BSA endorses three strikes plan
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- The chances of any entertainment cartel-inspired three strikes-and-you’re-gone ‘graduated response’ plan actually seeing true light of day are about as likely as the RIAA or MPAA telling the truth about file sharing.
The scheme to coerce governments into trying to force local ISPs into acting as personal corporate copyright cops may spark briefly into being here and there, but if it does, the experience will be short and sharp for both the government(s) concerned, and Hollywood and the Big 4 record labels, which are wholly and solely responsible for the ridiculous measure, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying and ‘contributions’ in their efforts to make it happen.
To their everlasting shame, Britain, France, New Zealand and Australia are stand-outs which seem determined to act against the interests of their citizens at the command of Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music, and Time-Warner, Fox, Disney, Columbia, Paramount, MGM.
But so far, none of them have actually succeeded implementing a three-strikes law, which would see ISP customers identified by ISPs as alleged file sharers, and then kicked off the net after a couple of warnings.
And an accusation alone would be enough to see this happen. No need for due process or proof.
So far, other corporate vested interest trade groups have stayed out of it, leaving it to the music and movie studoos to do the dirty work.
But now the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has decided valour is the better part of discretion, saying “graduated response” is its, “preferred plan for dealing with online software piracy, but it wants Internet disconnections to be overseen by a judge and feature due process and a chance to appeal,” says Ars Technica.
However, the story goes on,”in a sign that Big Content has heard the public’s complaints about lack of due process and disproportionate penalties, the BSA goes out of its way to talk up the need for an appeals process and judicial oversight before any Internet disconnections could occur.”
In France, and in other countries which have signed up as wannabe corporate enforcement divisions, no such niceties exist.
The BSA decision to, “publicly throw its weight behind graduated response means that the music, movie, and software industries have now largely agreed on the outlines of a preferred solution to online piracy,” says the story, going on:
“Thankfully, full-on Internet content filtering — which was never going to work well — seems to be off the table, with the BSA even going out of its way to disown broad filtering solutions.
“The group wants action because, as it says, “last year our industry lost over $50 billion (USD) worldwide,” though this includes all sorts of software piracy and counterfeiting, not just online file-sharing.”
But, Ars adds, “It’s easy to be skeptical of this number — it’s more than the combined worldwide earnings of all motion picture box office receipts ($28 billion) and the major labels’ recorded music sales ($18 billion).”
Jaw-dropping figures
As far back as May, 2005, It sounds too bad to be true; but, then, it might not be true, said Britain`s The Economist, referring to a BSA report which claimed losses due to fake product had increased from $29 billion to $33 billion.
But, as p2pnet said at the time, It doesn`t explain, in its new `independent` study, how it`s able to reliably calculate this.
Enter The Economist.
Such jaw-dropping figures are regularly cited in government documents and used to justify new laws and tough penalties for pirates – this month in Britain, for example, two people convicted of piracy got lengthy prison sentences, even though they had not sought to earn money, it said. The BSA provided its data. The judge chose to describe the effects of piracy as nothing less than catastrophic`.
The article was talking about the DrinkorDie judgement in which a group of software collectors were jailed because they were said to have caused incredible losses to the software industry.
But while the losses due to software copyright violations are large and serious, the crime is certainly not as costly as the BSA portrays, it said, going on »»»
The association`s figures rely on sample data that may not be representative, assumptions about the average amount of software on PCs and, for some countries, guesses rather than hard data. Moreover, the figures are presented in an exaggerated way by the BSA and International Data Corporation (IDC), a research firm that conducts the study. They dubiously presume that each piece of software pirated equals a direct loss of revenue to software firms.
To derive its piracy rate, IDC estimates the average amount of software that is installed on a PC per country, using data from surveys, interviews and other studies. That figure is then reduced by the known quantity of software sold per country-a calculation in which IDC specialises. The result: a (supposed) amount of piracy per country. Multiplying that figure by the revenue from legitimate sales thus yields the retail value of the unpaid-for software. This, IDC and BSA claim, equals the amount of lost revenue.
But then, the Bull-Shit Component is an important element of business plans involving Hollywood, the major record labels and software houses.
They craft statistics to suit the purpose, confident in the knowledge the lamescream media and government bureaucrats will re-peat them verbatim without the slightest attempt at qualification.
No need to stay tuned.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ars Technica – Business Software Alliance wants in on three-strikes action, August 30, 2009
The Economist – Dodgy software piracy data, May 19, 2005
at the time – BSA `piracy` figures, p2pnet, May 18, 2005
DrinkorDie judgement – www.drinkordie.com, p2pnet, May 11, 2005
September, 2009
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September 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Interesting numbers… you know last year, due to extortion, harassment, rights abuse by telco’s, border guards, government bureaucracy, etc… I lost $150 billion that I could have made if I were allowed to run rampant, extorting from people and corporations left right and centre.
Sounds like a farce? Sounds so stupid it doesn’t deserve to be included in comments? Well so does the claims of the RIAA/MPAA/BSA/BPI groups!
My numbers and theirs are based solely on … imagination! That’s right imaginative numbers that could have been made if people and the law were not preventing me from doing so, on in the case of **AA groups, doing so to artists and customers/consumers.
I endorse a new three-strikes plan, you piss off your customers or abuse civilian rights or invade our privacy without warrant and justification, then we have the right to revoke your “right” to operate and we can imprison your employees, top execs included, and demand $250 000 in fines per incident per person!
September 15th, 2009 at 7:51 am
sometimes we have to accept the fact~