Dear Senator,
I’m writing to urge you to take a stand AGAINST the “Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004” (INDUCE Act). As you are probably well aware, the act is extremely vague in it’s wording, leaving the courts to decide what infringes under the INDUCE Act and what doesn’t. Such an extremely vague law will clog our court system with unnecessary and experimental cases.
Wording aside, the implications of this law to technology are inconsistent with laws in non-technology areas. If the INDUCE Act were applied to automobiles, the INDUCE Act would make illegal slim jims and other tools used by locksmiths to break into cars. If the INDUCE Act were applied to highways, it would make radar detectors illegal. If the INDUCE Act where applied to music, it would make the tape recorder illegal. If the INDUCE Act were applied to movies, it would make the VCR illegal. If the INDUCE Act were applied to books, it would make the photocopier illegal. If the INDUCE Act were applied to guns, it would make hollow-point and other designed-for-human-killing amunition illegal.
The INDUCE Act is inconsistent with the beliefs of Americans. Americans buy and sell thousands of products that are designed to help us break the law, and Americans want to keep it that way. Giving Americans the tools necessary to thwart the law is America’s protection against an oppressive government, or in the case of the INDUCE Act, oppressive music and movie corporations.