RIAA: a rose by any name
p2p news / p2pnet: We’ve been saving one of frequent p2pnet comment poster Rafael Venegas’ items for today ; )
"Did you hear about the Rose Industry Association of America?" – he asked in a Reader’s Write to 1st RIAA trial: victim to defend herself >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
P2P Roses
By Rafael Venegas – The Biggest Music Theft and Mystery in History
Amateur gardeners are now propagating roses by using plant cuttings from existing plants instead of buying plants from commercial producers, a recent study suggests.
This is the result of the propagation of web plant-to-plant (p2p) sites that show gardeners how to grow rose plants from cuttings, a form of piracy that’s costing RIAA (Rose Industry Association of America ) members sales losses of several billion dollars per year, it says.
Because of severe p2p theft, sales of roses have dropped 10% since a year ago, claims RIAA spokesperson Vito Hoover.
The RIAA has announced it will work with the US Justice Department to eliminate all p2p sites. The RIAA claims too many Americans are simply using cuttings from plants they’ve already bought, instead of purchasing new rose plants at nurseries or from stores.
As a direct result, one plant is sold and the buyer of that single plants winds up with many copies.
"Some people are even sharing their plants, allowing others to take cutting from original plants to produce fake copies of RIAA roses.," says the organization, going on:
"The copying of roses infringes the rights of RIAA members who should be the only ones allowed to grow the roses."
Now the RIAA wants the Departments of Agriculture and Justice to intervene and rose growers are now packing roses with an FBI warning that growing rose plant from cuttings is illegal and could lead to criminal charges.
The Justice Department has published a policy guideline indicating that rose p2p will be treated as a new crime category: Rose Piracy.
US president George W. Bush has indicated he supports this initiative as part of his anti-terrorism campaign.
The RIAA’s Hoover has also announced that Congress is working on a RIAA supported bill to enable the FBI to inspect rose gardens and request proof-of-purchase receipts from the gardener without a court order.
If the gardener fails to prove he/she purchased all the rose plants in the garden, a summary arrest can be made and sentences of up to 10 years in jail imposed.
Asked what protection is being given to other plants to prevent their infringement, Hoover said for the moment, the RIAA is concerned with roses.
December 10th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
LMAO
December 10th, 2005 at 8:36 pm
Very good analogy. It just proves how the RIAA and government alike are trying to turn the innocent sharing of files into criminal acts, all for the benefit of their fat cat bosses..
December 10th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Rafael, I really enjoyed this article. I need to make sure I am not drinking anything the next time I read one of your submissions. I had coffee spouting from my nose from trying to drink and laugh at the same time!! =)
Look forward to your future postings.
Regards, Zathras
December 10th, 2005 at 11:21 pm
It is not funny. Given the current political climate it could come to pass.
Remember that there are companies patenting rice and other vegetable species.
December 11th, 2005 at 12:00 am
Acrually, there ARE patented varities of all kinds of plants, including roses, and asexual propagation of these ARE prohibited by law! I’m far from agreeing with the RIAA, though! Daniel Alexander
December 11th, 2005 at 12:52 am
that is jnot what he posted
December 11th, 2005 at 2:27 am
Again, I enjoyed this. I read his posting when he had made the parody comment and again when it was submitted as article worthy.
On the matter of patenting food, it is already done. Try the corporation Monsoto and their genetically altered corn. Farmers are expected and it is demanded that new crops be from purchased new seeds and not from harvested seed. They check regularly to verify that farmers are indeed living up to the protected rights of Monsoto and very much like the RIAA they are extremely active in the checking and sueing.
Rafael Venegas’ post shows just how ridiculas this is in the sense that protections are going way to far in what are right’s holders rights and what are not their rights. It is to the point now that those right holders feel it is quite alright to invade your security and they see nothing wrong in that. Still today, Sony is calling the whole rootkit business a slight matter. In their eyes, it’s all good.
But if your computer is riddled with this type of spyware and you are the victim of driveby malware install, this is anything but slight. Sony has all along been far short of forthcoming to remedy this “slight problem”. In short, if you are a purchasing customer, you are also assumed to be a theif, a pirate, and you should suffer for being that paying customer. On the other hand, if you download your music, you face no such immediate problems with your music. Infringer then you may be but suffering from malware installs isn’t something you will be rewarded with in the process.
Indeed a rose by any name…
December 11th, 2005 at 8:37 am
Some big seed producer started selling wheat seeds that would never fertilize after the first generation.
A lot of Indian farmers got together and told them to shove it.
Now they have semi-ceremonial seed sharing days where people get together and give each other handfuls of seed.
[This situation was covered in great detail in the documentary The Corporation - check the extended interviews for the entire story]
December 11th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
That is how DRM started. It was just a matter of time that it would extend to other (consumer) products.
Very soon everything that can be conceived as an idea and can be reproduced or copied will be restricted through patents and copyright.
As a result most of the world’s population suffers and dies from hunger and disease and the solutions are tied up in the patent quagmire and in the courts.
As a result most of the world’s population suffer from cultural hunger and that hunger cannot be satisfied because culture is tied up in the copyright quagmire and in the courts.
If the common people actually knew what politicians have done to advance the interest of the lobby companies and organizations and how much that is hurting their health and culture, they would revolt.
If people knew that prescription controlled medicines cost, at the drug store, 100 times (1:100 ratio) the cost of manufacture, which makes the medicine too costly for the poor in poor countries, they would revolt.
BTW, the 1:100 ratio is for a multi-billion per year sale medicine being manufactured by a pharmaceutical company that hired this writer as a consultant in the area of cost control and improvement through software. The cost of the medicine was the cost in my neighborhood pharmacy.
If people knew that intellectual property treaties are advantageous only for technologically advanced corporations, at the expense of the people, they would revolt.
If people knew that a $20 dollar CD can be profitably distributed for $3 to 5 they would revolt and they are doing it, at last. P2P is a revolution against the copyright oligarchy.
If people knew that intellectual property treaties are advantageous only for technologically advanced corporations (of countries where the corrupt politicians of poor countries have the money they have stolen stashed away in banks and investments) at the expense of the people, the poor countries, they would revolt.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
December 11th, 2005 at 4:46 pm
—that is jnot what he posted—
I edited it a little, but just a little. I always do for comments that end up as front-page posts. I also lightly edit stories if I think they need it. But it’s always just for style – ie, isn’t instead of is not, it’s instead of it is, etc – and consistency. I’m not here for re-writes which, nine times out of ten, aren’t necessary in the first place.
You can easily see the original if you want.
Rafael and I have ‘virtually’ known each other for quite some time, now, and I’m sure he understands.
Cheers!
December 12th, 2005 at 11:46 am
If you can’t laugh at the insanity then you will succumb by it!!!!!!!!!
Rafael used his wit while illustrating the complete and irrational persuit of dominance undertaken by the “power that be” (or wish to be) so to speak… And for that I applaud him CLAP CLAP CLAP!!!!!!!!
Sometime we must laugh at the foolishness if we are to ultimately overcome it!!! =)
Zathras