.efga.org/            run PGP 5.0 for my public key