If Fuse's new download show is the carrot, here's the stick.
Two bills passed through the US Senate on Friday in a bid to combat internet piracy. The first goes by the snappy name of the Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act and aims to give the Justice Department the right to bring civil, as well as criminal, actions against copyright infringers. The second aims to stiffen fines and jail time for anyone found guilty of distributing movies, music or other copyrighted material prior to its release, and which would also make it a federal crime to use a camcorder in a movie theater.
But according to the Wall Street Journal both of those bills seem tame compared to one being developed by Senator Orrin Hatch which aims to make it possible for copyright owners to sue any company that "intentionally induces" copyright violations. That basically means any company that makes technology which, it could be argued, has a primary use that amounts to copyright violation (P2P software, CD burners, MP3 players - hell, any computer). Presumably the technology giants will lobby that one out of play, but if it got through it would be interesting to see Sony Music sue Sony Electronics for manufacturing the kit with which the kids can pirate their own music.