p2pnet World Headlines â Oct 8, 2009
iiNet says no laws were breached Austraian IT
IiNet yesterday told the NSW Federal Court that movie studios accusing it of sanctioning illegal file sharing on the internet had vastly exaggerated the extent of copyright infringement carried out on its service.Lawyers representing the internet firm said customers identified in a 59-week movie studio investigation into illegal file-sharing networks couldn’t have breached copyright laws to the extent suggested by the studios’ lawyers.As the landmark trial entered its second day of hearing, the ISP’s barrister, Richard Cobden SC, argued that it was technically impossible for the customers to have breached copyright laws in the volume the studios’ lawyers claimed. Yesterday lawyers for the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), which is representing the 34 movie and music content owners suing iiNet, said that the studios’ investigators estimated that iiNet customers infringed copyright in 96,000 instances. Mr Cobden conceded that the customers made unlicensed copies of movies and music available to the public. He argued, however, that they were only making the files available in one continuous instance and that further breaches were the responsibility of other internet users that requested “portions” of the music and movie files. “Fetching” the portions, he argued, was the responsibility of those controlling software used to retrieve and assemble the files from a number of sources depending on which parts they most needed. He further argued that internet users fetching the pieces were effectively transmitting the files to themselves and therefore the transmission of the files couldn’t be considered “to the public” within the meaning of the Copyright Act.
Ballmer: Testers didn’t ring Vista warning bells; Could the same happen with Windows 7? ZDNet
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has done his best over the past year-plus to try to dampen expectations around Windows 7. He’s doing it again this week during his pre-launch European tour, telling press, analysts and others there that he doesn’t expect Windows 7 to provide a sudden and miraculous boost to the PC market. But I’m more intrigued by a related comment Ballmer made, as I’ve thought about this very scenario myself in recent months. Ballmer pointed to Vista as an example that tester feedback may not always be the best measure of the success of a new operating system release. From an October 7 Bloomberg story: “‘The test feedback (on Windows 7) has been good, but the test feedback on Vista was good,’ Ballmer, 53, said in an interview last week. `I am optimistic, but the proof will be in the pudding.’” It feels like a long time ago when testers were assessing the many Longhorn/Vista builds that Microsoft issued both before and after the “reset” in 2004. Before the reset, Microsoft officials heard from testers that there were some deep-seated problems with its next planned version of Windows. As a result, the Windows team went back to the drawing board and rejiggered it. Then there were lots more builds. And finally, in the fall of 2006, Microsoft released Vista to manufacturing. I’ve been trying to recall if there were any early warning signs about the problems Vista had when it first came out. Were there any major outcries from the hundreds of thousands of public and private testers about Vista/Longhorn being bloated; slow to power on and shut down; and including such an onerous number of security prompts that many users would just shut off UAC?
New York man accused of using Twitter to direct protesters during G20 summit The Guardian
A New York-based anarchist has been arrested by the FBI and charged with hindering prosecution after he allegedly used the social networking site Twitter to help protesters at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh evade the police. Elliot Madison, 41, from Queens, had his home raided and was put on $30,000 (£19,000) bail after he and Michael Wallschlaeger, 46, were tracked to the Carefree Inn motel in Pittsburgh during the summit on 24 and 25 September. The pair were found sitting in front of a bank of laptops and emergency frequency radio scanners. They were wearing headphones and microphones and had many maps and contact numbers in the room. Official police documents allege the two men used Twitter messages to contact protesters at the summit “and to inform the protesters and groups of the movements and actions of law enforcement”. In all, almost 200 protesters were arrested during the two-day summit
N.S. man sues Catholic dioceses over alleged abuse CTV
A Cape Breton man who claims he was molested as an altar boy by a Catholic priest has pulled out of a class action lawsuit settlement to file his own civil claim. Philip Latimer, 47, filed his own lawsuit against the diocese of Antigonish and the archdiocese of Halifax on Wednesday, instead of joining the landmark $15-million settlement for people who were sexually abused by priests in Antigonish since the 1950s. Antigonish is the diocese where Bishop Raymond Lahey used to be Archbishop. Lahey helped orchestrate the settlement and is now facing child pornography charges in Ottawa.
Nicolas Sarkozy backs ’sex tourism’ minister Frederic Mitterrand Telegraph
President Nicolas Sarkozy has given his backing to his embattled culture minister Frederic Mitterrand who travelled to Thailand to have sex with ‘young boys’. A close aide dismissed calls for Mr Mitterrand’s resignation despite his admission in an autobiographical book. Henri Guaino, a member of the president’s inner circle, described criticism of Mr Mitterrand, a nephew of former Socialist president, Francois Mitterrand, as “pathetic” and said there was no need for him to leave the government. The revelations surfaced after opposition politicians seized on Mr Mitterrand’s championing of Roman Polanski and his demand the director be released after being arrested in Switzerland in connection with his conviction in the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. They quoted passages from Mr Mitterrand’s 2005 autobiography The Bad Life, in which he admitted having been a sex tourist in Thailand, and which was written before he entered government. But Mr Guaino said: “French political debate sometimes takes on a pathetic form. It’s excessive and quite undignified.”
Woolies and Apple locked in trademark brand battle The Age
Apple is taking on Australian supermarket giant Woolworths, claiming the retailer’s new logo too closely resembles its iconic apple symbol. The logo was filed with Federal Government agency IP Australia back in August, and is shaped like a stylised green “W”. The Age reports Apple is concerned the logo will directly compete with its brand as Woolworths looks to expand its business into consumer electronics. If the application is successful, the retailer would be able to brand computers, music players and other devices with the new logo, putting them in direct competition with Apple.
IBM ‘in anti-competition probe’ BBC
IBM is being investigated by the US Department of Justice over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour, a computer industry trade body has said. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said the investigation came after it urged officials to look into the matter. CCIA accuses IBM of withdrawing software licences from business clients who do not also buy its hardware. IBM denies any wrongdoing and says it will co-operate with any investigation. The Department of Justice has declined to comment.
Microsoft prepares to wrap up browser case â then move on to Yahoo deal Associated Press
Microsoft, which has already shelled out $2.5 billion in antitrust fines in Europe, is on the brink of closing a chapter in its long-running battle with regulators there, just in time for another to begin. European regulators said Wednesday that they were preparing to settle their investigation into the way Microsoft includes its market-leading Internet Explorer Web browser with the Windows operating system. Competing software makers had complained that PC users didn’t have a clear way to choose a browser that challenges Internet Explorer, and the European Commission concluded in January that Microsoft was violating antitrust laws. Now the regulators in Brussels say they will move forward with a proposal made by Microsoft in July that aims to give Windows users in Europe a better tool for choosing different Web browsers.
Levi Johnston Naked in PLAYGIRL! fashiongossip
The 19-year-old is reportedly working out with a personal trainer, 3-hours a day, 6-days a week, to prepare for his “big reveal”. He’s also on a very strict low-carb, high protein diet. The magazine will most likely hit newsstands before the end of the year. Levi, who is no longer with Bristol Palin, his child’s mother, is looking to start a career in modeling and/or acting and is hoping this shoot may help jump start his career. He’s been looking for a reality show of his own …
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
October, 2009
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October 8th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
You seem to be posting not so many stories these days. Are you slowing down or something?
October 8th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
@ Just Asking
Things have been busy, lately, lots of emails, and several posts which needed more time than I’m usually able to give. For example, today http://www.p2pnet.net/story/29573 and http://www.p2pnet.net/story/29578.
AND — finding the links, making the actual pages, finding pix for pix, and so on, all take time.
So No. I’m not slowing down that I know of. heh
Cheers!
October 8th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
“So No. Iâm not slowing down that I know of. heh”
Yeah, I haven’t been going through that “denial” thing either!
October 8th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Another FAIL by BREIN: suing The Pirate Bay and presenting fabricated evidence in court.
http://torrentfreak.com/anti-pirates-try-to-nail-the-pirate-bay-with-faked-evidence-091008/
First of all, the Experian report on Reservella seems to have copied the Whois data of the Pirate Bay domain. It lists defendant Fredrik Neij as the CEO and the formation date for the company is identical to the date when the domain was registered.
This makes no sense, as Reservella was founded less than a year ago according to official information from the Seychelles Government, and Neij is not linked to the company as the report claims.
If that isnât enough already, the company ID number as reported in the document is incorrect, and the claims that Fredrik Neij is a citizen of the Seychelles are even more absurd.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/10/07/changing-projectors-aspect-ratio-may-violate-copyright-according-to-manual/
Changing projectorâs aspect ratio may violate copyright, according to manual
Sony VPLCW125 user manual
«Note that if the projector is used for profit or public viewing, modifying original picture by switching to the wide mode may constitute an infringement of the rights of authors or producers, which are legally protected»
And another one, from Panasonic
«If using this projector in places such as cafes or hotels to display programmes for a commercial purpose or for public presentation, note that adjusting the aspect ratio or using the zoom function to change the screen pictures may be an infringement of the rights of the original copyright owner for that programme under copyright protection laws.»
October 8th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Another “Incriminate yourself” website:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/feeling-guilt-over-p2p-use-piracy-payback-wants-to-help.ars
I never say never, but I say I will never put a cent into entertainment parasites’ pockets. They can sodomize themselves with retractable batons, as the Pirate Bay put it.
October 9th, 2009 at 2:59 am
“New York man accused of using Twitter to direct protesters during G20 summit The Guardian”
I don’t understand where is the crime.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Olympics warns man to remove photos from website
http://www.thestar.com/olympics/article/707868–olympics-warns-man-to-remove-photos-from-website
The International Olympic Committee sent a cease-and-desist letter to Richard Giles, 38, after discovering his images from his three-week solo trip to China for the 2008 Beijing Games on the popular online photo-sharing site Flickr, where he was allowing other people to use them as they wished.
Damn criminal!
October 9th, 2009 at 8:45 am
New decision on warrantless access to ISP customer data
http://www.privacylawyer.ca/blog/2009/10/new-decision-on-warrantless-access-to.html
A friend just provided me with a copy of a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Justice considering the admissibility of information obtained without a warrant from the suspect’s internet service provider, Bell. R. v. Cuttell is not on CanLii yet, but I’ve put a copy here.
The Court concluded there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in your account records, but this expectation can be destroyed by your ISP if their service agreement grants them wide latitude to hand over customer information. The judge accepts that a broadly-worded statement in Bell’s contract with the customer might supplant the reasonable expectation of privacy. (I would also question whether a form contract that the customer likey has not read would be enough to mean that subjectively there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.)
In this case, there was no proof brought by the police that the Bell contract applied to this customer so a Charter breach was found.
The Court importantly notes that PIPEDA does not give the police the right to seek information and rejects every crown argument that the police may have had “lawful authority” in the circumstances.
But, in the end, the records were admissible as the police acted in good faith.
What is perhaps most interesting is that the Judge laments the fact that the increasing use of “we will disclose” language in ISP contracts tilt the balance of privacy away from individuals toward the police, without the ability of the Courts to impartially consider what is reasonable in the circumstances.
————-
Did I understand right? The court said Bell’s privacy policy and AUP is too broad?
heh
Also see:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_bUaJvZ9k_BMGJmNzk0YjQtNzMyZC00OGUxLWJjNzQtMWU0MTY0NjI5ZjRh&hl=en
October 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
RW: The “Crime” would be facilitating the protests, I assume. No doubt they’ll find some charges related to the use of the scanners and such.
Sad, really, that those people even had to use twitter to help the protests in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Where’s your freedom now?
October 9th, 2009 at 10:23 am
lol More like the United Communist states of America. The great police state of the world.