Bill S.978 Aka "The screw you, gamers" Bill

[Xanthia]

Maybe you guys heard the buzz about this new bill currently being discussed. Maybe not.

What is it? Well I could try to explain it, but honestly I think he does a much better job at it than I could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hytigOSjJxc

[awdz]

OpenCongress Summary

Makes unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty of up to 5 years in prison. Illegal streaming of copyrighted content is defined in the bill as an offense that "consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works" and has a total economic value, either to the copyright holder or the infringer, of at least $2,500.

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Designed to protect movies, TV shows, etc.; as currently worded it also covers dynamic/interactive media such as online games.

[meepsa]

all I can say...

WHAT THE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL PEOPLE????

[Darkwing_Duck]

That would hurt Istaria too, as many people look at vids made and join the game. that`s like taking away the only available way players can advertize Istaria, and help bring in new players. and even a few devs have youtube accounts with vids D:

stupid Government.... *curses under my breath*

Well sounds like if Virtrium gives us permission we can still post Istaria videos. how that would work I dunno, but **** US gov. taking away ALL our rights! sadly I feel ashamed to be American D:

[Frith-Rae]

I Don't get the problem...

It says Unauthorized.

Making videos of game play isn't necessarily "unauthorized" or Illegal.

[RuneDragoon]

It will negatively impact some industries. Some will be wiped out. As he mentioned in his video that concerns me, even if I am not an american it affects even me:

- Half of youtube will need to be taken down. Gameplay footage, music, videos people have made with music in it, heck, perhaps even videos of someone's kid dressed up like a princess and adorably singing a song they saw in a disney film (and obviously put on youtube because their parent wants to share how cute it is). All of that will have to be gone.

- Karaoke will become illegal. Because quite frankly, it would say its infringing on the law.

- Video Games often are actually promoted through gameplay videos and streams. Streams of E3 get word around as to what is coming up. Without being able to get this information and free advertising off gameplay footage, companies may have difficulty getting word out about their game. This is something that actually bothers me. I used to watch G3 TV when I actually had it, so watching the review shows and stuff gave me varying opinions on the current games coming out.

There is obviously more to it, but this is one heck of a facepalm.

[Dhalin]

OpenCongress Summary

Makes unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty of up to 5 years in prison. Illegal streaming of copyrighted content is defined in the bill as an offense that "consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works" and has a total economic value, either to the copyright holder or the infringer, of at least $2,500.

Basically...

1). A game company would have to issue a complaint and say it is unauthorized.
2). You have to do this at least 10 times within 180 days.
3). The "Value" would have to be worth at least $2500

So...

Youtubing game videos? #1, a game company would have to file a complaint. If they did, Youtube would just take it down, AND you'd have to post 10 videos within 180 days, AND the "value" would have to be valued at $2500 or more. Since the end user gets nothing out of youtube videos, the end user's "value" is $0, and since the game company is losing nothing by this, their "value" would be $0 surely. Even if they took it by the game's value, a game is what, $50?

I have my sincere doubts this will affect Youtube videos.

What this WILL affect?

The Pirate Bay and people who upload/download illegal copies of games.

And even then I'm not so sure. It says "Public Performance" and "Streaming".

If you download from TPB, you're not doing a "Public Performance". Even then you'd have to download 10 of those in an 180-day period, and they'd have to be worth more than $2500. Though, TPB could get hit by hosting the torrents, maybe.

Also,

Karaoke? Doubt htat'd be affected.... you'd have to do a LOT of Karaoke to come up with $2500 worth of damages, AND, someone would have to actually report you for it, AND a record label would have to actually file a complaint.

E3 and the like? I doubt that E3 offers demos without permission from the games' manufacturers. Again, look at the "UNAUTHORIZED" and "ILLEGAL" words in that statement.

Edit: After watching the video, I will agree that the law does need to be better-worded and clarified. I agree with the guy in the video; I understand its intent, but yes, they need to re-word that and hire some experts who actually know what the Internet is and then write the bill again, with some clauses, exceptions, etc that won't make it difficult for people to share things that are perfectly legal currently.

[Thenalth]

Wow... what a horrible idea your gov has brought out now... hope it doesn't get passed, but Dhalin does have a couple of good points... but.

I'm not sure on the specifics, but i think its if someone gets over a certain number of pageviews on youtube per day or week or something, they become eligible for a premium membership, which causes those annoying ads we've all seen there. If you get enough members viewing, the amount generated can easily compliment any normal income. Also, i know plenty of people who have chose not to buy and play games for their story lines when they can just watch it online.

The saddest part, it will do VERY LITTLE to combat the problem, as anyone with a computer can still upload something online, and how many millions of people OUTSIDE the USA still can use computers.

[Steelclaw]

The scope of the bill depends a lot on what "unauthorized" means. That is, is an act of streaming unauthorized by default, or does the copyright holder have to come forth and say that the act was unauthorized?

If the former interpretation holds, then yes, we're all screwed, as anyone streaming content that /looks/ like it might be unauthorized can be prosecuted.

Also, damages and value are not the same. The bill refers to the value of the work, not the lost revenue (the latter is really hard to prove, since not every copy is a lost sale). So, as you're wondering about who this bill protects, ask yourself: how many independent and amateur artists produce creative works that are valued at $2500 or more?

My gut feeling is that this bill, if it becomes law, will be used by people of influence and corporate entities to intimidate and smack down anyone expressing a view that they don't like.

[Zanon]

The bill already show up on kotaku , one of the biggest gamer sites.

http://kotaku.com/5817735/wait-a-min...-you-to-prison

If you think its not bad, some companies are thinking to remake their tos to allow gamers to post videos of their product. that alone says somthing.

[Ahael]

Looks like our government is not the only one making (or at least trying to make) stupid laws.

Goverments and political parties no longer care about human rights... So called intellectual property is more important to them. At this rate, you'll get harsher penalty for sharing a single file/music/movie than physically harming another person!

[Blue Hasia]

ummm this sounds like more for the music and film industry people...i really doubt game companies will go after game footage on youtube. it only shows off their game and gets people to get it.


it is already illegal to post music and video of films and tv on youtube every one knows that is copyrighted so why is their whining you know your listening to a illegally posted song on youtube. if you like their music go support the band and buy that song.

[Andaras]

Looks like our government is not the only one making (or at least trying to make) stupid laws.

Goverments and political parties no longer care about human rights... So called intellectual property is more important to them. At this rate, you'll get harsher penalty for sharing a single file/music/movie than physically harming another person!

Actually I disagree with one point of your statement.
The Politicians don't give a Rats Backside about IP, it's the
Interest of Corporate Profits that they care about.

We live in the era when Corporations have all the rights and
Individual Humans have none. Corporations have all the Govt
representation without the Taxation.

[Dhalin]

ummm this sounds like more for the music and film industry people...i really doubt game companies will go after game footage on youtube. it only shows off their game and gets people to get it.

Except, the problem is, lawmakers in Congress don't know this. A lot of those guys are what, 50 year old+? What do they know about the Internet and how it works? Do they know the difference between Movie/Music and Video Gaming? If they did, they would have worded that law differently from the start and avoided the whole uproar.

it is already illegal to post music and video of films and tv on youtube every one knows that is copyrighted so why is their whining you know your listening to a illegally posted song on youtube. if you like their music go support the band and buy that song.

Except, when you buy their music, a HUGE portion of it goes to the record label instead of the band.

That's right.

Royalties? Pfft. The bands' small chunk of that is so laughable. Bands make more money from gigs than they do selling CDs. A lot more. In fact, other than Metallica, a lot of bands said "I don't care" when the whole Napster thing came up. They liked it, especially smaller bands.

It is free advertising. One guy would download a crappy, ill re-recorded version of a song, let his friends listen to it, then friends would say "hey that's cool!" and end up buying CDs, or better yet, when they're in town next, they'll pay to go see them.

[Darkwing_Duck]

it is already illegal to post music and video of films and tv on youtube every one knows that is copyrighted so why is their whining you know your listening to a illegally posted song on youtube. if you like their music go support the band and buy that song.

Exactly! I`ve seen music vids on youtube fell in love with the song then went to ITunes, and bought it for my Ipod
so by posting music vids won`t take money away from music industries, if anything it will make them even more.

[Dhalin]

Exactly! I`ve seen music vids on youtube fell in love with the song then went to ITunes, and bought it for my Ipod
so by posting music vids won`t take money away from music industries, if anything it will make them even more.

Not to mention, there are many songs I've heard on the radio at work and they sounded kinda cool but I was kinda curious so I got home and youtube em (thankfully, my radio station uses yes.com so I can figure out what the song/artist was) and sometimes I say "hey this song is a lot cooler than I thought it was!" and I'll end up buying it on iTunes or something.

If I couldn't youtube that song? I probably never woulda bought it.

[LOVWYRM]

ok, this is no joke:
Here in Germany GEMA wants to take fees from kindergardens,
when the children are singing "their" songs (songs they have the rights for).

That nearly caused a revolution- but last word on this is not spoken yet.

[Darkwing_Duck]

ok, this is no joke:
Here in Germany GEMA wants to take fees from kindergardens,
when the children are singing "their" songs (songs they have the rights for).

That nearly caused a revolution- but last word on this is not spoken yet.

:O wow sounds like our Gov. a little off topic, but good point, and true!
Some kids one 5 one I think 10 or 11 were selling home grown pumpkins, and the IRS came by telling the kids they have to pay taxes if they sell any. yeah BS. they were only selling them for like 50 cents a piece. just goes to show how much greed there is. :P

[Blue Hasia]

on your story darkwingtheirs no way the IRS could have known kids were randomly selling pumpkins unless some one reported them and then once the report was made it had to be followed through do to laws

that is kind of like in construction and the only time a home owner gets caught building with out a permit is when a niebor calls in on them...inspectors are not driving around looking for violations

[Spirit]

I think this will have very little impact on Youtube and the like... fan-made stuff is normally encouraged by developers as it's free promotion. I think you have to look at the context of the words "illegal" and "unauthorised".

This will probably impact high-bandwidth Torrent uploaders seeding illegal content, and is likely one of the targets of the bill. Remember even Pirate Bay helps you find legitimate and open-source/free stuff too, and game demos etc...

Rakku