back to article Don't even THINK about copyright violation, says Indian state

In a move that has garnered little notice beyond India, the Government of Karnataka state early in August passed laws allowing it to pre-emptively arrest copyright suspects. The change happened in the first week of August, when the state amended its Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Gamblers, …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That is disgusting. What are these people on?

    1. Winkypop Silver badge
  2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    They are just following the UK's existing laws

    According to the MPAA, bootleg DVDs fund terrorism. If you are suspected of terrorism in the UK, you can be held without being charged for 28 days (The plan was for 90 days but we have been spared that for the time being).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: They are just following the UK's existing laws

      According to the MPAA, bootleg DVDs fund terrorism. If you are suspected of terrorism in the UK, you can be held without being charged for 28 days (The plan was for 90 days but we have been spared that for the time being).

      Nice try, but it's not *that* easy - you need quite a bit more than a flimsy excuse to get locked up under anti-terror laws, it's not the US just yet.

      However, this law strikes me more as a way to "legalise" random arrests and entrapment. Fabricate some "evidence" and off you go - they can keep you for as much as a year and then say "oops". Not a place I want to visit, because that seems to me a rich source for police driven extortion.

      1. Draco

        Re: They are just following the UK's existing laws

        <i>Fabricate some "evidence" and off you go </i>

        What evidence, they don't need evidence, simply suspicion of intent.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: They are just following the UK's existing laws

        Nice try AC.

        It didn't stop them trying with 100,000 people though:

        http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/28/terrorism-police-stop-search-arrests

        We may not be the 51st State (yet) but we ARE a US lapdog.

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Hang on, isn't there a contradiction there ?

    "no bail under the “Goondas Act”, and that the national Copyright Act only allows someone to be jailed after conviction"

    So they are jailed for intent to breach the Copyright Act - which they have not yet done - and get no bail, but are still jailed before being convicted. Does India have an equivalent to the Supreme Court ? Because it sure seems somebody needs to throw a monkey wrench in there.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hang on, isn't there a contradiction there ?

      Does India have an equivalent to the Supreme Court ? Because it sure seems somebody needs to throw a monkey wrench in there.

      The very fact that this passed into law without this obvious defect being addressed suggests a seriously dodgy ulterior motive.

  4. James 51

    Sounds like a tool for harassment rather than law enforcement. Wouldn't this count as a thought crime?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As per the records from past few years, here in India, piracy or social network behaviors mostly being used for targeting political victims. So, you can guess that general public is not be bothered until they find that a minister looks funny.

    e.g.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Online-posts-against-Narendra-Modi-spell-trouble/articleshow/36635876.cms

    PS: Why anonymous? Because this post contains highly irresponsible content.

  6. Christoph

    Remember that this is the country where someone can have you declared dead and can then inherit your property, even if you are standing there objecting.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Frankly, that can happen in Belgium, too. As long as the inheritor is the State.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Belgium is a special case. At one time, I found it second on the list of world's most corrupt countries but that's a while back. It is entirely possible to come with a car from a side street and intercept a cyclist on a priority road, drag them along for a good 100m before you finally come to a stop and then have the CYCLIST convicted for being careless. All you need is to be friends with the judge.

  7. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    Amazing!

    Somebody pirates Bollywood movies?

  8. William Boyle

    Bribery anyone?

    A look into the finances of the legislators and state governor might be "interesting". I hope they didn't sell out to big media too cheaply... :-(

  9. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    Goondas?

    Aren't they living in underwater cities on a planet that is being blockaded by some rich arsehole's fleet for copyright infringement?

    1. Anonymous C0ward

      Re: Goondas?

      I thought they were a kind of enemy in Super Mario.

  10. Graham Marsden
    Holmes

    "In a move that has garnered little notice beyond India"

    And El Reg, it seems...

  11. Fungus Bob
    Devil

    I want to know...

    ...what constitutes an Immoral Traffic Offence

    1. Anonymous C0ward

      Re: I want to know...

      Kerb-crawling?

  12. John H Woods Silver badge

    Ah, I see ...

    It's called the Goondas Act to reflect its authorship, rather than its intent.

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