No, it’s not a joke: Copyright deal could toughen rules governing info on iPods, computers.
It’s bad enough that they’re planning on joining the USA in their overblown, pro-corporation, anti-personal-freedom DMCA style copyright laws, but in addition:
The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that “infringes” on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.
The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not.
Cross the border and in addition to searching your car for purchases you haven’t claimed, but the border guard can snoop through your iPod and laptop computer looking for unlicensed media! Don’t bother thinking you have any privacy, because that border guard is going to have to inspect those racy digital photos you and your wife took while on vacation to make sure that they’re not really owned by Disney.
There is absolutely no way we can let this go through. The DMCA in the US is an utter travesty, and this is worse!
Here’s something I’ve realized about copyright law recently: It’s pro-monopoly. Monopolies break the proper working of capitalism, which is why there are laws against them. Material that can be copyrighted — a movie like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, for example — is a mini-monopoly. Sure, there are other movies out there that can compete, but there is only one company that controls the sales and viewing of that Indiana Jones movie. The way the law used to work, copyright lapsed after 28 years. This changed, however, when Mickey Mouse approached 28 and Disney lobbied the government to extend it. When that extension was almost up, they lobbied again, and again.
It appears that copyright will never, ever lapse because the US government is rolling over the corporations like Disney and allowing them to maintain their mini-monopolies forever.
On top of that, they’re creating laws to make more government employess enforce that monpolistic power!
Don’t let them. Write your MP.
Humourous update: Tom the Dancing Bug seems to agree about the Disney copyright problem.
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