Slashdot Mirror
Arrest in Caridi FBI Investigation
skillio writes "The FBI arrested one Russell Sprague in Illinois on Thursday in connection with the previously reported Carmine Caridi dvd screener leak investigation. Given the FBI's figure of up to 60 screeners a year provided by Caridi, and Sprague's clearly sophisticated setup, one can't help but wonder if this will prove to be the main, if not sole, source of these dvd screener leaks. Caridi has yet to be charged, but after he's admitted to supplying Sprague with screeners for the last 3-5 years, I highly doubt his innocence will remain unchallenged for very long."
The FBI arrested one Russell Sprague
Why is it that cops always arrest one of somebody? It's not like raids on human clone factories are that common.
I doubt that he would be the only person doing screeners. There's probably about 2-5 people per movie, as you'll get different weirdnesses (such as blured out text) in the same movie, depending on the release group.
Carmine Caridi for saving me thousands of dollars on rental fees, movie tickets, popcorn, late fees, dinner with friends/family and candy for providing the worthless crap that the MPAA puts out to the common man on the internet.
...but I can't find any mention of DVDs in the article. Wasn't this guy being charged with ripping VHS tapes?
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
If the guy committed a crime, what's wrong with putting him in prison?
This guy is just the patsy! The mob always protects their own. Caridi is obviously a very computer savvy elderly movie pirate.
So, uh, where might these screeners be released on the internet?
We have a right to examine the evidence, right?
UNLIKELY.
If it were I'd kinda except all releases to have comen from the same group as well.
well, it's hardly likely that it will change anything. they might scapegoat him for all the huge losses of entertainment industry that they've invented with a random number generator though.
and you know what? sometimes the retail dvd is out in usa before the movie hits the big screen here in Finland. with phasing like that who needs screeners?
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
"Stealing movies is tantamount to taking money out of the pockets of everyone involved with the film industry," said United States Attorney Debra W. Yang in a statement. Kinda like how The Godfather 3 is tantamount to taking 3 hours of my life.
If he was just sending the guy movies because he'd watched them and was done with them, the only laws he broke were of the Academy, not criminal laws. As it says in the first article, if he didn't know the movies were being copied, he's criminally innocent.
I can't really believe that Caridi really knew that his screeners were being uploaded to the Internet. He's an older guy, I wonder if he's even familiar with the Internet, much less file-sharing. Anyways, if they were guilty wouldn't he let this other guy know, so he could get rid of the evidence before the feds showed up?
It's pretty safe to say he won't be voting for the Academy Awards anymore.
the national nightmare is over. Finally, the screeners can roam the wilderness, free and unripped.
And make sure you people set up BitTorrents for 'em. I wanted to see Win a date with tad hamilton (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335559/)
I herby give him the name 'VHS Carmine'.
You heard it here first.
George: I'm a bootlegger.
Anna: You're a what?
George: I'm bootleggin' a movie, baby!
Anna: Isn't that illegal?
George: I can do hard time for this one. And community service!
Jerry: I don't care about Brody. I was up on 96th Street today, there was a kid couldn't have been more than ten years old. He was asking a street vendor if he had any other bootlegs as good as Death Blow. That's who I care about. The little kid who needs bootlegs, because his parent or guardian won't let him see the excessive violence and strong sexual content you and I take for granted.
Caridi has yet to be charged, but after he's admitted to supplying Sprague with screeners for the last 3-5 years, I highly doubt his innocence will remain unchallenged for very long."
I don't know, seems to me that Caridi flipped and gave the cops the man they really wanted. I'll bet you they'll be some fines, community service, etc., but I doubt he's going to prison. Sprague is going to be sent up for a long time though.
What did Caridi get out of the arrangement? He denies receiving money, and says he just thought Sprague was a film buff. I wonder if all Caridi ever got from Sprague was praise and adoration: "I've always *loved* your work."
Since many people have been telling the movie industry for years that it is mainly its own people who distribute good copies of movies on the internet and they have constantly denied it. Are they now going to apologize?
One down, thousand to go. Keep at it MPAA and you just might get enough tickets to get that secret decoder ring in the prize case.
The only bad thing is that the screeners will dry up for a couple of months while the release groups go into damage control mode.
But they will be back in time for the DVDRIP.
Papa Legba come and open the gate
Could you please direct me to the article of the constitution that grants immunity to 70 year old criminals? Thank you.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
FBI Agent 1: Hey, I've got some evidence here that a massive terrorist attack is going to take place at...
FBI Agent 2: Not now! We've got to stop those damn dirty stinkin' hippie copyright infringers! To the FBImobile!
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
i don't like style guides
if convicted of the charges that they suggest are involved.
Sprague (charged):
1) criminal copyright infringement, and
2) illegal interception of a satellite signal
Caridi (may be charged):
1) contributory copyright infringement
While I'm no fan of breaking copyright law (or any law for that matter), what pisses me off is that these two will be sentenced to terms longer than Bill Janklow (R,SD). That fucker will get 100 days for killing someone AND his record will be expunged.
No wonder people have no faith in the judicial system.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
Wonder how they knew it was reconfigured for pirating satellite reception without seizing it or at least turning on the tv. Last time I checked warrant is only for the crime that it was issued to, pulling out the card or turning on the tv don't fall in scope with a warrant to search for illegal dvds.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
Can you drop the fucking make-believe-land movie crap and go after those real-life terrorists instead?
And see if you can get back my VCR and tape collection from the guy who burglarized my house.
The latest Slashdot meme.
These pirates are a little too fresh obsessed - crappy camera vids, then crappy VHS rips -its only going to hurt the box office if the movie is so bad people wouldnt want to see it on the big screen in the first place. I suspect that if all movies were available on opening night in VHS quality on the net, the great movies would do better, and the crappy ones would be destroyed at the box office.
Jan. 23, 2004
FBI arrests man in Oscar screener case
By Gregg Kilday and Paul Bond
The FBI arrested a Chicago-area man Thursday on charges of criminal copyright infringement and illegal interception of a satellite signal as a result of the bureau's ongoing investigation into pirated Academy screeners.
Russell William Sprague, 51, was arrested at his home in Homewood, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, where agents discovered hundreds of Academy screeners for recent and current movies in a search of his residence.
According to an FBI affidavit, most of the screeners were originally sent to Carmine Caridi, a 22-year member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences who has been sending as many as 60 screeners a year to Sprague for at least the past three years. Sprague supplied Caridi with Federal Express shipping boxes and mailing labels.
In an interview with the FBI last week, Caridi denied receiving any money for the screeners. Caridi said that he thought Sprague was a film buff and had no knowledge that Sprague had duplicated the tapes.
"Mr. Caridi has not been charged with anything," FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said. "But the investigation is continuing, and additional arrests have not been ruled out."
Caridi could not be reached for comment.
Informed of the arrest, Academy spokesman John Pavlik said AMPAS was unaware of the latest developments and had no comment on the situation.
For allowing the tapes out of his possession, however, Caridi could be subject to expulsion from the Academy. In addition, if it were to be proved he knew the screeners had been duplicated, he could be charged with contributory copyright infringement, said studio sources with knowledge of the case.
Sprague is scheduled to make an initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Bosley said.
"He'll eventually be extradited to Los Angeles to face charges," she said.
Sprague faces up to $500,000 in fines and up to eight years in prison -- three for copyright infringement and five for illegal interception of satellite signals.
"The meat and potatoes of the case is how many movies were copied and how many times," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. "The way this thing will shake out is that we'll have to indict him in a few weeks or we'll make a deal with him."
According to an affidavit filed by FBI special agent Bryan DuChene, another FBI agent, Jeffrey Cugno, was contacted this month by David Kaplan, vp intellectual property counsel at Warner Bros. Studios.
Kaplan told Cugno that anti-piracy investigators working with Warners had found illegal copies of "The Last Samurai" and "Mystic River" available for downloading on the Internet.
Because of the hidden security markers, installed by Technicolor, that the studios put on Academy screeners for the first time this year, Warners had determined that VHS tapes of the films had been issued to Caridi.
Ultimately, Technicolor technicians determined that copies of such pirated movies as Warners' "Samurai" and "Mystic," 20th Century Fox's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," Fox Searchlight's "thirteen" and Buena Vista's "Calendar Girls" all could be traced to Academy screeners that had been provided to Caridi.
Caridi, like all Academy members who wished to receive screeners this year, had signed an agreement promising not to allow screeners to be taken outside of his home and office so that they could not be distributed or reproduced.
Interviewed by the FBI in his West Hollywood home Friday, Caridi said, according to the affidavit, that he first met Sprague three to five years ago and that Sprague had asked him if he'd be willing to mail him his Academy screeners.
Since then, Caridi has sent Sprague 30-60 screeners a year, the FBI said. Caridi sent Sprague all of the screeners he received this year, including "Something's Gotta Give" and the aforementioned films.
An F
I thought it was 14 year old girls, 60 year old grandmothers, and college students who were responsible for all teh piracy... It cant possibly be one of the Acadamy members!!
Makes ya wonder tho, after all the commercials geared to make the American public feel guilt for pirating movies, how will the MPAA and such be taken seriously now that its been pretty much proven that one of their own is responsible for HUNDREDS of movie screeners getting out into the wild?
That would be like one of the RIAA people being found trading CDs on P2P networks in his off hours...
"Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
Academy screeners show up on eBay all the time.
FYI they're interesting in that they exist, but they're often one big-ass chapter with no subtitles and sometimes no better than VHS quality.
I often wonder, the commodization of computers made the pricepoint go down.. who pays 3k for a computer any more? no one..
ever watch the original 'blob'? one great scene, where the kids are pulled out of the movie house by the local law enforcement.. they complain "ok sherrif, you've got out eighty cents"-- movies were a dime.. and until my adulthood, so were phone calls.. think about it.. movies and payphone calls were the same price at one point in time. and payphones held level for DECADES
could not the widespread of free movies have forced the studios to re-normalize (read, de-gouge) to a point where the value was obvious?
instead of selling popcorn/candy/soda/food at a huge markup, and forbidding bringing it in from outside.. charge enough of a price that precludes anyone from wanting to bring it in from outside.
instead of selling 10-20 bags at 1$ profit, sell 100-200 bags at 20 cents profit
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
"Asked whether Sprague might have been burning DVDs with content taken from his illegal satellite TV connections, Mrozek said: "It's kind of separate from the movie thing, but who knows? We'll continue to investigate.""
Come on, even PPV today isn't any more recent then what the video stores offer.
Boy, Did this guys Karma take a beating. Sat theft, an Academy Investiagtion, FBI. Maybe the RIAA is looking into him, what's his IP address.
The accused biog here
But average /.ers still think its hunky dory to go out to the net and download it. Everybody wants something for free, doesn't matter what it is.
We can all go on and on about the evils of big business, how all they want to do is rip us off. But most people also think that the rules that apply to us "little people" such as honesty and integrity should apply to Big Biz as well, no double standards. So why do most here still think it's OK to steal music and movies?
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Nothing, per se, but you notice how much bad press the RIAA got for suing a little girl, right? Besides, they're probably much happier to find the leak (Caridi), and have the "mad copier" (Sprague) in custody.
Sprague will, no doubt, see some jail time, but he's just as likely to plea bargain his time down if he can provide the Feds and the MPAA with any more names or information.
Caridi, however... let's see, career ruined, good name ruined... sure, they could throw him in jail, but if he sticks to his story, he's likely to get off with little time or punishment other then being ostracized by the major players in Hollywood.
Kierthos
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
> Thank you ... for saving me ... for providing the worthless crap that the MPAA puts out
Thank you to all the people I've mugged in alleys over the years for saving me thousands of dollars on cars, motorcycles, clothes, drugs, jewelry, and dinner with friends/family for providing the worthless crap that our materialistic society demands we consume.
I am a victim of a society gone rotten!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
It's nice to see the FBI arresting the person actually breaking the law, unlike the RIAA which suied napster and other P2P services for "providing a conduit to break the law." If the FBI thought like the RIAA, they would destroy all roads in the US, because they facilitate people breaking the speed limit.
-TheDawgLives suckitdown
can't help but wonder if this will prove to be the main, if not sole, source of these dvd screener leaks.
Yes, and all those Metallica mp3s? Those are from just one source too!
<quick look at vcdquality>
Doesn't look like it.
Because he is not a DANGER TO SOCIETY therefore why overcrowd prisons already?
I guess next time you run a crack we will imprison you.
Fuckin yank mentality. The most backward nation next to china etc when it comes to human rights is the USA according to a report.
This should be a civil manner, not something that has been escalated to a federal criminal issue. ( including their funding via taxes )
Yes I realize that recent laws have allowed this, but that doest make it right.
At this point the feds can go after anything they want, for any reason. regardless of how severe it isnt.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Haha! That's a good one, dude!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
However, because this year the screeners carried invisible markings for the first time, the studios were able to identify the Academy member for whom they had been intended.
If everyone who gets a copy of movies knows that they're traceable, wont this seriously cut back the amount of people willing to get screeners onto the internet? I know if I was given screeners and occaisionally leaked them, i'd stop right now (at least until I found out what these "invsible markings" were, and how to remove them)
Why wouldn't this guy have disposed of, or at least hidden away in some storage facility (pay with cash), all of his equipment?
If I'm doing something like he was and my "supplier" gets busted, everything I have is going bye bye. You still might get busted, but they're going to have a hell of a lot harder time prosecuting you if they don't have that stuff as evidence.
Casual Games/Downloads
Sprague is claiming he duplicated the screeners and returned the origional plus two copies to Caridi. Caridi is claiming he didn't know Sprague was duplicating the screeners.
Seems to me a search of Caridi's home would be in order. Of course, it's probably too late now. If Sprague is telling the truth, Caridi surely would have disposed of any evidence by now. Too bad.
So it's not okay for me to disagree with a law, or the harshness of the punishment for it?
Sorry, I thought I was supposed to never question anything.
because of the special nature of eyesight over 40, only those of us with the proper corrective lenses (which you poor fools don't think you need... yet) can read it.
No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!
Can you please direct me to where it says I'm not allowed to disagree with a law, or the punishments associated with it?
I suppose you think it would be justice to throw somebody in prison, most likely for the remainder of his life, because he allowed people to see a movie screener? You're a barbarian.
So I actually RTFA, and I'm wondering about the legal basis for the "illegal interception of satellite signals" part. I can see where copyright infringement is illegal, and I can see where duplicating the SatTV smart cards is illegal, but what, exactly, is "illegal interception"? If they beam RF into my home, can't I receive it and -- purely for experimental purposes, say -- try to do something with it? The RF spectrum is licensed for transmitting on, but I thought I had a legal right to receive whatever I wanted. Now whether I can decrypt the data I receive is another question entirely.
It depends whether or not he's found guilty and if he spends more time in prison then someone who commited a violent crime such as murder.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
- Staying on the right side of the law gives you moral superiority
- Reducing or eliminating your dependence on products whose creators you disagree with reduces their power over you
- Reading makes you think; watching movies may not be able to make that claim
Besides, if we continue to consume lousy media in any form (buying it or pirating it) it tends to give the impression that we'd consume more of the same. They watch piracy statistics in addition to sales to determine interest.Not that it really matters, but if you RTFA you'll see that he's 51.
Could you please direct me to the article of the constitution that makes loaning a movie to a friend a federal offense?
"The FBI affidavit does not explain how the films were uploaded to the Internet."
The FBI understands how the screeners were distributed and then illegally copied using elaborate equipment. As for how that digital information made it on to the interweb, they are still researching the possibilities. Their suspicions include the use of some kind of Computing Machine.
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. -Oscar Wilde
I suppose you think it would be justice to throw somebody in prison, most likely for the remainder of his life, because he allowed people to see a movie screener? You're a barbarian.
So I take it you support companies taking the Linux kernel, and then using it, and NOT following the GPL? I mean, if you agree with that, then fine. I am sure you are also okay with companies that say they won't sell or distribute your private information, and then do so anyways without fear of punishment.
I am sure you are supportive of those measures...so I guess it's all golden.
Jason Lotito
For certain offenses, yes. If somebody is old enough that it's fairly obvious they will die in prison before the end of their sentence, that should be taken into account, especially if the crime was non-violent.
Do you really think this guy should die in prison because he allowed somebody to release a few movie screeners? There's this Constitutional provision against "Cruel and unusual punishment," maybe you've heard of it?
Shouldn't the FBI be using its resources for more serious threats, like tracking down violent criminals, drug dealers, bank robbers and terrorists.
Wasn't it pointed out after 9/11 that the FBI was too busy (lacked resources) to investigate possible terrorists training at U.S. flight schools--I guess now we why they're so busy.
So why do most here still think it's OK to steal music and movies?
I would say because big biz stuck it to the little guy first. Simple retaliation, they stuck it to us, we try to stick it to them to get some money back. Not saying I agree with it, but it is what it is.
Dammit, I've already paid my $8 to see your goddamned movie! I'm not the one you need to be winning the hearts and minds of!
The people you really need to go after are those that AREN'T already in your damn theater and AREN'T buying/renting your DVDs. Maybe you should take out some magazine ads or something. I bet those damn gamers have PCs and DSL... hmmmm....
As an engineer, I find wasted effort to be offensive. STOP annoying your paying customercers!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Google doesn't know about any program called "Copy Guard Breaker". What is this mysterious software program that Sprague allegedly used?
Maybe other people don't think that it's cruel to do this to an old person, but try being an old person for a while. (Disclaimer: I'm not an old person). I think he'd have enough on his plate, what with mortality and all. Also you have to consider the crime; putting him in jail for distributing movie screeners just isn't as reasonable as putting an old guy that's killed a bunch of people in jail.
Which of the old men in those two situations (one hypothetical) is more of a threat to society, and warrants time in the clink?
You are allowed to disagree with a law but you are also required to uphold it. You of course think that you are part of some great revolution, participating in some great collective disobedience when, in fact, you are a simple criminal. The fact is that by downloading a movie off the internet you are participating in a crime. By uploading a movie on the internet for millions to share, you are participating in a crime. You might think the law is unfair but you think thus not because you believe in some greater justice, nor because you think it makes you less free but, face it, because that way you can NOT PAY for what you are watching. And I HAVE TO PAY MORE because people like you find downloading movies justifiable.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Searching for the movies mentioned in the articles at http://www.vcdquality.com , the screeners are all from the group OBUS, which is prolly this guy's pirating group.
Their approaches to internet copyright infringement and illegal copying have been quite different from the get go (largely, I suspect due to the volume of piracy each industry is experiencing).
It took the FBI 3-5 years to catch Caridi and Sprague distributing movies even though each movie was specially marked. No wonder they focus on solving the entertainment industry's crimes. It's the only ones the can solve in under a decade. And it's a small wonder they can't find terrorists either.
Could you please direct me to the article of the constitution that grants immunity to 70 year old criminals?
It has nothing to do with immunity or the consitution, it has to do with the principles of justice though.
What was the reason we put people in jail, again?
Oh yeah, to protect society and to punish criminals.
Let's see.. is this 70-year-old a danger to society? Hardly. Will he commit the same crime again? I doubt it.
Punishment, then? Well.. putting the guy in jail for any extended period is more or less a life sentence. Hardly warranted for a crime that didn't harm anyone, except financially, and even that's in a rather diffuse manner.
And there are plenty of ways to punish the guy without putting him in jail.
RTFA. He signed a document agreeing to not let the movies leave his home.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
And I HAVE TO PAY MORE
You don't HAVE to pay anything if you think movies are too expensive. Too expensive == Don't buy movie tickets.
What the fuck are you talking about? I've never downloaded a movie. This isn't about me, as you seem to think. Continue making your stupid assumptions. One day they'll get you in hot water.
You just can't imagine how a person who doesn't pirate movies on the Internet could possibly have an opinion on this matter, huh?
You do not put people in prisons to protect society, nor to punish them. It is a common misconception, however it is wrong.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Wow, you people are just fountains of illogic, today.
Read what I said. I didn't say it should be legal to violate copyright. What I said was, it is cruel to imprison somebody whose death is already imminent, for a non-violent crime commited against what amounts to a corporate conglomerate.
The issue is not my ability to pirate movies off the Internet. I don't even do that. The issue is the degree of punishment this man will probably face, which is disproportionate and cruel.
I am probably going to be mod'ed as flamer, but still. I see a lot of double standards here (yeah, it's /., I know). These people broke the law. They should be punished.
People are complaining about wording in the article or from quotes (people suggesting they "stole" something). Does it really matter? Does the description of the act to a news reporter change the crime? If I describe a murderer's act as "He hurt the victims...", does that change the fact that the murderer committed the crime?
And for everyone complaining about how the big bad MPAA is going after people for these "littie" crimes. Remember, they are using the same laws that protect the Linux Kernel. When the community goes after a company that doesn't provide the source code they use, and don't follow the GPL, it's basically the same damn thing. We have rights they agreed to, and we expect them to act accordingly.
I mean, seriously, by suggesting that the MPAA shouldn't be going after these guys is tantamount to suggesting that the laws should be different for big companies and small companies.
Regardless of the current state of the laws in the country, that's just wrong. If these guys did commit crimes, nuff said. They should be punished.
Saying that they shouldn't be punished for committing a crime is just wrong.
Jason Lotito
Its not stealing, its borrowing it.
;) see not even the bible is (C)
Besides, the corporates have STOLEN enough from us, that we deserve a bit back, that includes ripoff prices, etc.. and corps we work for that pay us crap wages or sack us, while the boss gets the credit and the $120k job.
eye4 an eye, bible says, so its 100% legal to copy
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
What do you call a crime? Corporate CEOs and their radical self-interest, now control our legislative system, which is furiously dismantling our judicial system. (war powers act, PATRIOT, etc) Gen Tommy Franks actually said, that if there's another major terrorist attack, the Constitution may have to be suspended! WTF? We've had much worse crises, and haven't had to suspend the Constitution.
Where do you stand on (the current) abridging, and (the proposed)suspending the United States Constitution?!
Campaign finance reform is national security.
Now how can you possible mod this as Insightful when it's clear that the poster didn't even read the article? Especially when the article points out that Caridi received copies of the tapes that he sent out. Uh...if he received copies of the tapes, doesn't that sort of imply that he knew that the tapes were being copied?
You're utterly full of shit. Prison personnel turn a blind eye to abuses of inmates by other inmates. That's punishment. I don't give a flying fuck what it says in your nice little book what a prison is "supposed to be."
Be a sheep.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
'Caridi most recently appeared in the 2003 movie "Runaways", which has not yet been released' How is it a 2003 movie if it wasn't released in 2003?
what if this old guy spent the last 5 years stealing half of your salary. You'd still say just let him walk free? What if was 20 years old - would it be ok to put him in prison then?
Oh I see how it works - as long as you are a sympathetic figure, stealing from a big corporation, it's ok.
If all the Enron execs were only a little older, I suppose that you'd support just letting them go. All they did was a little creative accounting - they didn't commit a violent crime.
Stego serial numbers.
Campaign finance reform is national security.
Things you shouldn't do (again i'm speaking under some geek "we" umbrella):
oh, wait...
I'm very much of the belief that good movies are worth watching more than once, BTW.
This is my Sig, this is my Gun. One is for Slashdot and one is for Fun.
"There's no evidence Sprague was duplicating these movies and selling them," he added. "But anything is possible."
He should really get life for this. I mean, just listen to the FBI, "Anything is possible." I'll bet he used those screeners to kill people too. I mean "anything is possilbe." They'd better check all tohe cold case murders in that town. There's no telling what kind of felon this guy is. I mean, they already know he's actually used this slolen property to fund his *gasp* vast FedEx shipping empire.
He shouldn't do any time. He should have a small fine to pay (FBI wonks cost money, I'd say $50,000 should do it). Make sure there's a felony on his record - he did steal over $300 worth of "content".
He should have to pay for the owners of the copyrighted films for the distribution to the half-dozen or so family members he send the discs to. (60/yr*6 copies*3years*-let's say 3x damages = $4320)
DirecTV should sue his ass for theft of service, also with triple damages. That would be quite a bit more: figure $90 for all the channels, plus another 90-150 for PPV (how much can you really watch in a day?) x (?) 5 years x 6 boxes (oh, actually that's only $5 extra per box, per mo.)
All in all, he's a bad man doing bad things. Doesn't really rank up there with killing, raping, physically assault, selling drugs, or cooking corporate books resulting in the _direct_ loss of billions of dollars for shareholders. Still, he does deserve a good slap.
Here's a tangential question: If you plead innocent and are then found guilty, aren't you also therefor guilty of perjury?
Or is it like suicide, which is considered a homicide in some (most? all?) states, but if the victim dies there's no sense in prosecuting, and if the victim lives, you figure the insanity defense is a lock.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Also, should you go on replying in that tone to my messages I'll be forces to smack you around with a smoked herring. Be civilised, sir.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
It falls *after* the constitution, so its recent history as far as im concerned.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Happy 70th Birthday, Carmine! Our agents will be there shortly with your birthday present.
- Love, FBI.
For Jiminy's sake... The entire point of my original post was that the punishment this guy is going to receive is cruel. I never once said it is okay to violate copyright.
Or do you assume that by saying "I'll never pay for a movie again" that means I'm now going to steal them?
I don't pay for music either, nor do I download MP3s. I listen to it on the radio. And I'll get by watching movies on television, if it comes to it.
It's amazing that you literally cannot believe a person could have such a viewpoint without being a thief!
Oh...I see.
So just because he is older, he should be allowed to do whatever he wants without fear of punishment?
If he did the crime, what's wrong with the punishment? Unless you are all for double standards? I mean, your logic states that if a person is older, and commits a crime against a corporation, nothing should be done to them?
What if it was a smaller company? What if the person was younger, but with cancer or something?
Should they have exceptions as well? I agree, the punishment isn't good for the person, but you have a choice, either an impartial system or not.
Jason Lotito
You can question a law without breaking it. Or, you can practice civil disobedience- break the law, get arrested, go to jail, get the story on the evening news, and wait for a groundswell of protest over how unfair your incarceration is. But you still have to go to jail for that.
Your logic astounds me. I shall stop watching movies as of now and experiment your sound suggestion. I shall be reporting back as to how this novel and exciting solution affects me.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
So, wouldn't that be a breech of contract (and hence a CIVIL matter) and not a criminal matter?
No, but at the same time, I don't think corporations should be considered citizens either.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
Point to even a single person within the movie industry whose life has been destroyed by movie piracy. When you can do that, I'll happily support throwing the responsible parties in jail.
I believe that crime is defined by suffering inflicted on others. No suffering, no crime. Simple.
And one more time for the record, since none of you respondants can seem to comprehend it, I don't pirate movies. When I said I would stop paying for movies I meant nothing more than that. (If I said "I'm never going to buy a car again" would that imply that I'm going to start stealing cars? Please.)
I enjoy watching movies. Going to the movies is more expensive, nowadays, partly because of rampant piracy. Your solution is for me to stop watching movies?
What part of my post didn't you understand? Do I need to walk you through it word-by-word?
Your logic astounds me. I shall stop watching movies as of now and experiment your sound suggestion. I shall be reporting back as to how this novel and exciting solution affects me.
Holy shit you are a crybaby.
And now we know why Hollywood's been so focused on creating perfect CGI characters. It gets rid of all that overhead you just listed. Save a few million here, a few million there, pretty soon you've financed one hell of a render farm.
It might be a breach of contract (actually, probably only a violation of Academy rules) for which the Academy could seek compensation in a civil suit, or at least revoke his membership, but I don't see why my money is going to support thugs to arrest people that Hollywood Studios don't like. If he loaned them out to someone else who made copies *for profit* then he might be an accessory to a crime.
Sorry -- the one thing you're doing that's driving me nutty is accusing me of pirating movies. I don't do that. If you'll stop insisting that I'm lying, I'll be able to calm down and talk a little more coherently, okay?
I don't steal them.
I download some movies mainly because..
1. I live in Italy, and I really dislike dubbing.
2. Movies are released here much much later than in the states. For example, Down with love just came out in theaters here (an example, not interested in seeing it), DVDs come out 6 or so months after theater.. it could be a year after the US release before we see a movie in english.
3. We could buy movies from amazon or whatnot, but do we really want to spend 20+ bucks(plus shipping) to find out whether it's good or not?
4. We have purchased DVDs for films we've enjoyed.
5. We've seen movies that very possibly won't be released outside very large cities.
6. It's copyright infringement ya troll.
He tried to kill me with a forklift!
Your viewpoint is shallow, unfounded, simplistic, reactionary, non-sequitur, irrational, insulting and, ultimately, wrong.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
The settlement dictates that if you bought one CD, cassete, or album from a member of the RIAA between January 1, 1995, through December 22, 2000, you are entitled to 20 bucks. Max.
If you bought 300 CDs, you would get 20 bucks. Max.
If you bought a CD every day for those five years - 20 dollars. Max.
Please note, the RIAA admits to no wrongdoing. If the total to each claimant is less than 5 dollars, it all goes to charity. (And becomes a tax write off?)
You're right! I don't want 'double standards'. If I do something wrong, like infringe copyright - I want to settle for a fraction of the money a make each year, and admit no wrongdoing.
Just like the 'Big Biz'.
Why do you think it's so hard to justify? With the number of entities trying to screw me over on a daily basis, then 'admitting no wrongdoing' (catchphrase of the 21 century), I have a hard time caring about anything that 'hurts' big business.
I understood your post perfectly. Were you not advocating my not watching movies? Did I misread you, brother sir? If so, kindly walk me through it word by word.
Holy shit you are a crybaby.
Sarcasm is wasted on the likes of you.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Well, some people here believe 'all information should be free', some people are Canadians and believe they should be allowed to copy some stuff since they've already paid for it in the surcharge on recordable media, and some people because they're just plain stingy...
You are, of course, correct.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Were you not advocating my not watching movies?
I was advocating you stop bitching about movie ticket prices. Given some of your other posts in this thread it looks like I'd have a hard time of doing this.
Sarcasm is wasted on the likes of you.
What, people like me who don't bitch about stupid shit like movie ticket prices? Fuck you and the chimpanzee that gave birth to you.
I never said that. They should punish him in a way that doesn't amount to a life-in-prison sentence. He's got a lot of money, right? Take it all. After all, the impact of his crime was financial, correct?
I agree, the punishment isn't good for the person, but you have a choice, either an impartial system or not.
There's this concept that the system should be mechanistic, with no room for humans to make exceptions. I just don't understand that at all. This guy's lifetime of actions, his current state of mind, his character, all these things should be considered in making a punishment decision.
Clearly I've inflamed a lot of people with my original post. I'd suggest they go re-read it, and determine which things I actually said, and which things they are assuming because they're instantly enraged by anyone who appears to be a pirate (which I am decidedly not -- you assumed that when I said I would never pay for a movie again).
I recall hearing about a congressman who is spending 100 days in jail for killing a biker when he hit him wrecklessly with his car. What a wonderful justice system we have in the US, you can kill a man and go to jail for 100 days or you can make copies of a digital video and distribute them and spend the next 15 years in jail. It's a movie, it's not worth ruining peoples lives over.
I also like how the MPAA (and RIAA, for that matter) determines their statistics for stolen movies/songs. If you have a movie on your computer, thats money that the MPAA lost. But in reality, most likely you would never spend a penny on that movie anyway.
Stupid MPAA
Caridi has yet to be charged, but after he's admitted to supplying Sprague with screeners for the last 3-5 years, I highly doubt his innocence will remain unchallenged for very long. If he steadfastly maintains his own innocence, he may be able to pull it off. Some folks still think Alger Hiss was innocent, Venona papers or no.
-- Jim Crigler In 1937, I began, like Lazarus, the impossible return. -- Whittaker Chambers
I do apologise for saying you are pirating movies but, to be frank, a discussion with someone who finds it easier to make insulting remarks rather than relevant and thoughtful comments does not interest me. Than again, this is slashdot.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
According to the FBI, Sprague admitted receiving screeners from Caridi and said that he used the software program Copy Guard Breaker to copy the VHS tapes to DVD and then returned the original VHS tapes and two VHS copies of each to Caridi.
Sprague said that he'd made as many as six duplicate copies of each DVD and distributed them to family and friends. He supplied copies to another friend in exchange for using a FedEx shipping account, the FBI said.
The FBI affidavit does not explain how the films were uploaded to the Internet.
So they found the "source," and it was really Caridi, not Sprague. Caridi was getting "keeper" copies of all of the movies, so who cares that Sprague was making the dupes? Sprague was just the guy that had the equipment and expertise to do it, with a few buddies on the side. He didn't seem to have financial motive. One of his "friends" was kind enough to rip and upload his backroom work for him. Sprague's a hacker but now he faces three years for someone else uploading his hack.
Sprague's a pirate, no question. What he did was wrong. But three years of Federal-Pound-Me-In-The-Ass-Prison for copying movies? (It's probably be low security, but still...) Caridi is the violator and should be held liable for the movie piracy, especially after the agreement he signed.
Separately, DirecTV filed a civil lawsuit against Sprague in May over his alleged theft of its satellite signal. In 2002, Sprague had been named, along with hundreds of other suspects, in a massive crackdown on equipment that can be used to reprogram satellite television access cards, a method by which pirates illegally get programming for free. Paying customers are issued personally encoded cards with their subscription.
Sprague stole satellite TV and made cards for others to do it also... yes the whole debate about "you can't steal signals that reach everyone" will rage on, but there's no question they were defrauding DirecTV. On the other hand, that carries a potential five year prison term, is that appropriate for a first offense?
First the RIAA sues a 13 year old girl, now the MPAA is going to throw a 70 year old in jail.
Maybe their next target could be a couple of nuns or some orphans. The tactics they're using in their anti-piracy campaign isn't exactly endearing them to the public.
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
By this logic, anyone sentenced to life without parole has received a cruel sentence and should be released? The cruel and unusual punishment clause says nothing of the punishment fitting the crime. Sending people to prison for periods of time is accepted in this society as not being cruel and since it is accepted, it is not unusual.
The fact is, if the old man wanted to live his last years out free and unfettered, he should not have broken the law. If you don't have enough years left to do the time, don't commit the crime - right?
The cruel and unusual clause has no merit here and you are incorrect to bring it up.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Actually, wouldn't it be *two* offenses? Breach of contract and also copyright violation (or conspiracy to commit)?
Have you considered Prozac?
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
It has been said that the moral difference between falsely accusing someone of a crime and committing that crime is about 12 inches.
You were doing fine until you got to the word "anymore".
Please Help a Schizoid Genius!
Have you considered gnawing my scrotum? WAAAAAA!!! Movie ticket prices are too high!
And you're a dirty cocksucking whore.
I find your suggestion intriguing. Have you considered psychanalysis?
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
from what my brother tells me (he is a cop), federal prison is fairly cushy (unless its a ultra max), where as state lockup can be hellish, espcially if your in one of the rather poor southern states like Louisana (sp?) or Texas.
Lawyers, MBA's, RIAA? A jedi fears not these things!
Sir,
I beg to differ, but look at all the Apple users on slashdot who regularly go out and purchase $3K machines that perform roughly the same as a $1K Intel machine. Roughly $2K is a premium for "better design".
are a silly asshole
I again apologize, but I'm being assailed by multiple people who are all insisting that the only reason I could have an opinion on the matter is that I'm a pirate. I'm notorious for being unable to deal with false accusations -- I'm working on it.
Anyway, that little "Freak" light probably means you won't respond to this, so I won't waste too much time on this post... But my opinion seems shallow due to my thinking being clouded by anger, not because I haven't thought it through. Hopefully sometime we can discuss it the right way.
Can we please stop giving Robert X. Cringely any more publicity? I mean.. come on, we're talking about the same guy that accused my old employer (which I sincerely hate with a passion now, btw) of not including an uninstall link in the program, when it was right there in add/remove programs, the same place it is for every program in windows. He singlehandedly costed my old company more then 2000 support calls from people furious over why we wouldn't let them uninstall our software. Or can I at least filter him out of my slashdot page without having to filter specific authors? Michael's normally got some good stories and I would hate to filter him out just because he's posted cringely articles in the past, but I'm really tired of hearing from some guy that doesn't bother to check his facts before writing stories...
No. There are certainly some crimes for which that punishment is fitting. The whole point here is that somebody who infringes copyrights (or, in this case, a person who merely enables another to so infringe) doesn't deserve to die behind bars.
Caridi is an actor. One would assume he has a fair amount of money. Since the impact of the crime is entirely financial, against the movie industry, the correct punishment would be to take his money. However, he'll probably end up in jail, in which case I will do what I said -- never pay for a movie again.
Sadly, that means I'll only be able to watch them on TV. But by no means am I going to go out and start violating copyright myself.
Perhaps my sarcasm was over the top. The freak light is gone, btw. Having been in the same spot as you I do understand your reaction although perhaps mine would have been different. Perhaps another time then.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Grow up. No one is forcing you to do any of the above activities. The fault is with you for selecting crappy movies to go see. Last I checked, the MPAA does not create movies of any sort, movie studios do.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
I am the Information Tech Minister of the
People Czech Republic. Please Stop slashdoting
our country. We have but only one internet pipeline.
All traffic seem to be going toward a rogue
web page 'http://www.mujmac.cz/art/hw/tatra_mac_eng.html'.
While we are tracking down the mujmac server and incarcerate
the web admin with the most painful death our
law allows, we beg you to stop clicking on the link.
Have you considered cherishing my balls? WAAAAA!!!!! Moives == tex expesnive!!!1`!~~
You don't belong here on Slashdot.
We, here, at Slashdot, are different kinds of sheep; we accuse all of the Fox News Watching Patriotic Americans of being sheep, while we follow our own shephard; we are more sophisticated sheep.
You don't belong.
Get out.
Furthermore I want to say that the way that the FBI is infringing on Caridi's and that Segway guy's rights to privacy is preposterous. Why don't tehy just shove an RFID tag up their butt?
So why do most here still think it's OK to steal music and movies?
Um, turnabout is fair play?
Hardly anyone commits crimes which they believe they'll be caught for. Since you can't be caught, there is no need for countermeasures or damage control. Flawed logic at its best, but so very human.
Few people have such clarity of mind that they truly admit to themselves that they could get caught for their actions. It's either ridiculed "Yeah sure, the day pigs fly" or rationalized "Everybody else is doing it" away. And if they do, they often don't do it instead of minimizing their risk.
So they're a) few to begin with, b) fewer still that go through with it and c) fewer that get caught. And, whether you consider this as lazy or as efficient - the police would rather catch ten stupid people than one smart guy, assuming they all commit the same crime. Simply because it's a better use of resources.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
The FBI acted on the warning we've watched thousands of times at the beginning of every movie we've ever rented.
It's called Martial Law you asshole, look it up.
It has been put into place nearly a half dozen times in the history of America - just because you have the interplaceneterweb doesn't mean that it still can't be useful.
Ignorant retards...
It's human nature to share information.
Except where it concerns public safety or national security, I say congress should make no law abridging the right of anyone to parse, manipulate, or disseminate any digital information.
Long live digital freedom.
There is a very simple explanation for why actors are paid so much. It's even mathematical.
.03
Your salary is directly proportional to your contribution to society.
Movies rake in so much cash because they are accessible for so many people. It lets them escape the dull drudgery of everyday life if only for a few hours. Hackers was accessible to only a minority of geeks (myself included) that dreamed of F'ing the system and "the man", and making the world a nicer place. As such, the movie was moderately successful in the office. Return of the King was accessible to everyone, from child who dreams of slaying monsters, teens that want to adventure across the globe for a noble cause, and old folks that like the idea of sailing off with pretty elves instead of getting shipped to the nursing home.
The point is that yes doctors and teachers touch lives in a fundamental way, one doctor does not give hope, wonder and excitement to the millions of people that see one actor. My
That's an assumption, not a fact. Since the movie industry's figures about profit are notoriously manipulated, with multi-million dollar movies offically not making a profit, then I don't see how anyone could possibly know if copyright infringement actually increases the cost of movies.
If you write, "a man assulted three people..." but fail to mention that he also killed them, you're guilty of negligent reporting.
In fact, in the UK this breaks the NUJ's Code of Conduct (rule 3):
"A journalist shall strive to ensure that the information he/she disseminates is fair and accurate, avoid the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion, selection or *misrepresentation*."
"The number of Unix installations has grown to ten, with more expected." (Unix Programmer's Manual, 2nd ed.; june 1972)
If it weren't for the article stating which DVD screeners were copied, I wouldn't have known Master and Commander DVD screener was available to download ;) Thanks you press bitches!!
I will have you know that i just started reading the Illuminatus! Trillogy and your sig scared the fuck out of me here at work.
The previous sig has been removed due to
I highly doubt that he is the "sole source" for all DVD screeners. It simply wouldn't make sense considering how many groups there are out there releasing them in competition with each other and with different versions. If there was one source there would be one group always getting the first release for every movie, which just isn't the case. My best guess was that he was OBUS's source. They're the only group that released all of the movies listed in the article and while they are a major group, they're far from the largest or most well known.
so much better than amendment four
ass
"according to a report."
You're an idiot. We don't make women cover themselves and beat them with wooden rods if they don't, as some arabs do. You're an idiot.
And will we be able to download it before it's in the theaters?
PARENT IS A FAILURE OF A SUMMARY.
If people wanted to read what you just posted, they would have gotten here two hours ago and read all the OTHER freaking posts that said the exact same thing as you.
ass.
First of all he's not a company, but rather an individual. Second, he's not profitting in any way from this other then cool points. Third, my case is made, you suck, I win.
Regards,
Steve
From the Reuters article:
:-P
It is looking into four films -- "Something's Gotta Give," "The Last Samurai," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and "thirteen."
Now, all these movies happened to have the same release group -- OBUS.
- Master and Commander, nfo
- Something's Gotta Give, nfo
- The Last Samurai, nfo
- Thirteen (nfo)
In *all* cases, they were the first (and often only) group releasing the screener for these movies. I think I know who their source was then.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
You do not put people in prisons to protect society, nor to punish them. It is a common misconception, however it is wrong.
You don't spend a word on explaining HOW it is wrong, or what the correct reasons are?
That makes no sense. This is a democracy, the 'common' perception of why the government does things IS the reason why the government does things.
OK - so the impression I get from you all is that the media is missing the point. I'm the media and I'm assigned to write about this today.
What should I be sure not to miss?
That this guy could be the source of most good quality bootlegged movie copies?
That this is the first year for digital alterations to catch the bad guy?
That it was an industry insider?
That he's an old guy?
Did any of you all pay money for these copies, or download for free?
Thanks
Alice
Daily Southtown
You can call me, too, at 708-633-5993. I want to write the best article I can for Chicago readers.
Gracias.
I can't really believe that Caridi really knew that his screeners were being uploaded to the Internet. He's an older guy, I wonder if he's even familiar with the Internet
Ah yes our poor feeble old people, completely oblivious to 'the internet.' This really chaps my ass, the assumption that a) you forget all technology that existed prior to sliced bread when you turn 65, and b) you can't possibly learn how to use those new fangled thing-a-majigs. My grandparents (76, 82) are active internet users, emailing, news groups etc. My grandfather uses the internet for managing and investigating his stocks, and advising his friends, and my grand mother uses it for research and dealing with clients and professional colleagues (note she still publishes research papers in her field, I guess her brain didn't shrivel to the size of a raisin at 65.)
I will admit that my grandparents are the exception not the rule, but the arrogance of youth to assume elderly are retards, that is very naive of us.
A quick search on nforce.nl at least reveals what release group ended up with the movies:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World *SCREENER* - OBUS
The Last Samurai (2003) *SCREENER* - OBUS
Mystic River (2003) *SCREENER* - OBUS
Calendar Girls (2003) *LIMITED* *SCREENER* - OBUS
Thirteen (2003) *LIMITED* *SCREENER* - OBUS
Check the nfo of Thirteen for a nice description of how they recruit people.
"Do you have connections within the academy network and can you obtain academy screeners/dvd screeners during oscar season. then contact us asap."
Oh, and if any feds are reading this: Even though Cokine is the only "name" of an actual person in the nfo, it does not mean he is affiliated with the group. He is just another starving ascii artist, taking requests over IRC.
I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
Yeah ... that's a great idea! Let's all just focus on one type of crime. Why worry about child abductions when we've got terrorists? Same goes for medical research. Eh, Cancer can wait! We're putting everybody on Spina Biffida. Face it ... different agents do different things. Putting everybody on a single objective isn't the right approach.
But average /.ers still think its hunky dory to go out to the net and download it. Everybody wants something for free, doesn't matter what it is.
Yes. I want things for free, as does everyone else. I want the ability to try on pants for free before I buy them. I want the ability to return them for free if I don't like them when I get them home. I guess I'm an evil person for wanting and expecting such treatment for "free" services when I'm purchasing products.
When movies are treated like other products, I may consider sharing of them "theft" (even though it isn't by any definition of theft I've ever seen, since it doesn't take property from the "victim"). Until then, I consider piracy to be the market fixing the horrible situation caused by the monopoly.
Learn to love Alaska
Satellite cable. Isn't that kind of an oxymoron? Cable is distinguished by the presence of a piece of cable connecting your TV to the broadcast center, completely unlike satellite. Once the bird is up it costs nothing to maintain the network. Or are laws routinely written this way in order to group together physically dissimilar technologies into the same logical group? Would it be possible to challenge this tortuous chain of logic that establishes the crime of descrambling satellite signals?
In other words, is this the same thing as where cryptography is in the same classification as dangerous munitions when it comes to exporting it? A purely arbitrary decision, but at least that was done with the justification of "national security," not to protect a private corporate interest.
I think the laws protecting "sattelite cable" go too far. As we've seen, the only real enforcement comes via a witch-hunt whereby you find out every person who has purchased a smart card reader and then sue them. Wouldn't it be a better use of the company's resources to devise a better encryption technology? Don't tell me it can't be done. (Perhaps buying the legislature was cheaper?) And wouldn't it be a better use of the legislature's time to let the market decide which businesses will succeed, rather than create special laws for "sattelite cable" which seem to fly in the face of the Constitutional right we have to monitor the airwaves?
DirecTV, I'm really sorry you spent all that money putting a bird into orbit. But let's face it what is the function of a satellite? It broadcasts to an entire continent. Now you have to put up all sorts of barriers to make it harder for us landlubbers to get your signal. Frankly that's your problem, not the problem of any of us citizens down here on Earth, legal contrivances notwithstanding.
I wonder if there is a jurisdiction issue here. Since the encrypted signal came from space, how is it a violation of US law for me to monitor that? Do US laws extend as far up as geosynchronous orbit now?
And, for the record, I will *never* be a DirecTV customer. (Though, at one time, I did have a roommate who had a hacked card.) Frankly I barely watch TV at all, and the picture quality is not half as good as analog cable. Those arguments notwithstanding, I refuse to give my cash to a company that rewards its customers with lawsuits.
it is moderately well known that data above and beyond SMTPE timecode is frequently embedded in lines 18 through, I think it is 27, in your average NTSC video frame. if you have an older TV with horizontal hold controls, roll the picture down a little and watch the black line dance above the picture.
this is, among other things, how Panasonic VCRs can automatically set their clocks when you switch them to the local PBS channel.
all you have to do is put a dupe serial number in that retrace bar's timespace, between the horizontal sync pulses, and you've tagged the tape with a unique number.
it's a little harder to blur these out, because you have to replace the information or you break picture sync, putting an ugly hook in the top of the picture.
ain't worth my time to chase it further, but bet on the serials being there... and if MPAA is truly paranoid and in league with the shadows, the name of the intended recipient of the screener. if they use some sort of argument like, "it takes a month to cut these tape copies," bet big on it.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
You do realise perhaps that the rights to, say, Humphrey Bogart's "shape" (for lack of better description) is now protected? He might be dead but someone wants to cash in on his polygons.
I had no idea Billy Bob Thornton was the President of the Moose Lodge. Man, those Celebrities have their hands in EVERYTHING!
fs
My name is Russell Sprague, and I have been frightened and alarmed.
/. article emailed a few times to me, had my boss's boss taunting me since the moment he walked in the door... Today's not a good day to be a Russell Sprague.
I've had this
"If you plead innocent and are then found guilty, aren't you also therefor guilty of perjury?"
Depends, are you under oath when you plead? Probably not, so it's not perjury.
And the insanity defense is never a lock. You've got to prove that because of a mental illness you were incapable of knowing right from wrong. Few suicides could pull that one off.
I literally am borrowing it when I go to the library. See also my sig.
it is moderately well known that data above and beyond SMTPE timecode is frequently embedded in lines 18 through, I think it is 27, in your average NTSC video frame. if you have an older TV with horizontal hold controls, roll the picture down a little and watch the black line dance above the picture.
this is, among other things, how Panasonic VCRs can automatically set their clocks when you switch them to the local PBS channel.
all you have to do is put a dupe serial number in that retrace bar's timespace, between the horizontal sync pulses, and you've tagged the tape with a unique number.
it's a little harder to blur these out, because you have to replace the information or you break picture sync, putting an ugly hook in the top of the picture.
Screeners are on DVD, not tapes. Those empty sync lines are still there on the NTSC output signal, but there's no metadata in them; metadata is stored differently on DVDs. It's one of them digital pixelajig thingamajugs..
SCO employee? Check out the bounty
Is is right that the US takes away more people's freedom than any other free country. The report crack was total shit though.
Whoops, I mean see also my old sig. It went like this:
If libraries were invented today, they would be sued by the RIAA for illegal filesharing.
These old movie guys are all communists. Didn't we learn anything from the McCarthy hearings in the 1960's.
My other first post is car post.
The "dancing black" you are referring to is VITC time code. It actually is quite easy to replace this. All you need is a VITC regenerator. However, it is unlikely that this form of tagging would be used for anything beyond VHS cassettes, which is what made it so easy to nab Caridi in the first place.
Since VHS duplication still requires running through the tape's full length, you can just put a VITC regen inbetween the source and the destination.
DVDs, however, require MPEG-2 encoding each time you alter the video signal.
Jory
The FBI is hot on the tail of the guy who leaked a stupid DVD, but members of congress who hacked into computers (and who knows what other groups other than the Republicans they gave the info to) has yet to hit the mainstream media. Doesn't anyone see any similarities to Watergate? Republicans, election year, stealing documents, break in, meglomanic president?
Will I once again be allowed to take my camcorder into the theatre?
The MPAA apparently got their act together and started including foolproof watermarkings. Unlike the stupid dots and serial numbers, these cannot be detected unless you have two copies from different sources (extremely unlikely) and huge amounts of time in your hand.
With two sources, you could theorically be able to contrast everything in the movie (scene lenghts, colors,etc.) but the amount of work required is huge and the probability of oversights is very high. That's assuming you have two sources willing to take the risk. It's not going to happen.
Well, that's that then. No more screeners for you and me. So long and thanks for all the fish.
I'll give you a hint: there's a reason it's called a "corrective" facility. The common perception is wrong. It does not matter if 99% of citizens think it is correct, it continues to be wrong.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
I take it then sir, that you are a typical slashbot socialist.
According to your definition, only suffering equals a crime. And since no ones life was "destroyed", no one suffered?
If I steal half of what you currently own, your life will not be "destroyed". No suffering, no crime. Can you please post your address, I'll pull my truck out front later this evening.
Again by your logic - how can we lock people up for drunk driving - they didn't actually cause any suffering. What about stalking or libel - there is no actual tangible suffering, so how can we possibly jail someone for those non-crimes?
If you actually agree with the above, then I will waste no more time. If not, then what you really mean is that you think it is ok to steal from those you consider rich.
Well, anyway, this VCD had the telltale sign of being a screener, every now and then on the bottom it would flash "For Your Consideration."
Well, this got my mind going, someone had actually hired voice actors to dub a pirate VCD. Will wonders never cease.
Incidentally, before my friends are condemned for being wicked and evil, I should point out that I had bought a used copy of The Two Towers on DVD that I would gladly have lent them, they just wanted to watch it translated into Thai.
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
we cant have that bandied about, people might get ideas
There are a bunch of other Academy members shitting in their pants, because they lent their grandchild "little jimmy" a screener. Little do they know Jimmy has a cable modem and ton's of time on his hands....This guy Cardidi was up to something he should be publicly flogged. I also think it hilarious it's one of the movie industry's own involved in this...
Could you please direct me to the article of the constitution that grants immunity to 70 year old criminals? Thank you.
No, but I can direct you to
"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" - US Constitution Article 1 Section 8
which was intended to grant immunity from 70 year old copyrights.
And by the way, I don't give a fuck about wheather you want any movies ever again. You've proven yourself to be too stupid to follow a simple thread and therefore I could not care less about what you do with your life as long as you stay the fuck out of my way. Of course, you sound so dumb that I would imagine you can't get a job and will eventually be on welfare - living off my hard earned money. But as long as you stay in the ghetto where you and the other social deviants belong, I am happy to watch you rot on a small pittance each month.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
I was the AC you were replying to. My ability to follow the thread is not in question. Clearly, it is you who are incapable of understanding what I'm talking about, not vice versa.
I am happy to watch you rot on a small pittance each month.
Well, since you want to get into a pissing contest, my paychecks are $1574.88. Every two weeks. After tax, dipshit. How about you?
Actually, I'm pretty certain you're lying and you were not the AC.
Good luck making such a small amount of money.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
You know I can't prove it without Taco's help (the actual user account is logged in the DB), but I was arguing that what is not a cruel and unusual punishment in one case (e.g., a 30 year old sentenced to 15 years for massive copyright infringement) becomes cruel and unusual under other circumstances (i.e., a 70 year old sentenced to 15 years, who will probably die in prison during that period).
For Caridi, a 15 year sentence is essentially a sentence of life in prison. Since life in prison is unreasonable punishment for copyright violation, a 15 year sentence for Caridi would be cruel and unusual. Need I spell it out in big bold letters for you?
It would be more fitting to take the major portion of the presumably large chunk of cash he's got sitting around, and give it to the movie studio as compensation.
Good luck making such a small amount of money.
That statement is ridiculous beyond the point of being able to reply to it.
Good answer. /. briefly redeems itself once again.
And how exactly is this relevant to the subject at hand? Answer: it is not.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Screeners come on both DVDs and VHS. Most studios have switched to DVDs since they are faster and cheaper to produce, but some are still sent out in VHS. (If you note in the first article in the story they talk about how the FBI found about 36 VHS screeners at the suspect's house, in addition to a number of DVD screeners.)
Some studios have started to switch back to VHS screeners since they aren't as easy to rip into a Divx encoded avi for quick posting on the internet. I believe slashdot or some other sites had an article about this a while ago since Disney only released VHS screeners of Finding Nemo to try and make it harder to be copied.
And how exactly is this relevant to the subject at hand? Answer:
I am so sensible, Sir, of the kindness with which the House has listened to me, that I will not detain you longer. I will only say this, that if the measure before us should pass, and should produce one-tenth part of the evil which it is calculated to produce, and which I fully expect it to produce, there will soon be a remedy, though of a very objectionable kind. Just as the absurd acts which prohibited the sale of game were virtually repealed by the poacher, just as many absurd revenue acts have been virtually repealed by the smuggler, so will this law be virtually repealed by piratical booksellers. At present the holder of copyright has the public feeling on his side. Those who invade copyright are regarded as knaves who take the bread out of the mouths of deserving men. Everybody is well pleased to see them restrained by the law, and compelled to refund their ill-gotten gains. No tradesman of good repute will have anything to do with such disgraceful transactions. Pass this law: and that feeling is at an end. Men very different from the present race of piratical booksellers will soon infringe this intolerable monopoly. Great masses of capital will be constantly employed in the violation of the law. Every art will be employed to evade legal pursuit; and the whole nation will be in the plot. On which side indeed should the public sympathy be when the question is whether some book as popular as Robinson Crusoe, or the Pilgrim's Progress, shall be in every cottage, or whether it shall be confined to the libraries of the rich for the advantage of the great-grandson of a bookseller who, a hundred years before, drove a hard bargain for the copyright with the author when in great distress? Remember too that, when once it ceases to be considered as wrong and discreditable to invade literary property, no person can say where the invasion will stop. The public seldom makes nice distinctions. The wholesome copyright which now exists will share in the disgrace and danger of the new copyright which you are about to create. And you will find that, in attempting to impose unreasonable restraints on the reprinting of the works of the dead, you have, to a great extent, annulled those restraints which now prevent men from pillaging and defrauding the living. - Mr. Serjeant Talfourd
I think that thoroughly covers the connection I'm making.
I take it then sir, that you are a typical slashbot socialist.
I'm all for trashing slashbots but how is the "only suffering = crime" socialist? Do you even know what socialism is?
He'll be innocient, even if he's convicted. Showing a video to someone is, last I checked, not even a violation of the rediculous DMCA or Patriot Act. Last I checked, the most he could be guilty of is a private contract, in which there would be a civil suit.
From the sounds of it, not even such a contract is involved: the Academy just seems to be some sort of elite social class used to propigate the excessively unbalanced wealth of the few Americans that are in the film industry.
It seems rediculous to me that, with the billions and billions that are made annually in the film industry, that they would be so incredibly cutthroat over such a trivial matter; they're only making more people aware of the piracy.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
OK, I actually work at a small film company. And the owner is very involved in getting the screener ban lifted, as it negatively affects the promotion of his films. So I can speak from personal experience that in 2004 they are still sending DVDs screeners to Academy members. Period. Enough speculation and false reports already. I know it's Slashdot and all, but sheesh.
The sherishing of your balls intruiges me and I wish to subscribe to their newsletter.
"Do you suppose that's why God lives in the Heavens? Because he lives in fear of His creations?" - Steve Buscemi
Who was the idiot moderator that modded this a troll? How is this a troll?
I don't agree with people downloading movies because it may be bad for the industry...so I'm a troll? I don't get it.
What gives?
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
I mean, christ, stop being a fucking faggot.
And your argument is incorrect, as much as you want to try to change it to fit to what the original AC [who you are not] posted.
You say that the owner is trying to get the screener ban lifted (=no dvds sent out), but you also say that DVD screeners are being sent out (=dvds sent out). Which is it?!? Talk about confusion!
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
It's called Martial Law you asshole, look it up.
WTF is this hostility, Coward? What's your stake? (Or did you lose it in the stock market crash?) Noam Chomsky says that the ultimate corruption, is when an organism chooses, adverse to its own self-interest persistently, in the face of overwhelming evidence, LOL.
It has been put into place nearly a half dozen times in the history of America
You're going to have to back up this statement with a few facts.
- just because you have the interplaceneterweb doesn't mean that it still can't be useful.
This sentence doesn't make any sense. Please clarify.
Campaign finance reform is national security.
It's quite incredible how you can allow someone else's words to control your thoughts like that.
What if they decided to change the name of these "corrective" facilities to "punishment" facilities? Would you then argue that people who think they are corrective facilities are wrong?
On the other hand, I suppose it is just easier to believe in the simple labels given to things by others.
Mod this up, this is no troll
Screener ban lifted = DVDs sent out
Screener ban = NO DVDs sent out
Seems logical to me. Why is it so confusing?
Happy 70th Birthday, Carmine! Our agents will be there shortly with your birthday present.
- Love, FBI.
There's still a screener ban! Therefore no dvds are being sent out! Therefore DVD screeners are not being sent to Academy members! True or false?
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
Considering the facts that applications are often (usually) developed for Linux and ported to BSD as an afterthought, device driver support is usually better in Linux, etc., your sig is ... curious. Which is slower, a BSD file system or a Linux file system? Not too long ago, the comment in your sig was quite valid. Now, it looks silly.
Actually if a movie really IS bad, leave during the first half and go complain to the theatre manager, oftentimes they'll give you a refund or a free ticket to something else.
-- vranash
3 grand a month x 12 months a year = 36000 dollars a year.. wait a minute, thats not right..
3 grand a month... 3,000 x 12.. = 36,000...
hmmm..
sorry, he's right. 36000 dollars a year after taxes is what I could have made out of high school with my CCNA..
And I dont live in any particularly expensive part of the country..
I mean, we can still download porn, right?
It is not a label. The fact that people are incarcerated to be "corrected" and not to be "punished" is a basic foundation of modern societies. I do agree with you that this foundation has been trampled upon. Especially in countries like the US (that allow capital punishment), it is impossible to make rational arguments that you are being given a second chance in prison. A state that kills its citizens obviously does not believe in prison as rehabilitation.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
You think that you have it bad?
Do you have any idea how many times I've heard "some guy I know killed someone" or "some guy I know just got arrested for selling drugs / exposing himself to children / trying to bribe a cop"?
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
So what about the folks who made the Copy Guard Breaker software used to copy it?
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3210243.s tm
this place is ridiculous.
Another link...
Here
I'll give you a hint: there's a reason it's called a "corrective" facility.
Aha, so you mean we have prisons to correct criminal behavior?
Well, that's the ideal, but it's not the reality. Compared to almost any 'alternative' form of punishment (councilling, electronic surveillance, etc), prison sentences result in a much higher rate of relapsing into criminal behavior.
Prison convicts are now expected to relapse. No-one takes notice.
However, when repeat offenses are comitted by people given alternative treatments, the responsible politician unvariably gets labled 'soft on crime'.
That's the political reality of the situation.
(It's rather difficult to explain the overall lower crime rates in west Europe, which is much 'softer' on crime. Or the fact that the USA still has so much crime, despite having the world's highest per capita incarceration rate.
Source: International Center for Prison Studies)
oops. 50's not 60's.
My other first post is car post.