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Hollywood is finally bringing its big guns to Capitol Hill; the studios are freaking out! On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Commercial Felony Streaming Act, a measure that would treat illegal streaming sites the same as illegal download sites (and P2Ps). Both would be subject to felony charges, instead of misdemeanors currently given to those delivering unauthorized on-demand streams of television shows and movies.
The measure, sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-
Minnesota) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), now goes to the full Senate for consideration. Hollywood loves this proposed melding of performance and reproduction, though there may also be serious spillover into music.
Indeed, the crossover is fairly obvious. The RIAA just pummeled Limewire into the poorhouse, but what if courts (or law enforcement agencies) applied similar measures to, let's say, Grooveshark? Universal Music Group continues to wage war against Grooveshark in the courtroom, though some legislative weaponry could enter the picture.
And make no mistake, Hollywood is bringing serious heat to the Hill. The Commercial Felony Act closely follows Judiciary Committee approval of the Protect IP Act, which gives the Justice Department the power to seize domain names and restrict listings on search engines and other directories. That focuses heavily on foreign sites, though domestic violators can easily be brushed 'illegal' or 'rogue' under the measure.
It's amazing: the RIAA never got this sort of traction on the Hill. Maybe they lacked the money and influence, or maybe RIAA toppers Mitch Bainwol and Cary Sherman aren't as connected and geniusy as the labels defend. Either way, Hollywood seems determined to avoid a poster child fate, something solidly stamped onto music industry foreheads.
Comments Closed
Sage Burrows Thursday, June 16, 2011
Never fuck with Hollywood. Tech companies should have known this.
It's easy to steal from artists and labels... Hollywood will change Gov't policy when the music bizness can not.
ktc mgmt Thursday, June 16, 2011
because 8x the money is at stake. $10b in the music biz and $80b in the movie biz.
MRW Friday, June 17, 2011
Very soon, with the advent of this kind of sweeping legislation, the Internet will morph from an innovative platform, challenging old-school models and regress into supporting only the lumbering dinosaur ones. Consumer interests are given short-shrift in every legislative initiative currently on the table; instead of trying to create a balance between fostering innovation, allowing for transformative use, and creating a consumer-driven economy, once again, our short-sighted legislators (who are owned lock, stock and barrel by the corporations they serve) are advocating a slash-and-burn policy.
aaccardo Friday, June 17, 2011
MRW - i think you're being a little alarmist. what is being suggested is a balance, as all it will do is remove the ease of pirating copyrighted works. instead of the every day, average computer user being able to get any album, movie, or tv show for free, pirates will now be relegated to those who really try, as the MPAA + Congress will never be able to "end" piracy.
regarding innovation - how does not being able to steal copyrighted media content stifle innovation? are there not ways to innovate within copyright law? spotify, turntable.fm, pandora???
regarding this bill degrading the consumer experience - your comment reflects the strange belief that consumers have a right to free content that artists and producers have put time and money into. i don't buy that.
no_way Friday, June 17, 2011
It may be alarmist, but the percieved risk is that this will end up being used for things other than take-downs of obvious outlaw sites. Lets face it, there are parties (RIAA?, Patent trolls..) who have a reputation of using the available legal avenues in ways which a reasonable person would not support.
Versus Saturday, June 18, 2011
Why should this dystopian scenario unfold?
Creators can always choose to put concent out on the Internet for free if they wish.
The point is that legal protections need to be in place to protect the intellectual property of those who do make a living from it.
@factorynation Friday, June 17, 2011
factorynation
What record labels taught Hollywood: control access at all costs.
no_way Friday, June 17, 2011
Foriegn based open-piracy sites are one thing, its quite another to go after domestic operations like Grooveshark who have specific commercial matters which are under review and adjudication in civil (not criminal!!) courts. Why not go all-out and ask for the death penalty? Maybe extend it to users of the stream service too! That will surely bring music consumers back to the record stores.
Versus Saturday, June 18, 2011
This is good news. May Hollywood succeed where the music industry has failed, and that musicians will benefit from the spillover effects.
@indabamusic Wednesday, June 22, 2011
indabamusic
Are illegal downloading and illegal streaming just bad apples from the same tree?
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