Teen pop star Justin Bieber has become a symbol in a fight against a new bill pending in Congress.
The non-profit organization Fight for the Future recently launched a website and campaign named "Free Bieber." The website refers to a bill that would make posting a video containing any copyrighted work a felony that could result in up to five years in prison.
"But wait … didn't Justin Bieber get famous by posting YouTube videos of himself singing copyrighted R&B songs?" the website states. "Yep, if this new bill passes, he could get 5 years in jail."
The website goes on to display more photos of a jailed Bieber as it states what the organization claims could happen, such as a prosecutor proving Bieber benefited commercially and a judge sentencing him to jail. It ends by asking people to sign a petition against the bill.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., proposed the new bill, S. 978 , in May. It would make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony.
Illegal streaming would mean an offense that "consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works. There would also have to be an economic value either to the copyright holder or infringer of at least $2,500."
Fight for the Future claims that would include Bieber, who The Hollywood Reporter noted became famous by posting covers of popular songs like Chris Brown's "With You." The organization states it could also include several other more common people not intending to break any laws.
"Since copyright law is so expansive, it applies to lots of completely harmless and common things: like singing a song, dancing to background music, or posting a video of a kids' school play," Fight for the Future director Tiffiniy Cheng told Hollywood Reporter.
Tech blog Techdirt.com agreed, calling the bill "massively problematic."
"And realistically, the problem isn't the Biebers of the world, but the next kids who upload a video of themselves lip synching to some song," the blog stated.
As far as whether Bieber could actually end up in jail, Copyhype.com blogger and intellectual property attorney Terry Hart stated no.
He said uploading a video if anything infringes on someone's reproduction or distribution rights, not their public performance rights, and added in that scenario that YouTube would be the one "performing" the video.
He went on to say that technically such an act, if the person making the video did not have permission to distribute or reproduce the copyrighted work, is still illegal copyright infringement even without S. 978.
He stated, though, that even if a video results in a Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) take-down order and is yanked from YouTube it usually doesn't result in legal action. He referred to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an opponent of the bill, that states to its knowledge "no typical YouTube user has ever been sued by a major entertainment industry company for uploading a video."
Supporters of S.978 include the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.
source: foxny
