  cyberthugin
join:2002-03-12 Kew Gardens, NY
| From Music to Movies Stupid Law
1st post | |
|
 |   gargzo How You Doin?
join:2000-11-02 South Bend, IN | Re: From Music to Movies Ok I got the handbasket. Now where did you say we are going? -- Actual cash value of this post $0.0002. | |
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 |  |   ronpin Imagine Reality
join:2002-12-06 Nirvana | Re: From Music to Movies Why not just shoot 'em then we can show the world "we believe in the rule of law" | |
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 |  |  |  averagedude
join:2002-01-30 Mesa, AZ | Back to the Past
It is like we are in a bad western movie. Just call out the Sheriff and blow away the varmint, and save the courts the time of finding out if you actually did anything wrong. | |
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 |  |   shstrang
join:2003-01-10 West Monroe, LA | quote: Ok I got the handbasket. Now where did you say we are going?
A relocation you say? | |
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 |  |  |   53059959 Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02 PwnZone | Re: From Music to Movies if they dont want us to get our hands on your movie a month before it comes out in theatres then instead why dont you try to better protect it from being distributed before cinematic release? | |
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 |  |  |  |   bustedauszie
@220.lns02-kent
| Re: From Music to Movies
yes totally agree, I received notification from my isp that they received information that my connection was being used to share copyright material, and I was instructed to remove immediately or face legal proceedings from the copyright owner.
I stumbled onto a movie, had no idea what the movie was about and decided to download it and watch it. never got around to watching it.
I'm based in Australia, I suspect who ever monitored the download was from America. I've slit hairs over this with my partner regarding copyright laws, I didnt distribute anything I downloaded, the distributor of the movie released it to someone, how did it get on the net.
If someone wants to prosecute me, I have one question. If as a distributor you are so against a movie being made available on the internet, then don't ever distribute it unless it is to the cinemas direct. The movie I downloaded was from an original preview copy, the quality was fantastic yet the illegal act of making it available on the internet, came from their current procedures. Are they really that hard up for funds that they would allow their material to be placed on the net, just so scare tactic's can be placed on individuals like myself? | |
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 |   shstrang
join:2003-01-10 West Monroe, LA
| Okay. So since I don't use file trading services, I have a hardware firewall and I do share out files inside my home network, then how can anyone see those files unless they have hacked into my network thus already breaking the law?
Please answer me this. | |
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 |  |   draven Premium,Mod join:2002-02-20 my bunker
Host: General Questions No, I Will Not Fix..
| Re: From Music to Movies said by shstrang : Okay. So since I don't use file trading services, I have a hardware firewall and I do share out files inside my home network, then how can anyone see those files unless they have hacked into my network thus already breaking the law?
I believe the law takes into assumption the perpetrator is using a P2P service and therefore is openly displaying the files to the world. Otherwise you are correct, they would have to use shady tactics to get into your machine. -- "They don't go to school to be taught what balls not to touch." - Moises Alou, Chicago Cubs outfielder and unwitting gay rights sympathizer | |
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 |  |   Alkyl Carbo-Methyl D
@golden.net
| They might be able to get the people who are downloading without hacking in. The people who are downloading with P2P are usually sharing the bits that they've already got, and the client will usually let other clients know what they're looking for and what parts they have to keep downloading.
For people who have hidden their share directories, unless you've disabled sharing altogether, if a specific download request is made, it will be acknowledged. It doesn't take much to infer that it's the suspect file if the name looks right.
Or, they could do what they've been doing, which is pronounce anyone using P2P software as evil, and come after them with lawyer propaganda leaflets. Most people wouldn't know that they've got nothing. It's a bit like if the police went around and pasted a "we know you sell drugs and we're going to raid you, surrender and we'll go easy on you" notice on every house with a steel reinforced front door and a dog. The people who know they're innocent will toss the note and it will PO a lot of people, but the people who actually are selling the dope might freak and start flushing stuff or surrendering.
In my exagerated example, obviously, the police couldn't raid everyone on their made up hitlist with what they've got without a $#itstorm. Steel door + dog isn't enough grounds for a search, except maybe in Soviet Russia, but the people served with the notices don't know that's all the "evidence" at this point. | |
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 |  |  |   ctceo Premium join:2001-04-26 South Bend, IN clubs: | Re: From Music to Movies Patriot Act People, Patriot Act. Don't forget they do not even need probable cause anymore, and since it is federal law, and a separate Court that handles the warrants, they can pretty much pass out freebies! | |
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 |  |  |  |   SeVere
join:2001-01-06 Chicago, IL
| Re: From Music to Movies Just to be a devil's advocate here, seeing a file with the name of an unreleased movie in a shared folder, would be probable cause. Probable cause is the belief to a reasonable person that a crime has or is occurring or is about to occur. I being reasonable, if the law says an unreleased movie in a shared folder on a p2p program is a felony, then a person seeing a file named after an unreleased film in a p2p, would believe that file to be the unreleased movie, hence probable cause. It is not a finding of guilt, but would be probable cause. Just like having a big bag of flour packaged like a kilo that says Cocaine on it would be probable cause. | |
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 |  |  |  |  |   ctceo Premium join:2001-04-26 South Bend, IN clubs:
·magicjack.com
·AT&T U-Verse
·Comcast
·AT&T Midwest
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Re: From Music to Movies What if that file is named so, for example if I'm at home or school working on an essay, debacle, report, summary, or other form of educational document, maybe even a parody film, and I decided to name it the films name just because it was easy to remember? What if I'm preparing to write this essay and have pre-screening tickets (which I often get), and am going to get to see and review the movie before it's release, and share with other people my review of the screening using p2p? What if I'm just compiling a list of Upcoming movies, and for review sake, I'm making it a video review? | |
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 |  |  |  |  |  |   SeVere
join:2001-01-06 Chicago, IL
| Re: From Music to Movies Well, if it were only a list it would be a kind of text file and not a video file. Same with the review. A reasonable person working on a parody film, would not share it via p2p because they are concerned about finishing the film without their idea being hijacked and someone else finishing the work before they do. Therefore, all of your concerns would not diminish the probable cause that existed. Any of your issues would be made issues at a later court hearing and not diminish any probable cause that existed. To be a devil's advocate again, what if I was a baker, and I loved to carry my flour packaged like a kilogram of cocaine and labled it cocaine, because i found it funny and amusing. Would that diminish probable cause? The answer is no. | |
|
 |   craiglester Mandrake , Gp. Capt
join:2003-05-02 Denver, CO
| Way i See it is this, Bit torrent, Kazaa Emule etc all share a file automatically as you start to download it - therfore they're trying to make downloading a felony, as you can't do one without the other..
This way all those people who say I only download I never share files are liable now to prosecution.
I have seen "hacked" versions of most of these types of Program and all most of them do is disable upload, but the file is still in your shared directory, and if a machine tries to connect to you to download that file then does that prove you have it in a shared directory, even if upload is disabled? a very shaky position to be in legally if this law is passed.
I think this whole law isn't really just to stop sharing - it's to stop downloading too.
And frankly that scares me, what next? no net access without a secure key issued by the MPAA or RIAA so they can monitor us? | |
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 |  |  |
 |  |  |   Jhon
join:2001-05-14 Northridge, CA
| Re: Not exactly... If I am reading the ARTP act correctly (Or would that be ART Prevention Act (heh)), you just need to have a COPY of the file. Sharing/distributing isn't required. You have it, BAMM -- $250k fine/time in jail.
Seems funny that I'd suffer harsher penalties under the law for having a copy of the Hulk 1 week before it opened than I would for beating the crap out of a stranger with a bat.
-j | |
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 |  |  |  |  joebear29
join:2003-07-20 Alabaster, AL
| Re: Not exactly... said by Jhon : If I am reading the ARTP act correctly (Or would that be ART Prevention Act (heh)), you just need to have a COPY of the file. Sharing/distributing isn't required. You have it, BAMM -- $250k fine/time in jail.
Seems funny that I'd suffer harsher penalties under the law for having a copy of the Hulk 1 week before it opened than I would for beating the crap out of a stranger with a bat.
-j
I dunno. If you beat the crap out of the stranger with a bat, you'd go to jail no matter what.
If you shared a single copy of the Hulk as a first time offender, I doubt seriously you'd face more than a fine. | |
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 |  |  |  |  averagedude
join:2002-01-30 Mesa, AZ
·Cox HSI
| said by Jhon : Seems funny that I'd suffer harsher penalties under the law for having a copy of the Hulk 1 week before it opened than I would for beating the crap out of a stranger with a bat.
I think that is what is bothering everyone so much is (IMO) that big business can push the courts around including the FBI. These are acts of a non-violent nature (ie: copy right) go way over the top in punishment including jail time and fines.
Yet HUGE white collar crimes such as Enron, Arthur Anderson go lightly punished if at all. I do not consider a big wig simply resigning his position as CEO as punishment.
Where is the balance? Equity? | |
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 |  |  |  |  |   TexasGuy 49 States And Texas Premium join:2002-12-02 Houston, TX
| Re: Not exactly... said by averagedude : said by Jhon : Seems funny that I'd suffer harsher penalties under the law for having a copy of the Hulk 1 week before it opened than I would for beating the crap out of a stranger with a bat.
I think that is what is bothering everyone so much is (IMO) that big business can push the courts around including the FBI. These are acts of a non-violent nature (ie: copy right) go way over the top in punishment including jail time and fines.
Yet HUGE white collar crimes such as Enron, Arthur Anderson go lightly punished if at all. I do not consider a big wig simply resigning his position as CEO as punishment.
Where is the balance? Equity?
A what? Where? In USA? Please. -- Who drank has died, who drinks will die. Is he immortal who is sober? | |
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 |  |  |  |   Pyrion Liquid Metal Nanomorph
join:2001-12-01 Poway, CA clubs: | The only way they'd know if you have a copy of the file is if you share it publicly online. Duh. -- /* You are not expected to understand this. */ | |
|
 |  hybridmath
join:2003-11-13 Providence, RI
| Bull***t this goverment is abusing their powers they took out saddam for less then what their doing. my god what next you cant leave your house without taking the mark of the beast. people need to wake up and take up arms for real. i'm glad i dont go and fight for a country like this. it's all political and little by little their taking all our freedoms. You watch soon they'll say take the mark or die. this is all abuse of power. im gonna get the hell out of dodge soon 4 real. | |
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 |  |  joebear29
join:2003-07-20 Alabaster, AL
| Re: From Music to Movies said by hybridmath : Bull***t this goverment is abusing their powers they took out saddam for less then what their doing. my god what next you cant leave your house without taking the mark of the beast. people need to wake up and take up arms for real. i'm glad i dont go and fight for a country like this. it's all political and little by little their taking all our freedoms. You watch soon they'll say take the mark or die. this is all abuse of power. im gonna get the hell out of dodge soon 4 real.
I love posts like this. When are you "gonna get the hell out of dodge"? I always like to follow up, so if you could post when you are moving and where you are moving to, I'd be extremely interested. Plus your experiences could provide valuable insight to others contemplating such an action, but not quite bold enough to declare their intention.
Honestly, I've been a little disappointed so far in people who post they are leaving the country for some reason or the other. The last one posted he was moving to Canada if Cable providers kept soft caps, yet despite repeated questioning by me, he refused to provide any information on when he was leaving. This time, I know I won't be disappointed because you said you are leaving "4 real".
So, when are you leaving and where are you going? | |
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 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  joebear29
join:2003-07-20 Alabaster, AL
| Re: From Music to Movies said by morbo :
give the guy a break. the main point of his post was that our freedoms are being slowly taken away and that the country was lied to about the war with iraq.
instead of nit picking him with "when are you going to leave??" why not respond to his main points?
Because I really didn't understand what he was trying to say, although I did get he is angry and leaving.
Regardless, if someone posts they are leaving the country (I assumed, since this is a Federal law) because of X, I don't think it's nitpicking to be curious as to more details - especially when I don't really understand the original rant. | |
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 |  |  |  |  |  |   SuperJudge Magus Premium join:2002-11-14 Albany, GA clubs: | Re: From Music to Movies Sooner or later everybody has to take a shot at supremacy. -- MediaXPeer | |
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 |  |   Wills
join:2001-01-03 Port Charlotte, FL
| We took out Saddam for less? Since when was a file sharer ever seen torturing people? When was the last time a file sharer put someone in a room with an intricate PVC pipe system designed to drip acid at random points of the room causing the person to run around the room until they drop of exhaustion then killed slowly as the acid then drips on them? When was the last time a file sharer held back an entire nation of people?
You don't fight for a country like this because your a coward. They're taking your freedoms because you're letting them.
Please get the hell out of dodge as you put it. And do it soon, you'll make the world a better place to live. | |
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 |  |  |  hobbesk
join:2002-03-24 Seattle, WA
| Re: From Music to Movies Apparently, file traders ARE TORTURING, RAPING, PILLAGING the poor little defenseless RIAA CEO's and their cronies. Thus the Gallant Chivalrous U.S. Government has to step in and Defend all the Fat Little Pigs that are being Tortured, Raped, and Pillaged by the evil File sharers. | |
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 |  |  |  AnyOlTech
join:2003-10-30 Oakland, CA
| People who say they are going to leave the country aren't. If you were really upset enough to leave, you would. How about if something upsets so much that you would blast the country that gives you the freedom to rant openly, then how about you stand up and take the fight to the government and help repeal the laws and regulations which draws your ire.
If you have any love for the country, you would fight to defend it. This means fighting with the military, or fighting with the people who follow your same ideology to make changes in our nation's laws.
If your not willing to fight for the country then please leave -- your sucking up resources our country could be using somewhere else. If you need help leaving the country, send me a message and I will help with the arrangements. | |
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 |  |   Z1N67 Legend Of Z1n6 Sexual Prous Spread? Premium join:2003-10-15 Ukraine
| NOTE: this is in response to the post by cyberthugin Re: From Music to Movies people need to wake up and take up arms for real. i'm glad i dont go and fight for a country like this. it's all political and little by little their taking all our freedoms. You watch soon they'll say take the mark or die. this is all abuse of power. im gonna get the hell out of dodge soon 4 real.
NOTE: this a post by Z1N6 Z1N6 agrees my brother! Gun is the answer. I ain't goin out like that. I aint goin out.Usual times I live with that. No more | |
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 |  |
 |   SuperJudge Magus Premium join:2002-11-14 Albany, GA clubs: | Luckily, the only divx files I have are the ones I ripped myself, except for those SVCDs... -- MediaXPeer | |
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 |  |
 wentlanc You Can't Fix Dumb..
join:2003-07-30 Maineville, OH
| I sort of agree.... As many have said before, shorten the life of copyright. I'd agree to not have any copies of unreleased movies, or even movies that are less than two years old. But after that, when they are out on television and in the library for free, they should be allowed anywhere for free.
puritan | |
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 |   TheHelpful1 Premium join:2002-01-11 Upper Marlboro, MD
| Re: I sort of agree.... Instead of screeners, why not release cliff noted movies? If you have seen the Big Trouble DVD with tim allen you know what i mean. For those who haven't, here's the rundown.
In the dvd menu you have an option that says "10minute movie" or something like that. When you load it, it skips through the entire movie (90 minutes or more?) and gives the jist of the movie in a short period.
If they released these instead of trailers, more people would decide "hey, that movie is worth seeing, i think i will!"
If they skipped over deep plot lines it would make the viewer want to see how and what happened. -- "Not that you would, but you could" | |
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 |   Wills
join:2001-01-03 Port Charlotte, FL
| You make absolutely no sense. So let's see, if I create a painting, or a song, or a book, it should be free to the world after I die?
It's still mine! Even after I'm dead! Just because I die doesn't mean that you should be able to step in and get it.
There would be a ton of artists of many genres rolling in their graves if you got your stupid wish...
Rembrant, DaVinci, Chopin, Hendrix, just to name a few... | |
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 |  |  wentlanc You Can't Fix Dumb..
join:2003-07-30 Maineville, OH | Re: I sort of agree.... I must make good sense, because you got it right. What are you going to do with it when you're dead?
puritan | |
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 |  |  Cyron
join:2002-09-24 Charlotte, NC | The original copy would still be yours (actually it would be who you willed it to). But you (your benefactor) can no longer hold intellectual property rights over the item, so people can use the idea without having to pay you. | |
|
  AlexNYC
join:2001-06-02 Edwards, CO | And what if ...
And what if the shared folder is in China, Russia or another country??? | |
|
 |  joebear29
join:2003-07-20 Alabaster, AL | Re: And what if ... Obviously this (like most of our criminal laws) is only applicable to American citizens or people living in our country. | |
|
 |  apollo80
join:2002-01-31 Richmond, VA | Good point. Not much can be done about that. Isn't China a haven for bootlegs anyway? | |
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 |  |  joebear29
join:2003-07-20 Alabaster, AL
| Re: And what if ... said by apollo80 : Good point. Not much can be done about that. Isn't China a haven for bootlegs anyway?
Well, there are illegal (ie underage etc.) porn websites on the Internet, many overseas, but they are still illegal in the US. This is kinda the same theory - at least control it where you can. | |
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 |  |  |  ross
join:2000-08-16
·Digizip
| Re: And what if ... Why don't you assholes who want to control everything, as well as everybody else, just move to some place like Singapore? There you can live out your grasping, desperate, anal lives in a perfect, "benign" totalitarian state? Why, you can peep and rat on all your friends and neighbors to your heart's content (don't forget, they're watching YOU, TOO). Leave the rest of us, who want to keep our freedoms, alone to wrestle with the undoing of the web of unjust, anti-American laws you and your kind have cheered on and helped bull through our corrupt political process in the last few years!
$250,000.00 fine, AND 3 to 5 YEARS in a Federal Pen.! Yeah, that's "justice".
M.P.A.A. and R.I.A.A. can kiss my big hairy... | |
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  kaisa Premium join:2002-08-20 Glen Ellyn, IL clubs: 
| hmm wonder if mIRC counts as "shared" or if its just kazaa (edit: and other p2p's) | |
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 |  |
  liht Acryllicht
join:2000-07-11 Mesa, AZ
·Cox HSI
| interesting... easiest solution...copy the file to an unshared folder! booyah! but i wonder...most programs keep the file shared while its being downloaded (like BT). would an incomplete file, count as a whole, and thus illegal? or would the file have to be the complete thing, from header to trailer to the darn extension before its technically a real file. i think therefore i am; i produce junky cam quality with bad sound, therefore i am an unreleased movie (yes i know, dvd's, but lots of people aren't giving out dvd screeners anymore).
there should be a big proposal by the mpaa and riaa. "please don't steal our music/movies until we actually put it in stores/theatres, so some people will at least buy it first; after that steal away." -- printf("My Sig is Null") | |
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  garagerock Premium join:2002-06-14 Louisville, KY
| Yawn Why is that we're supposed to legislate every goddamn thing in the world? Why can't these companies/organizations control their own products?
Hey, we're too lazy to police ourselves, so we have to police everyone else? What a waste of taxpayer dollars. | |
|
 |  See 7 replies to this post |
|
  broknsymetry What Time Is It And Why? Premium join:2003-06-27 THE VOID clubs:
| Future Prosecution Practices "It says we don't care if anybody got any of these copies," Jaszi* said. "We're going to conclude that at least 10 people did. It relieves the copyright owner of having to prove that any violation of their rights actually happened."
becomes "We don't care if he killed anybody. We're going to conclude that he killed at least 10 people. It relieves the state of having to prove that any violation of the law actually happened."
EDIT:*Peter Jaszi, a professor at American University who teaches copyright law, said he is "deeply troubled" by the wording of the draft legislation, because it does not say any actual copyright infringement must take place--only that the file be available in a shared folder, Web site or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site.
-- Some scientist may at last disperse The mysteries of the universe But me, I can not even think Why pork is white and ham is pink --Ogden Nash | |
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 |   ObdH Premium join:2003-06-11 | Re: Future Prosecution Practices the title tries to make it sound like just possessing it is criminal but it actually says having it in a shared folder...IE SHARING IT
duh no different than music, etc | |
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 |  |   broknsymetry What Time Is It And Why? Premium join:2003-06-27 THE VOID clubs:
| Re: Future Prosecution Practices And when it is uploaded to an anonymous FTP site without permission of the site owner (as many are) the site owner is then sentenced to three years in prison without proof of infringement? This will be as bad or worse than the DMCA. -- Some scientist may at last disperse The mysteries of the universe But me, I can not even think Why pork is white and ham is pink --Ogden Nash | |
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 |  |  |   Wills
join:2001-01-03 Port Charlotte, FL
| Re: Future Prosecution Practices No it's not as bad or worse. If you put up an anon FTP then YOU are responcible for what's on it.
Just like if you open a public skate park and some kid gets hurt YOU are responcible for it. Get up off your butt and fix your skatepark.
Just like you may have a public sidewalk infront of your house, but if you don't shovel it during the winter and some old bitty slips and breaks her hip, YOU are the one that is going to get sued. Get up off your butt and shovel your walk.
If you're too lazy to administrate your anon FTP properly and keep things like this out (and yourself out of trouble) you deserve everything day of prison you get. As you have asked for it. Get up off your butt and monitor your FTP. | |
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 |  |  |  |   broknsymetry What Time Is It And Why? Premium join:2003-06-27 THE VOID clubs:
| Re: Future Prosecution Practices I suppose if someone disposes of a murder weapon in your backyard then you would be responsible for the crime and be subject to the death penalty. I realize that this is an extreme example, but let's not forget the case where the DMCA was used by the RIAA against an elderly gentleman who had no knowledge that he had infringing files on his pc. No proof of intent was needed then even though by definition of the NET intent is a fundamental factor in prosecuting criminal copyright infringement. It is my opinion that any law that reduces or eliminates burden of proof is a bad law. If the criminal laws were to be re-written in this way, then perhaps my example would not be so extreme. -- Some scientist may at last disperse The mysteries of the universe But me, I can not even think Why pork is white and ham is pink --Ogden Nash | |
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 |  |  |  |   number1melon Premium join:2003-01-17 Fort Lauderdale, FL
| Someone should offer insurance for this kind of thing. You pay a premium, and if you get sued or something of that nature, you should get insurance money. I bet theres money to be made. -- "I'll strip you down, shove you in a trash can, light you on fire, and roll you down the street. | |
|
 user_hater
join:2001-12-14 Tyler, TX
| Film Trading Felony are they going to verify that its an unreleased movie b4 locking me up? what if i have a file named lotr-returnoftheking.avi in my shared folder. will they download it first to see if it's the real movie, or when the fbi kick in my door i can have them sit down and enjoy the movie trailer thats on tv that i downloaded? | |
|
 |  petecellar
join:2002-10-15 Philadelphia, PA
| Re: Film Trading Felony Good point. From what I've seen, they will arrest you first. Then have it wind it's way through the courts until the evidence finally shows that it was just a file that was named after a copyrighted film. Then the MPAA would make some kind of statement about "people should think before they shared a file that masquerades as a copyrighted work"... blahblahblah...
They're going to become as hated as the RIAA soon, and that sucks because I'd hate to have to boycott films like I do music. | |
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 |  |   goldy
join:2000-11-14 Augusta, GA
·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: Film Trading Felony said by petecellar : Good point. From what I've seen, they will arrest you first. Then have it wind it's way through the courts until the evidence finally shows that it was just a file that was named after a copyrighted film.
What comes next? Museums will be sueing you for taking a picture of a painting and publishing it without paying royalties. Possession of a picture of Mona Lisa will be a crime. Since the museum owns the original shouldn't they profit by it? ::sarcastic mode: | |
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 |   aliasrlz Premium join:2000-09-01 the world
| JAIL CELL 101:
"What are you in for?"
"Had a copy of Elf on my hard drive, what about you?"
..."Oh, I murdered 3 people"....
Just F*cking GREAT! -- If you have to ask what EFNET is, you don't need broadband  | |
|
  User0101 Premium join:2002-12-12 S-ZZ9-PZA clubs: 
| Insert Catchy Title Here... So I guess the focus will now move onto everyone using IRC or USENET for this sort of thing?
/Bangs Head
I cant say I've ever seen such a thing as a "Share Folder" on USENET. If I ever did I think I would just run, quickly. The point made earlier about the share being in another country gets a little trickier. A very valid and good point it is! ItamaeChef | |
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  bokamba Chengdu Rocks Premium join:2002-04-05 Falls Church, VA | Not a bad law I'd like to hear a good argument why it's okay to have copies of unreleased movies on any medium. How on earth could it be legal to begin with, since it's obviously a derivative of stolen property? | |
|
 |  See 15 replies to this post |
|
 RayW Premium join:2001-09-01 Layton, UT clubs:
·XMission
| Good law, if you are out to get someone I can just see someone putting a file into someones FTP or share folder. And you all know that it is possible given the M$ baseline security and/or various trojans, worms, and other means.
Then they call up the Greed Patrol and report it. Instant guilt.
Another means of being framed for the American (US types) public. Another means of getting to those who run afoul of the 'powers'. Of course, given that the credit bureaus control all your life data anyway, it may be easier just to get you though that way. -- I am not lost, I find myself every time. | |
|
 |  averagedude
join:2002-01-30 Mesa, AZ | Re: Good law, if you are out to get someone Don't get your boyfriend/girlfriend/room mate upset. As a silly ack of revenge they could easily copy a file to your shared and call the MPAA FBI | |
|
  The Folsom Kindly Shut Your Noise Hole. Premium join:2003-01-31 Yucaipa, CA
·Verizon FIOS
| The Penalty The penalty for theft in some cultures is the severing of the right hand. What would be the cyber-equivalent punishment? The taking away of all rights to operate an internet-enabled computer.
It's far worse, IMHO, than Kevin Mitnick's* exploits. He lost his right to operate ANY kind of connected computer over his phreaking activities and "software theft".
If this law is to have any effect, it must have some real teeth. Taking money is one thing, given that the fine is so high it could take a lifetime to pay, but losing the right to surf could really hit someone "where they live"...
*No disrespect to Mr. Mitnick-just using his case as an example; he did his "crime" and he did (more than) his (fair share of ) time. -- I once accidentally spilled spot remover on my dog and he disappeared. Take a look at these sites: »www.prepaidlegal.com/info/kfolsom (Pre-Paid Legal Memberships)»www.prepaidlegal.com/go/kfolsom (Business Opportunity)»www.folsomtech.com | |
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  Xcomcast
@emhril.ameritech
| ... (No my caps key is stuck!) This is just stupid wishful company thinking. They will perhaps never see that money from anyone that they catch also putting them in jail for up to 3 years will just hightne that fact.
Like its already been said let the crime fit the punishment! Cell mate:Hey, what you in for? Person:I had Battelfeild Earth 2 shared on my computer. Seriously that is... not right. Then what about if someone has like the version of starwars before all the CG added? All in all this is horible. | |
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  JohnQPublic Premium join:2002-03-22 Xanadu
| Big House ... I guess the feds got sick of the joke about removing the label from the mattress. And now the joke will go:
Inmate #1: "What are you in for?"
Inmate #2: "Sharing the pre-release version of The Hulk."
... what a country. -- Due to budget constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off. | |
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 |  looser
join:2001-02-04 La Mesa, CA | Re: Big House Ya really....Add to that lost my house and while I am in here my wife and 3 kids are on the street on welfare. Not to far from that prison state all those conspiracy folk always talked about in the past, hell it's here now. | |
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 |  |   Wills
join:2001-01-03 Port Charlotte, FL | Re: Big House Good you deserved losing everything. You broke the law.
But how do draw the connection from stealing a movie, to a prison state? That's just dumb.
Do you people step back and think about dumb some of your responces to this REALLY are? | |
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 |  |  |   JohnQPublic Premium join:2002-03-22 Xanadu
| Re: Big House My beef is with the felony, and potential 3-5 year prison sentence, not so much any civil penalties that can easily be obtained through other means, procedures, and venues. I mean, come on, it's a felony prerelease yet file trading afterwards is not. Hell, how will they figure out what to charge someone with sharing it in the United States with someone in Eastern Europe or the Far East? After all, aren't movies "released" at different times in different places?
In actuality, though, the felony will probably be utilized by the feds as a Sword of Damocles (for lack of a better term) just to get every sucker fingered to plea bargain. Then again, I'm probably just jaded about the whole political/judicial system. I have a major in Political Science and a minor in Criminal Justice. :-( -- Due to budget constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off. | |
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 magicalpig9 Magical Pig
join:2000-11-04 Austin, TX
| Impossible to know without downloading How could anyone possibly determine, without downloading a file, that it is indeed what it purports to be? Identification by checksums or other hashes won't stand up in a criminal court. For example, it's easy to make a file of garbage with the same MD5 hash as an illegal copy of an unreleased movie. It's also possible to hack a P2P client so that it doesn't correctly report whatever hash it uses. And there are people who would do it just to prove that point. | |
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 |   TwoCpus4me
join:2003-10-16 | Re: Impossible to know without downloading
Time to upgrade your PGP key to a stronger passphrase. Never know who will subpoena your encrypted disk drive full of those mp3's. | |
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 |   Sisqo World Champs. Babe Who? Premium join:2002-08-14 Methuen, MA | We are all criminals! j/k it's a good thing that I don't rip movies. | |
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 |  Jon_Hanson Mountain Dew Rules Premium join:2001-07-09 Gilbert, AZ
| I'll take you up on that challenge. If it's so easy to make an MD5 hash of one file identical to another then please show me a file that matches this hash:
dec8407736d557eae4abde69d6803649
I didn't just make that up. I ran md5sum over an actual file. So please post a file that can match that sum exactly since it's so "easy" to do (hint: you'll spend at least the rest of your life trying). | |
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 |  |  magicalpig9 Magical Pig
join:2000-11-04 Austin, TX
| Re: Impossible to know without downloading said by Jon_Hanson : I'll take you up on that challenge. If it's so easy to make an MD5 hash of one file identical to another then please show me a file that matches this hash:
dec8407736d557eae4abde69d6803649
I didn't just make that up. I ran md5sum over an actual file. So please post a file that can match that sum exactly since it's so "easy" to do (hint: you'll spend at least the rest of your life trying).
You're absolutely right. | |
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  Tomek Premium join:2002-01-30 Brooklyn, NY
·Packet8
| Virtual vs Physical MPAA should focus on people SELLING pirated movies. They actually rip MPAA from $$$, while average customer will be happy to save his/her $$$. Street piracy is easier to find and prove. -- We are the Borg! Resistance Is Futile! You Will Be Assimilated! | |
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 |   broknsymetry What Time Is It And Why? Premium join:2003-06-27 THE VOID clubs:
| Re: Virtual vs Physical said by Tomek : MPAA should focus on people SELLING pirated movies. They actually rip MPAA from $$$, while average customer will be happy to save his/her $$$. Street piracy is easier to find and prove.
Not after this law, the burden of proof will be reduced or removed and so it will be easier to prosecute elderly people and children who have copies of movies on their pc. -- Some scientist may at last disperse The mysteries of the universe But me, I can not even think Why pork is white and ham is pink --Ogden Nash | |
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  Snakeoil Taxes are Armed robbery. Premium join:2000-08-05 Mentor, OH
| A few thoughts 1]Nice to see our congress is still on the payroll of corporations. RIAA and the MPAA have just destroyed the illusion I was under, that we are livig in a country where the small guy has a voice. Instead I am awakened to the fact that unless I have 1 million or more dollars, then I lack a voice in government.
2]I guess I'll just stop going to the movies and buying DVDs. I haven't brought any new CDs since the RIAA started its crap, now I guess the same will apply to movies. I will buy used DVDs though.
3]I wonder if the MPAA will allow the porn industry to crawl into bed with it. If so, then all those pornos will be trouble.
I just wish the law makers would wake up and smell the coffee...
Laws only harm the law abiding people [ok, even those that tend to break the law]. This will have little to no effect on criminals that do this for a living. Look at all the laws that are in place for illegal drugs. Drugs are still sold despite the punishments. All they do is make life a tad bit more unsafe for the none drug user/dealer. Like gun control laws. A law abidding citizen has to go thru a bunch of red tape to own a fire arm. A criminal just steals it, or buys it from another criminal.
Prisons are already crowded with drug users. So where are the pirates going to go?
IMO if the crime you comitted didn't involve the use of force/voilence/a weapon, and there was no poperty damage or nothing was stolen, [in other words if you are in prison for buying drugs, driving drunk, picking up ho's or pimping ho's and other minor crude], you should be under house arrest not prison.
-- In search of life, friends and happiness, all others need not apply. Boycott the RIAA, to learn more goto www.Boycott-riaa.com. The RIAA is after everyone, not just traders. Don't like my posts? Hunt me in Americas Army. | |
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 |  psycaz
join:2000-11-06 Ferndale, MI
| Re: A few thoughts As stated by others, too bad this won't apply to those selling bootleg movies on street corners. You know, the people they can easily catch with the goods. I wonder what their penalty is for being caught - if they even bother to arrest them. Most times you hear the MPAA say they don't care about them because the movies are so low quality - seen this on 60 Minutes a week or so ago. What B.S. | |
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 devicenull Premium join:2002-12-01 Clifton, NJ
| Hm.. :/ Wouldn't the simple thing to do be put a simple encryption on all the files, and have the key stored in each program.. then in the programs EULA have something that says "Any person seeking to incriminate someone or gather evidence is strictly prohibited from using this client, or the network that this client connects to" Then, they can't see any of the files, as the files would be encrypted.. and if they broke the encryption, wouldn't that be invasion of privacy? Then, when you connect to any server or client, it sends a message in the clear "RIAA or MPAA employees are not allowed to connect to this server, nor are they allowed to obtain a list of clients. In addition, they are prohibited from contacting the ISP of this server, and forcing them to remove the server." | |
|
 DSL Oberst
join:2001-11-29
| Hmmmm. Interestingly enough, the proposed law brings to light an important question.
Why do so many people have UNRELEASED movies?
I would assume that a movie studio, in order to protect its investment, would guard the movie it's about to release. Since the movie has not been released, it cannot be filmed by a camcorder in a movie theater or other somesuch technique.
Thus, logically, the only way a person would be able to obtain an unreleased movie is if a) they were one of the people assigned to work on it, or b) in some capacity they had illicitly removed a copy from the movie studio in question.
Following that chain of reasoning, a person with an unreleased movie that was not an authorized employee of the company would either a) be the thief, or c) be an accomplice of the thief, however many times removed.
Note that this applies only to unreleased movies. Note also the case of that fellow who worked for Lucasfilms and was NOT authorized to have a copy of Episode I or II [I forget which.] when it was still unreleased. It provides an interesting benchmark for such cases.
[Note: The argument that stealing an unreleased movie is not hurting anyone or is just a protest against the MPAA does not work here. An unreleased movie is in the private domain, rather than public domain. The movie studio can choose to lock said movie in a vault for 99 years - they own it. It kind of works the same as when you take office supplies out of the office for personal use...it's theft by taking, no matter the medium.] | |
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 |  russotto
join:2000-10-05 Collegeville, PA
| Re: Hmmmm. said by DSL Oberst : Interestingly enough, the proposed law brings to light an important question.
Why do so many people have UNRELEASED movies?
Because the studios leak them. Why should anyone else suffer a felony conviction because of the malfeasance of one of the studio employees?
Why do so many people have those milk crates which say "Property of XXX Dairy; Never Sold or Leased"? Should possession of them be a felony too?
quote:
Thus, logically, the only way a person would be able to obtain an unreleased movie is if a) they were one of the people assigned to work on it, or b) in some capacity they had illicitly removed a copy from the movie studio in question.
Following that chain of reasoning, a person with an unreleased movie that was not an authorized employee of the company would either a) be the thief, or c) be an accomplice of the thief, however many times removed.
The "thief" might not even be such; unauthorized distribution is not theft, it's copyright infringement. And one who obtains such an illicit copy is not an accomplice; an accomplice is someone who assists with the crime, not someone who benefits from it. | |
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 |  |  DSL Oberst
join:2001-11-29
| Re: Hmmmm. said by russotto : Because the studios leak them. Why should anyone else suffer a felony conviction because of the malfeasance of one of the studio employees?
Why do so many people have those milk crates which say "Property of XXX Dairy; Never Sold or Leased"? Should possession of them be a felony too?
The studios leak them? I would disagree with that statement; saying "leak" is implying that the studios are intentionally letting the unreleased movies leave the workplace. No, if possession is due to the "malfeasance of one of the studio employees", as you put it, I would consider that to be theft from the work place.
As for milk crates, that is certainly up to the government. If they wish to prosecute for possession, I could certainly understand it. The law is the law, whatever the charge may be. As it is, I do know of a person in South GA who did serve jail time for having an unauthorized milk crate. 
said by russotto : The "thief" might not even be such; unauthorized distribution is not theft, it's copyright infringement. And one who obtains such an illicit copy is not an accomplice; an accomplice is someone who assists with the crime, not someone who benefits from it.
The current debate as to whether unauthorized distribution is theft or simple copyright infringement is far from resolved. After all, isn't copyright infringement realistically a type of theft and punished by many as such? Until a final definitive answer has been issued by the courts on the subject, that remains subject to interpretation.
As for the accomplice part, is not someone who makes their computer available to file distributors an accomplice to them? Granted, he may benefit, but by authorizing use of his system for storage the user becomes an accomplice.
Some might say, as supposed in the other thread, that the person may not know they are allowing storage. I would find this difficult to believe, and if such a person were to exist, I would inquire as to their competency in computer proficiency to allow such a thing to happen. | |
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 |  |  |  wentlanc You Can't Fix Dumb..
join:2003-07-30 Maineville, OH
| Re: Hmmmm. said by DSL Oberst : Some might say, as supposed in the other thread, that the person may not know they are allowing storage. I would find this difficult to believe, and if such a person were to exist, I would inquire as to their competency in computer proficiency to allow such a thing to happen.
You obviously have never worked in any PC support capacity. There are people in this world who should not be allowed to tie their own shoes, let alone operate a computer.
And your entire last sentence is an oxymoron. The reason that these people do exist is because they are incompetent computer users. Duh.
puritan | |
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  richk_1957 If ..Then..Else Premium join:2001-04-11 Minas Tirith
| Where's their own security????
This is all about pre-release copies of movies, right? Before the movie has been distributed at all, except for maybe some trailers & stills. The complete movie is still located in whatever MPAA producer. It has to be 'liberated' somehow from there.
Don't THEY have any security??? | |
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