Enter part two of the new strategy, which seeks to enlist the resources of the federal government in an attempt to put peer-to-peer pirates in federal prison. Last Friday, Reuters reported that some of the most senior members of Congress are pressuring the Justice Department to invoke a little-known law: the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act. Under the NET Act, signed by President Clinton in 1997, it is a federal crime for a person to share copies of copyrighted products such as software, movies or music with friends and family members if the value of the work exceeds $1,000. Violations are punishable by one year in prison, or if the value tops $2,500, not more than five years in prison. That's a mighty weapon to wield against peer-to-peer pirates, especially when so many Americans are potential federal felons, but it seems likely that the Justice Department will honor Congress' request. The agency already has used the NET Act to imprison software pirates, a move that tech companies hailed as "an important component of the overall effort to prevent software threat." During his confirmation hearing in June 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft told Congress that, "Given the fact that much of America's strength in the world economy is a result of our being the developer and promoter of most of the valuable software, we cannot allow the assets that are held electronically to be pirated or infringed. And so we will make a priority of cybercrime issues." Neither the Justice Department nor the RIAA commented when contacted on Monday. A copy of the letter from Congress, seen by CNET News.com, complains of "a staggering increase in the amount of intellectual property pirated over the Internet through peer-to-peer systems." The 19 members of Congress -- including Sen. Joseph Biden, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- urged Ashcroft "to prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer neworks." Peter Jaszi, a law professor at American University who is a critic of recent additions to copyright law, says he welcomes the idea of prosecutions under the NET Act. "It's positive in the sense that this decision is going to make everyone aware of what the real stakes in this contest are," Jaszi said. On the other hand, he said, "I think (the industry) is going to have a tremendously difficult time trying to find judges and juries who will convict individuals who are engaging in content sharing of this type." Any NET Act prosecution could send a chill through the entire peer-to-peer community inside the United States, with possible prison time for what most people seem to view as a harmless activity -- illegal, perhaps, but easy to forgive -- like speeding on an interstate highway. Jaszi says any future trial "may become a trial of the whole question of whether we regard content sharing" as a criminal act. Closing a loophole
Rampant file-swapping is precisely the activity that the NET Act was designed to punish. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the co-chairman of the Congressional Internet Caucus, drafted the NET Act to close what had become known as the "LaMacchia Loophole." In 1994, David LaMacchia was a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was charged with wire fraud for creating a file-swapping site on the Internet. But a federal judge dismissed the criminal charges, ruling that although LaMacchia could be sued in civil court, he was not guilty as charged. "It is not clear that making criminals of a large number of consumers of computer software is a result that even the software industry would consider desirable," US District Judge Richard Stearns ruled. A second section of the NET Act that does not include the $1,000 minimum limit could make prosecutions even easier. If a person links to a peer-to-peer network and shares copyrighted content against the law in "expectation" that others will do the same, that triggers felony penalties automatically. Separately, Reps. Howard Berman and Howard Coble have introduced a bill that would permit nearly unchecked electronic disruptions if a copyright holder has a "reasonable basis" to believe that piracy is occurring on a computer connected to a peer-to-peer network.
For the latest on everything from DVD standards and MP3s to your rights online, see the Personal Technology News Section.
Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum.
Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.
