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http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5220480.html
Within a week, the Senate may vote on the so-called Pirate Act, a bill that would authorize the US Justice Department to pursue civil lawsuits against suspected copyright infringers, with fines up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Senator Orin Hatch argues that such legislation is necessary to deter widespread copyright infringement, since no "nongovernmental organization has the resources or moral authority to pursue such a campaign."
Opponents of the Pirate Act are alarmed by how quickly it has run through the legislative process; it was introduced to the Judiciary Committee on March 25, had one hearing, and was forwarded to the Senate for a vote within a month.
Philip Corwin, lobbyist for Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa network, argues that the movie and music industry has stealthily lobbied for the bill to avoid testifying before Congress that copyright suits should be paid for by taxpayer dollars.
The Justice Department is reluctant to pursue criminal charges against users of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, prompting the bill authorizing civil charges. [...]
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