>>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).
I don't count that "act" as being allowed to enforce a copyright. The US Patriot Act allows the government to do what they want, when they want, without any permission. It is in direct violation of not only the constitution, but a number of other laws and a massive amount of case law. It has yet to be tested in a US court, and my guess is, the first time it undergoes a real test, it will be considered unlawful and thrown out (if it doesn't expire on its own before then). Ironically, the act is written in such a way that it does a good job of not allowing anyone that it is enforced upon to try it in court... which really just goes to underline how unlawful the act is in the first place (See Constitution Amendments 4, 5, 6). >>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. Again, this is slightly different. US Customs has the right to stop trade in known or suspected illegal goods, or to delay trade in said goods until their legality can be established. That is different then deciding the 14 year old kid down the block is using a pirate copy of OS X and raiding his house. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
