chris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said on 8/17/04 2:20 PM: >The FBI can't just decide you are >pirating software and raid your house.
Beg to differ. Under the so-called "U.S. Patriot Act" the government can now do just about anything they want to you, with or without a warrant, with our without habeus corpus, and can even set it up so that you are not permitted to consult an attorney without comitting an act equivalent to treason (convicted without trial). >Copyright laws are NOT >enforced by the government While I agree with most of what Chris said, especially that it is generally up to the copyright owner to enforce his rights, in fact the government can and does enforce copyright and patent laws. For example, they can seize a shipment of alleged fake software or handbags as they enter a US port. They can even do so on a pier in China. The government also has the right to violate a copyright or patent, to utilize it without the holder's permission, and to grant rights to another individual/company to use it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Roger S. Cohen, President, Cohen International [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.rogercohen.com Voice: +1 (845) 358-8936 Fax: +1 (845) 358-8937 ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
