In case you wondered if the RIAA and MPAA own our government…?


Can you imagine what benefits might result from Congress working as hard for ordinary citizens - as they do for corporate incompetents?


In the aftermath of the $222,000 jury verdict that the RIAA recently won against a Minnesota woman who shared 24 songs on Kazaa, the U.S. Congress is preparing to amend copyright law.

Politicians want to increase penalties for copyright infringement…

Here are some of the major sections of the PRO IP Act:

* Fines in copyright cases dealing with compilations would be increased…

* Any computer or network hardware used to “facilitate” a copyright crime could be seized by the Justice Department and auctioned off. The proceeds would be funneled to the agency’s budget. The process is called civil asset forfeiture, and typically the owner does not need to be found guilty of a crime for his property to be taken.

Probably the most extensive part of the PRO IP Act is its creation of a new federal bureaucracy called the White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative, or WHIPER. The head of WHIPER would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate…with the head of the new agency bearing the rank of “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.”

The proper title should be “Ambassador Sheriff of Security”. That would make him ASS-WHIPER.

Posted: Fri - December 7, 2007 at 06:06 AM