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11.18.2004
Wait a Minute, ACU . . .
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As a free market conservative -- I would say "card-carrying" if the team were that organized -- I object strongly to the American Conservative Union's hijack of the term "conservative" to use in its campaign against the proposed Pirate Act (S. 2237), as reported in the Internetnews last week.
The Pirate Act is a short piece of legislation to give the DOJ power to bring civil actions, as well as criminal, against willful infringers who act for commercial gain or who steal product worth more than $1,000. Since the conduct is already classified as felonious, an important effect would be to give the prosecutors a softer option to use against defendants.
I, as a conservative, think that protecting people's property rights is a good thing for government to do. The ACU seems to disagree:
"The Pirate Act is another masquerade by Hollywood to make taxpayers foot the bill for its misguided war on promising new technology," Rumenap said. "Right now, Hollywood is trying to ram this flawed bill -- a handout for Tinsel Town fat cats -- through Congress without hearings or debate." Also, as a conservative, I object to having such shallowness presented as a policy argument. Obviously, the government can decline to use its power in situations where industry can protect itself, reserving its actions for those cases where sovereign reach is necessary, and the idea that DOJ will become industry's law firm is silly.
Furthermore, argument by perjoration, such as "war on promising new technology" and "Tinseltown fat cats" is the specialty of demagogic liberals, not thoughtful conservatives.
Look, the problems associated with these issues are difficult ones. As I wrote in PFF's amicus brief supporting cert in the Grokster case, the principles that new technologies must be nurtured and that creative product must be protected are both extremely important, are somewhat in conflict, and must be reconciled. Doing so is not easy. Those of us in the conservative camp debate these issues often, and we are not always in agreement, because the arguments are not simple.
So, ACU, if you want to join this debate, get serious about it. Or, if you want to continue on your current path, please change your name.
posted by James DeLong : 11/18/2004 01:41:08 PM
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