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Blizzard Gets DMCA Smackdown From Sony
tdye writes: "Blizzard has apparently released an internal memo banning P2P software inside the company. They've been served by Sony with a DMCA note, based on rampant music sharing inside Blizzard. I guess what goes around, comes around! You can see it on Declan McCullagh's PoliTech website."
But really how many of us have mp3s on work computers? Quite a few I would imagine. Just think of the liabilty you are posing to your work.
How many have work sponsered mp3 servers? TIme to reconsider that move.
Fly Fish? Participate in our forum
Surely we aren't all too busy gloating over blizzard being crucified that we've forgotten this fact..
Not Meta-modding due to apathy.
Ha-HA!
you don't have to outrun the bear, just the slowest person in your group.
Serves them right.
California Youth Authority and Cover Your Ass. I don't find it surprising at all that any company, large or small, wants to ride the straight and narrow legally. After all, there's DOLLARS at stake!
Useless opinions, worthless observations, and more!
It seems to me that the email itself, which bans P2P networks, could be damaging. The lawyers could argue that it is kind of an admission of guilt. Ala Microsoft case.
I just love living in a Lawsuit Economy. It's much better than that silly free market.
-- Ken Kinder ken@_nospam_kenkinder.com http://kenkinder.com/
For attack BNetD, I think this should happen. I personally feel that the DMCA will just kill all companies eventually. Because lets face it:
If you played Pong, that means you played a game, perhaps you looked at pong when you wrote your current game. You had fun in Pong, and you have fun in your game... So who's to say you didn't reverse engineer "fun"?
Location: Mt. Xinu
Maybe it's related, maybe not, but remember that Blizzard is working heavily on Worlds of Warcraft which will be in direct competition with whatever version of EverCrack is popular right now...
Did Sony actually know that Blizzard had this sort of thing going on, or do they just send letters like this out to every High Tech company under the theory that they've all probably got something going on?
Username taken, please choose another one.
Everyone's homework assignment for tonight is to download some PS2 games from their favorite P2P network. We should all band-together to offer a nice, friendly, "Fuck You!" to Sony.
I imagine Blizzard will be really pissed-off at their employees who run p2p software, because it makes Blizzard look like a bunch of hypocrites-
Blizzard: Ooooh, ohooh, naughty people are creating a server that's compatible with battle.net and allows pirate copies. Ooooh, points my finger at them I do!
Sony: Oi, Blizzard! What's all that ILLEGAL music doing in your company, eh?
Blizzard: I hit you, Mr. Sony! I hit you with Dvareks Staff of Limitless Power, damage + 99 ! (Lie down, you're dead!)
graspee
Its about time the rampant piracy and theivery was put to a stop. What you people do not seem to understand is that organizations like the RIAA and MPAA are fighting to protect the hard work of those they represent. When you download an MP3 or copy a DVD, you are stealing - just like if you stuffed a CD under your shirt and walked out of the store.
You are taking food off the table of hardworking professionals who are trying to feed their families and pay the bills. You all should be thrown in jail.
A nice irony: Blizzard sends DMCA nastygram, then DMCA'd by Sony
0 2/21/013625 6
p laint.pdf
Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 11:59:22 -0400
To: politech@politechbot.com
Subject: FC: A nice irony: Blizzard sends DMCA nastygram, then DMCA'd by Sony
From: Declan McCullagh
Previous Politech message:
"Blizzard game company uses DMCA to shut down Bnetd emulator app"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03163.html
From: [deleted per request --DBM]
To:
Subject: Blizzard gets smacked with a DMCA notice of their own.
Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 08:55:08 -0700
[Friend is worried this might get him fired. Would you mind hiding my name
if you print this? Thanks!]
Thought you might want to see this. Blizzard had earlier sent a DMCA
takedown notice to BnetD, a system that would allow gamers to play one
another on a networked system.
/. covered it earlier in February:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/
Blizzard got much flak for the action, and has since recanted on the DMCA
threat, and instead tosses out a lawsuit alleging pure Copyright
Infringement against the creators of BnetD. The actual filed papers can be
found here. http://www.eff.org/sc/bnetd/20020405_blizzard_com
Well, Karma's a bitch, so to speak. Turns out from a source in blizzard,
Sony is going right along and doing the same thing to Blizzard.
Likely, the DMCA end of it won't stand. But Sony might have a claim for
Copyright Infringement.
The worst thing of this, is that now most of the programmers (who have
nothing at all to do with the legal BS) are pretty much cut-off musically
speaking.
MEMO:
Blizzard was recently served with a DMCA ("Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
notification from Sony Music for copyright infringement. This infringement
was allegedly committed by one of our employees who was purportedly using a
peer-to-peer file-sharing program on a Blizzard computer system to share
copyrighted music with others over the Internet.
Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted audio, video, graphics, software
and/or any other files (e.g., commercial recordings, films, or software) is
illegal. Providing these files over the Company network through peer-to-peer
file-sharing programs (ie. Kazaa, Morpheus, EDonkey, Gnutella, and similar
programs) or by other means puts both the user and Blizzard in jeopardy of
being held liable for copyright infringement. As you can imagine, this risk
is not one that the company is willing to take.
In addition to the legal ramifications, peer-to-peer file-sharing programs
may inadvertently expose confidential and proprietary company files that
have been enabled for sharing to the Internet. When you are connected to the
Internet, anyone on the Internet may then have access to that data or
material. These file sharing programs themselves may install spyware and/or
install Trojans, again exposing local and network data to outside access.
Further, swapping of files causes higher Internet usage and in many cases
utilizes costly network and local hardware resources.
We therefore need to make sure that everyone understands our policy
regarding peer-to-peer file-sharing programs and that immediate steps are
taken to stop any copyright infringement from taking place at Blizzard.
POLICY. Peer-to-peer file-sharing programs may not be used on any computers
connected to Blizzard or Blizzard North's networks without the express
written approval of Mike Morhaime or Paul Sams. This policy shall go into
effect immediately. Exceptions, if any, will be installed and tested in a
controlled environment and properly configured to ensure an adequate level
of security before implementation. If an adequate level of security cannot
be established, such usage will not be approved, and an alternative method
will need to be found.
REMOVAL. To ensure currently installed programs have been uninstalled
correctly and all associated files have been removed, an Information Systems
(IS) staff member should be notified to remove all pieces of the infringing
program(s) and make any necessary registry changes. If you currently have
any of these peer-to-peer file-sharing programs on your computer, please
contact IS to facilitate their proper removal. IS will be able to make sure
that any related spyware is removed also.
ENFORCEMENT. Due of the very serious legal and financial harm that Blizzard
could experience as a result of an employee infringing upon another
company's copyrights in this manner, we have adopted this policy. Please be
aware that disciplinary action, up to and including termination, will be
taken against any employee that is found to be using a peer-to-peer
file-sharing program on computers connected to Blizzard or Blizzard North's
networks
Useless opinions, worthless observations, and more!
The irony, the irony.
Should Sony have sent a C&D to Blizzard? Perhaps.
It is okay to share music with your friends? Sure.
Is a P2P network a group of your "friends"? Probably not.
Is bringing MP3s to work okay? Sure, why not.
Is using company time and bandwidth to download and search for MP3s on a P2P network a good idea? uhh, NO, you're at work!
Free Mac Mini
This just means that we will NEVER see a Blizzard game on any Sony platform. Hello Xbox!
This isn't hurting the assholes/lawyers that are trying to squash bnetd though. It's hurting the programmers that wrote great games like war2 and diablo.
Double whammy for us, I would think. You people cuoldn't be more confused about what this really means. What's next, celebrating the death of one of the corporate attourneys, the only one who had the dissenting opinion to just leave bnetd alone(not that there is such a lost soul at Vivendi)?
Ironic Iron Plate Mail of the Damned
Defense: 534
Smite Damage: 1 - 2
Required Strength: 45
Required Level: 39
+204% Legal Defense
+843% Resistance to Flames
+436% Faster legal woe recovery
+2264% More gold received from Bnetd
+30125 Running speed
-342 HP for every DCMA attack
Karma: Excer..ex...excellahhh...realll good (mostly affected by drinking not done in moderation)
Heheh, I wonder if the people running the p2p inside Blizzard were sticking the nightly builds of Warcraft 3 on it ?
graspee
What do you want to bet that a OSS fan in side the company tiped sony off?
Just get the major record labels to sue Microsoft and it's employees for music copyright infringement. How could you not share music at work using an outstanding multimedia enabled OS like Windows XP?
--Metrollica
Its funny to watch these sorts of things.. They happen in my company too.. I understand what they are trying to stop, but the policy forbids samba. Its another case of making knives illegal instead of murder. The policy should state:
"DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN TRANSFERRING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, EXCEPT MATERIAL WHICH IS OWNED BY THE COMPANY".
Dont ban the tool, ban the mis-use of the tool.
But instead the policy bans peer-to-peer file sharing unless those two guys (Mike Morhaime or Paul Sams) are specifically asked...
Check the policy:
POLICY. Peer-to-peer file-sharing programs may not be used on any computers
connected to Blizzard or Blizzard North's networks without the express
written approval of Mike Morhaime or Paul Sams.
It seems many of you think this is a good thing because of thier atacking the bnetd project. You all really couldnt be more hypocritical. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Blizzards actions may have been wrong, but so are sonys (arguably). If you are going to condem one instance of it, you should condenm every single action taken by a corporation that tries to limit the freedom of others to protect thier profits. To do otherwise makes you look very dumb.
Your enemy's enemny is not your friend if both are your enemy.
Mess Stuff Up
I used to work at Sony Pictures Entertainment as a Systems Analyst (and you're gonna have to take my word for it, I'm staying Anonymous!)
What's funny is that EVERYONE has AT LEAST one P2P application installed on their PCs... Sony Music included!!!
Let's see how long until they get seerved
what happens when all software that would allow file sharing between computer is removed.
I'm sorry boss, I can't connect to the computer to get that file.
all the ftp and telnet servers have been deleted. talk to sony.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It's just too much!! :)
Gregory Casamento
## Chief Maintainer for GNUstep
1. that's about the same stuff that's going on inside EVERY large company that makes internet access available for it's employees! 2. it's not that Blizzard got DMCA'd because they are offering a product that infringes copyright, so you can really not compare employees file sharing to something like Bnetd. The Screwing Of (Open Source) Competitors With The Law is somewhat completely different than Setting Things Right For The Suffering Record Industry. These are individuals working for Bizzard with Blizzard equipment, while on the other hand the Bnetd people had a nice idea for a free emulator and got busted over it by the big boys!
Sony has contracted with a third party to spider the web looking for Sony music on P2P networks and then a form letter is generated with the IP address and any other info they can get, and sent to the domain contact name.
I had to do a search and destroy on one of these memos a few months back. But basically what we got just said to remove the offending material, go forth, and sin no more.
Maybe this is something different, dunno.
Hmm. Now maybe they can claim that some spyware
or improper perms on a P2P app on a developer's
machine leaked the server code. I've been
wondering how in the world they'll argue bnetd
got ahold of it...
Best part is, the Sony DMCA threat needn't ever
exist, but it's believable enough...
As shown on their memo, they are going to go through and remove any p2p software they find on the Blizzard LAN. Blizzard is not fighting Sony to keep p2p software on their machines, in matter of fact they agree with them. This is unlike bnetd, who is actually fighting against the DMCA
Once Blizzard employees stop using up all the bandwidth for P2P apps, perhaps BattleNet will get the bandwidth it needs.
Winter 2010: With Glowing Hearts
These people are supposed to be working! If I got caught on slashdot at work I'd be fired..... Uh-oh
Join the Linux Generation. #LinuxGeneration on EFnet Linux Counter #249871
The first of course, is that regardless of whether or not a company has a blatant-ly piratic MP3 server the typical corporate knee-jerk reaction is going to be "no MP3's". Whatsoever. Forget about P2P, forget about actual piratical behavior (whatever that means). Nope, those MP3s on my hard disk from CD's I own that I listen to all day so as to not go mad? Can't have those, mister. Because they're MP3s. You think we're going to bother checking if you own them? Ha-ha.
And so it begins.
I work in the IT department of a major US University and, at least on our campus, these C/D letters have been popping up quite frequently lately. It appears that Sony (and maybe other major labels) must be running some sort of harvesting software that just searches for songs to which they hold copyrights, does a quick "whois", and mails off form letter style nasty grams to the contact listed. fyi, they look something like this (identifying info is X'd out, I like my job :)
original complaint:
RE: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Work: X
Dear X University:
As you may know, the musical group X is currently subject to a recording agreement with Sony Music ("Sony") pursuant to which Sony is entitled to X's exclusive worldwide recording services and the exclusive, worldwide right to distribute all audio and audiovisual recordings recorded during the term of that agreement through any and all media, including distribution via the Internet.
We have received information that an individual located at X.X.X.X on your network has offered downloads of the above-mentioned work(s) at the noted date and time through your service. No one is authorized to perform, exhibit, reproduce, transmit, or otherwise distribute the above-mentioned work without the express written permission of Sony, which permission Sony has not granted to the user located at X.X.X.X.
The attached documentation specifies the account or username offering this infringing material, the name and size of the file being offered, the number of repeat violations recorded at this specific location, as well as any available identifying information.
We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorized activity. Specifically, we request that you remove the site from your system or (in the case of a peer-to-peer service) disable access to this site; or at a minimum delete the infringing files that have been downloaded.
In addition, we ask that you inform the individual(s) involved of the illegality of his or her conduct and confirm with us, in writing, that this activity has ceased.
You should understand that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, your company/institution may be liable for any resulting infringement.
As owner of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state, that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by Sony, its respective agents, or the law.
Also, we hereby state that we believe the information in this notification is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that we are is authorized to act on behalf of Sony.
The foregoing is not a full recitation of the facts and law pertaining to this matter, and all of our rights and remedies, including the right to
recover monetary damages, are expressly retained.
We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Please contact us at anti-piracy@sonymusic.com should you have any questions.
In your future correspondence with us, please refer to Case ID X.
Your prompt response is requested.
Sincerely,
Anti-Piracy Group
Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
550 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Infringment Detail:
Infringing Work: X
Filename: X.mp3
First Found: X/X/2002 X:X:X AM EST
Last Found: X/X/2002 X:X:X AM EST
Filesize: Xk
IP Address: X.X.X.X
Network: KaZaA
Protocol: FastTrack
Username: X@KaZaA
...for sharing files is Windows File Sharing. Just right click on a folder of mp3's and switch on sharing to let your colleagues enjoy your collection. I would just love to see it outlawed.
-- SIGFPE
Does anybody know if NetBSD has been ported to this yet?
The horror! A whole company where none of the programmers actually owns a hard drive and a CD burner?
...only if you're talking to a lawyer! :)
"We have to go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in tolerance and free speech." - David Brin
The comedy of this is that Blizzard is owned by Vivendi Universal, one of the big 5 record labels, as well as a member of the MPAA.
Moderators, do your duty.
In both cases, the company is merely acting in a way which is consistent with its profitable operation by minimizing potential costs and risks. In the real world where people work, get paid, spend and pay taxes, that seems prudent.
There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.
Quit feeding the trolls. MP3 files are perfectly legal - the MP3 I rip for my personal use to avoid scratching the original disc are no more illegal than the tapes I dub so I can listen to the same songs in my car. The RIAA lawyers may play dumb, but this is clearly covered as fair use.
What's illegal, maybe, is sharing those MP3 with others in your office. Or it may be legal as well - fundamentally no different than people playing their own personal CDs in a community player. This wouldn't be legal in a "commercial establishment," but the latter refers to businesses open the public such as bars and restaurants, not offices.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
I put a new policy in place that as long as your MP3s were legit, you could have them on your work system. But *NO* P2P systems. They are too big of a security risk and they waste bandwidth.
Anyone else think that it's ironic that by declaring "I ANAL" you are stating that you're NOT a lawyer?
10 bucks says that the person downloading music was in the Marketing Dept.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later.
I just wish they'd broaden into more than just law, then I could ditch slashdot completely.
I find it hard to argue that Sony is wrong in this instance.
They own those songs. People are illegally distributing them over the internet. They shouldn't be.
This isn't an internal MP3 server at Blizzard that employees can backup/store their songs on and play. This is people in Blizzard who are publically sharing songs over the internet.
Sony is sending Blizzard a warning message IE "just in case you didn't know, people on your network (details provided) are engaged in illegal activities".
No No, your still the enemy. Your analogy is flawed.
The above statement qualifies -
A bully has been stealing lunch money form you. Now another person steals the lunch money from him. But it doesn't necessarily mean that your are the 2nd bully's friend.
Regardless, it doesn't apply to Blizz vs Sony. Blizzard attempted to stop pirating and sort of missed the mark a little. Sony have then sent out threathing letters, knowing most (tech) people use P2P sharings.
The key word here is Poison Pen. Sony more likely has no evidence besides a tip-off. So just send out a threating letter (much like blizz's to bnetd, thats the irony) saying P2P, sue bla bla bla...
In other words, Sony vs Vivendi, and Sony is just targeting a high profile company of Vivendi's.
Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
Entertainment copyrights.
Isn't an illegal act of circumvention NOT a copyright infringment, but a totally different tort/offense? That is why fair use is apparently not a defense against it (the Constitution not withstanding). Bypassing the lock and unauthorized use of the content protected by the lock are 2 different things. (17 USC 1201 violation versus violation of the copyright specific part of Title 17).
Anyone else find this strange?
Note, the complaint says circumvention .. thereby .. infringement. This means the the first implies the second. This is a much stronger statement than just that circumvention allows infringement - it states circumvention IS infringement - not even the DMCA says that.
Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
These Blizzard workers are geeks just like you and me. They "share" files. Their computer chairs, like our own have been custom fit to the shape of their buttocks. If they were not working at Blizzard, they would be downloading WarCraft3 beta and setting up for bnetd play.
They aren't the ones going after bnetd, Bill Roper, or whoever in charge is. For ethical reasons? No. The average worker downloading music has nothing to do with the business end. Of course they have SOME personal stake in the matter and would perhaps like to see bnetd go down (or perhaps not). Is this hypocritical? Perhaps. Unreasonable? No. We all learn to protect what is ours to different degrees. We all want to maximize personal benefits. Otherwise, we may not be downloading free music in the first place.
Nothing profound here. Just rambling.
They are geeks like us.
I bet Sony chose Blizzard (among others) because it is an easy target. They have a certain range of IP addresses, and it is easy to verify people downloading files are from within Blizzard. They have an identifiable source.
Try sending a cease and desist to Verizon, or PacBell, or RCN. Make them send out an "office memo" to all of their users, asking them to stop!
This Onion article shows how ludicrous the music industry's claims are.
Its actually a change of strategy about how their playing the game.
In the beginning of P2P, the RIAA and the companies comprising of it tried to sue Napster out of existence, hoping that if they could succeed, the user-friendly and well-known way to download songs would be stopped, and an end to mass-sharing.
This approach obviously failed, as P2P networks and protocols were jumping up faster than they could threaten them with. The loss of a main central point (ie lots of different P2P programs) was another point that stopped the RIAA from suing the companies. So they changed tact.
Now they're threating anyone large companies, organisation, groups with enough at stake etc with dmca letters, trying to curb their P2P their. Most companies, organisations and universities have high-bandwidth, which allows for easy and quick downloads.
If the RIAA can get these to ban P2P, a lot of the high bandwidth use is shut-down, therefore home use is the only real way to download songs, and since most people have 56k modems, this would stop the huge amounts of downloads, due to bandwidth constraints.
There will always be P2P sharing, but if they can target places of mass-downloading, they will stop a large amount of sharing and downloading.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
Scotty: How long did you tell the captain the deflector work would take us?
LaForge: Two hours and we have barely more than that till the Borg cube arrives.
Scotty: And how long will it actually take us?
LaForge: Two hours-like I told him.
Scotty: Geordi, ye've got a lot to learn. You never tell captain's how long it will really take. How do you expect to earn a reputation as a miracle worker that way?
My father is a blogger.
Report them to Sony.
I wonder if sharing a drive or directory counts? Maybe they just outlawed the Microsoft OS off their system.
Snip
POLICY. Peer-to-peer file-sharing programs may not be used on any computers connected to Blizzard or Blizzard North's networks without the express written approval of Mike Morhaime or Paul Sams. This policy shall go into effect immediately. Exceptions, if any, will be installed and tested in a controlled environment and properly configured to ensure an adequate level of security before implementation. If an adequate level of security cannot be established, such usage will not be approved, and an alternative method
will need to be found.
It sounds like MS might have a chance if Windows can be tested and approved in a controlled environment.
;-)
The truth shall set you free!
They should now better than to allow people to share music mp3's inside the company. It's still illegal..unless you can convince you senator that its not stealing .. its still illegal
Fuck off. Oh, and while you're at it, try shoving a handful of those piece-of-shit Memory Sticks up your collective asses, too... worthless twits, every last one of you.
Well, it seems that someone is datamining over at Sony. Hmmm. Maybe that could be used againt them? When someone in the intelligence field (read spys) know they are being bugged, they don't remove the bug, or let the evesdroppers know they know about the bug.
Instead, they feed information to it.
Specific informaion.
That they want the Bad Guy to know.
Doesn't mean it's true...
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Is this legal??
Must be a new-ish thing. When I worked at Blizzard, they actually did discourage that sort of thing. Shame Sony's not going after some of the companies that don't even try to stop it. :/
Please fuck off and come back with a police warrant or court order. I don't care you
have "good faith" and also don't give a flying fuck if YOU "believe the information" you
provide is accurate.
No one has the right to invade someone elses network(or home for that matter), without
seeking permission.
Respectfully,
X University
Blizzard DMCA's bnetd.
:)
Sony DMCA's Blizzard.
I suggest the bnetd team see if they can a Sony employee using bnetd software in an unauthorized manner...
bnetd DMCA's Sony
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.