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Thread: Bill S. 978 - Petition

  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2011
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    Default Bill S. 978 - Petition

    The United States Senate is in the process of considering bill S.978, a bill “To amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright,” or as you might know it, the Anti-Streaming Bill. There’s been some discussion about what it really means and how it would affect stuff we care about, so I’d like to clear everything up. To be blunt, if passed it would pretty significantly reconfigure American copyright law in ways that could honestly really hurt internet culture in general and our video game communities specifically.

    So what does it do? Its stated purpose is to attack the online streaming of copyrighted works, specifically films and live television. It tries to do this by criminalizing some electronically transmitted (read: internet) public performances of copyrighted works.

    Background: the law is split into criminal law and civil law. In (very) short, criminal is for things designated as crimes (like murder and theft), can involve jail time, and is handled by the government, whereas civil law covers everything else, doesn’t involve the risk of jail, and can only be sued over by whatever entity actually got screwed. Copyright law has both criminal and civil law sides, but with a few significant exceptions copyright mostly sticks to civil law in practice. That means that only the copyright owner can sue you for infringement, and the worst thing that can usually happen is that you either get a cease and desist letter and stop what you’re doing or you pay the copyright owner some dough. While that can be really costly (up to $150k per infringement, although that’s very uncommon), you can’t get sent to jail.

    More background: there are four major exclusive rights granted to copyright holders, including the exclusive rights to reproduce a copyrighted work, to distribute it, to modify it, and to perform or display it. Streaming a copyrighted video game audiovisual work can involve all four of those rights, but most obviously it’s a performance of that work transmitted to members of the online public. Infringements of the performance right have only ever been handled by civil law, that is, subject only to getting shut down or to paying the copyright owner some money; there’s never ever been a criminal penalty for an unlicensed performance of a copyrighted work. This bill breaks with all previous copyright history and tradition by criminalizing some unauthorized performances. Link
    Here is the Bill

    This basically means that most of the great youtubers (Seananners, Tobuscus etc.) wont be able to post commentary's/gameplay footage anymore - even if it doesnt effect you please sign THIS petition and help support the people who it does affect. Personally i spend atleast 3 hours a day on youtube and it really has become a part of what keeps me happy :P

    PS: Here is a video about it by my favorite commentator to those who are to lazy to read

    "Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it" - Unknown

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    Default

    Yikes.

    I bothered to go and look at the actual Bill, and it is badly worded in many more ways than represented by any gaming sites atm.

    There are so many unforeseen implications with this, that it would completely slaughter independent film companies too!

    The mere mention of a copyrighted piece of material in one's own works would qualify as a crime.
    Make an indy game.
    Insert obscure but funny pop culture reference from favorite copyrighted game/movie/music track... WHAM! Go to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect civil liberties or freedom...

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