30. GOTO JAIL

March 26, 2002

CBDTPA bans everything from two-line BASIC programs to PCs

The CBDTPA says that if I were to write and sell this BASIC program...

10 INPUT A$
20 PRINT A$

...after the regulations take effect, I would be guilty of a federal
felony. That's up to five years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine.
Distributing my two-line application without charging for it, either via
handing out floppies or by posting it on a website would be at least a
civil offense and, depending on the circumstances, a crime as well.

It's no joke. CBDTPA regulates "any hardware or software that reproduces
copyrighted works in digital form." My program above does that, especially
if my BASIC interpreter permits arbitrarily long strings.

I'm writing to Chuck and Hilary. Have you?