CA & digital distribution

A new bill has been signed into law in CA, SB 1506

Primarily designed to curb illegal P2P activity, it also affects people who host a/v material on regular servers and who make the content available for download. In most cases, there is no need for caution or alarm. The law does not apply to you, if you are the copyright-owner of the material being distributed, or have the permission of the copyright-holder to make it available for download/P2P.

Just mentioning this for the people in CA who may be hosting other peoples' movies/sounds on their own server... such as myself. :lol:

Here is the basics of the law:

SECTION 1. Section 653aa is added to the Penal Code, to read:
653aa. (a) Any person, except a minor, who is located in
California, who, knowing that a particular recording or audiovisual
work is commercial, knowingly electronically disseminates all or
substantially all of that commercial recording or audiovisual work to
more than 10 other people without disclosing his or her e-mail
address, and the title of the recording or audiovisual work
is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding
one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

The rest of the bill goes on to define various things, such as what "commercial" is, some exceptions, etc.

Anyways, best to save some kind of proof of permission if hosting someone else's material and you don't want your e-mail circulating about for those spam-harvesters. :cool:

Newspaper article, too
 
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I was just curious, have they ever written these laws in simple terms? or are they always wordy? I mean that could be written so much easier, and, well, I'd attempt to right now but it's too late. . . .Is to to create loopholes? hehe
 
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