RIAA IP bullshit
p2pnet.net News:- The Big Four Organized Music gang’s RIAA and their other so-called ‘trade’ organizations have for years been claiming knowing someone’s IP address is enough to nail them for the dastardly crime of sharing music online.
They claim the practice robs them of sales. But they’ve never, ever, been able to prove their sales are indeed affected, or even how the supposed deprivation process would work, if it existed. But that doesn’t stop the lamescream media from parroting Big Four “we’re being devastated” statements verbatim, totally ignoring the other side of the coin.
When it comes to the entertainment cartels, fair and balanced reporting doesn’t exist.
Lawyers acting for Warner Music (US), EMI (UK), Vivendi Universal (France) and Sony BMG (Japan, Germany) victims have tried to impress upon various learned judges that the IP addie claim is pure Big Four bullshit, but said judges persist in viewing Big Four ‘evidence’ as though it comes from credible sources.
Having an IP can help you know who paid for the internet access, but not who was using what computer on a network, as Mike points out on TechDirt. And that’s about all it can do.
In fact, this even had some people suggesting that, if you want to win a lawsuit from the RIAA, you’re best off opening up your WiFi network to neighbors, Mike goes on. It seems like this strategy might actually be working.
Earlier this month the inability to prove who actually did the file sharing caused the RIAA to drop a case in Oklahoma and now it looks like the same defense has worked in a California case as well. In both cases, though, as soon as the RIAA realized the person was using this defense, they dropped the case, rather than lose it and set a precedent showing they really don’t have the unequivocal evidence they claim they do.
“The RIAA certainly has the legal right to go after people, even if it simply ends up pissing off their best fans and driving people to spend their money on other forms of entertainment – but, if they want to do so, they should at least have legitimate evidence. It’s good to see that some are finally pointing out how flimsy the evidence really is.
Also See:
TechDirt – RIAA Will Drop Cases If You Point Out That An IP Address Isn’t A Person, July 27, 2006
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July 28th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Open router for public access=plausable deniability. If someone gets an extortion letter from any **AA, they should buy (with cash, not check or credit card) the work which they are accused of downloading or sharing and/or have an open WIFI router for public use. When the masses are ready and able to defend themselves, tyrants usually cower.
July 28th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
>When the masses are ready and able to defend themselves, tyrants usually cower.<
That is a good political statement, too.