New Internet Law

[LUMITECH <Lumitech@cris.com>]

 NEW INTERNET LAW ATTACKS NON-PROFIT PIRATING

President Bill Clinton signed into law a controversial bill imposing
criminal
penalties on copyright violators who do not profit from their actions.
The No
Electronic Theft Act, passed by Congress last month, was strongly backed
by the
software and entertainment industries, but opposed by science and academic
groups.
 Under the new law, a person who "willfully" infringes on copyrighted
material
worth at least $1,000 could be subject to criminal prosecution even if he
does
not profit by it.  Under the previous law, copyright violators could not
be charged
with criminal misconduct unless they profited from the violation.
Software and
entertainment groups, including the Business Software Alliance, the Motion
Picture
Association and the Association of American Publishers, said the change
was essential
to protect software, music recordings and other creative products easily
pirated
over the Internet.

(Toronto Financial Post 18 Dec 97)