Go ahead and sue me!
p2pnet news | Music:- Go ahead and try to follow me on this next sentence.
If you are told you are guilty, and you have not done anything, and you still get in trouble as if you did anyway, why not perform the guilty action you are accused of, since you have nothing to loose?
How does this relate to file sharing?
Well, as the Angry Offender said, and as we recently found out in the latest RIAA court case:
The instructions were clearly outside of the scope of the law, and on top of that, the RIAA never actually proved that DAMAGES occurred. Also, why has no one argued that the DOWNLOADER is responsible for infringement rather than the person ‘making available?’ In the real world, if you make a copy of a CD for someone else, you’re infringing, but if someone makes a copy of a copyrighted item that you, the library, or a rental chain like Blockbuster lends or rents to them, THEY have committed the infringement. There is no feasible way to defeat this analogy. The actual copyright violation occurs not because of the (potentially accidental) availability of the file, but rather because the downloader, copier, or ripper willingly and intentionally chose to make a duplication of the file that would not fall under a fair use exemption. The jury has essentially made you liable for infringement if your friend borrows a CD from you and decides to rip it without your knowledge or consent before returning it.
Yes that case will be appealed but for now it stands, if the RIAA targets you, they don’t need to prove you downloaded the file, someone else downloaded the file from you, or even that you were using the computer at the time of the alleged downloading. Also, they need not confirm that the person who owns the computer did the downloading.
This is not an over exaggeration, but fact. Additionally, you’ll notice they focus on college students most of the time. Including attacking 19 new Universities.
So here is the situation as I see it.
I am a college student. Therefore it is VERY possible that I could be randomly selected by something like my IP address, which in technical terms can’t identify any person. But in court, apparently it can. This means I don’t have to download anything and can still go to court and be convicted of the crime. (By the way, please show me the law that says file sharing in itself is illegal, because there isn’t one.) So one thought comes bubbling up in my mind:
If I can be accused and convicted whether I download or not, why shouldn’t I just download anyway?
I can’t see why I shouldn’t download anything and everything. I will get screwed either way, I might as well reap the benefits and get all of those new cd’s and movies coming out. I have paid for everything up until now, but why should I anymore? Am I supposed to be scared? Are these lawsuits supposed to stop college students from downloading? Because
I’m not scared. I don’t download illegal, licensed, material and I am still in the cross-hairs simply because I attend college. So I say again. Download away. Why not? You’ll be proven guilty whether you are or not, so have fun while you can.
Instead of creating an environment of fear in college students, you (the RIAA and MPAA) are actually encouraging them to take risks. People feel vulnerable, even when completely innocent, and now for good reason. You have sucessfully created an environment where downloaders have nothing to loose and everything to gain.
In medieval times Kings began to kill people who were accused of stealing food from the market. For 200 years they killed and for 200 years the stealing never stopped. If people won’t stop when faced with the death penalty, I don’t think they’ll stop because of monetary damage.
Side Note: Am I really saying you should go out and download like crazy, no. But I’m trying to make a point here. If they want to stop illegal downloading, they shouldn’t knowingly persecute everyone regardless of whether they are guilty or not. The corrupted legal system that allows this abuse and the Universities who blindly follow are, in my opinion, the real criminals. 10 years from now many people who *cough* gallantly *cough* attack all of those ‘bad college students’ will look back on their lives and realize the mistake they made. They may even be willing to atone for their crimes when they are sorry. But I am reminded of something my mother once told me, ‘Saying sorry, doesn’t change what has happened or who was hurt because of your actions.’
Liam Jewell – Plymouth State University
[Jewell is a full-time senior at Plymouth State University, reading for his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Information Technology.]
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October 20th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Lets face it. The real logic behind these policies is to make everybody so scared that they will act as unpaid cops, jealously guarding their cds and computers lest some evil friend get them in trouble. They would like to foster a paranoid world where nobody ever lends a cd, never lets anybody sit down at their computer, never does even legal stuff outa fear that they will get beat up. And as you point out, its not gonna work. If the mighty US Govt cant stop drug dealing, the mighty State Police cant stop speeding or make ya wear a friggin’ seat belt, what chance do these guys have. But they can’t back down now. Not if they value their jobs. And so it goes…..
October 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Lets face it. The real logic behind these policies is to(gain control) make everybody so scared that they will act(like sheep) as unpaid cops, jealously guarding their cds and computers lest some evil friend get them in trouble. They would like to foster a paranoid world (with their goverment whores) where nobody ever lends a cd, never lets anybody sit down at (your controlled) their computer, never does even legal stuff outa fear (of the fixed legal system) that they will get beat up. And as you point out, its not gonna work. If the mighty US Govt cant stop drug dealing,( they want, justifies fat budgets )) the mighty State Police cant stop speeding or make ya wear a friggin’ seat belt,(these are revenue makers) what chance do these guys have. But they can’t back down now(Why should they,the deck is stacked in their favor). Not if they value their jobs. And so it goes…..
The American Flag should be flown upside down in ever state just to remind the goverment that the constitution starts, WE THE PEOPLE, not we the off shore corporations with money to stuff in your pockets. Uncle Sam is quickly becoming the chief of a police state and only when then people wake up and quit putting the same people back in office ever time, it’s not going to change.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
The cases will never survive appeal…
October 21st, 2007 at 12:47 am
The prosecutors will never survive a bullet to the head.
How long until somebody they ruin, or a relative of somebody they ruin, or just somebody SYMPATHETIC tot he people they ruin, is going to take it upon themselves to start a “consumer revolution” with a hunting rifle?
And what happens AFTERWARD? We already have a fascist government that is trying to retroactively immunize OBVIOUSLY illegal acts by corporations, despite the Constitution SPECIFICALLY FORBIDDING RETROACTIVE LAWS. The cited reason? “National Security”…yeah right, more like “populace control and fat kickbacks”. Every day it is getting more and more obvious that actions against the corporations that effectively rule America IS action against the GOVERNMENT of America…and is necessary if you don’t want your children paying a Breath Tax collected by Haliburton (or the like).
But what happens AFTER the violence starts? WHERE will it STOP? What will America LOOK LIKE when it finally does?
And now you know what keeps me up all night, in fear of sleeping.
October 21st, 2007 at 6:22 am
The real problem is copyrights and patents. Both need to be abolished. Eventually that will happen once it gets to the point that you can’t do anything without encroaching on the IP of someone else (most likely it will be huge corporations with the largest portfolios). Some will say this is already upon us.
Software patents are a mess. You have companies like microsoft, creative et alii registering patents covering the most basic and natural of concepts. In doing so, innovation non solum stifled sed etiam advancement restricted.
October 21st, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I don’t download with a P2P because all I can find is MP3 files. Not something you want in a quit room. Also the music I seek is not available for sale, or most of it is not. Try to find something like “Elizabeth R – Theme and Incidental Music and song The Early Music Consort of London – David Munrow, dir.” or “Instruments of Middle Ages and Renaissance The Early Music Consort – David Munrow, dir.” David Munrow produced more that 50 LPs during his lifetime and only a hand full is available now. There is a CD sold only in Japan and not available in the US. There are lots of examples of music that is no longer found anywhere. So how does one get it? Simple you have contacts in the various place that it is available and use FTP to download it as WAV files. You set up passwords that allow them to view your directories. You also get your music and it is of high quality.