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The War Between p2p and Record Companies Heating Up?
the-dude-man writes "Securityfocus.com Reports that there may be a new nasty turn to the battle between the p2p networks and the RIAA/MPAA. recently, the RIAA has been trying to flood kazza with files that appear to be valid copyrighted material (movies,mp3s, ect) but are empty or, in one case, of Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, contain a voice file asking, "What the f*ck do you think you are doing?". The p2p networks are considering a possible move agianst the RIAA in response to this by using recently enacted anti-spam laws."
No shit. Let's not forget that our major problem with the RIAA is the fact that they are enacting laws and introducing DRM technologies that destroy our fair use as consumers. Our problem with them is not that they are trying to prevent us from stealing music.
Granted, they need to be in compliance with the law as they take swipes at pirates...but c'mon, they're still pirates.
You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
The "what the fuck" clip has already even been remixed. The site with the links for that is here.
A screenshot of madonna's hacked site can be found here.
In most countries, it is not illegal to download copyrighted music. It's illegal to redistribute copyrighted music against the wishes of the copyright holder.
The RIAA can't come after you just for downloading music. You have to be actively re-sharing that music out again to break a law.
On the flip side, though, you are not procuring that music through legal/legitimate means, so you may not be granted certain protections and warranties that you might otherwise be granted, so your law suit might be tricky.
Your jurisdiction may differ, though.
Remember that piracy is stealing
1. It's not "piracy". Piracy is a crime committed on the high seas, involving armed robbery and murder. This is copyright infringement.
2. It's not "stealing" under any sane definition (not even under the law, in most cases). It's a civil tort.
While I don't condone copyright infringement in any way (and I don't have ANY bootleg music or software myself, nor do I want to) it's disturbing to see someone who's been so thoroughly brainwashed by the RIAA.