Book Nightmares

In very recent future IP laws are very powerful.

People are forbidden to share books. What pirating was before -sharing an electronic version of a book or a sound file you had bought online has evolved into a ban on sharing all authored printed materials.

People have to catalogue their home libraries and register the books with PIPPA ( Printed Intellectual Property Protection Authority). People's online conversation are monitored and if they mention reading a book that is not registered on their name they are investigated.

This leads to new ways of sharing - reading aloud. There are parties where a certain book in possesion of the host never leaves the hosts hands but he reads it aloud and the guests listen on. Viewed as the right of people to free speach this activity cannot be criminalized. People under investigation explain they overheard someone reading the book. PIPPA passes a ban on reading books aloud in public spaces but cannot touch the reading home parties.

Libraries receive huge security budgets and all electronics are taken from readers when they go in. They are patted down airport style and allowed to browse the books while monitored with cameras. Borrowing books to read at home is not allowed anymore.

Book markets are very popular and well advertised, but in order to buy a book people have to provide valid identification. Some businesses use books as end-of-year bonuses.

Schools have pretty much stopped teaching books from great writers due to their unavailability.Literature lessons now teach the IP laws and how to protect our books from theft.

Every person who starts writing a book of their own must first obtain a permit to do so. The permit is easily issued, but the authors are registered and often monitored to make sure they haven't given the book to someone to read it (usually to family and for an opinion) because this constitutes facilitating a theft. If the author does not bring charges against its family, the state has the right to brings up charges on their behalf, and they can even sue the person writing the book on behalf of their virtual identity which is being hurt by the physical person sharing the book.

Copying the books by hand is considered plagiarism and falls under the restrictions imposed by PIPPA. It can be done and is allowed as long as the hand-copied book does not leave the home where the printed version is registered. Copy machines are licensed only to businesses and not to homes, and every year their hard disks are changed and searched for illegal copies of books.

An underground movement forms which uses a loophole in the regulations. All books must be registered by language. This movement translates random parts of the books in a different language, usually the beginning of every sentence, or every second word. This way the advanced software that the PIPPA ( Printed Intellectual Property Protection Authority) uses cannot correctly identify the books and they fall in the cathegory of unregistered sribblings and therefore are not protected by the law. These semi- translated books are easily decipherable by anyone with knowledge of the languages in question and there are many groups for Scribblings Disposal that have a good business on the side.

Registered books in home libraries are not allowed to be taken out of the home without the proper permits, and are forbidden to be taken out of the state or the country. In the past there were drug mules, now there are book junkies. These are people willing to trafic books. The best and most expensive ones spend months to years in preparation and effectively learn the trafficked book by heart. Then they travel to their destination, successfully passing through all security controls, and once arrived in a safe place, they recite the book exercising their right of free speech.

Now that's a nightmare.