I'm Sorry Orrin, We Can't Allow You to Jeopardize the Mission

It's not quite HAL, but the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004, a music copyright-related bill sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch, might have you singing "Daisy." The Act would allow punishment of aiders and abetters of copyright infringement (including libraries with computers?). The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has drafted a mock complaint based on the bill that should make you laugh, weep, or at least sit up and take notice.

Copyright infringement is serious. Copyright legislation that cuts with a chainsaw where a scalpel should be used is not.

This editorial lays out the absurdist particulars:

Allow Me to Induce Myself, by Eliot Van Buskirk, CNET Reviews, July 7, 2004.