36 votes

Sweeping new copyright measures poised to pass in spending bill - The CASE Act and a felony streaming proposal are included

13 comments

  1. [7]
    babypuncher
    (edited )
    Link
    The headline sounds scarier than reality. You are not going to jail for streaming a movie from some shady pirate site. The guy running the site might. This part is much scarier, depending on how...

    that would allow the Justice Department to charge businesses for felony copyright infringement if they intentionally stream copyrighted material online.

    The headline sounds scarier than reality. You are not going to jail for streaming a movie from some shady pirate site. The guy running the site might.

    the CASE Act would create a quasi-judicial tribunal of “Copyright Claims Officers” who would work to resolve infringement claims.

    This part is much scarier, depending on how it is implemented, but I could see some positives on the off-chance that it is done well.

    18 votes
    1. [3]
      Grzmot
      Link Parent
      Yeah, but why is it part of a relief bill?

      The headline sounds scarier than reality.

      Yeah, but why is it part of a relief bill?

      16 votes
      1. Eabryt
        Link Parent
        In defense of this I don't believe it technically is. In reality the relief bill is part of this bill. Basically it's the end of the year and so as usual congress doesn't have their shit together...

        In defense of this I don't believe it technically is. In reality the relief bill is part of this bill.

        Basically it's the end of the year and so as usual congress doesn't have their shit together and need to pass a budget for next year, and so in doing that it always turns in to an omnibus bill. In this case it's nearly 5600 pages, the 900b COVID relief is a small corner part of that.

        Either way, it's stupid.

        14 votes
      2. babypuncher
        Link Parent
        It's the end of the year, most remaining legislative items get lumped into a large omnibus spending bill.

        It's the end of the year, most remaining legislative items get lumped into a large omnibus spending bill.

        8 votes
    2. vord
      Link Parent
      EFF doesn't like the CASE act. And if I've learned anything about life, if the EFF doesn't like it, you shouldn't either.

      EFF doesn't like the CASE act.

      And if I've learned anything about life, if the EFF doesn't like it, you shouldn't either.

      9 votes
    3. [2]
      scissortail
      Link Parent
      Yep, most users will probably be okay with regard to the streaming thing--Senate press release here. That said, I still can't like any of it.

      Yep, most users will probably be okay with regard to the streaming thing--Senate press release here.

      That said, I still can't like any of it.

      4 votes
      1. babypuncher
        Link Parent
        The optimist in me wants to believe that the "Copyright Claims Office" will make it easier for small creators to defend their work from blatant thieves, while also allowing them to defend their...

        The optimist in me wants to believe that the "Copyright Claims Office" will make it easier for small creators to defend their work from blatant thieves, while also allowing them to defend their own fair use of copyrighted content without going bankrupt in court. But I'm skeptical it will actually play out that way.

        3 votes
  2. [5]
    moocow1452
    Link
    Convince me that this isn't going to be the Napster days all over again, because if it is and the MPAA are going to be suing randos for the crimes of streaming movies from russian websites and...

    Convince me that this isn't going to be the Napster days all over again, because if it is and the MPAA are going to be suing randos for the crimes of streaming movies from russian websites and content creators for not being transformative enough in their dissection of media, then capping damages at $30,000 is probably a blessing.

    7 votes
    1. [4]
      babypuncher
      Link Parent
      If you read the article, the headline is much more alarmist than it needs to be. What they are making a felony is intentionally hosting pirated content on your streaming platform. End users aren't...

      If you read the article, the headline is much more alarmist than it needs to be.

      What they are making a felony is intentionally hosting pirated content on your streaming platform. End users aren't impacted at all.

      7 votes
      1. [3]
        moocow1452
        Link Parent
        Peertube instances are probably going to be a little scarcer, as well as Plex instances. And im pretty sure it's only a matter of time before big things start crushing little things by whatever...

        Peertube instances are probably going to be a little scarcer, as well as Plex instances. And im pretty sure it's only a matter of time before big things start crushing little things by whatever means necessary.

        3 votes
        1. [2]
          babypuncher
          Link Parent
          Your Plex is safe as long as you aren't sharing it with people who do not own the content hosted on it.

          Your Plex is safe as long as you aren't sharing it with people who do not own the content hosted on it.

          3 votes
          1. moocow1452
            Link Parent
            One thing that I definitely overlooked is the idea of the law circling the wagons on streamers is that YouTube content ID is pretty much going to become impenetrably difficult to work around. And...

            One thing that I definitely overlooked is the idea of the law circling the wagons on streamers is that YouTube content ID is pretty much going to become impenetrably difficult to work around. And if alternative streamers can be crushed by overzealous copyright claims in the future, that could be a disaster.

            https://gizmodo.com/youtube-s-copyright-filter-is-crushing-video-critique-a-1845934339

            3 votes
  3. petrichor
    Link
    This behavior is perhaps more concerning than the gotchas in the bill itself. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it best - that bill was over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm on Monday, and was voted on the...

    On Monday, congressional leaders unveiled their massive spending and coronavirus relief measure... Congress is expected to vote on the package as early as Monday.

    This behavior is perhaps more concerning than the gotchas in the bill itself. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it best - that bill was over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm on Monday, and was voted on the same evening.

    7 votes