The anti download war was stepped up on Wednesday when two Democratic members of the House of Representatives in the US - Michigan Rep John Conyers and California Rep Howard Berman – put forward a bill that would enable the law to put people who illegally download music in jail. This would be achieved by making the assumption that each copyrighted work made available through a computer network was copied enough times so that the retail value of the 'stolen goods' would be over $2,500. That would bump the activity from a misdemeanor to a felony, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Jul 18, 2003
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1 min read
US lawmakers propose jail terms for illegal music downloaders
Democratic representatives John Conyers and Howard Berman have proposed a bill treating illegal downloads as felonies, carrying up to five years in prison.