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Latest update: 23/11/2009
Top legal body strikes down anti-piracy law
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Comments (3)
People should be presumed innocent until shown guilty
It is not fair if someone disregards the right of the artist to demand payment for his art whenever he wishes. But it isn't fair either that someone be punished based only on alleged commision of a crime.
If you're found guilty, you're bound to be punished; but keep in mind that it is a fundamental principle that people be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
What About the Rule of Law?
When somebody steals, he is caught and brought in front of a court. But in the "far west" where the antipiracy lobbies wish us to live, there will not be any rule of law, just powerful private players delivering justice.
Everybody has the right to access the internet. This is a fundamental right. When people break IP law, they should be brought to justice, trialed properly and receive the punishment that the law prescribes. Cutting internet access for one year is a punishment that does not fit with the rule of law and the respect of basic rights. And IP protection is not the ultimate right in the human civilisation, superseding everything else.
Freedom to steal?
The constitution grants free access to public communication services on line, but does that mean people have the right to steal? Surely no freedom is total. Freedom has to be exercised within the bounds of the greater good of society, and if creators are not paid for their creations they will stop creating, so depriving society of innovation.