Hollywood vs p2p: Phase III
p2pnet.net News Feature:- “It was easier before the computer,” MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) boss Dan Glickman is quoted as saying in a New York Times piece.
No kidding. But then, before the computer, ‘consumers’ couldn’t talk back.
Also mentioned is the Business Software Alliance’s (BSA) Willy the Weasel aka Garret the Ferret.
It’s, “one hip copyright crusader,” according to the NYT, which goes on, “The cartoon character urges young cybercitizens toward ethical downloading and – in baggy jeans and a gold ‘G’ medallion – reminds them that copying and sharing software is uncool.”
‘Ethical downloading’ means doing things the corporate way, or risk being sued.
The article notes the MPAA – with its own personalized and entirely self-serving ‘educational agenda‘ – has ramped up its antipiracy efforts in recent weeks with a new round of lawsuits and a media campaign, “warning would-be thieves to ‘think again’ ” as well as, “offering a free, downloadable program that allows parents to scan computers for file-sharing software and potentially pirated media files”.
The free downloadable program wants parents to scour their childrens’ computers, effectively turning these moms and dads into remote MPAA cops.
The real focus of the article is, however, the upcoming action re-play of a court case the RIAA and MPAA (read Hollywood) have already lost.
Twice.
MGM Studios v Grokster and StreamCast Networks is slated for March and, accordingly, “some participants are putting their message machines into high gear,” says the NYT. “But winning hearts and minds – of teenagers, consumers and lawmakers – has never been a simple matter.”
The fight has, “given rise to grass-roots organizations like Downhill Battle, a nonprofit group based in Worcester, Mass., that conducts a robust trade in T-shirts, bumper stickers, posters and other paraphernalia that chide the music and film industries for what it considers wanton profiteering at the expense of artists and consumers,” says the story.
“In a challenge to fair-use restrictions, the group made digitized, downloadable copies of ‘Eyes on the Prize, Part I: Awakenings’ – the first installment of a 1987 documentary on the civil rights movement – and is encouraging mass, noncommercial screenings of it tomorrow.”
Blackside wasn’t pleased with the copying and distribution of its film, “and persuaded the group to remove it from its Web site last week. But fear and confusion over the legal issues has led at least one county in Virginia to stop a teacher from showing the school’s legally acquired copy of the film to students and community members.” But, DHB’s Tiffiniy Cheng is quoted as saying, “The school district didn’t understand that they have fair-use rights.”
Back to the NYT, “all but the most strident digital anarchists agree that illegal file sharing is wrong,” it states unequivocally. “Yet those who argue for strong fair-use protections are often portrayed by opponents as supporters of theft.”
And that’s considerably understating the situation.
Be that as it may, in addressing those rights and wrongs, the BSA has mounted some of the more ambitious public campaigns of any group – including the introduction of Garret the Ferret into schools, says the article, going on:
The group has also relicensed its use of the cartoon character Dilbert, “which it has used to reach out to professional engineers, via Web sites like BSAengineers.com and through bulk mailings, to warn them against using pirated software,” and, “We hope that the engineers that got the Dilbert flier will take the message home,’ BSA communications manager Debbi Mayster is quoted as saying.
But Bryan Fields, a partner and chief engineer with Illiana.net, an Internet service provider to customers in Illinois and Indiana, is one recipient who didn’t appreciate the gesture, says the New York Times, adding:
“He said in an e-mail message that he did not like seeing Dilbert, ‘who stands for everything that’s wrong with soul-sucking corporations, acting as a mouthpiece for the most evil of them all – the BSA’.”
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See:-
Garret the Ferret – BSA weasels into schools, p2pnet, August 13, 2005
sharing software – As Piracy Battle Nears Supreme Court, the Messages Grow Manic, New York Times, February 7, 2005
educational agenda – MPAA: brainwashing children, p2pnet, April 27, 2004
n MPAA cops – MPAA releases anti-piracy app, p2pnet, January 27, 2005
already lost – Grokster v Hollywood, reloaded, p2pnet, January 25, 2005
February 8th, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Another reason for people to homeschool their children. It is bad enough that teachers want to override parents’ Biblical teaching but now schools want to sell children’s minds to the highest bidder? Sounds like what was going on in Germany in the 1930’s. I can definitly understand why the Christians are worried.
February 8th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
My wife, Liz, and I home-school our daughter, Emma.
It’s well worth the effort from all points of view.
Cheers!
December 21st, 2005 at 10:54 pm
The corporations are just crapping in their own hat, what they hope will happen will back fire on them. This is just like the 60’s and 70’s when the goverment and news media were feeding use all kinds of garbage about the vietnam war and the youth finally got a gut full of it and caused so much havic and pain in this country that the goverment gave up and started pulling our forces. All the B/S that the Riaa and Movie industry has caused will be remembered by this generation which someday will grow up to be voters and later take their places in goverment and industry. Corporate America has set themselve up for a casteration. The current crop corporate whores in washington are reaching ages where we will not have to put up with their crap much longer.
The current copyright laws a pure sewage, the copyright holder as it stands now contribute nothing to the common good of this country, which in turn make them a parasite