Jail Time for Attempted Copyright Infringement

yuna49 writes: Declan McCullagh reports that US Attorney General Gonzales announced this week that the Bush Administration will support the proposed "Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007." Among other draconian features, the Act would make "attempting to infringe copyright" a act punishable by up to ten years in prison. Jail time features predominantly in this act including life imprisonment for "anyone using counterfeit products who 'recklessly causes or attempts to cause death....' Justice Department officials gave the example of a hospital using pirated software instead of paying for it." Even more bizarre is a provision that would require the Department of Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America if they discover an attempt to import CDs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds, or sounds and images, of a live musical performance." Only the RIAA enjoys this privileged status; even the Motion Picture Association of America wouldn't qualify.