Extra Illegal
States Outlaw Digital Taping in Cinemas
The idea behind this is pretty simple: The MPAA and the RIAA want to stop copyright infringement by pushing through legislation to make anything they associate with copyright infringement illegal.
The problem with this is copyright infringement is already illegal, there’s no reason to make it “extra” illegal. The battle over copyrights is starting to look more and more like the war on drugs, and we see how well that’s going. Have your eye on a new cell phone that takes video clips? Better buy it now — it may be illegal next year.
I understand the need to protect copyrights, but copyrights do not supersede all other rights. I would not return to a movie theater that illegally searched me before allowing me inside. Ultimately, people are going to decide that both movies and music aren’t worth the trouble.
And that’s going to hurt both industries more than camcorders or Napster ever did.
