No, the RIAA Cannot Take Your House by George Ziemann -- May 14, 2008 There's a rumor going around right now involving a bill that passed the US House of Representatives (HR4279) which several sources (some of them otherwise credible) are warning means that if the RIAA finds an "illegal" mp3 on your hard drive, they can take your computer, your house, your dog and naming rights to your first-born male child. Not exactly. If anyone actually read the bill, they should realize that this is not at all what it says. Remembering that I am not a lawyer, here is my translation of the bill into plain English. TITLE I--ENHANCEMENTS TO CIVIL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS SEC. 101. REGISTRATION OF CLAIM. If you intentionally lied on your copyright registration and "the inaccuracy of the information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration," you can't sue someone for infringing upon it. SEC. 102. REGISTRATION AND INFRINGEMENT ACTIONS. Wording changes to current law to enable Sec. 101 SEC. 103. CIVIL REMEDIES FOR INFRINGEMENT. Changes the wording concerning "plates," and adding a section about "records documenting the manufacture, sale, or receipt of things involved in such violation" and the court's responsibility to "assure that confidential information contained in such records is not improperly disclosed." SEC. 104. TREBLE DAMAGES IN COUNTERFEITING CASES. SEC. 105. STATUTORY DAMAGES IN COUNTERFEITING CASES. SEC. 106. EXPORTATION OF GOODS BEARING INFRINGING MARKS. SEC. 107. IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION. The astute reader may notice that this is the extent of the changes to the laws concerning civil lawsuits, such as those being filed in record numbers by the RIAA. There is nothing in there that applies to the RIAA lawsuits, unless you count bogus registrations. Ironically, what I find most interesting is that there is nothing in there that applies to the RIAA lawsuits. Think about that. The House of Representatives sat down and made "enhancements" to the "civil intellectual property laws," without addressing one single issue of contention being litigated in each and every case, like the validity of the "making available" theory. The copyright law still does not mention downloading, filesharing or mp3 files. All of the stuff about impounding property is in the criminal section. File-sharing is not criminal activity. The RIAA cannot seize your house if they find an "illegal" mp3 file. Don't panic.

Related Content Text of HR4279 Example of Pointless Panic in Progress Example of a Usually Reliable Source