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The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making “illegal streaming” of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.
In a 20-page white paper (PDF), the Obama administration called on the U.S. Congress to fix “deficiencies that could hinder enforcement” of intellectual property laws.
Some of the highlights:
• The White House is concerned that “illegal streaming of content” may not be covered by criminal law. To resolve that ambiguity, it wants a new law to “clarify that infringement by streaming, or by means of other similar new technology, is a felony in appropriate circumstances.”
• Under federal law, wiretaps may only be conducted in investigations of serious crimes, a list that was expanded by the 2001 Patriot Act to include offenses such as material support of terrorism and use of weapons of mass destruction.
• The administration is proposing that if Homeland Security seizes circumvention devices (AKA Your computer used for ripping your own DVD’s), it be permitted to “inform rightholders,” “provide samples of such devices,” and assist “them in bringing civil actions.”
The term “fair use” does not appear anywhere in the report. - [read more]
[...] bronko posted about this interesting story. Here is a small section of the postThe White House is concerned that “illegal streaming of content” may not be covered by criminal law. To resolve that ambiguity, it wants a new law to “clarify that infringement by streaming, or by means of other similar new technology, … The administration is proposing that if Homeland Security seizes circumvention devices (AKA Your computer used for ripping your own DVD’s), it be permitted to “inform rightholders,” “provide samples of such devices,” and assist “them in … [...]