[Politech] Audio interview with Justice Department official about copyright [ip]

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Sun Nov 28 2004 - 23:10:03 PST


See as background from last month:

http://news.com.com/Justice+Dept/2100-1028_3-5406654.html
"The U.S. Justice Department recommended a sweeping transformation of 
the nation's intellectual-property laws, saying peer-to-peer piracy is a 
"widespread" problem that can be addressed only through more spending, 
more FBI agents and more power for prosecutors."


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fw: Audio Interview - U.S. Justice Department on Copyright 
Protection
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:48:07 -0800
From: Blane Warrene <bwarrene@private>
To: declan@private
References: <000001c4cd84$79968020$6401a8c0@Dadsweetasspc>


I have worked with Phil on some pieces before - and he manages to find
some interesting candidates for his interviews.

Thought Politech readers might find this interview interesting.

Blane


--
Blane Warrene
Technologist / Researcher / Writer
216-373-0055
bwarrene@private
http://www.practicalapplications.net

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:37:06 -0500
Subject: Audio Interview - U.S. Justice Department on Copyright
Protection

   Summary: In March Attorney General John Ashcroft appointed a special
Task Force within the Justice Department to investigate the causes of
the apparent rise in copyright infringement in recent years and to
develop recommendations as to how the rights holders, Justice
Department, and Congress could deal with the issues. The Chairman of
that Task Force is David Israelite and he is our guest on Inside
Digital Media today.



  The Task Force is concerned that the rights holders be provided the
tools needed to prosecute infringers. David indicates that one tool
that would be constructive to add would be a means of recognizing with
certainty the identities of individuals who are replicating copyrighted
files without permission on the Internet within Peer-To-Peer networks
and by other means.



  David points out that copyright infringement in excess of $1,000 is
considered a criminal misdemeanor. In excess of $2,500 it becomes a
felony. He notes that ordinary property owners are protected from
criminal theft by hundreds of thousands of local police, but that local
law enforcement is ineffective against intellectual property theft over
the Internet. Therefore, he feels it is necessary that the police force
of the Justice Department, to wit the FBI, become the enforcement
agency.



  David is sympathetic to the principle of the Sony Betamax Supreme
Court Decision in 1984 enabling the VCR to be sold as a legitimate
device since it has substantial non-infringing uses. However, he also
is concerned that some newer businesses on the Internet may be
encouraging and perhaps inducing, consumers to become copyright
infringers and have thereby overstepped the intent of the Sony Betamax
decision.



  From our interview, it appears that the Justice Department has placed
a high priority on protecting intellectual property. Anyone interested
in IP rights and how the government may view those rights in the
context of a rapidly changing technological environment would do well
to hear David’s thoughts.



  Subject: Today’s guest on Inside Digital Media is David Israelite who
is the Chairman of the U.S. Department of Justice Task Force on
Intellectual Property.



Length: This audio-only interview is covered in about 20 minutes.



  Today’s interview is audio-only. There are two ways to listen by
visiting www.insidedigitalmedia.com and selecting the November 18th
interview.



  Stream. You can stream it to your computer and play it through the
RealPlayer.



  Download. You can download the entire dot-MP3 file which enables you
to make it portable if you wish. For example, you can “burn” the
interview to a blank CD thereby enabling you to play it in your car or
you can transfer it to a portable device like the Apple iPod.



  To unsubscribe, send email to
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  Quote of the Day: “Resolute, adj. – Obstinate in a course that we
approve.” – From The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.


Phil Leigh
President
Inside Digital Media, Inc.
   www.insidedigitalmedia.com






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