Copyright maximalists will be in a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow to update the US copyright law by making suggestion from the Register of Copyrights, Maria Pallante. Whether it's:
1. Abolishing Public Domain.and giving copyright holder an indefinite term even when the author is dead.
2. Reversing the principle of Fair use and First sale. As of today, The Supreme Court, today, has ruled in the Kirtsaeng vs. Wiley & Sons case by a vote 6-3, that first sale applies to works overseas.
3. Putting an end to educational use of copyrighted material by reversing the authorization of their works. The Obama Administration recently joined book publishers to sue a university in Georgia but they withdrawn.
This apparently will undermine the First Amendment of the Constitution:
1. Independent TV stations will shut down since they rely on public domain and some licensed shows.
2. Libraries will shut down because they rent books and photocopy school material.
3. It will give Patent trolls more power to harass consumers.
4. It will put consumers at risk of imprisonment for trying to sell their house not only its made in America but abroad as well.
5. Children who draw a cartoon characters that is owned by a media company such as Viacom or Disney, could put an entire family in prison.
6. Karaoke bars would shut down because they play and sing copyrighted. In fact, singing a copyrighted song in the shower can land you in prison
7. We also have DRM chips implanted in our brain and even surveillance cameras in our homes. They already have them set up in major cities.
Please urge your Representative to take a stand against such copyright maximalist proposals that puts our First Amendment in Jeopardy. Our rights to educational use in music, art, and literature will be gone.
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