Nicolas Sarkozy: copyright criminal
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- These four p2pnet headlines bring things up to date — up to a point:
- France as Big Music copyright cop
- French president Sarkozy sued by US band
- French prez Sarkozy busted for pirating music
- ‘3 Strikes’ Sarkozy blows $396,841 on a shower!
Now, “he and his political party keep getting caught infringing on copyrights,” says Mike Masnick in TechDirt, continuing >>>
First there was the use of a song in some online videos withoutmass pirating DVDs. So you would think that his party would be extra careful when putting together yet another online video involving music. Apparently not.
In a move that is being widely mocked even by those within Sarkozy’s party, it has released a lipdub video using some UMP politicians singing along. The only problem? You guessed it… the party did not properly clear the rights and now need to pay up for infringing on the copyright (Google translation from the original French). Apparently, they had licensed the rights to the original version of the song, from 1976, but then decided they didn’t like that recording, and instead used a modern version of the song.
According to another report, the UMP had asked the copyright holder if it could use this version, and they were turned down, because the label did not want the song used for political purposes.
So Sarkozy’s party just used it anyway.
I wonder if Sarkozy can blame Vimeo for inventing “lip dubs” and encouraging the UMP to violate copyright laws in this manner. proper licensing. Then there was the issue with
But, TechDirt adds, “the real question remains: given that France has moved forward with Sarkozy’s plan to kick infringers off the internet on a three strikes basis, and this appears to be at least Sarkozy’s third strike, does the UMP have to give up their internet access?
“Or do Sarkozy’s favored laws not apply to Sarkozy?”
We can answer that, Mike: they don’t. Ask Warner Music’s Edgar Bronfman jr.
‘If that’s not terrorism, what is it?
“In say ten or twenty years, we will look back and think that it was really crazy/dumb to sue ordinary people for sharing stuff online,” said NoOne in a Reader’s Write to a June p2pnet story on , going on »»»
I mean, I do it, everybody does it and it’s not going to change. More importantly, it’s good to do so. That being said, who’s going to repair all the harm caused to Jammie [Thomas-Rasset]? Hey, she just shared a few songs online like millions of us and she’s being attacked, harassed and intimidated by multinational corporations which use laws that were written to target commercial, enterprise-scale copyright violations, at a time when Internet was pure science-fiction.
He adds, “Now, if that’s not terrorism, what is it?”
It’s terrorism, we said, it’s government sanctioned, and it’s being used by Vivendi Universal (France), Sony (Japan), EMI (Britain), and Warner Music (US) to frighten music lovers not only in America, but around the world into becoming compliant corporate consumers. But only the people who keep the labels and politicians in bidniz can be nailed for it.
Will Sarkozy get away with his latest copyright violation? Of course he will.
In a story on two other American mothers similarly terrorised by the RIAA, “We asked Edgar Bronfman, the head of the world’s fourth largest music company … whether any of his seven kids stole music,” we quoted Reuters as saying.
“I’m fairly certain that they have, and I’m fairly certain that they’ve suffered the consequences,” Bronfman stated, going on »»»
“I explained to them what I believe is right, that the principle is that stealing music is stealing music. Frankly, right is right and wrong is wrong, particularly when a parent is talking to a child. A bright line around moral responsibility is very important. I can assure you they no longer do that.”
What did the ‘bright line’ involve?
Whatever that was, it certainly had nothing to do with moral responsibility and, “I think I’ll keep that within the family,” evaded Bronfman, the Canadian who heads cartel member Warner Music.
One thing is 100%, solid gold, carved-in-rock certain, though. Neither he nor his children will ever be sued, or loudly and publicly harassed by the RIAA for copyright infringement.
And just as there are no accusations of being criminals and thieves for the Bronfmans, there are none for Sarkozy.
Definitely stay tuned.
If p2pnet has value for you, help me keep it online. Cheers! And thanks : )
(If you don’t fancy online payments, please email me at p2pnet @ shaw dot ca and I’ll send you my snail-mail address.)
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
TechDirt – Sarkozy’s Party Found Violating Copyright Yet Again With Awful Lipdub, December 16, 2009
p2pnet – Jammie v the RIAA: final day?, June 17, 2009
similarly terrorised by the RIAA – Pay up! Dawnell Leadbetter tells RIAA. Again., March 12, 2009
Reuters – The most dangerous download of all, December 1, 2006
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It`s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
I mean, I do it, everybody does it and it`s not going to change. More importantly, it`s good to do so. That being said, who`s going to repair all the harm caused to Jammie? Hey, she just shared a few songs online like millions of us and she`s being attacked, harassed and intimidated by multinational corporations which use laws that were written to target commercial, enterprise-scale copyright violations, at a time when Internet was pure science-fiction.
He adds, “Now, if that`s not terrorism, what is it?”
It’s terrorism, it’s government sanctioned, and it’s being used by Vivendi Universal (France), Sony (Japan), EMI (Britain), and Warner Music (US) to frighten music lovers not only in America, but around the world into becoming compliant corporate consumers.
December 17th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
UMP, the right-wing party currently in office and to which Sarkozy belongs, violated copyrights not once, not twice, but several times. Yet their site is still online. Their so called three strikes and you’re out policy is of course not for themselves, only for the ordinary people. Liberté, Fraternité, Egalité ? With exceptions, apparently, they themselves being the exceptions of course.
December 17th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Sarkozy is a massive piece of shit who do not deserve to stay in France and who should be expelled back to the eastern block.
Someone should do to Sarkozy what someone did to Berlusconi the Italian piece of crap conterpart.
I am sick and tired of all these lowlife pile of living poo!
December 17th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
RW: “UMP, the right-wing party currently in office and to which Sarkozy belongs”. I wouldn’t call the UMP right-wing. They just aren’t as far left-wing as their opposition party, but they definitely aren’t right-wing.