Deutschland = Digital Dummkopf?

With the latest Copyright Act, Germany seems to be intent on waving goodbye to the 21st century, with some people wanting to take it back into the digital stone age:

CDU MP Günter Krings emphasized that "the Union holds intellectual property to be an essential prerequisite for prosperity in our society." He therefore praised the agreement reached on the fee to be charged for copyright even though he said that this could not be the long-term solution, adding that "there is no way around DRM." Krings said that "Internet piracy" was "one of the largest attacks on our national economy." For example, he said that a number of jobs had already been lost in the music industry, and the movie industry faced the same challenge. But Krings reassured everyone that "the legal system was not going to capitulate." He said that the Copyright Act should also be further amended so that only copies of the original would be admissible. In addition, Parliament also faces the problem of "intelligent recording software," which records broadcasts of online radios; Krings spoke of such software as "legally tantamount to an illegal file-sharing network" and added, "there must be an end to the freebie mentality in our society." Norbert Geis of the CSU also felt that the "second basket" of amendments does not mark the end of the reform. For him, copyright policy should focus on "making it clear to people that these rights are protected by the Constitution."

"Intelligent recording software": what will the fiends think of next?