p2p hunters

Apparently, California has just had a bill introduced that would make it a crime to create p2p software that can be used for distributing copyrighted works without taking "reasonable care in preventing use of that software to commit an unlawful act with respect to a commercial recording or audiovisual work". As I read this, it means that if a software author fails to take reasonable care in preventing copyright infringement, that person is guilty of a crime in CA, and the bill goes on to say that the penalty for breaking this law is a fine of up to $2,500 or up to a year in county jail.

Reasonable care extends to the amount of care that a reasonable person in that same place would take. What possibilities exist here? Software at this point has no means of identifying copyrighted works. There is no central database of all possible formats of Metallica's "Enter Sandman", for example. There is no copyrighted work watermark (thinking of the old SDMI project here). So, if the software can't do it, what has to happen? I think we're left with two ways of interpreting this bill.

First, the bill could be an attempt to legislate the author into a particular architecture - the Napster model, where you have one central server, and you can see what people are trading by looking at the list of files being traded on that central server. That way, someone can monitor and stop the sharing of copyrighted works. (I think this is the more likely outcome of the proposed legislation).

Second, the bill could just be an attempt to get the author to include warnings.

Third, the bill could be an attempt to halt the development of p2p software altogether. This may be more correct than anything. It's disturbing to see the lengths that some people are going to in order to prevent leaks in a system that resembles a pasta strainer. Bootlegs and copies will happen. It may be unfortunate, but it's reality.

BTW: Ed Felten points out that the definition of peer to peer software in the introduced bill clearly includes the web, probably the internet as well, so any program that allows you to connect to the Internet would be criminal. (Including browsers?)

Ed Felten is highly recommended reading for anyone on the 'Net.