Politicos wary of changes to copyright law

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And whatever happened to...

presumption of innocence? Everything I've heard, including the Betamax case, considers possession (or creation, or selling, or whatever) of the means to commit an infringing act as prima facie evidence of intent to commit such an act, whether or not such an act has even occurred...! Even the Betamax case seems to have revolved around whether the fact that the VCR was capable of "substantial" non-infringing uses was sufficient defense against a presumed intent to infringe, or what the definition of "substantial" non-infringing uses was.

I think it's a very bad situation when presumed intent alone, even in the absence of an actual crime, can trump Constitutionally-guaranteed presumption of innocence.

I think that it arises primarily because copyright is a civil rather than a criminal matter. Ironically enough, it may actually be a good thing if copyright infringement became a criminal offense, because in criminal cases the defendant actually has some rights, including presumption of innocence and a higher standard of proof.

Posted by: bthomasmo@...   Posted on: 11/16/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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