MPAA gets tough on China
p2p news / p2pnet: Hollywood mouthperson Dan ‘Jedi’ Glickman says his bosses, the owners of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), are, “fully committed to continuing working with the U.S. government to protect the rights of the U.S. motion picture industry in China”.
Phew! Now Dick and George W can rest easy, although Communist China’s leaders won’t be so happy.
Glickman (right) was recently replaced as the MPAA’s Pirate King by ex-Screen Actors Guild leader Bob Pisano. However, he’d continue to, “lead the motion picture industry’s voluntary rating system, the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) and its companion Advertising Administration,” said the MPAA.
That took care of the really important stuff. But Glickman was also to make statements affecting national governments on behalf of his masters, Walt Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios LLLP; and Warner Bros.
With that in mind, his observations followed news that joint US president George W Bush wants China to explain what it’s doing to reduce the “piracy” of American movies, computer programs and other copyrighted material.
But just to make sure Dick Cheney, George W and China’s leaders clearly understand what’s expected of them, the “MPAA looks forward to a full and complete reply from the Chinese government and continued cooperation with the U.S. government, including USTR, in protecting the rights of and expanding access to foreign markets for the U.S. motion picture industry,” says Glickman.
International movie thief
In other MPAA news, although Glickman is tough on China as far as counterfeits, etc, are concerned, fair is fair and, “I commend the U.S. Department of Justice and the Chinese authorities for working together to ensure that the charges in this case fit the crimes,” he says.
He’s talking about the fact China has handed “known international movie thief” Randolph Hobson Guthrie III over to US authorities.
“Guthrie, 38, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Shanghai last July and was brought to the United States earlier this month after serving only part of a two year and six month prison sentence,” says the MPAA. “He was immediately arrested and placed into Federal custody upon his arrival to the U.S.”
The MPAA gives credit to joint efforts by ICE agents and Chinese law enforcement officials who ran ‘Operation Spring’ through which Guthrie was nabbed, but this time modestly forebore to mention its own role.
It had previously bragged that it, “provided assistance and background to U.S. and Chinese enforcement agencies in the investigation”.
And finally ….
The new Keystone Kop organization says Chasity McCarthy of Dallas, Texas, used iMesh to “illegally download four movies,” says KOIN News 6.
That’s particularly interesting given that iMesh, once an indie p2p application, is now a korporate kompany operating under the effective control of MPAA brother organization the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
“We talked to McCarthy on the phone before she decided to get a lawyer, and she says she doesn’t even own a computer - but her roommate does,” says the story, adding:
“MPAA says it doesn’t care. The evidence they have is that the phone line and Internet connection are under McCarthy’s name.”
Quite right too.
“It’s important for people to realize the consequences of piracy and they have to take a lot of personal responsibility in knowing who’s using their computers, who’s using their internet, their you know their internet connections at home,” KOIN News 6 has MPAA spokeswoman Kori Bernards saying.
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
Pirate King - Glickman ousted in anti-p2p role, September 23, 2005
explain what it’s doing - China is lax on piracy says US, October 27, 2005
movie thief - China hands over US ‘pirate’, September 30, 2005
KOIN News 6 - Local Woman Accused Of Illegal Movie Downloads, October 28, 2005
October 29th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
“fully committed to continuing working with the U.S. government to protect the rights of the U.S. motion picture industry in China”.
I thought imperialism and colonialism were out of fashion. Apparently not under the Bush monarchy and the “police of the world” doctrine is making the cartels think they own the world.
Since when American rights extend outside the borders of the contry? Never. Sure, if a company has a Chinese subsidiary, that subsidiary can go to cout in China and claim whatever rights that subsidiary may have over there, but the US government has nothing to do with it and should not get get involved.
Can a Chinese come to the USA and claim his/or her rights in China in a US court of laws? Of course not.
The “mouthperson” should talk to a lawyer, an honest one, before opening his mouth. The Americans cannot do in China as they are trying to do to with Cuban song copyrighst (see here: http://rafa_venegas.web.prdigital.com/cubaandpeer.htm). The dragon is big and can burn. The last time America tried to dictate Asian “rights” it got burned after loosing thousands of lives in Viet Nam. Has America learned nothing?
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
October 29th, 2005 at 10:30 pm
October 29th, 2005 at 10:38 pm
What does Hollybird and the MPAA think they are dealing with?! Do you think Asians in General and Chinese are particularly fond of Hollybird doo doo? I’ll tell you… NO, they couldn’t give a damn. Most of Hollybird’s movies are either:
(1) CRAP!!!
(2) Denigrating and racist — how are chinese and other ethnic groups (e.g. Arabs) potrayed????
(3) Old culturally irrelevant movies (such as Gone with the Wind) that have little or no relevance to Asian people…
So in short, most of the pirating of Hollybird movies is done in English-speaking countries. BUT, considering the calibre of “blockbusters” in the last decade, I wouldn’t be too worried if I were the cartel…
Cheers
October 29th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
Let me tell you something about me….
I USED to be a major movie goer. Heck, I’m by nature a huge movie and music FAN. I used to go to an average of about 6-8 movies a month!
BUT, all that stopped a few years ago, COINCIDING with the first series of lawsuits. I don’t like to be abused and persecuted. I don’t like OTHER PEOPLE to be abused and persecuted.
I know there are many, MANY others like me. Sure, the main reason why attendance is low is that the movies SUCK. But the movies ALWAYS SUCKED! So what’s different now?!
>>>>>> The sentiment that is. People don’t like to be treated like criminals and ‘patched-eye sea-going looting-and-raiding pirates’ — and they also know the value of their hard-earned dollars. CUSTOMER SERVICE is a big component of a product/service. If the MPAA treats people like SHIT, they can EXPECT the chances of customers coming back is slim.
Enough of my rant, it’s SATURDAY and it’s sunny right now — time to get some sun
October 30th, 2005 at 12:25 am
MPAA = Mindless Privacy Atrocities Accomplished
October 30th, 2005 at 4:42 am
That is a good acronym for them…. perfectly fitting….
October 30th, 2005 at 5:57 pm
It’s fine if an ISP as a matter of POLICY of a PRIVATE BUSINESS holds the subscriber responsible for what transpires on their account/circuit. So far no one has put forth the proposition that an internet connection is a basic human right like food, shelter, equal treatment, etc.
It’s quite another matter for PUBLIC LAW (Title 17 USC) to presume guilt on the part of the subscriber merely from the revelation that some transgression occured while the subscriber’s service was being used.
This might have been fine in 1997 when virtually everyone’s internet connect was copper and/or fibre from end to end. Now, with Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other wireless, RF-based technologies, it’s not unusual for an unsophisticated user to leave their 802.11x capability wide open for anyone passing by with a Wi-Fi enabled lap-top to start leeching their connection. Just sit in your car in front of any large, upscale apartment or condo building in an urban area and you will almost certainly be able to find one, if not a dozen or more unprotected access points or routers. If the remote administration function on a router was not disabled, one could even create an unwitting proxy or worse if there’s a machine connected to the router that’s not up to date on security updates.
In a criminal case, it would be insufficient to convict someone for making obscene phone calls to merely prove the calls originated from that person’s telephone service. Additional evidence that it was the subscriber who actually placed the calls would be required.
The connectivity arrangements cited in the story stuck me as odd. Why would a person who does not own a computer have an account with an ISP? If someone had the patience to download 4 full-length movies on a dial-up they should be given a medal, not a summons to appear in court. I suspect though, that Ms. McCarthy was the more established resident of this dwelling and thus had the phone in her name and the roommate was re-imbursing her for adding DSL to the phone service.
If this were the case, then Ms. McCarthy has a defense, particularly if the local telephone company required that the same person be billed for telephone and DSL service provided on the same circuit. If the roommate is reimbursing her for the full cost of the DSL service then she’s essentially sub-letting that portion of her telecommunications service to the roommate (as is being done with the premesis) and therefore Ms. McCarthy has no more right to snoop into what transpires on the roommate’s computer than she does in seeing what’s in the back of the roommate’s sock drawer or in the roommate’s pants pockets. If the computer on which the infringement allegedly occured is in the roommate’s private bedroom, it would be unreasonable (and perhaps illegal under local law) for her to enter the roommate’s bedroom and snoop around on the computer without permission from the roommate.
The plaintiffs in these cases should be required to present some evidence linking the alleged infringer to the act(s) of infringement beyond the fact that they are responsible for paying the bill for the service on which the infringement occured.
–TurboGeek
October 30th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
I just wonder how people like this can sleep at night.
October 30th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Beijing - People’s Very Truthful Press Agency - Responding to concerns of the American Leaders, Mr Bush and Mr. Cheney, who reside in the House Painted White, about the dishonorable activities of pirates who are stealing money from famous American Movie Stars, Minister of Purging of Piracy of the People’s Ministry of Approved Communications, Dung Xio Tik has released the following statement.
The statement explains what the People’s Republic is doing concerning the shameful plague of piracy instigated because of access to unauthorized web sites created by subversive enemies of the People:
“We have arrested the pirates, confiscated their eye patches, cheap plastic parrots, and their cheap plastic inflatable pirate ship, and told them to stop acting like silly children.
We have taken away their portable DVD machines, mounted in cheap plastic cases, for at least a month and will not give them back until they promise to behave properly and only use them for copying state-approved materials onto the cheap plastic disks.
For that month, they will be re-educated in the proliteriat values of honest work at a People’s Factory that produces cheap plastic sex toys that Americans seem to like very much because they are made out of cheap plastic, like American credit cards and Barbie.
We hope these actions please those who live in the House Painted White and that they will send us more episodes of Honorable Bob of Sponge with Pants so Square.”
–TG
October 30th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
TG, your parody is so funny! It made my eyes cry… The funniest parodies are the ones with some truth in them.
October 31st, 2005 at 3:47 pm
On a feather bed with silk sheets next to a $5000 a night hooker.
October 31st, 2005 at 5:20 pm
I would not take any of this tripe seriously.
In all dead seriousness there is not much the George Bush or Dick Cheney or the US Congress can do.
It would literally take an act of congress.
If they acted on such a thing it would be attached to some legislatively connected import tariff protectionism scheme.
Matter of fact there are some terribily misquided Us Congressman (MOSTLY DEMOCRAPS ) that would propose a 27% import tariff on all chinese made products if the chinese don’t do anything about inflating their currency againest the US dollar.
You don’t cut the US Consumer off at the knees just because failing american industries can’t compete in a global economy and want protected from business competition and their business customers.
ALL OF THIS WOULD LEAD TO A TRADE WAR AND A INTERNATIONAL RECESSION.
It would hurt the retail business in the United States badly because there is hardly anything that is consumer related like computers tv sets and dvd players and microwave ovens that are made in the United States anymore.
I heard someplace that the entertainment industry is exempt from any anti trust law under the sherman act.
Dan Glickman is just a loud mouthed ole’ shitbag that i would not take seriously.
October 31st, 2005 at 8:12 pm
“I heard someplace that the entertainment industry is exempt from any anti trust law under the sherman act.”
You heard right. They have been exempted not by law, but by the the lobbied politicians. It is the direct result of political ivestment by large media and entertaiment corporations.
November 1st, 2005 at 4:43 am
Good news to all you Independent film makers! A new player is in town. They are called “Sun Wah Media” and they are building several new theatres in China, and they have partnerships with MAJOR distribution channels in Japan, Vietnam, Canada (with Rogers), Europe and the USA.
If you want to be known, there are TONS of Internation Film festivals where you can display your stuff and gain recognition — plus there are usually handsome prize money if your movie is selected best (about $3000).
From there, you can contact Sun Wah Media, and if they like your stuff ….. you could get your movies viewed by a potential several BILLION OF PEOPLE….. woooohhhhhoooooo
I’m excited!!!! Get OUT lamestream, and welcome the NEXT GENERATION of PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM MAKERS!!!!