And no one in any government anywhere gives a damn.

In the US, the RIAA and MPAA are laws unto themselves with ex-staff with clearly vested interests working in the senior Obama administration posts.

Now the MPAA, the Motion Picture Association of America, has had an entire town’s free municipal WiFi connecion cut off because of a single instance of alleged copyright infringement, says The Consumerist.

IT director Mike LaVigne is quoted as saying the number of people who use the connection varies widely, “from perhaps a dozen people a day to 100 during busy times such as First Fridays and the Coshocton Canal Festival”.

It’s also used by Coshocton County Sheriff’s deputies “who can park in the 300 block and complete a traffic or incident report without leaving their vehicle,”  says the story, going on:

” Out-of-town business people can park and use their laptops to make connections.

“During festival times, vendors find it a convenience to check the status of credit cards being used to make purchases, LaVigne said.”

Not any more.

Nor has the MPAA, infamous for its blunders which seriously affect thousands of people, been able to name the accused transgressor.

“Because it’s a single address used by many people, it’s difficult to tell who made the [supposedly] illegal download, although the county plans to investigate the matter,” says the story.

(Cheers, Chris)

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The Consumerist – MPAA Shuts Down Town’s Free Muni WiFi Over 1 Download, November 12, 2009
clearly vested interests – MPAA staffer joins Obama crew, November 12, 2009
infamous for its blunders – The MPAA and Tales of Human Error, November 12, 2009

If Hollywood is behind it, it’s a foregone conlusion it can’t be good for us, and so it’ll come as no surprise to learn (Soc) is just a DRM consumer control rose by another name.

“If the FCC agrees, the MPAA and the movie studios it represents (Paramount, Sony, Fox, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers) would be able to ‘turn off’ any output plug they choose, like those on the back of consumer electronics devices of an entertainment system, during special video-on-demand movies on cable television,” said p2pnet, quoting a 2008 Public Knowledge post.

If you use a TiVo, any Slingbox, or a TV manufactured before 2004; connect your TV to your cable box with analog cables (either component or composite); or, have a TV without a digital connection, such as HDMI, you’ll probaby have to replace much if not all of your existing entertainment system, said the story.

Why would they need to put a SOC into it?

To plug up the Analog Hole, of course.

And that’s because  a “great harm” is devouring the motion picture industry.

The Huffington Post has an OpEd by Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, part of which goes like this »»»

Four years ago, the motion picture industry convinced the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing to explore what Hollywood studios claimed was rampant piracy of movies occurring through the so-called “analog hole.” (For non-engineers, the “analog hole” is the movie industry’s term for any content-playing device connected to a TV through the red, blue and green multi-use port on the back of millions of TV sets.) The industry’s trade group, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), argued that a great harm was devouring the motion picture industry: that consumers would export movies through the analog output, stealing content and sending it out over the Internet.

By the end of the hearing, Committee leaders did not appear convinced that such analog connections on TV sets were in fact leading to piracy. In fact, as the transcript of the hearing reveals, Committee Chairman Arlen Specter challenged the head of the MPAA, Dan Glickman, to provide evidence in support of the alleged problem:

“Chairman Specter. Mr. Glickman, lots of information about piracy from you and from the Department of Justice, but can you quantify any direct connection between piracy and the analog hole?

Mr. Glickman. We have just completed a major study called the LE case study which estimates that our companies lose about $6.1 billion a year in piracy, and as part of that–

Chairman Specter. OK. I mean from analog — I have only got 5 minutes.

Mr. Glickman. OK, $1 to $1.5 billion in what we call noncommercial copying of movies for family and friends. We believe a big part of that is due to the analog hole.

Chairman Specter. How do you arrive at the figure of $1.5 billion?

Mr. Glickman. The firm did worldwide and national piracy study focus groups. The methodology we considered to be quite good.

Chairman Specter. Well, let me ask you to supplement your answer with the specifics as to how you come to that conclusion.

Mr. Glickman. Sure, be glad to.

Chairman Specter. We would like to see the methodology because before we really tackle the problem, we want to know – before we really look for a solution, we would like to have a specification of the problem.

Mr. Glickman. We will get you that, Senator.”

And, “what of that methodology that MPAA’s Glickman said was quite good’?” – Shapiro asks, adding:

“It turns out it wasn’t quite so good. Rather than provide the evidence requested by Congress, the MPAA was forced to confess that due to ‘human error’ they ‘got the math wrong’ and were unable to properly quantify piracy ‘losses’ from analog TV connections. Forced to admit the much-ballyhooed study exaggerated the losses due to piracy, the MPAA repudiated its own analysis.

“Now, having failed to make its case to the Senate, the MPAA is back — this time, before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – asking permission to disable lawfully purchased HDTV-capable TVs. Using an obscure procedural mechanism, MPAA is asking the FCC for authority to use “selectable output control” (SOC) to shut off TVs that do not use the motion-picture industry’s preferred digital connections. (Again for the non-engineers, SOC allows content providers to shut off the video stream to any TV that is receiving content over a non-favored connection, such as analog.)”

Remember when the MPAA claimed 44% of Hollywood’s domestic ‘piracy’ losses were down to file sharing students?

It turned out 3% was a more likely statistic.

Human error was to blame, but not before the studios had wrung every last PR ounce from the mistake.

Again.

No need to stay tuned.

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

hinterland of obscurity – MPAA boss Glickman’s new job, July 7, 2009
p2pnet – Hollywood DRM plan: put a Soc in it, November 7, 2009
Huffington Post – Dear FCC, Please Don’t Let Hollywood Break My TV, November 12, 2009
file sharing students – Huge Hollywood mistake in student download stats, January 23, 2008

RIAA is, ironically, short for Recording Industry Association of America.

And now ex-MPAA staffer Angela Belden Martinez has become senior advisor, director of outreach for economic development, at the United States Department of Commerce.

“Angie is an intelligent, dedicated and creative professional who served the MPAA well, and I have no doubt that she will be a tremendous asset to the Obama Administration,” says outgoing MPAA boss Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman.

No doubt.

How many other Hollywood supporters (actual or ex) are helping the current American president, one wonders?

Apart from US vice president HoJoe Biden (right), that is.

Not that Hollywood, through its MPAA, is without political influence in other areas.

Glickman, for example, was the US secretary of agriculture before joining the MPAA and until this year,  Susan C. Schwab was the US trade rep, taking over from Rob Portman, a loyal Hollywood friend, as p2pnet observed.

Interestingly, “Schwab started out as a USTO agricultural trade negotiator …”

Not only but also, when Victoria Espinel was named America’s new IP czar, or Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, “We applaud President Obama’s decision,” said Glickman.

Hmmmm.

Stay tuned.

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

loaded to the gills - Jenner & Block – running the DoJ?, April 26, 2009
Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman – MPAA boss Glickman’s new job, July 7, 2009
HoJoe Biden – How much will Biden influence Obama?, November 5, 2008
p2pnet – Hollywood lauds US trade office, April 29, 2006
We applaud – Anti-P2P Espinel new IP czar, September 28, 2009

“Brooklyn Law School has modified the position it took the other day, in which it had indicated it was going to actively investigate who may have been downloading MPAA movies or shows, and turn over the names for ‘enforcement’ purposes,” says Ray Beckerman in Recording Industry vs The People.

Above the Law also carried the story, quoting a threatening letter aimed at student, to wit »»»

This semester we have received several warnings from our Internet service provider that copyrighted movies and TV shows are being downloaded illegally via our wireless network. The Information Technology office is now ascertaining who is doing this. Once we have names of the individuals involved, we intend to give them to the copyright holders for enforcement purposes.

This  “proved unpopular with BLS students, as well as ATL readers,” says the story, going on that in a poll, “about 75 percent of readers answered ‘yes’ when asked, ‘Should Brooklyn Law School do more to protect its students from being sued for illegal downloading’?”

Following that, capitulation. Said Phil Allred in an October 29 email

Subject: [BLS] Update on illegal downloads e-mail noticeYesterday, I sent out an e-mail regarding the recent spate of abuse notices we have received from our Internet service provider. Under our contract, users are prohibited from downloading copyrighted works. If we knowingly allow such activity to continue without taking action, we risk losing access to the Internet.

When we can ascertain the people who are responsible for alleged illegal downloads, we will notify them to cease such activity. We will comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

“Outside of the legal process, we are not obligated to turn over the names of the alleged infringers to copyright holders and will not do so.”

Above the Law also includes “selected comments”, among them »»»

15 – 10, It would also be hypocritical for a BLS representative to utter the word “honor” while ruining the lives of hundreds of twenty-somethings per year.

And »»»

30 – From the research I’ve done on this topic, I believe that the media ownership companies (Viacom, Universal, etc) are going to begin to sue schools where illegal downloading is rampant under some sort of vicarious/ contributory theory (that doesn’t really exist in the law). Although it probably won’t stand up in court, you’re looking at Universal with its billions of dollars vs. Schlub State University who can barely afford to keep toilet paper in the bathrooms. I think the fear of being buried in legal costs is what prompted Brooklyn Law to be proactive rather than reactive.

32 – Seriously?!? This is even a debate? The students broke the law. If the school knows who the students are, they ought to tell the proper authorities. Is it really that hard to understand that a law school would take steps to ENFORCE THE LAW? This is common sense folks. Just because you don’t like the law does not make it optional.

34 – This is pretty shitty. They are not just informing, they are investigating and informing. And no warning to students? I’m sure that the student(s) who are doing the downloading (and who are paying buttloads of $$ to BLS) would have appreciated a warning when BLS first got the notices or otherwise in time to stop.

And finally

“77 – I remember my first day at BLS in 2003 – Dean Wexler (top right) , almost immediately after saying “welcome,” told us that BLS would rat out any students caught downloading music. Very warm welcome.”

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Recording Industry vs The People – Brooklyn Law School backs down; will not voluntarily investigate & “name names”, October 30, 2009

Above the Law – Brooklyn Law Won’t Proactively Rat Out Its Students, October 29, 2009

That’s to say P2P and online sharing are here to stay.

The Big $ record labels have been doing most of the running with the Three Strikes bidniz plan. Under it, taxpayers in various countries such as Britain, the US, France, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea, would foot the bill for a new kind of online police force administered by local governments, and with local ISPs as the bad guys.

UK spy and police agencies definitely aren’t keen on the idea, however, and that may be enough to scupper it in Britain. And it’s reasonable to assume similar organisations in other countries will share the views of their British counterparts.

Meanwhile, we haven’t heard much from Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures), which isn’t surprising.

Traditionally, the studios let Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music make all the mistakes and piss everyone off, stepping in at the last minute with their own watered-down version of whatever it is.

And it looks as though that time may be arriving with respect to the Three Strikes farce.

With Glickman on his way out, ex-Screen Actors Guild (SAG) boss Bob Pisano, hired in 2005 “to take charge of the anti-p2p effort as president and operations boss of the MPAA”, is in England to suggest traffic throttling rather than outright disconnection would be the way to go.

“The UK government is twisting and turning in its efforts to please the entertainment industry by finding a way to impose the same Three Strikes anti-P2P plan that’s giving Hollywood and Big music lobbyist Nicolas Sarkozy so much trouble in France,” said p2pnet earlier today, going on:

“The plan would have governments such as Sarkozy’s performing as taxpayer-supported Hollywood and Big Music agencies, and ISPs functioning as online copyright police.”

Now, “The film industry, which puts its losses at more than £500 million a year, believes that slowing connections would be enough of a deterrent because of the time it would take to download large film files,” says  Times Online.

Pisano, “flew to London last week to meet Lord Puttnam, the film-maker, who is expected to be a key voice in building support for the plans,” the story adds.

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

removed from the equation – Will RIAA boss replace Glickman at the MPAA?, October 20, 2009
definitely aren’t keen -  UK cops, spy agencies, say No to 3 strikes plan, October 20, 2009
anti-p2p effort – Glickman ousted in anti-p2p role, September 23, 2005
p2pnet – UK cops, spy agencies, say No to 3 strikes plan, October 26, 2009
Times Online – MI5 comes out against cutting off internet pirates, October 26, 2009

Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman was hired to replace him and no doubt he (Glickman) expected to be mingling with the mighty for a year or 10.

But it wasn’t to be.

Hollywood CEOs were unhappy with Glickman, their discontent centering, “on the fact he’s a bad and boring speaker who has not repped the movie business well in Washington,” said says Nikki Finke in Deadline Hollywood, going on:

“The moguls in particular blame him for not being able to keep those $246M in tax breaks for studios and filmmakers intact within the stimulus package. The thinking is that Glickman, a Democrat like Jack Valenti (although that’s where the comparison ends), got outmaneuvered by Republican lawmakers.”

The MPAA board, “only voted to extend Glickman’s contract for another 18 months,”she added.

Legions of Hollywood gnomes are presently scurrying about looking for The Joker’s successor.

Question: But what of Dan? Wither will he go?

Answer: Possibly, back into politics, from whence he came.

Shenanigans quotes him as stating, “There are folks in Kansas who have called me and asked me if I’m interested. I suppose I’m genetically interested in it. I’ve always been interested in politics and public service.”

Glickman, “even thought about hiring a pollster in Kansas, sources say, but never went through with it,” the story says, adding:

Still, there could be a gleam in his eye as he says, “Being a U.S. senator is still one of the best jobs in the world. I wouldn’t deny that’.”

Stay tuned?

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wasn’t to be – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 3, 3009
Deadline Hollywood – Studios Plan To Replace MPAA’s Glickman, March 27, 2009
Shenanigans – Sen. Dan Glickman?, July 6, 2009

Another victim of the nuclear meltdown of the global economy seems to be royalties. Yes, you heard right, revenues from content royalty collection agencies such as PRS in the UK, SoundExchange and ASCAP in the USA, AMCOS and PPCA in Australia —- the list goes on.

It seems since the economy is doing horrible interest rates are lower than ever, and this is ‘hurting’ the collection agencies’ profit margin.

First off, all collection agencies MUST be not-for-profit to ensure public acceptance of this greedy type of operation. The royalty collection agencies (’asshats’) extort collect royalties on performances, and uses of copyrighted materials, they then place these payments in bank escrow to extract profit from the interest off the money they collect.

With interest rates at rock bottom currently, the profit margin gained from the interest is diminishing.

This is more than likely why ASCAP is suing AT&T for ringtone royalties, and PRS is increasing their royalty rates in the UK — except for SoundExchange, which doesn’t pay the artists at all and make its profit off the payments, and not the interest accrued.

Typically the asshats’ charter allows them to hold royalty payments in what’s called ‘reserve’, thanks to the sodomizing contracts artists and musicians must sign with the MAFIAA. The contract is sometimes upwards of 50% of all revenue (placed in reserve) to offset unsold CDs, returned content, and other write-offs.

The contract can also include a clause so artists don’t see royalty payments for 18 months, giving the MAFIAA and their cohort asshat collection agencies plenty of time for ‘creative accounting’.

SoundExchange is a perfect example, touting over 130 million in their coffers of collected royalties they are somehow unable to find the artists to pay. An incredible amount for a not-for-profit asshat, wouldn’t you think?

So the MAFIAA screws the artist during signing a ‘360′ deal, which can be expanded to cover new technologies and their cut on a whim.

Eminem learned this the hard way being unable to receive royalty payments on digital sales. Then the artists get screwed on the back end concerning royalty payments for using their content. Diabolically ingenious on the part of the MAFIAA. They may not understand the internet and how to parlay it into legitimate profits, but they definitely understand creative accounting and how to screw the artist with experienced ease.

What motivated this article is the comparison between the loss in revenue from lower interest rates and file sharing. Whereas the profit margin concerning interest rates can be calculated, the loss of revenue due to file sharing can’t be. I don’t see the RIAA going to Congress and demanding the interest rates be increased, but they do run crying to Congress when it comes to ethereal monetary loss from the invented numbers of lost profit due to file sharing.

It seems due to lower interest rates, the asshats are going after legitimate businesses to demand higher royalty payments, and in the case of file sharing, where they can’t extract their gallon of blood, they go after the distribution models such as bittorrent in order to end its existence.

So, if the asshats are counting every single penny, looking for ways to increase their bottom line, it seems to me the issue of lower interest rates is more important to them than file sharing is.

I certainly wish the artists of the world would call their slave masters to the carpet and start fighting the good fight, and stop putting up with the ass raping from their labels. With CD sales in the basement, and the RIAA suing customers into oblivion, it might be prudent for the musicians to come to terms with their fans and cut out the middle-man entirely.

The MAFIAA is dying — literally — so don’t be pulled into Hell when the beast finally hits the deck.

File sharing is never going away. It’s as common as listening to the radio, and only gains in popularity for every single ‘victory’ the RIAA posts a press release for.

The MAFIAA is doing more to promote file sharing than anyone of us ‘pirates’ could hope to achieve. For every single victory they claim, several thousand more fans realize the RIAA and the Big 4 for what they are, and turn to file sharing..

File sharing music on the internet is doing insignificant harm to the artists’ bottom line compared to what the MAFIAA is extorting out of you.

With that mind, we continue to share more and more music/movies/tv/videos/software/books.

Because we can.

surfer – p2pnet

[Share The Wealth]™

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

July, 2009

But I couldn’t let this pass.

“Here is one for Tom to comment on ” says Aussie Terrorists in a Reader’s Write, going on

Aussie Movie pirates funding terrorists
http://www.smh.com.au/national/movie-pirates-funding-terrorists-20090627-d0gm.html?page=-1

You are either with us or against us – G bush on the fight on terrorism.

‘Tom’ is p2pnet contributor Tom ‘17 cups of coffee a day’ Koltai, who lives in Sydney, Australia.

How movie piracy is being used to fund terrorist groups

Who TF is Philippine Eduardo Manzano? – you might wonder.

And why might you wonder it?

Because he’s the latest Hollywood Polizi recruit, signed up by MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).

Pictured here with Sappy (left), the MPAA’s newest labrador Super-Sniffer, Manzano is, “running a campaign against piracy in the Philippines” and saying, “profits from illegal films ended up in the hands of terrorists”.

It’s in the Sydney Morning Herald, so it must be true!

Why Mandango?

Because, “It is difficult for law enforcement officials alone to eradicate this crime altogether,” says the SMH.

And to prove it, write Eamonn Duff and Rachel Browne, “Revelations to be aired on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night … show how movie piracy is being used to fund terrorist groups including Hezbollah and Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for the Bali bombings in 2002.”

WOW! Hezbollah AND Jemaah Islamiah !!!!!!!!!

“The investigation traces the activity of Sydney man Craig Farrugia, who pleaded guilty to movie piracy copyright crimes in April and was fined $5400 and placed on an 18-month good behaviour bond,” continues the Sidney Moaning Hernia, saying Sunday Night host Mike Munro joined Mancranko on a raid in Manila, say Eamonn and Rachel »»»

Blacktown Drive-in to Bali bomb: plotting six degrees of separation

1 Sydney man Craig Farrugia secretly records films, including Marley & Me — starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson — at the Blacktown Drive-in before uploading copies to websites.

Gasp

2 Pirate copies of films, often downloaded from websites, are produced in Asia for as little as 25 cents a disc and sold for 20 times that amount, making them a cash cow for organised crime.

Shudder

3 An anti-piracy taskforce, filmed by Sunday Night, meets in Manila before a raid on an international gang suspected of manufacturing millions of illegal DVDs.

Faint

4 Eduardo Manzano, a renowned Filipino actor leading a government team in the war against movie piracy, says illegal DVD profits end up in the hands of terrorists.

Swoon

5 A raid by heavily armed members of the anti-piracy taskforce yields 1.6 million illegal DVDs, the biggest haul in the Philippines. Arrests are made and the DVDs destroyed.

Collapses on floor, helpless with laughter

6 The raid costs organised crime millions of dollars, which may have been funnelled to terrorist groups such as the Bali bombers Jemaah Islamiah, according to Philippine authorities. The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft and other anti-piracy experts also say illegal DVD profits help fund terrorism.

“May have been funnelled” — Riiiiight.

JEEEEZ !!!!!

But the sad thing is: the lamescream mainstream media (excluding the SMH, of course) lap this kind of drivel up and regurgitate it wholesale just like it’s real!

Is this the start of a new Entertainment Kartell campaign, do you think?

On the same day the SMH ran this piece of crapola, across the pond, Britain’s BBC featured a load of old bollocks from BPI employee Geoff ‘Rosetta Stone’ Taylor .

No need to stay tuned.

Jon Newton – p2pnet

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

labrador Super-Sniffer – Rowdy crowd boos MPAA super-sniffer, June 5, 2009
Sydney Morning Herald – Movie pirates funding terrorists, June 28, 2009
load of old bollocks -  Taylor tells it like it isn’t, June 28, 2009

That’s a Reader’s Write to the p2pnet story which kicked off »»»

Canine Copyright Cops? If it was anyone else other than Hollywood’s MPAA, you’d wonder if it was a farce.

But wait! Simply because it’s Hollywood’s MPAA, you know it is a farce!

It seems Paddy, another of the Hollywood super-sniffing sleuths, snuffled out suspicious DVDs in Malaysia.

But as the MPAA admits, when the labrador was turned loose at the Holiday Plaza in the Malasian state of Johor Bahru, “No arrests were made but a rowdy crowd of around 40 gathered outside the area and booed the raiding party.”

Not only but also, “A dog was brought in to mock Paddy,” says the Hollywood outfit. “Fearing for their safety, MDTCA called in the police who sent heavily armed officers to help defuse the situation,” it says.

And No – we’re not making this up.

MPA(A) factotum Mike Ellis is quoted as saying,”We are glad to hear that Paddy’s skills are being put to good use against the large, organized network of pirates involved in exporting illegal pirated DVDs to Singapore.”

In Malaysia, “pirated DVDs and CDs used to be/are the only way you can get movies and media that’s uncensored by our immensely draconian, overtly sensitive, Islamist Film Certification Board,” says LMAO from Malaysia in the comment post, adding »»»

To add insult to the injury not only do they the cut the ‘offending scenes’ out from the movie which ruins the flow in the process but they have the GALL to add a rating to it as well!!!!!! It’s one or the other, Slap an 18+ rating to it, or Cut it and make it public viewing!

But of course, with the advent of widespread Broadband (by our no 1 telephone monopoly TM!), Streamyx (or rather SLOWMYX), no Malaysian needs to be left dry and sober!!

God bless the inventor of P2P networks, and God bless the inventor of Bittorent!!!!!!!

“Here’s an Asian middlefinger to U, MPAA!!!!!!!” – adds LMAO.

Not only but also, “Malaysia has quite a few Muslims, and they tend to have a ‘thing’ about dogs,” says an earlier comment post, going on, “It seems when Guantanimo prison gets closed, a lot of ‘police’ dogs may be out of a job. Ship them over to Malasia.”

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p2pnet – Rowdy crowd boos MPAA super-sniffer, June 5, 2009

“Beleagured RealNetworks, which recently apologised for disappointing users in the past, and which wanted ‘another shot’  because ‘we’ve cleaned up our act,’ in 2008 blew 11.2 million on the launch of Rhapsody North America, according to a 10K filing,” said p2pnet recently, going on:

“It also spent $44 million in advertising with MTVN, said paidContent earlier in the month.

“With that in the background RealNetworks, its RealPlayer for years plagued by revelations of one critical security problem after another, said it didn’t think it’d be sued by Hollywood’s MPAA for marketing DVD copying software.”

However, the MPAA, fronting for Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, took a different view, saying in a lawsuit that Real’s RealDVD, created to allow Windows users rip DVDs,  infringes copyrights.

Now, continuing its lawsuit against Real, Hollywood is asserting fair use is no good as a mechanism of defence and to, “prove its point, the MPAA relied on RealNetworks’ own testimony in a prior case,” says CNet News, going on US district judge Marilyn Patel (right), who’d temporarily banned sales, will decide if Real can once again start selling RealDVD.

Patel asked MPAA lawyer Bart Williams if a consumer has the right to copy a DVD purchased for personal use, says the story, going on »»»

“Not for the purposes under the DMCA,” Williams said. “One copy is a violation of the DMCA.”

Then Patel tried again. This time she asked about a hypothetical device that sounded very much like Facet, the DVD player that Real is planning to release that copies as well as plays DVDs. Real says that the copies of movies made by Facet are locked in the box and can not be distributed illegally.

“What if Real or someone made a device that allowed for making a copy only to the hard drive that is on that machine?” Patel asked Williams. “And you can’t make another copy from that. Would that be circumvention of the DMCA? Would it in fact mean that it really was sufficient fair use under the DMCA?”

“Yes it would be circumvention,” Williams replied, “and no it would not be fair use. The only backup copy Congress envisioned was archival, that you would never use until such time when your main computer wasn’t working…Congress would not have gone through the process or have this process if you’re going to say there is some fair use rights that allows you to circumvent.”

Williams then told the judge that Real had argued against fair use in a legal case the company brought against Streambox nearly 10 years ago. Real filed suit against Streambox for creating the Streambox VCR, a system that enabled users to copy Real’s streaming music and video. Streambox argued that users were making fair use copies. Real sought a temporary restraining order, just as the studios have in the current case, which was granted.

“There is no fair use defense (for Streambox against the DMCA),” Real argued in that case, court documents show. “The DMCA does not have a fair use exception allowing individuals to circumvent access and copy protection measures.

“In enacting the DMCA,” Real continued, “(Congress) expressly outlawed products such as the (Streambox VCR) that serve to promote the unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted works.”

For this reason, Williams asked the judge for an estoppel ruling against Real. This is a legal doctrine that would bar Real from arguing for fair use because it had made a counter argument — and prevailed — in a prior case.

Real is vulnerable to DMCA violation claims. The copyright law prohibits anyone from cracking copy protections.

Even if Patel rules that Real did not circumvent Content Scramble System, the studios encryption technology, which the MPAA claims it has, Real has to prove that it did not circumvent ARccOS and RipGuard. These are copy protections measures some of the studios use as an added layer of protection and are not covered in the CSS license Real obtained from the studios.

In previous court proceedings, “MPAA lawyers presented e-mails and testimony that showed Real worked hard to find a way to get past ARccOS and RipGuard, including the hiring of an overseas company that the MPAA alleges is run by ‘Ukranian hackers’,” says CNet News, adding:

“There is no telling how long she will take to issue a ruling.”

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apologised -RealNetworks – ‘give us another shot, February 24, 2009
p2pnet – RealNetworks ’surprised’ by MPAA lawsuit, March 24, 2009
paidContent -  RealNetworks Details Promotion Costs For Rhapsody North America, March 2, 2009
infringes copyrights – Real Networks Sues Studios on Antitrust Grounds, May 13, 2009
CNet News – At RealDVD hearing, MPAA says copying DVDs never legal, May 21, 2009

If you haven’t already seen it, The Corporation is available from all fine P2P networks. Or, as the site says,  “If you already downloaded the film (with the best of intentions, we’re sure!) why not check out the Special Edition DVD, packed with over 8 hours of extras?”

If those eight hours are anything like the main feature, it’ll be money well spent.

Meanwhile,  if the corporations are people, how about MPAA, Inc, with Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman as its chairman (although not for much longer)? If it was a real, instead of unreal, person, it would have been institutionalised long ago.

“The US Copyright Office is conducting hearings on the exemptions under the DMCA (they do this every three years) and Rebecca Tushnet has been providing detailed coverage,” said Michael Geist last week, going on:

“A full day was devoted to the issue of an exemption for teachers and students so that they could circumvent the locks on DVDs to show film clips in class or as part of an assignment.  The education community are pushing for an expansion of the exemption to more broadly cover teachers and students.  The MPAA doesn’t want an exemption at all, or, if there is one, argues it should be very limited.

“Among the stranger moments of the hearings was the MPAA’s argument that there is no need for an exemption since there is an analog way to create film clips.  Rather than break the encryption on a DVD, teachers could camcord the same film clips.  In fact, the organization showed a video demonstrating how to effectively camcord clips of DVDs without breaking the encryption on the DVD.”

No! Really!

Has the MPAA been reading p2pnet?

“DRM isn’t a dead horse: it was never even born,” we said recently.”If you can see or hear something, someone somewhere will figure out a way to copy it via one analogue or digital means or another.

“End of story. Period. Full stop.”

In our re-run of Michael’s original blog item, Schmock says in a comment post, “Haha – and audio files ‘may’ be copied with a microphone held in front of the speaker? These guys don’t have to run a mental health check before getting their jobs, do they?”

Obviously not.

“So,” says  a Reader’s Write, “now the anti-ripping theme has come home to bite them on the butt,” going on »»»

In all this digital transformation, the one thing that has been strenuously objected to is fair use. I know Canada doesn’t have fair use but they have something more important which is legal downloading because they are paying for the privilege in high surcharges for blank media.

We too, are paying surcharges hidden in the cost of the blank media. Only we aren’t getting anything for that. It was passed with the promise that the money would go to support the artists and has been being charged ever since the days of cassettes. Only not one artist has yet to receive a penny of that money, despite lawsuits by artists suing to get their share. So much for being for the artist.

Now big entertainment wants complete lock down of everything. As Schmock above says, that isn’t possible because it is too easy to circumvent. Lock downs don’t transfer with the audio listening side. Once it hits the speaker, all locks are off.

So the fight against ripping has no real feet to stand on, beyond the big entertainment’s idea they want to control every aspect of their product. More and more they become disconnected to the what their customer needs, desires, and is willing to spend money for.

Buying digital has become a minefield where you, the customer gets ripped off through the whole process. If and when the inevitable happens and the on-line store goes down, so does access to the music you paid to have. So you have rented it, not bought it as was your intention at the start. Ripping the music is the only way to have what you bought from now on. Burning it doesn’t last as the burned disc has not the life of the pressed disc on physical media.

So here comes big entertainment out with the cavalry hoping to stave off the one thing the customer really needs to make buying worth while. No wonder on-line stores are doing so poorly, unlike indies. High prices, lack of having anything for your money, and the loss of that product you bought under the expectation that it was yours and not a rental, has made the majority of customers very dubious of on-line purchases.

Ripping makes a lot of sense, just not to those that want you to buy, buy, and buy yet again the same thing. It worked in the past because of changing media. It doesn’t work today with the same media.

They’ve made copyright laws such a minefield that it is no longer worth the hassles. Those suffering the most are libraries and school applications which have traditionally been granted the ability to use. The very ones that should have this access are the sideline victims of the wish to control every aspect.

“The deal has changed for what you get, it’s not worth it anymore,”" says the comment.

Ain’t that the truth.

Follow p2pnet on Twitter.

Michael Geist – Hollywood’s MPAA: Cammer Supreme, May 9, 2009
not for much longer – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 2, 2009
p2pnet - LaLa and DRM, May 8, 2009
blog item – The MPAA on How to Camcord, May 8, 2009

Wow!

Heavy!

He’ll answer to ex-MPAA boss Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman and COO Bob Pisano.

Mandil is clearly no fool.

He cleverly abandoned deeply screwed up Sony (BMG) Music Entertainment to hook up with Hollywood.

“These are fascinating times for the movie industry and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to the continuing vibrancy of an industry that means so much to so many,” he’s quoted as saying with a straight face.

Rumour has it that Mandil is also taking over as Chief Pooper-Scooper for Hollywood’s supersniffiing sleuth hounds Lucky and Flo (right).

Glickman presently fills the role.

However, rumour also has it that Glickman will continue as the dogs’ hair and makeup stylist.

No need to stay tuned.

Follow p2pnet on Twitter.

anti-pirate pirate – GLICKMAN TAPS DANIEL MANDIL TO OVERSEE WORLDWIDE LEGAL AFFAIRS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION FOR THE MPAA (MPAA caps ), April 28, 2009
ex-MPAA boss – MPAA Glickman – Obama copyright czar?, April 26, 2009
supersniffiing sleuth hounds – MPAA uses Lucky & Flo to scam kids, April 22, 2009

Let’s see how that works —- the man who’s theoretically second-in-command of America promising to allocate desperately scarce resources to Hollywood, which is reporting a surplus of $14 billion, when the US is already struggling to find ways to save citizens from destitution caused by the George W. Bush recession?

But it’s not so incongruous when you consider the RIAA already has five of its henchmen deeply embedded in the US Department of Justice.

On the other hand, even with Biden as a devout RIAA worshipper, the Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music extortion unit probably won’t be able to manage install one of its hacks as Obama’s Top Corporate Copyright Cop, whose six-figure (at the very least) salary will be footed by American citizens.

So with RIAA hoods — sorry, executives – out of the running, that leaves MPAA persons.

And who’d be better than Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman (right) who is, after all, seeking gainful employment?

He’d take a salary drop. But against that, associated perks would probably more than make up for it and anyway, he’d still be In with the In Crowd.

He was, “once known as one of the funniest men in Congress,” said the Hollywood Reporter when Slickman was named as Jack ‘Bomber’ Valenti’s successor.

“I don’t know how funny I am,” the story has him saying. “I think I’m funny.”

Our picture shows him demonstrating his “deadpan wit,” as the story calls it, with his famous ‘Hollywood is being devastated byfile-sharers’ joke.

Follow me on Twitter.

CNET News – Biden promises ‘right person’ as new U.S. copyright czar, April 21, 2009
surplus of $14 billion – Upsurge in anti-P2P actions under Obama, April 22, 2009
seeking gainful employment – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 3, 2009
Hollywood Reporter – Glickman relishes new role, July 2, 2004

Well, you know.

Now, “it’s a bit LOL,” The Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde, aka Brokep, posts  on Twitter.

“It used to be only movies, now even verdicts are out before the official release.”

Not only but also, “According to leaked information from the court we lost (got the news last night),” he tweeted.

“Trustworthy source as well.”

But,  “Stay calm,”  he says. “Nothing will happen to TPB, us personally or file sharing what so ever.

“This is just a theater for the media.”

Mind-boggling, eye-popping annual revenues

The lamescream media (and Mitch, left, and Dan) are all a-flutter because of the supposed movie industry, record label, ‘win’ over The Pirate Bay.

Seven multinational conglomerates, whose monthly earnings run into the billions of dollars and would quite literally keep the same number of third world countries in food for four or five years, sued three young men and a supporter.

These unimaginably huge corporations with mind-boggling, eye-popping annual revenues and employing thousands of people around the world, claim they’re being “devastated” by Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, Frederik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and their .torrent search engine.

The corporate press corps doesn’t even blush at reporting a court case brought by the movie and music industries against four (4) people, whose combined incomes wouldn’t keep the cartels in coffee and donuts, as a triumph.

“We welcome the court’s decision today because The Pirate Bay is a source of immense damage to the creative industries in Sweden and internationally,” said the RIAA’s Mitch ‘The Don’ Bainwol.

Actually, he didn’t say that. But he soon will. Or something very much like it.

Rather, the statement came from Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman who’s currently acting as temporary mouthpiece for Hollywood’s MPAA.

‘Very well written’

In this last example of the reverse entertainment industry Midas touch, the Swedish District Court which sentenced TPB4 to a year in jail each and fined them SEK 30 million ($3.59 million), now wants local cops to, “investigate their own people” because the verdict was reported without their permission, says TorrentFreak.

Will the leak affect the decision?

Stay tuned.

The Pirate Bay – Sweden loses The Pirate Bay case, April 17, 2009
Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman – Hollywood crows over The Pirate Bay ‘win’, April 17, 2009
temporary mouthpiece – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 3, 2009
TorrentFreak – Police Will Investigate Leaked Pirate Bay Verdict, April 17, 2009

“We welcome the court’s decision today because The Pirate Bay is a source of immense damage to the creative industries in Sweden and internationally,” say immensely profitable Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney through maladroit MPAA boss Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman (right).

“This is an important decision for rights-holders, underlining their right to have their creative works protected against illegal exploitation and to be fairly rewarded for their endeavors,” says a Hollywood statement, adding:

“This decision will help to support the continued investment in talent and in new online services, and the creation of new films and television shows for enjoyment by audiences around the world.”

Riiiight.

Back in the real world, what’s going to change? – wonders Ryan rhetorically.

Zip.

Click here for TPB’s version.

perceived victory – Sweden loses The Pirate Bay case, April 17, 2009
maladroit MPAA boss – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 3, 2009
rhetorically – The Pirate Bay decision means … nothing, April 17, 2009

With many a Yo and plenty of Ho’s, Hollywood in particular has been desperately trying to create the belief that it’s being driven to rack and ruin by evil file sharers relentlessly posting new releases on the P2P networks.

Somehow, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney always seems to forget the inconvenient truth that most high-quality flicks which wind up online come from Hollywood insiders, not from kids with cams or even all those sophisticated criminals with high-end recording and dubbing gear, tripods, and so on, who somehow set up in cinemas without the management noticing.

But, “Piracy is isn’t just a big problem for the entertainment industry execs, it also keeps creative types like Andrew Lloyd Webber awake at night, and is a focus of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report,” say Patrick Smith and Robert Andrews in paidContentUK, going on that the British film industry has launched a new campaign.

The “touchy-feely” new ads are, however, “in stark contrast to the hectoring, scare tactics of yesteryear,” they say, and with that in mind, they’ve come up with a hilarious video retrospective of  anti-piracy campaigns, two of which you’ll find below.

Illegal DVDs. What criminal activity would you like your money to go to? From the MPAA’s ‘Farcical Approaches to Copyright Transgressions,’ or ‘Federation Against Copyright Theft’.

Or how about “When the lifting the veil on a criminal underworld doesn’t work, just make viewers feel cheap and embarrassed,” says paidContent, featuring the original Nigel ad where a grizzled folk singer gets his point across as Nigel tries to enjoy a quiet pint.

Credit where credit is due and intentional or not, the major Hollywood studios are always good for a laugh — ask failed MPAA boss Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman (above right).

Hear him chuckle as he looks for a new job.

JN

April 8, 2009

Put another way, figures from Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney bear about as much resemblance to reality as do their claims that they’re being devastated by file sharing pirates.

As p2pnet  contributor catflap recently pointed out, the movie industry recently celebrated its first ever billion-dollar January.

Not bad for a group of corrupt companies whose noble, but soon to be gone, leader Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman swears are being forced to send support workers out onto the streets because of the ravages of online file sharing.

All officially steamed up

Last week Hollywood was shocked and horrified to learn a workprint for the Fux movie X-Men: Origins workprintwas on the P2P networks.

P2P file sharers?

Nope.

Hollywood insiders. As usual.

Its appearance caused studio mouthpiece the MPAA to declare the wicked perpetrators would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” they paid good money for.

“The guess is that by now more than a million people have downloaded Wolverine and the Fox bean counters are all officially steamed up that such online exposure could eat into the film’s box office when it opens on April 29,” writes Jim Schembri in The Age, going on, “In 2004 the Motion Picture Association – Warner, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Fox and Universal — charged international strategy consulting firm LEK to survey the alleged damage of downloading.

“The conclusion, after 18 months’ research across 22 countries involving 20,600 people, was that in 2005 internet piracy cost the MPA $3.2 billion, with the total loss to all piracy clocking in at $8.5 billion. That’s a lot of bananas.

“Rubbery bananas.”

Reliable and accurate

By a remarkable coincidence, senior Walt Disney executive Kevin Mayer left LEK to join Disney, before which his responsibilities included “the creation of comprehensive anti-piracy strategies for motion picture studios and trade associations,” according to his bio.

But the bananas were considerably more rubbery and even that.

The MPAA 44% guesstimate, touted ad nauseam in the mainstream press as reliable and accurate, and presented to the US Congress as factual, ultimately dropped to around 3%.

However, after trumpeting the 44% figure as a major story, the mainstream media virtually ignored the news that the number was, and is, totally out to lunch. In fact, some elements of the corporate press corps continue to use the false MPAA 44% stat.

And with respect to the Hollywood claim that files shared automatically equal lost viewers (and cash), “A high-quality copy of the comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop appeared online a full week before its release,” says Jim.

“Now, if any film was vulnerable to the impact of effortless, cost-free internet piracy, it was this unremarkable, low-budget, made-for-DVD film. Yet Paul Blart not only did well, it exceeded everybody’s expectations by taking more than $220 million.

“Why, even the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire was unhindered by its early presence online. The film has been freely available for months, yet its unprecedented global take of $435 million has redefined the box-office power of good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth.”

Meanwhile, Hollywood’s projected losses are, “only estimates extrapolated from samples,” says The Age, adding:

“They are not hard, verifiable figures. And the fact that they run so completely counter to the current historic boom at the box office suggests there might have been something dodgy in the methodology.”

Dodgy in the methodology! The MPAA?

Surely not.

And as the story adds, “rebel downloading can reap unintended publicity benefits.

“Anybody who wasn’t curious about Wolverine before certainly will be now.”

Stay tuned.

mammary glands on a bull – Corporate piracy stats: lies, lies and more lies, October 9, 2000
recently pointed out -  Hollywood’s first billion dollar January,  March 24, 2009
soon to be gone – Late MPAA boss Valenti a ‘humanitarian’, April 8, 2009
Hollywood insiders – Oz FX house denies it leaked X-Men flick, April 6, 2009
The Age – The Hollywood fiction about piracy, April 9, 2009
remarkable coincidence – MPAA student stats scandal: update, January 4, 2008
to around 3% – MPAA says 44% of movie losses due to piracy on college networks, number could be closer to 3%, January 23, 2008

In a supreme act of grotesque agrandissement, the studios have done exactly that.

In 2007 they created a little something called the Jack  Valenti Humanitarian Award.

No! Really!

Valenti will indeed live forever, but as the man who, in the 80s, told congress the videocassette recorder was a critical threat to the movie business because tapes could be made of films.

“I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone,” he stated.

Anyhow, according to current, but soon-to-be-gone, Hollywood moouthpiece Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman,  Valenti took on causes, “for the betterment of humanity”.

And with that in mind, the latest awardee is Martin Scorsese.

“A recipient of the Jack Valenti Humanitarian Award must be an individual working
in the motion picture industry whose contributions and commitment to service exemplify
compassion, humanitarianism and dedication to community embodied in the award’s
namesake, Jack Valenti,” says the MPAA.

No! Really!

The  recipient is selected by the Motionless Picture Association of America in
consultation with its owners, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney.

We did a search for acts of Valenti humanitarianism, but gave up after 50 or so entries which mainly pointed to stories about the award.

Clint Eastwood was the first recipient.

Now you know.

soon-to-be-gone – MPAA boss Dan Glickman: on his way out, April 3, 2009

restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.

TorrentFreak reports he’s been told his services will no longer be required, and we had an email – no doubt prompted by the TF report – saying the same.

So who will the Hollywood moguls find to replace him? And can it be done within 18 months?

“Things may be far worse for Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMGs universally despised RIAA than we’d hoped for (sorry, expected),” p2pnet reported recently, citing RIAA staff firings.

So naturally, “we were wondering how things are going over at the Big Music extortion unit’s brother organisation in La La Land,” we said in our report, accompanied by the pic on the right. And a subsequent search revealed»»»

MPAA to scale back budget, staff – Entertainment News …
3 Mar 2009 … The dire economy has hit even the industry’s chief lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has been forced to scale back – www.variety.com/articleVR1118000774.html?categoryid=3284

We continued, “Hollywood’s MPAA is to also suffer attrition (if it hasn’t already) with The Big Question Mark hanging over the head of current boss Dan ‘The Joker’ Glickman. After all, his contract does end this year.”

The question has been answered, says Nikki Finke in Deadline Hollywood.

Hollywood CEOs are unhappy with Glickman, their discontent centering, “on the fact he’s a bad and boring speaker who has not repped the movie business well in Washington,” the story says, going on:

“The moguls in particular blame him for not being able to keep those $246M in tax breaks for studios and filmmakers intact within the stimulus package. The thinking is that Glickman, a Democrat like Jack Valenti (although that’s where the comparison ends), got outmaneuvered by Republican lawmakers. (I wouldn’t be surprised if the MPAA looks for a GOP lobbyist.)”

Finke says the MPAA board, “only voted to extend Glickman’s contract for another 18 months” and so, “Valenti had 38 years atop the organization, and Glickman will have 6 1/2.”

Rumours that Mitch ‘The Don’ Bainwol has already put his bid in should probably be discounted, but if he does replace The Joker, Glickman reportedly tried for the RIAA top job when Hilary Rosen was fir — sorry, resigned — but had to settle instead for the MPAA.

TorrentFreak – MPAA President to be Thrown Out, April 2, 2009
p2pnet – RIAA in deep trouble,  February 27, 2009
Hollywood Reporter – MPAA budget takes $20 million hit, March 3, 2009
Variety – MPAA to scale back budget, staffMarch 3, 2009
Deadline Hollywood – Studios Plan To Replace MPAA’s Glickman, March 27, 2009

restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.

“Even though it was often presented as news, those who look deeper will realize that this is nothing new at all, just the same old threats dressed up in a new jacket,” he says, going on »»»

It’s has been a good week for the entertainment industry lobbyists. Hundreds of news outlets wrote in detail about how the RIAA and MPAA are negotiating with Internet service providers to warn alleged copyright infringers. No one seemed to notice that this isn’t really news as they’ve been working together for years, with ISPs passing on warnings to their customers on behalf of the studios.

It all started with rumors about two US ISPs, Comcast and AT&T, who were said to be doing a three-strikes deal with the RIAA. It soon became known that this rumor was completely fabricated, but not before hundreds of other news oulets reproduced the story. At the end of the week it turned out that there was no news at all.

Yes, the RIAA, MPAA and other outfits do plan to send copyright infringement warnings to ISPs, but they’ve been doing so for at least half a decade. Every other month these Hollywood lobbyists pitch their anti-piracy efforts to the public, and that’s exactly what they are paid for. This doesn’t mean, however, that something is about to change.

The anti-piracy outfits are happy with all the free publicity of course, that is exactly what they are after. Their purpose is to scare people. In this post we hope to clear up some of the misunderstandings, as we show that the scary stories published this week have no substance at all.

Copyright infringement warnings?

For years, content owners such as record labels or movie studios have been sending copyright infringement notices to ISPs, who are legally obliged to forward these to their customers. Some ISPs simply ignore them, while others faithfully forward the emails to the customer account associated with the infringing IP-address. Many ISPs don’t keep records of these events.

So, is my ISP spying on me?

No. This is a common misunderstanding. ISPs don’t look into your specific downloading behavior, they never have and there is no indication that this will change anytime in the near future. All the ‘evidence’ comes from organizations that work for the copyright holders.

What do they know about me?

If you receive a warning, all copyright holders know about you at this stage is your IP-address and what files were (partially) shared via your account, or more accurately – the bill payer’s account. The MPAA, RIAA and others don’t know your name and they never will unless they get a court order forcing your ISP to hand over the information. In the bigger picture, this is very rare.

How did they track me down?

The copyright holders hire companies such as BayTSP and DtecNet to track down people who share certain titles on BitTorrent and other file-sharing networks. They join the swarm and request files from others. When someone shares a piece of the file with them they log the IP-address, look up the ISP and send out a copyright infringement notice automatically. Unlike the file-sharers, these companies are authorized to download these files, so they are not infringing copyright themselves.

Will I get sued if I receive a warning through my ISP?

No. These copyright infringement warnings are not related to any legal action. Copyright holders do go after people who share their work on file-sharing networks, but this has nothing to do with the warnings they send out via ISPs.

Will they take my Internet away?

No. Although there is a lot of talk about “three strikes” policies, no ISP has agreed (or was forced) to disconnect users after they receive their third warning. In New Zealand they came close to implementing a law that would require ISPs to do this, but this proposal was pulled.

In France they are also considering three strikes legislation, but this has not passed into action yet. In Ireland the largest ISP Eircom said it would disconnect repeated infringers only if they receive a court order.

It is worth mentioning though that ISPs may cut off people whenever they think it’s necessary. Cox does this in the US for example, without an agreement with the MPAA or RIAA. ISPs have terms and conditions and most forbid copyright infringement, but really this is just to cover their own backs under the law.

Do I have to be worried?

Receiving a regular infringement notice is nothing to be worried about. However, if you download copyrighted files without authorization from the copyright holder you are breaking the law in some countries. If you receive a warning without having shared anything yourself (which happens quite often) then there’s nothing to worry about.

Can I protect (hide) myself?

If you don’t want to be spied on when using BitTorrent the best option is to hide your IP-address. You can do so by subscribing to a VPN service or by using software such as TorrentPrivacy. Blocklist software such as PeerGuardian is often recommended, but it is also highly ineffective as the lists are never fully up-to date or accurate.

What’s the point in all this?

The MPAA and RIAA don’t want their products on file-sharing networks and they use these warning emails to deter people from sharing these files with others. Since it’s much cheaper (and effective) than suing people, this is now their strategy of choice. Using news outlets to spread their doom and gloom scenarios is just part of their operation.

In the future the amount of warnings they send out to alleged infringers will increase and the studios and ISPs will work together to keep the associated operating costs down, if that’s not what they’ve already been doing in their recent meetings. It’s just the old model, scaled up with a rumor or two on top.

“Let’s move on already,” adds Ernesto.

TorrentFreak – RIAA, MPAA Copyright Warnings: Facts and Fiction, March 28, 2009