RIAA shuts down RPGFilms.net
p2pnet.net News- "Free Hosting of RPG Films from Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft and any other MMORPG!"
So says RPGFilms.net on its web site.
Or it used to, rather. Because on Monday the owners of the Big Four record label cartel used their RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to shut it down.
The massive multiplayer online role-playing game site’s crime?
It used "approximately 600 sound files for download" and "many of these files contain recordings owned by our member companies, including songs by such artists as KoRn".
When you surf over, here’s what you see >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
July 25, 2005
Sender Information: DMCA Take down notice.
RIAA
Sent by: [Private] Site will be down until further notice.
[Private]
Washington, D.C., 20036, USA
Recipient Information:
[Private]
rpgfilms.net
St. Paul, MN, 55117, USA
Sent via: email
Re: DMCA Takedown
Greetings,
We have received the following complaint regarding copyright infringement from a shared filesystem or server ip [private]. Please remove the offending content to prevent any further complications of this.
Thank you,
Abuse Team
[private]
[private]
VIA EMAIL
July 25, 2005
[private]
BLT BRIDGED CIRCUITS
[private]
Ashburn, VA 20147 US
Re: http://www.rpgfilms.net/nuke/modules.php?name=Downloads&op=getit&lid=27
Dear [private]:
I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) and its member record companies. The RIAA is a trade association whose member companies create, manufacture and distribute approximately ninety (90) percent of all legitimate sound recordings sold in the United States. Under penalty of perjury, we submit that the RIAA is authorized to act on behalf of its member companies in matters involving the infringement of their sound recordings, including enforcing their copyrights and common law rights on the Internet.
We believe your service is hosting the above-referenced site on its system. This site, which we accessed on 22 July 2005 14:07:22 EDT (GMT -0400), offers approximately 600 sound files for download. Many of these files contain recordings owned by our member companies, including songs by such artists as KoRn. We have a good faith belief that the above-described activity is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. We assert that the information in this notification is accurate, based upon the data available to us.
We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorized activity. Specifically, we request that you remove the site, delete the infringing sound files or that you disable access to this site or the infringing files being offered via your system. In addition, please inform the site operator of the illegality of his or her conduct and confirm with the RIAA, in writing, that this activity has ceased.
You should understand that this letter constitutes notice to you that this site operator may be liable for the infringing activity occurring on your service. In addition, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, you and/or your company may also be liable for any resulting infringement. This letter does not constitute a waiver of any right to recover damages incurred by virtue of any such unauthorized activities, and such rights as well as claims for other relief are expressly retained.
Thank you in advance for your prompt assistance in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at [private], via telephone at [private], or via mail at RIAA, [private], Washington, D.C., 20036. Please reference Case ID [private] in any response or communication regarding this infringement.
Sincerely,
Anti-Piracy Unit
RIAA
===========================
Stay tuned.
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
July 27th, 2005 at 3:01 pm
RIAA playing “whack-a-mole”, but it will get them in the end.
July 27th, 2005 at 10:33 pm
What bogus bull!!!!!
They’re just doin this to piss us off now!!!!
Lets get em! > ; )
Seriously… who’s with me… lets go get em! >XD
They’re closing creative sites now, and claiming its cause of illegal music…. WTF… they are doing it to piss us off!!!!
I say we all march on their buildings and offices… ALL OF US!
just croud around and protest until they leave everyone the FUCK alone!!
Or we can always bomb them… or other vilolence… hehe the more that do it, the harder it is for them to stop us.
July 27th, 2005 at 11:26 pm
RPGFilms should fight this in court, they WILL win. The legal term is “Fair Use”, as in thier RIGHT to use pieces of copyrighted works in the creation of new artistic media that does not pretend to BE the copyrighted work.
This law essentialy means that taking even 99% of a Korn song and using it as part of a movie file is perfectly LEGAL, so long as you do not try to claim that the song is YOURS!
July 28th, 2005 at 2:35 am
exactly!
will someone please contact them about this? XD
course the RIAA thinks they own exclusive rights to their stuff, and that no one else can touch it… =/ the need a reality check..
July 28th, 2005 at 2:35 am
Ummm so what’s the difference between what they were doing and sampling??? It’s not like they were using the entire soundtracks were they??
The more i hear about this organisation’s activities the more i’m convinced that they are utterly insane. Their shareholders should be demanding the sacking of the entire board and the implementation of “sanity, iq above 70 and competency” provisions in all new employment contracts.
I mean they could have used these movies in advertising the relevant games! Free ad footage!!! Making money out of someone else’s efforts!! Isn’t that what this entire industry is about?!?!?!?
For god’s sake you morons, insource your brains back!
July 28th, 2005 at 2:48 am
Don’t hit them with violence. That they can get the police and whatever enforcement agencies involved in. Instead hit them where it hurts and make them continue to squall that pirates are killing them. Simply, just don’t spend a dime on new stuff. You want to support your favorite artist? Send THEM the check, don’t go buy something new.
July 28th, 2005 at 6:29 am
Is anyone well-versed enough in the law to satisfy my curiosity about this matter? Can a supposed “victim” of copyright abuse take it on himself to shut down a web site with nothing more than an ALLEGATION of copyright infringement? Does the Digital Millennium Copyright Act provide some sort of clause or subsection enabling the enforcement of its provisions by any person or organization that “believes” it is the victim of copyright infringement?
I cannot think of a single law that allows a private citizen or even a public corporation to enforce its provisions without due process of law. And can the RIAA, for example, FORCE the IP to comply with its (the RIAA’s) orders to block access to the site.
I have a feeling that someone or some organization has overstepped its legal bounds — it smacks of vigilanteism, a course of action which, itself, is highly illegal.
I would like to get as much input on this subject as possible. In the meantime, I think I’ll try to locate a verbatim copy of the DMCA.
Thanks, everyone.