What makes property property is your ability to deny others the use of it.

Senate Passes Toughened Copyright Laws
Fri Jun 25, 2004 08:41 PM ET

By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed two bills on Friday that would carve out a larger role for law enforcers in the entertainment industry's struggle to limit unauthorized copying of its movies and music.

People who secretly videotape movies when they are shown in theaters could face jail time, while hackers and industry insiders who distribute copyrighted works before their official release date would also face stiffened penalties under one bill.

A separate measure would allow prosecutors to file civil suits in copyright cases, rather than criminal suits which require a higher standard of proof.

Copies of hit movies frequently show up on the Internet while they're still in theaters, thanks to pirates who sneak camcorders into movie theaters to tape films directly off the screen or industry insiders who leak copies to tech-savvy hackers.

Under a bill sponsored by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, those found guilty of such behavior would face up to three years in prison for a first offense, or five years if it was done for profit. Repeat offenders could spend 10 years behind bars.

Movie studios and other copyright holders would be able to sue for damages.

A similar bill was approved by a House of Representatives subcommittee in March.

Another bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont would allow the Justice Department to use the same legal tactics as the recording industry, which has sued more than 3,000 people for distributing its music online.

Movies, recordings, have always been property. They had the same arguments over cassette and VCR recorder, and as a result there's a tariff added to every cassette and VCR tape to account for the fact that there WILL be copying. And in the end VCRs have been a blessing to Hollywood.

Performances aren't property. Recordings, material in which a performance is fixed, is property. We could always make copies, but we at least had to be in the physical presence of a recording.

Not anymore.

In order for the "free market" in recordings to continue, extra-market controls must be established. Without those controls the market will not support the existing players as they currently operate.

These industries are fighting for their lives. But their enemy is Inevitability.