Hard Out Here for Pirate

From Cnet’s News Blog, piracy is about to get a lot harder:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual-property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including “attempts” to commit piracy.

Our smuggling, pirating Founding Fathers would be proud that the government is expending all efforts to protect media conglomerates’ steady profits.

VABC Passes Constitutional Muster

According to an Associated Press article in the Examiner, the Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, regarding possible violations of the Commerce Clause in the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Code.

Two of the laws in question were 1) that customers cannot transport more than 1 gallon (or 4 litres) of alcohol across state lines and 2) that only Virginia wines may be sold in state-rin liquor stores.

In Brooks v. Vassar, the 4th Circuit found that the only question which was not moot was the question of personal import exception found in VABC 4.1-130:

The provisions of this chapter shall not prohibit any person from bringing, in his personal possession, or through United States Customs in his accompanying baggage, into the Commonwealth not for resale, alcoholic beverages in an amount not to exceed one gallon or four litres if any part of the alcoholic beverages being transported is held in metric sized containers.

The heart of the 4th Circuit’s opinion rests upon their assertion that the importation restriction of 1 gallon does not place a restriction on out-of-state sales or purchases, and thus, does not violate the Commerce Clause:

It provides a de minimis exception to Virginia’s import regulations, allowing consumers to import one gallon or four litres of wine for personal consumption. Under no economic construct could such a provision be considered economic protectionism of local industry.

However, by placing a restriction on the importation of out-of-state purchases, the restriction places a limit on out-of-state sales, because if you cannot bring more than 1 gallon (or 4 litres) back, then your purchase is limited to 1 gallon (or 4 litres). Thus, there is an element of protectionism in this exception.

At least one justice on the 4th Circuit has such common sense. In his dissent, Judge Goodwin made this statement:

In reality, however, because Virginian’s may not carry more than a gallon of what they buy into Virginia, they are denied access to other States’ markets on equal terms with other customers.

According to Judge Goodwin, for a consumer to have “meaningful market access,” they must not only be able to purchase a product, but also use it.

Refreshing, a judge who lives in the real world.

This law turns any Virginia citizen who crosses statelines into a bootlegger and denies them access to other markets.