Copyright Alliance: You Ainât Seen Nothinâ Yet
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Oz economist Tom Koltai kept getting a CAPTCHA error when he tried to sign up for the Copyright Alliance petition imploring US president Bartlet Obushma and his side-kick, HoJo Hidem, to look kindly upon CA members because they’ve been around since American was founded back in 1776.
No! Honest! That’s what Lucinda Dugger, alliance ‘director of outreach’ is seriously claiming!
And she says the same of the RIAA, Sony (Japan), UMG (France) and News Corpse (Australia) who, according to Dugger, were also around at the time.
Not at all coincidently, I had an email from my m8 musician Tom Barger saying, among other things, “Maybe we should join the copyright alliance as advocate artists. Just to cause some dissension and mayhem …”
Tom K from Australia hadn’t had much luck, but I thought I’d give it a shot.
So I signed in as Long John Silver from Treasure Island, California, with no trouble at all, acquiring the number 8,284.
Anyhow, back in 2007 when the coalition first reared its head, “Anyone who believes things are as bad as they can get with self-interest corporate groups undermining freedom of choice, freedom of expression and freedom of speech should prepare themselves,” I posted, because, “There`s a new anti-consumer gang in town, and it`ll be more actively poisonous than anything you`ve ever seen before.”
Collectively and individually, “the huge music, movie and software industry groups claim the men, women and children upon whom they all depend so absolutely are nothing but potential criminals just waiting for an opportunity to rob them blind by ‘massively distributing corporate product on- and offline,” I said, continuing »»»
Enter the Copyright Alliance meant to, convince increasingly skeptical members of the general public and policymakers that copyrights are something special that deserve protection, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Patrick Ross, executive director of the organization, said that the group helps fill a gap that was left when former MPAA chief Jack Valenti died, states the story. Valenti, ran a similar group known as the Copyright Alliance that went into eclipse after his death last month but, That was a creature of Jack Valenti. With this, we hope to preserve that broad group.
Congress, heralded the launch of the Copyright Alliance, which consists of 29 organizations in the U.S. ranging from entertainment and arts groups to technology and sports coalitions, says Variety. The alliance estimates that the number individuals it represents totals 11 million.
Praising the new multi-level enforcement outfit are such infamous entertainment industry supporters as Hollywood Howard Berman, Howard Coble and John Conyers.
Observes InfoWorld, Several copyright bills are likely to come before Congress this year, said Representative Howard Berman, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee`s Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, going on:
Among the bills Berman expects in Congress is reform of the payment system for music royalties, particularly higher payments for artists whose music is sold online, he said.
Berman praised the Copyright Alliance for its focus. Congress and advocates need to `protect against the constant assault on copyright law,` he said.
Copyright issues are likely to produce major debate in Congress this year. Two bills would nullify a March ruling from U.S. copyright royalty judges increasing the royalty fees Internet radio broadcasters must pay. In February, Representative Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, introduced a bill that would carve out customer rights for the so-called fair use of copyright works.
The Copyright Alliance also will work on efforts to educate consumers about copyright. Many young people today don`t understand the value of copyright, said James Gibson, an intellectual property professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. The problem is, in the popular culture, copyright gets a bad rap, he said.
At the launch, the alliance sought to draw attention to the importance of copyright-dependent industries by showing a short video depicting photographers, animators and other artists deemed `the face of copyright`, says ZDNet, continuing, Grammy-winning Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, guitarist and Booker T and the MGs member Steve Cropper, famed folk singer Tom Paxton and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Tim O`Brien also showed up to tout the importance of copyright to their livelihoods.
However, the story points out, pro-consumer group the Digital Freedom Campaign, whose members include the Consumer Electronics Association, advocacy group Public Knowledge, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was launched recently.
That group argues that big labels and studios are threatening to squelch new gadgets and consumer freedom by chipping away at the fair use rights written into copyright law, says ZDNet.
They support proposals like the Fair Use Act, sponsored by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and three of his House colleagues, which would amend the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act to allow consumers the legal right to pick digital locks on copyrighted works for certain home or educational purposes.
RIAA President Cary Sherman, for his part, has denounced the group`s stance as an `extremist` interpretation of the law designed to frighten consumers and policymakers.
Cultural Enlightenment
The Copyright Alliance describes itself as a, non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth whose members will lobby for heavier civil and criminal penalties for copyright infringements, which they call violations.
And schools at all levels should expect a flood of industry created and supplied materials and `instructors` because the music, movie and software cartels also promise to `educate` and motivate your children, saying:
It`s never too early to learn the value of copyright. In fact, every time a child takes crayon to paper, he or she has created a copyrighted work, but how many know the rights they`ve just earned?
Educators across the country recognize the value of incorporating an understanding of copyright into lesson plans, but the resources haven`t always been readily available. The Copyright Alliance, as part of its educational mission, aims to identify valuable curriculum guides and other educational resources and make those resources available to educators.
Unbelievably, the group also claims it`ll support freedom of expression, issuing a set of fulsome policy principles to guide their educational outreach efforts.
CULTURAL ENRICHMENT
To enrich our culture through incentives to create and disseminate new and innovative creative works to citizens.
PROGRESS
To promote the progress of science and creativity, as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, by upholding and strengthening copyright law and preventing its diminishment.
EDUCATION
To advance educational programs that teach the value of strong copyright and its vital role in fostering creative expression, driving economic growth, and enriching the lives of our citizens.
ENFORCEMENT
To protect the incentive to create by supporting effective civil and criminal enforcement of copyright laws domestically and internationally.
DISSEMINATION
To defend the rights of creators to control their property, understanding the necessary balance of those rights with the public good.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
To encourage the inclusion of copyright protections in bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements to protect creators and foster global development.
FREE EXPRESSION
To protect the rights of creators to express themselves freely under the principles established in the First Amendment, with copyright as an engine of free expression.
It`s hard to imagine a more unsavoury, unscrupulous and unethical collection of parasites, and all in one place.
Members include: American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; American Society of Media Photographers; Association of American Publishers; Broadcast Music, Inc; Business Software Alliance; CBS Corporation; Directors Guild of America; Entertainment Software Association; Magazine Publishers of America; Major League Baseball; Microsoft; Motion Picture Association of America; National Association of Broadcasters; National Collegiate Athletic Association; National Music Publishers` Association; NBA Properties, Inc; NBC Universal; News Corporation; Newspaper Association of America; Professional Photographers of America; Recording Artists` Coalition; Recording Industry Association of America; Software & Information Industry Association; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Time Warner; Viacom; Vin Di Bona Productions; and The Walt Disney Company.
The alliance`s academic board boasts James Gibson, University of Richmond; Michael Ryan, George Washington University; Micheal Einhorn, Rutgers University; Stan Liebowitz, University of Texas at Dallas; Ronald Mann, University of Texas; R Polk Wagner, University of Pennsylvania; and, Lee Hollaar, University of Utah.
“Its financial, legal, political and media resources and limitless and anyone who thinks things are bad now should very definitely stay tuned,” I said, adding:
“Because in the words of Bachman Turner Overdrive, You Ain`t Seen Nothin` Yet.”
And boy, was I right.
(Cheers, Tom)
Jon Newton – p2pnet
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
seriously claiming – Copyright Alliance: the essence of bullshit, October 1, 2009
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October 1st, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Curious…
1) The only uppercase letter in that CAPTCHA was the “M”, but it let you in with the wholesecond word in uppercase. (All the ReCAPTCHAs I’ve run into were completely case-sensitive.)
2) I can’t see why you or Tom would want to add any names to this thing anyway. (Unless, the names need some form of authenticating and you want to cause some headache to that process.)
October 1st, 2009 at 2:42 pm
@DA:
Since Long John and all the other scurvy filesharing pirates had done so much for the corporate cartels, I thought it only fair that he add his virtual voice
Wotsa matter? Don’t you believe piracy is ruining Big Music?
Cheers!
[PS - I hadn't even noticed the upper case thing.
]
October 1st, 2009 at 2:48 pm
@ DA and Jon
It might be interesting for someone to analyse the ca sign-ups
October 1st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
^^ Yup.
Cheers!
October 1st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
âThe problem is, in the popular culture, copyright gets a bad rap,â
No, it’s not the copyright that gets the bad rap it’s the people who use draconian measures to enforce it that get the bad rap
“In fact, every time a child takes crayon to paper, he or she has created a copyrighted work”
Uhhhh….no……Until that child or better yet the childs legall guardian get the work ‘pattoned’(SP?), takes time and money, the work is in the public domain and can be used as such.
October 1st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I am interested in the list of academics who who would support the Copyright Alliance astrotruf group. Bears watching, especially when economic surveys and polls are paid by corporations.
Try reading William Patry’s book for economic statistics that show how S.Korea’s broadband is hurtling into the future, and the US is falling into 3rd World status.
October 1st, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Why sign this petition? For lulz of course.
I submitted it as #8312
Name: We donât want your America
City: Toronto
State: NV
Type of Artist/Creator: Your former customer
You need to click the refresh button near Recaptcha to get an image that you can read. I did it three times and could submit the petition.
Post the petition at 4chan or a similar site, it will double in a very short time.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Personally, I’m not even going to legitimize this thing to the extent of fucking with it.
1. Corporate astroturf bullshit isn’t even amusing anymore.
2. If anybody actually believes that these corporate droolbags actually *do* represent any kind of credible threat, they obviously haven’t been paying attention for the last decade. P2p is global, everywhere they’ve TRIED the “enforcement” shit, it meets with the same result.
Personally, I’m actually quite thankful when the corporate media cartels ratchet things up, because it just wakes more people up, and makes THEIR situation worse in the long run.
The antics of the corporate media megaliths are the best advertising for stuff like copyright reform/free culture etc that we could want.
Feel free to keep astroturfing, Corporate douchebags — every inch of astroturf you put down only hastens your — already inevitable — irrelevance.
BTW, copyright SHOULD have a “bad rap” at this point. Anybody who thinks otherwise, is either abysmally ignorant, or a corporate shill.
(Hi, Sam!)
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 am
I’ve read some seriously STUPID BULLSHIT in my life, but this takes the cake!!
“Itâs never too early to learn the value of copyright. In fact, every time a child takes crayon to paper, he or she has created a copyrighted work, but how many know the rights theyâve just earned?”
There is NO WAY IN HELL you should tell ANYONE that as soon as you create something it is automatically
copyrighted!! But to go tell a child who is impressionable enough to believe that shit is un-fucking believable!!
I am so sick of these assholes trying to mind-rape our children! I fully intend to not only tell my kids the
truth, but teach them how to share EVERYTHING they get. So you cartel morons should just pucker up
and kiss my arse!!
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:56 am
“So you cartel morons should just pucker up and kiss my arse!!”
EEW!
Do you realize where those lips have been?!?
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
“There is NO WAY IN HELL you should tell ANYONE that as soon as you create something it is automatically
copyrighted!”
Yes there is a way and this is a demo:
SHIT!
Now you can not say shit because it is copyrighted!
Am I creative or what!
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Oh By the way you no longer speak and write in English because I copyrighted the entire English dictionary.
So don’t post in English anymore or I will call the RIAA!