April 27, 2006 3:58 PM PDT
Studios, RIAA target student piracy
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To launch the initiative, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sent letters to presidents of 40 universities in 25 states informing them of piracy problems on their schools' local area networks and asking for immediate action to stop it.
The organizations say that college students are increasingly using programs such as Direct Connect (DC++), MyTunes and OurTunes to trade music across their schools' LANs without having to send or receive files across the public Internet.
According to a release issued by the RIAA and the MPAA, campus LANs provide an attractive way to engage in illegal file sharing without being subject to the consequences that come from doing so across the regular Internet.
"Piracy on campuses has been a concern for quite a while, and we have been actively engaged in a number of efforts with universities to get the word out to students," said Gayle Osterberg, an MPAA spokeswoman. "This particular trend or growing problem is something that is a more recent development, and we are working on all fronts to stay on top of all means of piracy and addressing them."
As such, the MPAA and RIAA sent the letters to university presidents in states such as California, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The letters ask the presidents to look at the way students use their institutions' LANs and, where necessary, take steps to halt the theft of music, movies and other copyright content.
Osterberg said that the advocacy groups recognize that they have to address all forms of illegal file sharing and to be proactive in trying to stop it.
"There are probably a range of reasons that people do it in the first place," she said. "That's why it's important your education and outreach (initiatives) have a multipronged approach."
The new program comes on the heels of several others the organizations have undertaken to try to keep students from using their schools' networks to trade music and other content illegally.
Beyond a number of RIAA lawsuits against students, the organizations also have built technology that would make it easier to remove suspected file swappers from campus networks.
In any case, some feel that Thursday's action by the MPAA and RIAA are reflective of the failure of the organizations' strategy of suing file swappers.
"The (music) labels sent a very similar letter to universities about Napster in 1999 or 2000," said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Here we are, seven years later, and the problem from their perspective is bigger than ever."
Von Lohmann said the EFF's answer is to encourage the MPAA and RIAA and universities to work out a system where the schools pay licensing fees and "let the students do what they're going to do anyway."
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Frankly I can only hope that each and every violator of copyright
law is found and prosecuted.
The folks that work hard to create the intellectual property deserve
their compensation.
Frankly I can only hope that each and every violator of copyright
law is found and prosecuted.
The folks that work hard to create the intellectual property deserve
their compensation.
you.
It is a violation of law to deny holders of intellectual property
(copyright owners) due compensation.
"Private networks"? Just because you conterfeit in your "private"
basement doesn't protect you from warranted search, arrest, and
prosecution.
Keep LOLOL -
you.
It is a violation of law to deny holders of intellectual property
(copyright owners) due compensation.
"Private networks"? Just because you conterfeit in your "private"
basement doesn't protect you from warranted search, arrest, and
prosecution.
Keep LOLOL -
For those of you living under a rock for the past 5 years, Independant artists are making more money now than ever as they've ditched the mega-corporations in favor of their personal lables. The mega labels are losing out to Indie labels and artists who are sidestepping these mogul bastards; they in turn need to point fingers to continue recieving cash from their sources (lobbyists/congress/advertisements) to keep grinding.
While their is still piracy going on (it's never going to go away, get over it!) it's not nearly as bad as they overstate. The RIAA wants the world to view them as a victim of piracy and that's just not the case. I can go through my stacks of cd's (which I've purchased) and only find a few who are signed by major labels.
The artists have been getting screwed for quite some time, and now with production/promotion costs at a bare minimum they have decided to go step up and keep the money they earn.
Plain and simple, people don't listen to the radio anymore (there are a few demographics that do, but they're over 50). We don't buy the garbage off the radio anymore and the RIAA can't seem to come up with new ways of ******* out musicians! I think it's fabulous!!!!!!!!
Share on!!!!!!!
Buy Independant Artists!!!
Support Indepdant Labels!!!!
For those of you living under a rock for the past 5 years, Independant artists are making more money now than ever as they've ditched the mega-corporations in favor of their personal lables. The mega labels are losing out to Indie labels and artists who are sidestepping these mogul bastards; they in turn need to point fingers to continue recieving cash from their sources (lobbyists/congress/advertisements) to keep grinding.
While their is still piracy going on (it's never going to go away, get over it!) it's not nearly as bad as they overstate. The RIAA wants the world to view them as a victim of piracy and that's just not the case. I can go through my stacks of cd's (which I've purchased) and only find a few who are signed by major labels.
The artists have been getting screwed for quite some time, and now with production/promotion costs at a bare minimum they have decided to go step up and keep the money they earn.
Plain and simple, people don't listen to the radio anymore (there are a few demographics that do, but they're over 50). We don't buy the garbage off the radio anymore and the RIAA can't seem to come up with new ways of ******* out musicians! I think it's fabulous!!!!!!!!
Share on!!!!!!!
Buy Independant Artists!!!
Support Indepdant Labels!!!!
Choices, will be both fatal and very expensive for many punters, if the evil media conglomerates get their way with our dumb compliant legislators, holding both hands out, obeying their masters every illogical whim and demand, and totally ignoring life's reality!
The media is here to entertain and amuse us, and are now the major labels dictating to us we will sell you only formula garbage, with no innovation!
Choices, will be both fatal and very expensive for many punters, if the evil media conglomerates get their way with our dumb compliant legislators, holding both hands out, obeying their masters every illogical whim and demand, and totally ignoring life's reality!
The media is here to entertain and amuse us, and are now the major labels dictating to us we will sell you only formula garbage, with no innovation!
The music and movie industries need to learn that inteluctual thief is a part of the business they're in and realize they can't make everyone pay. Personnally though, most of what they offer you couldn't pay me to listen to.
ANY public performance fo copyrighted material requires approval and negotiating of license. This goes for Schools wishing to produce a play based on a book or movie as well as musicians, DJ's, restaurants, movie theaters, and even street performers.
Technically, Happy B-Day is copyrighted and any public 'performance' of it is a violation of law without license and/or compensation. This means that YOU and the BAR OWNER can be sued for not paying up.
Has it happened? No
Does that mean it won't? Look at the RIAA and answer that for yourself!
If the RIAA really wanted to make money they would post spies in restaurants all across america. Then everytime someone sung this song they could sue the restaurant for copyright infringemnt. Since most businesses have more money than Joe College Kid or Sally Single Mom they should be able to easily get a settlement out of them. However since they also have more money they tend to fight back and this would be bad for the RIAA. They CANNOT afford to have even one case be lost or else their hous eof cards and mirrors will come tumbling down on them
The music and movie industries need to learn that inteluctual thief is a part of the business they're in and realize they can't make everyone pay. Personnally though, most of what they offer you couldn't pay me to listen to.
ANY public performance fo copyrighted material requires approval and negotiating of license. This goes for Schools wishing to produce a play based on a book or movie as well as musicians, DJ's, restaurants, movie theaters, and even street performers.
Technically, Happy B-Day is copyrighted and any public 'performance' of it is a violation of law without license and/or compensation. This means that YOU and the BAR OWNER can be sued for not paying up.
Has it happened? No
Does that mean it won't? Look at the RIAA and answer that for yourself!
If the RIAA really wanted to make money they would post spies in restaurants all across america. Then everytime someone sung this song they could sue the restaurant for copyright infringemnt. Since most businesses have more money than Joe College Kid or Sally Single Mom they should be able to easily get a settlement out of them. However since they also have more money they tend to fight back and this would be bad for the RIAA. They CANNOT afford to have even one case be lost or else their hous eof cards and mirrors will come tumbling down on them
Modern Music and Movies all sound the same and look the same and their prices are being kept artificially high by mega corperations looking to make as much money as possible.
Because of this consumers are increasingly feeling that they re being ripped off, and when a consumer feels that hey are being ripped off, they are hardly likely to value that company's products.
Modern Music and Movies all sound the same and look the same and their prices are being kept artificially high by mega corperations looking to make as much money as possible.
Because of this consumers are increasingly feeling that they re being ripped off, and when a consumer feels that hey are being ripped off, they are hardly likely to value that company's products.
However morally justified you are in your sharing media, it is currently against the law in the US.
Even if you don't share, if you break DRM - EVEN FOR YOUR OWN USE (such as loading your iPod etc) you are breaking the law and subject to a lawsuit. If the DMCA part 2 passes, you'll be subject to a lot worse.
If the content is so crappy, then why are you downloading it? Prima facie your argument is ignorant and hypocritical.
I am a pirate. The DMCA makes it nearly impossible to use modern technology and not be. Fair use vs DRM makes it completely impossible to be legal and still keep your rights.
I oppose the RIAA, MPAA, DRM, DMCA etc, but we need intelligent argument free of hypocrisy if we want to win this war, not a lot of crap from immature posters venting their hatred.
Be honest, be sincere and write your congressional representatives. The RIAA/MPAA are wrong, but unless we construct proper arguments we WILL LOSE! They have more money to invest in the fight than we do, and the politicians are easily influenced.
However morally justified you are in your sharing media, it is currently against the law in the US.
Even if you don't share, if you break DRM - EVEN FOR YOUR OWN USE (such as loading your iPod etc) you are breaking the law and subject to a lawsuit. If the DMCA part 2 passes, you'll be subject to a lot worse.
If the content is so crappy, then why are you downloading it? Prima facie your argument is ignorant and hypocritical.
I am a pirate. The DMCA makes it nearly impossible to use modern technology and not be. Fair use vs DRM makes it completely impossible to be legal and still keep your rights.
I oppose the RIAA, MPAA, DRM, DMCA etc, but we need intelligent argument free of hypocrisy if we want to win this war, not a lot of crap from immature posters venting their hatred.
Be honest, be sincere and write your congressional representatives. The RIAA/MPAA are wrong, but unless we construct proper arguments we WILL LOSE! They have more money to invest in the fight than we do, and the politicians are easily influenced.
These guys need to stop concentrating on making the best looking person into overnight millionaires and start concentrating on finding real artists.
Charles R. Whealton
chuck whealton @ nospam.net
What I do seriously believe is that the quality of music has gone down so drastically that this is probably more to blame for the dropoff in sales than piracy.
I mean seriously - when was the last time that anybody in the 40 - 50 year old age range saw music that made them consider purchasing the ENTIRE CD versus hitting the iTunes store and buying one or two songs at most?
The recording industry needs to start producing some QUALITY music and then perhaps their sales will pick up.
Charles Whealton
Chuck Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
- Maybe if they produced some quality music...
-
by chuck_whealton
April 29, 2006 1:47 PM PDT
- Considering the labels are charging ridiculous prices for the likes of Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson, did they really expect more CD sales?
-
Reply to this comment
-
-
- And just to be clear
-
by chuck_whealton
June 18, 2006 6:09 PM PDT
- Just to be clear, I'm NOT advocating piracy, though I do believe the RIAA lawsuit settlements go to far.
-
-
See all 54 Comments >>These guys need to stop concentrating on making the best looking person into overnight millionaires and start concentrating on finding real artists.
Charles R. Whealton
chuck whealton @ nospam.net
What I do seriously believe is that the quality of music has gone down so drastically that this is probably more to blame for the dropoff in sales than piracy.
I mean seriously - when was the last time that anybody in the 40 - 50 year old age range saw music that made them consider purchasing the ENTIRE CD versus hitting the iTunes store and buying one or two songs at most?
The recording industry needs to start producing some QUALITY music and then perhaps their sales will pick up.
Charles Whealton
Chuck Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com