Detained at the Border for SUV Sketch

[Drachir]

I am not quite sure where this goes. Saw the interview with this woman on the December 4th Colbert Report so I looked it up on the net. It seems she was detained at the US border because the sketches of SUVs in her notebook were considered some sort of copyright infringement. I had no idea US Customs had anything to do with copyright law in the USA. In any case the story gets a bit more bizarre. It turns out she made the sketches so she could estimate how much yarn she needed to crochet a cover for an SUV. Apparently she is an artist who often crochets covers for objects such as firearms as a way of making a point. It is certainly a good thing that she was so carefully checked since she was returning to the US from that haven of terrorism New Brunswick, Canada.

The Press Republican - Keene artist had hard time getting back into US

[Vladd67]

Looking at the sketch it is so generic it couldn't infringe anyones copyright, if it does then nearly every 10 year old boy has infringed copyright at sometime.

Zempel's passport showed she'd been to Africa, Australia, Central and South America, Mexico, Turkey and Europe in the last nine years.

"U.S. citizens who've traveled to the places I've been need to be looked at. A half hour at the computer gave the agent cause to put me into another suspicious category, meriting a full car search. She (the agent) took my keys and went through my car

so an American who travels is now suspicious, don't we live in a wonderful world

[Ursa major]

This is really meant to have been an infringement of copyright? (If it is, it would explain why the Big Three of Detroit are having trouble selling their products.)

.

[PTeppic]

If that comes in red I bought one last week...

[QSR Joshua]

The copyright infringement was just an excuse. She is lucky she got an explanation as US Customs needs no probable cause to search anyone, or to seize any electronics whatsoever, She got a bored agent in a good mood. I personally once got strip searched when I wen to Juarez to drop my boots of to be repaired. Good thing I wasn't coming back with them that day.

[PTeppic]

There are many UK companies who trade in the US that no longer permit their employees to travel with "company laptops" when entering the US, on that basis. Which is a really sad state of affairs.