Slashdot Mirror
(CD) Pirates Take to the Ocean
rammstein_rulz writes "www.cdfreaks.com reports that asian CD pirates now produce thousands of pirated VCD's on anchored ships in international waters to avoid getting caught. Malaysian marine police have been asked to be on the lookout for pirate ships"
The RIAA's. Just wait for them to start issuing letters of marquee.
If I was trying to make money in IP violations, this is how I would do it:
1) Forge documents from media companies, ordering large batches of CDs and DVDs from established manufacturers.
2) Sell those records to wholesalers, which might or might not be aware of the scam.
3) Profit
Police in Penang last week launched "Operation Green Ribbon" to nab peddlers of illegal CDs and VCDs and Mazlan said they had already arrested four retailers and seized over 1,000 pirated copies.
I went to Penang just recently and there were literally multi-floor malls selling professional copies of Oracle for $20, dvds for $2-5 (based upon quality), Adobe products, MS products, etc. It was so vast it was staggering. One guy took a duffel bag overflowing with dvds/software back with us.
Basically what I'm getting at is if they've only found 1000 pirated copies, then they are either totally inept or not trying very hard.
This is an example of an unreasoned, apocalyptic extremism that plays into the hands of the forces the poster so adamantly attacks.
Playing word games with "piracy" is pointless. Producing unauthorized duplicates of commercial products is known as counterfeiting. Most countries have laws prohibiting the creation and distribution of counterfeit goods. It's as illegal to market a counterfeit CD of the current flavor-of-the-week pop band as it is to sell fake Rolex watches.
By glibly saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", all you've done is made more enemies: You have aligned yourself with counterfeiters, a tactic unlikely to draw support from the mainstream public.
The enemies of your new friend are now your enemies.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
There's the real humor: What are the chances these guys will be gotten by real pirates? It's still a big problem in the southern Asian seas. "Arrrr, gimme all yer CD-Rs." "Aye matie, but we'rrrrre pirates too." "No ye arrrrrn't, yerrrrr just geeks. Well tanned geeks. Arrrrr."
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
I worked for a Pirate radio station in Tijuana a few years ago. Technically, they weren't illegal, they just had their station and transmitter about 150yds from the border in San Diego and blasted about 75,000 watts.
They had a "subsidiary" that was stationed on a old oil drilling ship, that sat moored off outside in international waters off the coast of NYC, and broadcast at 60,000 watts. People there would work and live on the ship, only going ashore about once a month for supplies.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
The us has about as much chance of agreeing to join the european union as france has of seceding from europe and becoming the 51st state.
Wrong, the law of the sea is probably the most extensively litigated aspect of international law. International law was originally invented to cover the sea. The London Times reports on maritime law cases all the time.
The basic principle is that every ship is registered in a national shipping registry and is subject to the laws of that country. So if a ship is registered in Panama the laws of Panama apply.
A ship that does not have a registration is subject to the laws of any nation that cares to enforce them. An unregistered ship is likely to be seized each time it calls at a port.
It would not be legal for a merchant ship to attack another for any reason other than self defense. However a coastguard or navy vessel can do so.
One wonders if the story is a spoof since being at sea does nothing to improve the legal situation and the mechanics of producing CDs on board a ship do not sound promissing, I doubt that CD pressing plants are designed to be used on ship.
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
It made a lot more sense back in the 1950's and 60's when Norweigian oil platforms in the North Sea installed some truly overpowered AM rigs and broadcasted music the BBC wouldn't play into the UK. (Paid for by the record companies who wanted the advertising.) Then, they were doing something that was legal in Norway, but not in the UK, and benefitted from being close to the UK, so a Norweigian maritime installation made perfect sense.
Here, the pirates are doing something that doesn't benefit from being done at sea, so why bother?
Q: What do pirates use to copy movies?
A: CD-Arrrr
*ahem*
I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
What do you mean by "These people just don't realize that their personal gain in purchasing and selling cheap software may be good for them in the short run, but disasterous to their nation in the long run"
6 65 861,00.html
It's not that stupid.
Maybe you don't realize it but this sort of thing worked for the USA, it worked for Switzerland and I'm sure it worked for many other countries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2002379.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,
Open your eyes dude. The only reason it'll be bad in the long run is if the USA takes hypocritical, harsh and unfair action to stop others from doing precisely what it did for its own benefit in the past. Trade barriers etc etc.
Try to see it from this point of view just for a moment.
That's a reason why the US can't join the European Union.
And here I thought it was because the US is *not in Europe*.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
One thing I've always wondered about is the use of region encoding, but on a much smaller scale. You mention how you're willing to pay $20 for a DVD, because you can't be bothered to spend the time ripping it - but what about someone who only makes $5 an hour? Is it worth THEIR time?
I have rather well-off friends financially who don't even blink an eye at plopping down $500-$1000 a month for PC software, whereas with my student status, that's more than I make most months. So, I resort to what most students do, and still use the software.
Now, we all know one of the big uses for region encoding is so that content producers can effectively price-fix their products: they know they'll still make a profit selling a CD for $5 in say, Malaysia, but not any more than $5 because the average Malaysian makes 1/4 of what the average American does (all hypothetically speaking).
With a very large wage gap between the rich and poor in the US, it almost makes me wonder: CDs for $5 (still making a profit, remember)would sell boatloads to poorer families who normally would just download them. HOWEVER, the richer folk among us would buy the CD, even if it was priced at $50.
Now the only thing left to do is have the **AA buy some legislation that allows it to check your financial status, and price your goods accordingly. "Look, we've nearly eliminated those evil pirates, AND we're being nice to the little guy!"
Wow, I think I just scared myself.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
An AC wrote:
> I believe that a vessel in internation waters is
> subject to the laws of its flag country -- the
> country in which the vessel is registered.
Then these ships must fly a gold sun cross on a field of blue, the flag of that island whose language is song. Its divine Queen has never recognized the property rights, real or "intellectual", of the media sharks before ("Mosura" 1961, "Mosura tai Gojira" 1964, or "Gojira, Ebira, Mosura: Nankai no Dai Ketto" 1966), and I don't see her starting anytime soon.
Seriously, I think it bears pointing out that these ships are pressing VCDs of movies so we are talking MPAA here -- let us get our sharks straight. The market for these unauthorized copies is to people in the region who would never, ever, be able to afford a full price DVD. As with software, cheap versions of the hardware is a seriously major purchase for them (assuming they don't just use a computer at an internet cafe). Just forget about their having anything but pocket change to pay for the software/movies/etc. The street vendors hawking these unauthorized copies sell at what the market would bear. The media sharks do not sell to these people, so there is demand, but not much money, and no legitimate products to fill the demand.
The people out in boats making these VCDs are *not* real pirates. They do not hijack ships, murder, or rape (at least, that we know of). Yes, they are breaking a law, but so is the average American who speeds on the way to work, parks without paying the meter, or lies on income tax forms.
If the media sharks were remotely interested in actually putting an end to this terrible crime, they'd sign these "pirates" on as local distributors for a cut of their profits! The people get their movies at a price they can afford, the newly ordained distributors can conduct their business under more pleasant conditions, and the police can save their efforts for those who continue to prefer breaking the law and, gasp, actual murderers! The sharks save money on enforcement, and make a little money from their new distributors.
But no, that would be common sense. We can't have that!
Bells are ringing: Mothra, Mothra! Every heart is calling: Mothra, Mothra!
Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have gotta pay! New Kirk calling Mothra, we need you today!
G Countdown: 23 days (www.godzillaoncube.com)
So what do these guys do with those huge chests of burned cds? Bury them and make a map?
umm, privateers where pirates who held letters of marque. A letter of marque ment, when country A was at war with country B you can committ acts of piracy agaisnt country B and have a safe harbor to return (country A).
Hehe, maybe Sony would be interested in allowing me to pirate cd's produced by Virgin records for example, as long as I don't touch anything produced by Sony. In exchange they will provide me with lawyers to legaly protect my ass. Well fat chance of that happening
>