Three strikes proposal for print

On the news that the French Assembly finally rammed through a "three strikes" rule for the French Internet (if you're accused of infringement three times, you lose the right to access the Internet), Princeton prof Ed Felten has proposed that this should be extended to other media, like print.

My proposed system is simplicity itself. The government sets up a registry of accused infringers. Anybody can send a complaint to the registry, asserting that someone is infringing their copyright in the print medium. If the government registry receives three complaints about a person, that person is banned for a year from using print.

As in the Internet case, the ban applies to both reading and writing, and to all uses of print, including informal ones. In short, a banned person may not write or read anything for a year...

Next on the list: three-strikes systems for sound waves, and light waves. These media are too important to leave unprotected.

I like it, but I have to admit to being sentimental about my proposal (stolen from Kevin Marks) to cut corporations off the Internet if they send out three false copyright accusations.

A Modest Proposal: Three-Strikes for Print

• [KeithIrwin]

  The MPAA has already had its three strikes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America#Allegations_of_copyright_infringement_by_the_MPAA

  When do we get to cut them off from the internet?

• [Baldhead]

  I suspect this would have little to no effect of 1/3 of the North American population. They don’t read anything anyway.

• [NotACat]

  “Sorry, miss, I can’t do my homework, I’m banned from reading or writing. It’s the law.”

  *snorks*

• [Anonymous]

  Fahrenheit 451?

  “In short, a banned person may not write or read anything for a year… “

• [Tarmle]

  Obviously this ban should apply to addresses rather than individuals. What’s to stop a banned infringer from making unauthorised dictations of copyrighted text, or having a work read to them? It’s really not useful unless you can ban whole households and families from using print.

• [seyo]

  “I like it, but I have to admit to being sentimental about my proposal (stolen from Kevin Marks) to cut corporations off the Internet if they send out three false copyright accusations. ”

  One does not preclude the other. They are both good ideas, we should implement them all.

• [tw15]

  I did suggest this for photocopying on Boing Boing yesterday, but this suggestion is even better.

• [David Mershon]

  Would it be possible to find out where various recording and movie executives living in France are located, and then tell their internet service providers that they have been infringing copyright three times?

• [Marcel]

  How about this:

  Since Internet access has become revokable, and citizens can therefore no longer assume that they will always have access to the Internet, it should be clear that ALL services and communications between government and the people should take place outside of the Internet.
  Filing your tax?! On paper.
  Any notification of any kind from any government body to a single individual or group of individuals?! On paper.
  And we do expect you to keep copies.

  Let’s see who puts who back to the Stone Age.

• [arkizzle]

  Sorry Marcel, that’s going to have to be:

  Filing your tax?! In person; recite from memory.

  Any notification of any kind from any government body to a single individual or group of individuals?! In person; mouth to ear.

  And we do expect you to memorize every word.