Filesharing more serious than manslaughter?

The Register is reporting that the US Congress and Senate have passed laws that make distributing a movie before its official release date, or recording it while it’s being shown in a cinema, punishable by 3 years in jail – more than handed down for involuntary manslaughter. Now, I don’t condone people breaking copyright, but is it really right that copying a movie is treated more seriously as a criminal offense than killing someone? Or is something askew with the US (and the UK) judicial system?

Similarly, the current crusade against sharing music files over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks on our computers. I don’t condone people downloading pop hits instead of buying them (the artist deserves the pittance of the CD price that they do get – generally around 8%) but surely using P2P as a sampling service before buying isn’t morally wrong, any more than borrowing a CD from a friend is. Or how about using it to obtain music that is simply no longer for sale? And that’s not even touching the significant arena of music that has been made available for free distribution, whether as a taster, as a way to gain recognition or simply as a way to distribute to a wider audience.

How have we come to a place where crimes against profit are treated more seriously than crimes against people? When did the principle of justice become protecting the right of the rich to earn even more money? Should we not attempt to return to a place where justice is about protecting the rights of everyone – including protecting the poor against the rich?

pax et bonum

Article posted at 7:28pm on 21 April 2005
Category: Computers, Musing, Politics, General

Something is certainly askew with the US legal system. Due to “mandatory minimums,” where judges lose all discretion in sentencing due to legislative intervention, first-time drug offenders often serve as long as, or longer, than people convicted of violent crimes. Many non-violent junkies are serving longer terms than rapists and murderers. The war on drugs in this country is really a war on the poor.

As far as music and movies, the “entertainment lobby” is powerful. They were adamently opposed to CDs, and then DVDs, even as they began to realize enormous profits from their sale and distribution. Again, this is a war on the little guys. Many small bands want people to have access to free downloads as a way to reach a larger audience. With movies, well, it’s just pirating — but the sentence is pretty harsh for such a harmless crime.

—Bill

Bill () (URL)
05:11am on 23 April 2005