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FBI Anti-Piracy Seal

Supp0rtLinux writes "Looks like the FBI is giving a new anti-piracy seal for entertainment and software products. Looks like now the RIAA and MPAA pursuits will add a new federal level to future prosecutions." I'm pretty sure that our forms of media already contain warnings against unauthorized duplication, rebroadcasting, and public performance, but now it's in logo form!

118 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. Not a big deal.. by SoIosoft · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not like anyone paid attention ever to the FBI warnings at the beginning or end of VHS tapes.

    --
    Help me. I've been modbombed by a few people with entirely too much time on their hands.
    1. Re:Not a big deal.. by BillyBlaze · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've seen those FBI warnings on DVDs as well as tapes. The funny part is that, judging from their image quality, I'd guess they were copied from VHS!

    2. Re:Not a big deal.. by Josh+Booth · · Score: 2, Informative

      ...and I use MPlayer for DVDs.

      (Note: MPlayer has no seek/fast foreward restrictions)

    3. Re:Not a big deal.. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


      Back in the day (early 80s) we'd copy whole tapes, FBI warning and all. Didn't seem to scare us teenage evildoers.
      Hmm.. someone's at my door.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    4. Re:Not a big deal.. by cyt0plas · · Score: 4, Funny

      I noticed. I spent half an hour, trying to remove the restrictions from mplayer before I realized they weren't there in the first place.

      Gotta love open-source. Why add a useless feature like User Option Prohibitions, when people would just remove it anyway? Why give people a reason to fork?

      Guess I'm getting too accustomed to the "bend over and take it" method of software distribution.

      --
      Contact Me (got tired of viruses emailing me).
    5. Re:Not a big deal.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      A more effective FBI seal would be
      "This music contains no enterment values for your dollars. Buy something else."

    6. Re:Not a big deal.. by wideBlueSkies · · Score: 4, Funny

      I used to spice the FBI warning onto home movies just as a goof.

      wbs.

      --
      Huh?
    7. Re:Not a big deal.. by nihilogos · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, but we won't be able to fast-forward through them on a DVD. I rented a DVD the other night that wouldn't let me skip the previews, which is reason enough to go get a pirated copy.

      --
      :wq
    8. Re:Not a big deal.. by jmorris42 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      > Back in the day (early 80s) we'd copy whole tapes, FBI warning and all.

      Of course you copy the FBI warning! Only a half-assed pirate would leave off the FBI warning. Copying the warning was my way of saying "Hell yes I know this is technically illegal, but screw em anyway."

      Like copying a tape from the rental shop is somehow EVIL and taping from HBO is different? Personally I draw the line at assholes selling bootleg tapes, but even then I don't think it is always EVIL. Selling bootlegs of titles that are not (and usually never will be) available through legit channels just doesn't seem wrong. Copyrights should not be allowed to be used to suppress a work. (example: Disney and _Song of the South_)

      But I would like to be able to hack my DVD player to allow me to skip the damned thing, especially FOX titles that force it down your throat before the opening menu will come up. But I bought a good Japanese name brand deck that can't be flashed. On the other hand the picture is very good (compared to the el cheapo Chinese stuff from Apex, etc.) so I guess I won't bitch too loud.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
    9. Re:Not a big deal.. by notque · · Score: 2, Funny

      Forget those warnings - how am I supposed to know when a ballgame is over, if the broadcaster doesn't have to go into the "any rebroadcast of this telecast requires the express permission of (MLB, NFL, NHL, etc.)" spiel???

      When the broadcaster says, "The final score..." might be a clue.

      --
      http://use.perl.org
    10. Re:Not a big deal.. by dbc001 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't think it's intended as a deterrent. It's ammo for MPAA lawyers. If there is an FBI warning on every DVD, it's difficult to say "i didn't realize it was wrong" when you get to court.

    11. Re:Not a big deal.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Old Splice.

    12. Re:Not a big deal.. by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Informative
      Back in the day (early 80s) we'd copy whole tapes, FBI warning and all. Didn't seem to scare us teenage evildoers.

      The Chinese bootlegs usually have that too. Sometimes thay have a high quality FBI warning and a preview which makes you think that you have a DVD dupe if you check it in the shop. Then you get home and find that the actual movie is camcorder video, complete with rustling chip packets, caughing and shadows.

  2. Yeah, great marketing.... by 0mni · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Great now anyone who buys a cd will have to listen to a 40 year old man tell you to report piracy. It almost makes me want to get piranted cds more that way.

    1. Re:Yeah, great marketing.... by bonch · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What's the point of this article? I have a feeling it was only posted so all the pirating Slashdotters can make fun of it. "But they already have one, it's called (c)." "Will I have to update the warning logos on my burned movies now?"

      I don't see how it's newsworthy. They're acknowledging that illegal piracy is becoming a big trend amoung the younger kids and so want to keep the reminder out there that it is against the law by putting up a logo.

      I remember software of the early 90s displaying big red text boxes with SPA anti-piracy hotline numbers and everything upon program exit. Try starting up Doom/Doom 2 sometime and see the warning text as the game loads!

    2. Re:Yeah, great marketing.... by wo1verin3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's like those stupid ads in the movie theatres telling you that you should pay to see a movie and not copy it.

      DON'T YOU THINK YOU MAY BE TARGETTING THE WRONG AUDIENCE? YOU KNOW? THE PEOPLE WHO PAID FOR THE TICKET?! (no free pass trolls pls kthx)

      I cause a ruckus every movie I see and my gf tells me to shutup...

    3. Re:Yeah, great marketing.... by letdownjournals · · Score: 3, Funny

      Word to the wise... If you want to keep that girlfriend, stop shouting at the movie screen.

      That kind of thing tends to be a dealbreaker in relationships.

  3. On EVERY DVD? by r_glen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why not just cut to the chase and arrest people the moment they buy the movie?

    1. Re:On EVERY DVD? by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Funny

      The ones who buy the DVD are okay. It's the ones who look at the cover picture, and then put the DVD back on the rack that they're concerned about in this round...

  4. Update? by JBG667 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So does that mean that I have to update the warnning message on all my downloaded movies?

    --
    There are 10 kinds of people in the world > > Those who understand binary and those who don't
  5. Doesn't hurt me by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a label.
    It spells out explicitly that the product is covered by copyright and it also specifies the maximum penalty for violation of the copyright.

    No harm, no foul.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:Doesn't hurt me by Quobobo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Fair enough, but if this is similar to what's already on DVDs (forced to sit there and look at it without modified software/hardware), then there is a problem. When I pay for something, I don't want a lecture on not pirating it.

      That said, if it's unintrusive and quick (or just on the packaging), then I have no problem.

    2. Re:Doesn't hurt me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      More to the point, why is the FBI spending money on propaganda that is attached to private goods for sale to the general public?

      These are not like health warnings on cigarette packs; these are threats with the weight of government put on packaging at the request of the entertainment monopoly.

      It stinks. It makes the FBI look like hired enforcers. Can I get an FBI label to put on my car saying "The FBI says Grand Theft Auto is a bad thing"?

      If the MPAA/RIAA wants warning stickers, they should make their own, and not use FBI logos and its implicit authority to intimidate people.

    3. Re:Doesn't hurt me by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Funny

      It stinks. It makes the FBI look like hired enforcers. Can I get an FBI label to put on my car saying "The FBI says Grand Theft Auto is a bad thing"?

      I dunno ... I know a couple of FBI guys and they think Grand Theft Auto III is a great game. One of them gave me a copy.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  6. Permission by Luigi30 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh my god... A LOGO! I think I'm gonna pause... and then keep going. I mean, come on. You have that stuff there. All a logo's gonna do is make people glance at it, then copy it. ESRB anyone?

    --
    503 Sig Unavailable

    The Signature could not be accessed. Please try again later or contact the administrator
  7. Umm... Ok by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 2, Insightful

    From the article:
    The seal would enable the music and movie industries to deliver on their stated belief that education is as important as enforcement in combating piracy.

    That makes no sense whatsoever, the people that control the original content are not capable of putting in little blurbs? They need an FBI seal for education purposes? Which can be stripped out just as easy as anything the RIAA/MPAA could put in....

    Riiiiggghtttt.

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    1. Re:Umm... Ok by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's so that you don't try to steal the FBI from them. They have bought and paid for federal harassment and intimidation of people that don't give them enough cash, and they don't want you to try and steal the FBI away to say, investigate a kidnapping and ransom.

      This constitutes notice that anyone who had a contractual relationship with the FBI, that it is dissolved and the FBI will only pursue actions as necessary to increase the entertainment industry's collective revenue.

      Never fear though, the Bush administration is advocating a new law enforcement agency for aiding the citizenry. Already, they have allocated $4.32 in budget through fiscal year 2006...

  8. Blue screen of theft? by jwthompson2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So will this mean that when programs load they will have a 'Blue screen of Theft'?

    --
    Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. -Martin Luther
  9. So the question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Can we get a "piracy" seal then for works whose copyright owners intend for them to be abused? Negativland should get on this right away.

  10. But it already exists by Nakito · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And it looks sort of like this: (C)

    1. Re:But it already exists by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, they're further with it... they've allready wedged the (C) symbol into ASCII at number 169, and also the USPTO has gotten their (R) in as ASCII number 174...

    2. Re:But it already exists by DMNT · · Score: 2, Interesting
      It's extended ASCII (8 bits).
      There is no "extended ASCII". IBM made a codepage for PC, that is ASCII-compatible (because of the first 128 characters are equal) but above that they made their own. As people outside English speaking countries know, there were different codepages shipped with MS-DOS. Those differ very much from what IBM-437 (default) was. One that was perhaps most used (excluding 437) was IBM-850. Characters like aoau still are a problem in file transfers between Linux and Windows. If they were part of ASCII, it wouldn't be so.
      --
      ?SYNTAX ERROR
  11. This Is A Good Thing (TM) by Pave+Low · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Some of these bootleg DVDs and CDs I see being sold on the street look almost like the real thing.

    Having this Seal of Approval would at least give me some assurance that I have bought the Authentic thing. I would feel better thinking my money has gone to the creators of of this entertainment, not to those scumbag pirates.

    We should all be grateful that the FBI is helping protect the creative individuals of America.

    --
    SIG:Slashdot: indymedia for nerds.
  12. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now we know which products to boycott!

    DRM sucks

    1. Re:Great! by miu · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Now we know which products to boycott!

      These messages hurt impulse buys in my case. When I see a message like "this software contains anti-copying technology" I remember all the times I've had games fail to work because of buggy piracy protection.

      It means that I put off buying the game until it has been around long enough for users to report problems with the copy protection and the publisher to release patches. Sometimes I never get around to checking and lose interest in the game.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
  13. /me gasps by SHEENmaster · · Score: 4, Funny

    You mean you didn't pay attention to the FBI warning message? It's illegal to skip it!

    I hope you had expressed written permission, rather than just implied moral consent, to ignore it. If not, you could be next.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
    1. Re:/me gasps by Gherald · · Score: 5, Funny

      > You mean implied oral consent?

      Is that naughtier?

    2. Re:/me gasps by dotwaffle · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Err... Illegal to skip a government document? Well, in the UK, it's completely legal to do whatever with the disc, as long as you don't copy it or alter its contents without permission. We don't have a government warning, and if it weren't for the fact that my DVD player doesn't appear to support enforced viewing (ie/ watching the adverts) then I'd certainly be hacking a PC to play the movie, or at least mashing the keys to work out how to skip the commercial when you put the disc in...

    3. Re:/me gasps by david.given · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Err... Illegal to skip a government document? Well, in the UK, it's completely legal to do whatever with the disc, as long as you don't copy it or alter its contents without permission. We don't have a government warning, and if it weren't for the fact that my DVD player doesn't appear to support enforced viewing (ie/ watching the adverts) then I'd certainly be hacking a PC to play the movie, or at least mashing the keys to work out how to skip the commercial when you put the disc in...

      I bought my DVD player last year from ASDA. (Walmart, for the Merkins among us.) It cost me 49.95 UKP. It's a Pacific 1002.

      It's brilliant. It plays everything on all media; DVD, DVD-R, CDR, CDRW, you name it. (Haven't tried the more exotic rewritable DVD formats). I burn stuff onto VCD and SVCD and it just works. Picture quality is good, navigation is decent, it's got all the ports I want on the back. It'll play MP3 files burnt onto a CD, plus miniDVD discs.

      But I keep finding new features. Region unlockable? Open the tray, type three numbers followed by the region you want, or 0 to completely unlock it.

      One feature I discovered by accident recently: put in a DVD. It'll start playing automatically, working through the menus and those ghastly unskippable warnings. Press STOP, and the PLAY again. It'll start playing... but from the beginning of the first title. Which, in most cases, is the actual movie.

      It's quite, quite clear that the DVD player manufacturers, or at least the bottom end ones, know exactly where the money is: their customers want devices that will let them watch what they want. And what they want is not what the studios want them to watch.

      The only downsides to my shiny new DVD player are that it looks ugly, the seek time is slow (making interactive content a bit clunky --- like I care), and I can't turn Macrovision off. Which I'm surprised at.

      It's interesting to compare with a friend's more expensive Sony DVD player; it has fewer features, won't play CD-R media, isn't region code switchable, etc. It also cost about six times as much as mine, although this was a few years ago.

      Moral: cheaper is not always worse.

  14. a new federal level ? by forevermore · · Score: 2, Informative

    Since when is federal involvement new? Wasn't it the DMCA that added the addendum to copyright violation law saying that if the violation involved something "digital" it was an instant criminal offense, regardless of profit (which used to be the civil/criminal difference)?

    --
    Do you really need reason for beer? Wingman Brewers
  15. Doublespeak ... or just lies by fname · · Score: 5, Informative
    Well, the official propaganda arm of the USA, the Voice of America, has an article on the matter. I'll pull out one choice quote:
    "It allows the average citizen who rents movies or movies or software or games to understand what is correct activity and what is incorrect activity," he said. "They need to understand that there is a law involved and that law is very important, and they should abide by it."
    So, amyone want to bet that the RIAA doesn't note any of the "correct" ways we can our media, such as sharing with friends, making backup copies or selling them?

    (By the way, I know that VOA isn't really a propaganda machine in the same sense as the Bush press office is. But it sounds funny.)
  16. Only 4 in 10 movies break even... by Gleenie · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... According to the article.

    Occam's Razor says that this means 6 out of 10 movies are crap, not that 90% of people are thieves.

    --
    -- Your mother uses Emacs.
  17. criminal or civil? by genixia · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The seal, marked by the "FBI Anti-Piracy Warning" label, is accompanied by a statement that criminal copyright infringement is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
    ...and what about the old plain-jane civil copyright infringments?
    1. Re:criminal or civil? by pla · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah, it is all pretty retarded. Come on, we have to deal with half a minute of remote-locked FBI video warnings, what the heck does this new seal do any differently?

      All the more reason to backup your DVDs (as if the risk of them delaminating in under five years doesn't do it for you)...

      Every major ripping tool out there now allows you to disable both IFO and VOB P-UOPs (the things that lock out buttons). So just back up your DVDs, put the originals away somewhere for safe keeping, and only use the copies. They'll also remove Macrovision and RCE, as well (the latter you don't even have a choice on, since no non-pressed DVD format includes a writeable CSS ring).

      Personally, I don't watch the originals even once, anymore. As soon as I buy, into the PC it goes, and an hour later, out comes a copy without all the crap. Or more accurately, out comes a copy with all the crap, but nothing to stop me from hitting "menu" the second it starts.

    2. Re:criminal or civil? by Rick_T · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > My guess is it will lock our remotes out for
      > twice as long ... and it's probably only
      > going to get worse.

      Standard movie-watching practice in this house (since we moved to DVD from laserdisc) is to put the disc in a few minutes before actually turning the rest of the home theater on.

      We don't watch the warning(s), the annoying previews, etc. Wake me when the movie starts. :)

      --
      -- Rick
  18. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by bonch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You'd think they had more importaint things to do like prevent another 9/11.

    I hate this line of thinking. As though an organization only focuses on one thing at a time. "I guess they don't have more important things to do." As though deciding to put out an anti-piracy logo consumed 100% of their resources and manpower. They probably hired some marketing company to do it anyway.

  19. Good article quote: by Mad_Rain · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Keith Kupferschmid, VP of the anti-piracy division of the SIIA, said piracy also remains rampant in the software industry, costing U.S. companies about $12 billion a year in lost licensing revenue....."While the seal will not solve the problem, we feel it will aid the software industry in its war against piracy.""

    So let me get that last part straight - "We're trying this anyway, and it's not going to work."

    So why bother, and/or what strategy might work?

    --
    "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    1. Re:Good article quote: by zurab · · Score: 4, Interesting
      So let me get that last part straight - "We're trying this anyway, and it's not going to work."

      So why bother, and/or what strategy might work?


      The partial answer to your questions lies in answering this one: why didn't FBI propose to work with FSF or Linus and others to put an FBI copyright warning on their software for SCO and other corporate software "pirates?" It seems like corporate pirates need as much reminders and education of what copyright means as your average person buying a CD or a DVD.
  20. Wel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Movie execs also are worried about lost revenue from DVD sales and rentals. "We absolutely need downstream revenue to survive," said Ken Jacobsen, senior VP and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations for the MPAA, noting that only four of 10 movies earn enough at the box office to recoup the average of $89 million spent on producing and marketing a film.

    Maybe if they stop hiring the 20 million 'bennifer' actors/actresses and start spending just a 10th of that money on the script and they might see some profit.

    1. Re:Wel... by DahGhostfacedFiddlah · · Score: 3, Funny

      Guy: Soooo - 60% of your movies tanking is a direct result of piracy?

      Movie Exec: That's the idea.

      Guy: So give me a few examples of the movies you do make money on?

      M.E.: Well - there's Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, of course - a few of the lower-budget films that did well - 28 Days Later, for instance.

      Guy: And the ones that tanked?

      M.E. : Hmmm, so many to choose from - let's say Gigli right at the top there.

      Guy: So you're saying that people are downloading copies of Gigli, and that's why no one went to see it in theatres?

      M.E. : Errrr...

  21. An informal credo... by Faust7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Neither seal, nor EULA, nor copy-protection, nor IP issues, nor ethical ramifications will dissuade the determined pirate.

  22. More stickers?! by plams · · Score: 5, Funny

    But this is only encouraging piracy! Let me explain. This seal will have to be visible right? So now we have not only "Explicit Lyrics" stickers, but also "FBI Anti-Piracy" stickers. Soon to follow is "PEPSI, you can also download this music for free!" stickers, and "SCO - this crap was digitally mastered on a linux platform so you owe us $699" stickers. And EULA stickers, and "Stickers against stickers association" stickers..

    So here's the situation: you enter the record store and you can't find your CD because they're all covered with stickers. So you begin to peel some of them off, and the clerk comes to you and asks what the hell you're doing with their property. Then you reply something like "Oh sorry.. i was just about to go home and start up kazaa, anyway."

    So you see! It leads to piracy!

    1. Re:More stickers?! by FsG · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Don't forget your "Buying this CD funds lawsuits against children and families" stickers. Gotta have those.

      --
      I made a PHP/MySQL library that prevents SQL injection & makes coding easier!
  23. Great, Wonderful, Spectacular by sPaKr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So they think adding more annoying popups to other devices and services will help stop copyright infringment? Ya, that FBI warning in evey video type is a big problem for the pirates, that FF>> button is So hard to push. Of course we get DVD's that force you to watch them, but if you backup the dvd with a little IFO hacking you can remove the warning. That is if your not luckly enough to have a player that ignores the user prohibition codes. Why not instead of spamming us with more useless stuff they figure out away to encourge us not to want to pirate the content in the first place. Like Sell cut rate on movie tickets or early sneak peaks if you buy the DVD up front. Or other real world advantages. Sooner or later these companies are going to see that forceing the status quo is tilting at windmills, they need to learn to innovate and get people excited about buying their products instead of being viewed as a nesicary evil to recive any decent content

  24. I want to see by Bobdoer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does anyone think that this will be as helpful to people as the "Tipper" stickers are?
    Parent: "Hmm this is copyrighted...Nope, son you can't listen to this."
    Child: "Can I get the latest Eminem CD then?"
    Parent: "Well, as long as it isn't copyrighted, it's fine by me!"

  25. Reality check required by darnok · · Score: 5, Interesting

    > "We absolutely need downstream revenue to
    > survive," said Ken Jacobsen, senior VP and
    > director of worldwide anti-piracy operations for
    > the MPAA, noting that only four of 10 movies earn
    > enough at the box office to recoup the average of
    > $89 million spent on producing and marketing a
    > film.

    I think the MPAA should be looking at two other issues in addition to piracy:
    - why do only 40% of movies actually make money? I find it hard to believe that wholesale copyright infringement is ripping that much off the bottom line; very few people actually have the bandwidth to download movies, and not all of those have DVD burners
    - why does the average file cost $89m to make and market? I can remember only about 10 years ago that $100m was considered an obscene amount to spend on making a film (refer to "Waterworld" and "Last Action Hero" as examples); now it's only slightly above average?

    I think these guys have got to have a bit of a reality check if they're spending $89m per film and complaining about not recovering costs. *Someone* has had a very big salary hike...

    1. Re:Reality check required by Kris_J · · Score: 3, Interesting
      very few people actually have the bandwidth to download movies
      I don't think this is true. Tests I've done on my 56k modem show that a typical movie of a quality worth watching would take between 48 and 96 hours to download, leaving just enough bandwidth to check email and read Slashdot. This is easily quick enough to keep up with blockbuster movies (and vastly more than necessary to keep up with good blockbuster movies). What it isn't enough bandwidth for is to keep up with more than three or four hour-long weekly TV shows. Additionally, I only pay for 160 hours per month on my dial-up.

      So that's a 56k modem. DSL being anywhere from four to 20 times faster than that, many people in the world have a pipe capable of keeping up with all new cinema releases, a dozen weekly TV shows (be they US live action or Japanese Anime) and pretty much every new release for a chosen current generation video game console or PC.

      Meanwhile, I bought the Futurama Season 4 box set last night (Channel 7 has been screwing up the broadcasts) and will be buying Andromeda 4.5 tonight (not available on free-to-air here at all) if I remember. I shipped in a US version of the Underworld DVD while it was still in Australian cinemas. Personally I believe that stuff should just be made for DVD. I'd subscribe to SG-1 DVD releases if they came out at the same time as it was shown in the UK. I bet heaps of the sorts of people that download movies would be just as eager to buy a DVD if it was available immediately. What are the economics of a DVD? Did my purchase of Underworld see more money reach the people who made it than if I'd gone to the cinema?

  26. Quite the notice.... by InnovativeCX · · Score: 2, Informative

    For those too lazy to shop around for a link, the logo is visible on the FBI homepage along with a fairly extensive notice.

    The wording is what really gets me...very colloquial for such a terse organization:

    PIRATES IN CYBERSPACE
    Not Exactly Fun and Games
    Does the number THREE BILLION DOLLARS get your attention?
    ...
    Did you notice that "new" FBI seal in the corner? Only 5 stars; no laurel leaves; shield moved up to the top of the blue field. That's the official FBI Anti-Piracy seal, just unveiled today... and you'll be seeing a lot of it in the days to come. Not just on the warning screens of videos and DVDs, but on the millions and millions of CDs, games, software packages, and other digital media that are produced each year.
    Oh, and one last thing:

    Protect yourself!

    Great stuff. Of course, I'd always thought of the red, black, and white FBI WARNING screen on VHS and DVD's as somewhat of a, well, warning...but hey, new times, new logo.

    They consider this an effort to combat piracy. I somehow doubt that half an hour in Photoshop will do much to address the problem.

    Granted, I'm all for the protection of artists and such, but the usual practice of protecting the 'big stars' (who tend to fall short of being 'artists') while leaving independent musicians and filmmakers out in the cold isn't exactly what I'd had in mind.

    These efforts specifically target criminal enterprises -- and link the considerable resources and efforts of private sector companies and trade associations with law enforcement partnerships (on local, state, federal, and international levels) to identify and stop them.
    And that's not all.
    Here's hoping there will some benefit to those that still create their work rather than serve as a mere mouthpiece.
    1. Re:Quite the notice.... by rock_climbing_guy · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I was going to moderate in this discussion, but I've decided now that I've just gotta post.

      I really can't believe how the FBI is shamelessly whoreing for the xxAA. I can't believe that the FBI is parroting the RIAA bullshit about XXX billion dollars lost every year. I actually went back and checked that this is really their web page. Words do not do them justice, just look at www.fbi.gov.

      --
      Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
  27. Is anyone else disturbed by this quote? by mynameis+(mother+... · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Jana Monroe, assistant director of the FBI's cyberdivision, said the unit, created 18 months ago in large part to help hunt perpetrators of digital copyright infringement, will continue to get significant funding from the bureau. Monroe said preventing and prosecuting cybercrimes is now the FBI's No. 3 priority, behind anti-terrorism efforts and counterintelligence operations.

    3rd highest priority is cybercrime!?!?
    This is more important that say forensics???

    My god if that doesn't smack of special interests gone horribly, horribly, wrong.

    And that's without even addressing what how slippery a slope the prevention of virtual crimes would seem to be.

  28. One thing after another after another after... by presearch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wish that there was a Special logo on every dollar and every paid invoice to these companies that would
    remind them that they do not own us and it is a privilege to serve it's valued customers instead of treating
    us like lambs waiting to be shorn, wearing retention collars and being fed confinement loaf.

  29. RAZOR??? by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 4, Funny
    Occam's Razor

    Listen here punk, bring that thing NEAR a Blockbuster(TM) and I'll throw you in Jail, buddy.

  30. Re:This existed long before the DMCA... by Xzzy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > deserve the same level of copyright protection, so why not?

    That's why this logo is stupid, printing a silly message is NOT protection. It's just a scare tactic.

  31. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by iminplaya · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, The man said that preventing and prosecuting cybercrimes is now the FBI's No. 3 priority. So it looks like they'll spend more time chasing 12 year old "pirates" before they start looking for the next John Gotti, or kidnappers, or other "real" criminals.

    --
    What?
  32. Pirate on the loose! by lockholm · · Score: 2, Funny
    That war is important to movie studios, which last week saw the escape in Los Angeles of a film pirate. Johnny Ray Gasca is accused of using a camcorder to illegally record and distribute prerelease movie screenings. Gasca made off days before his trial was to begin, while in the custody of his lawyer. He remains a fugitive.

    He is considered armed and dangerous, bearing several semi-automatic, uh, video cameras. But don't worry, folks - the trusty FBI is hard at work hunting him down so that small children can sleep soundly at night.

  33. no by SHEENmaster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Moral consent, in that you can fast forward your own damn tape in your own damn house on your own damn tv without the FBI interfering.

    If anyone is offended by my language, please s/damn/double plus unnice/ now.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
    1. Re:no by child_of_mercy · · Score: 3, Informative

      newspeak, Orwell, 1984.

      I thought he was being pretty funny with that useage.

      --
      'There is a Light that never goes out.'
    2. Re:no by yerfatma · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, but you sure as shit can't do it with DVDs. Lost in Translation came with a nice warning followed by 10 minutes of trailers I couldn't skip. It's not like I own the DVD player and TV or anything.

    3. Re:no by pla · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yeah, but you sure as shit can't do it with DVDs. Lost in Translation came with a nice warning followed by 10 minutes of trailers I couldn't skip.

      Sure you can...

      See my other comment on this topic.

      It sounds like you buy used DVDs from rental places, since I've never seen a retail DVD with unskippable commercials, but that doesn't really matter - Just because you paid less for it, you did buy it, why the hell shouldn't you have the right to enjoy it without ads or annoying FBI warning?

      Personally, my biggest peeve comes from the imports. Not only do they have an FBI warning, but a similar warning from half a dozen countries, in as many languages. Talk about pissing the customer off...

    4. Re:no by rodgster · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This is one of the most compelling arguments for software like DVDXcopy Platinum (I have nothing to do with 321 studios).

      It allows you to take back your rights of how to use products you own.

      Plus it also gives you a reason to boot-up a M$ box. If I knew of a linux alternative, I'd be that much closer to freedom.

      I think the next time I have to re-activate DVDXcopy because I've upgraded my hardware (again), I'm just going to "activate it myself". Another effort to take back some of the rights we are entitle to when we buy a product.

      --
      Who will guard the guards?
    5. Re:no by HuguesT · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The Linux alternative are mplayer, xine and others for just playing the part of the DVD you want to watch (I was never aware there were mandatory warnings on DVDs until someone pointed them out to me, with the Linux software you can just jump straight in).

      To be able to copy/transcode DVDs with Linux, use either mencoder (comes with mplayer) or transcode. Note that in many countries this is illegal.

    6. Re:no by ncc74656 · · Score: 4, Informative
      I think the next time I have to re-activate DVDXcopy because I've upgraded my hardware (again), I'm just going to "activate it myself".

      Why bother paying for what you can get for free? DVD Decrypter, DVDStripper, and DVD Shrink will edit out unwanted material and squeeze any movie down to where it'll fit on a DVD-R, and they're all free (as in beer, anyway, which is more than you can say for DVDXcopy).

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    7. Re:no by addaon · · Score: 3, Funny

      It hasn't changed much.

      --

      I've had this sig for three days.
    8. Re:no by moltar77 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not only do they have an FBI warning, but a similar warning from half a dozen countries, in as many languages. Talk about pissing the customer off...

      ...makes you just want to rip it to DivX, doesn't it?

  34. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by telstar · · Score: 2, Insightful
    "it doesn't do a damn thing to catch terrorist. You'd think they had more importaint things to do like prevent another 9/11."
    • If the FBI were to only focus on one problem, the law breakers would know exactly which laws they could get away with breaking.
  35. Piracy number 3 priority??? by JWG · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The last paragraph was the most interesting one to myself:

    Jana Monroe, assistant director of the FBI's cyberdivision, said the unit, created 18 months ago in large part to help hunt perpetrators of digital copyright infringement, will continue to get significant funding from the bureau. Monroe said preventing and prosecuting cybercrimes is now the FBI's No. 3 priority, behind anti-terrorism efforts and counterintelligence operations.

    The FBI's nubmer 3 priority! Piracy is ahead of domestic security, corporate crime, drug enforcement (etcetera ad nauseum)...
  36. YAY! by pyrote · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes! I needed a new logo for my windows boot screen!

    The first thing I did when I bought a TV card for my computer, was to capture the FBI warning for a boot screen. It does nothing to prevent copying except to give the cracker something else to write 'owned' on.

    Useless.

    --
    THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
  37. what's so scary about a seal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I mean, you just smack 'em in the face with a club. The little fellas rarely put up much of a fight...

  38. uhoh by dkode · · Score: 2, Funny

    oh dang!

    Next we'll have logo's saying terrorism is illegal.

    In what shape or form does this help the problem at all? It does absolutely nothing but cost marketing money. Nothing more than my hard earned tax dollars going to waste.

    --

    Those who trade in their freedom for security, deserve neither.
  39. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by segment · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It's not that the FBI isn't trying, there are a lot of good people with good intentions, you apparently don't understand the background of agencies who have thier hands tied by their bosses. Take for instance Case ID 199I-WF-213589 ... The feds were looking into ties between al Qaeda, UBL, WAMY and the Saudi's (pre 9/11) and were told to drop it. So what do you think they do?

    Put yourself in their position, you're working for what you believe is the right cause, you do as your told, and you glide into a pension after service moving into the private sector afterwards. Bottom line.

    As for the sticker... Means nothing and yes you can attribute piracy in some form to illegal activities. Although you see this from a downloading-does-no-evil perspective, fact is there are organizations that make money off of these things, and yes they can somehow can intertwined with terrorism. For example, out here in NYC where tax free bootleg cigarettes are the rage for those looking to make a quick buck, do you think Joe Blow average is bringing in truckloads to sell them to lower level sellers? Sure people run off to Indian reservations to buy and resell, but it's not an uncommon notion to think how easy it would be to make some mega black market cash to fund something more sinister.

    So while the typical /.'er trolls along thinking about how evil this is, I personally think this was done to appease those with money making noise (RIAA), and as a means of saying "We're watching you", beyond that I doubt if the FBI is going to run around and arrest little Jack Horner for trading songs with Little Bo Peep, but rather would focus on factories who do this on a mass scale. Then again this is my perception of it all, and I am definitely not one to be an expert solely one who looks at things from a different angle. And in case anyone has forgotten, a law is a law is a law. Like it or not.

  40. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by notque · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hate this line of thinking. As though an organization only focuses on one thing at a time. "I guess they don't have more important things to do." As though deciding to put out an anti-piracy logo consumed 100% of their resources and manpower. They probably hired some marketing company to do it anyway.

    So what percentage of money/time do you feel is valid in creating a symbol that is widely ignored, and ineffective?

    --
    http://use.perl.org
  41. Anti Piracy Seal? by callipygian-showsyst · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anti Piracy Seal? Is that like Smokey, the Fire Prevention Bear?

    1. Re:Anti Piracy Seal? by fermion · · Score: 2, Funny

      more like sexual harassment panda

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  42. About the seal. by Daikiki · · Score: 4, Funny

    This anti-piracy Seal, he's like a highly trained anti-piracy agent, whose stealth and clandestine methods of operation allows him to conduct multiple anti-piracy missions against targets that larger forces cannot approach undetected? He's been selected from the best of the best for his discipline, skill, and bravery? He'll strike terror into the hearts of media pirates near large bodies of water everywhere?

    No? Not that kind of seal?

    Then I expect he'll amuse children and adults alike with his antics, balancing balls on his adorable snout and clapping his flippers together, all the while conveying a powerful anti-piracy message to our youth?

    No? Aw c'mon! You're not seriously telling me that the FBI signed up a washed-up early 90's soul singer to convey their anti piracy message? That's just so lame. It probably would have been more effective for them to just put some kind of. . .I dunno. . .logo or stamp or something on the damn disks saying "piracy is bad, m'kay?". Bloody lame if you ask me.

    --
    I want the fire back.
  43. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by notque · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not only do cybercrimes have the potential to endanger lives

    So the highly unlikely possibility of death makes cybercrimes the 3rd priority of the FBI.

    Terrorism would be number 1, so would murder, or serial rapists be number 4?

    --
    http://use.perl.org
  44. Can't wait to get a hold of the logo... by keyslammer · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... so I can slap a circle & slash on it for my own stuff.

  45. Anti Piracy Seal by Craig+Maloney · · Score: 4, Funny
    I can just imagine someone looking over their shoulder, about to "copy that floppy", when out of nowhere a giant seal clubs them to death and the disappears into the night.

    How this rebranded "Don't Copy that Floppy" seal is going to deter piracy is beyond me. I'm sure it was as much of a deterrent as that William H. Sessions "Winners don't use drugs" campaign that showed up in arcades in the 90s.

  46. Perfect, fools working to our benefit by Lehk228 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now it will be easy to tell what CD's are put out by RIAA members will have a handy marker on them... wait a few months till they put the Logo on all their shit then start a "Do Not Buy" campaign

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  47. stickers to cover the fbi warnings. by upt1me · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just get one of these stickers from downhillbattle and place it over the stupid FBI Warning.

  48. Amazon Women On The Moon by jhoger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Real Pirate upon seeing the Warning: "Oooooh I'm sooooo scared!"

    Yeah this stuff is just there so that you can't give try excuse that you didn't know it was illegal. However, I would be happier if in addition to this the companies spelled out the purchaser's fair use rights along with this stuff.

  49. Manipulated numbers? by Via_Patrino · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From the article:
    "only four of 10 movies earn enough at the box office to recoup"(the money)"spent on producing and marketing a film"

    Look, they're saying about box office. Now from the 60 minutes about internet movie "piracy":

    "Fifty percent of the revenues for any movie come out of home video"

    The quote from the first article gives the impression that most movies are not profitable.
    Does anyone also think they were manipulating numbers there?

    1. Re:Manipulated numbers? by bonhomme_de_neige · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Does anyone also think they were manipulating numbers there?

      Absolutely. Reread the wording carefully:

      noting that only four of 10 movies earn enough at the box office to recoup the average of $89 million spent on producing and marketing a film.

      So what they're effectively saying is that the average cost for a movie is $89m, and only 4 out of 10 movies make more than $89m. But that doesn't mean 4 out of 10 movies are profitable - the other 6 probably had much lower budgets and consequently broke even with a much lower revenue.

      For example: let's say 4 movies cost $120m each to produce (the likes of Titanic, T2, etc.). Then to make the average 89m per film the other 6 cost about 68m each. Now let's say the 4 big budget films (due to superior film quality, more aggressive marketing, etc) make huge profits, while the other 6 only make 75m each. They still made a profit but they didn't make the requisite 89m. Now this scenario has been turned into "only 4 out of 10 movies are profitable" (that's not what they said, but that's what everyone heard), even though all the movies made a profit.

      --
      "Why are you watching the washing machine?"
      "I love entertainment, as long as it's clean"
  50. Disturbing... by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'm a bit disturbed by the last paragraph. Anti-Piracy is not the FBI's number 3 priority behind Anti-terrorism and counterintelligence.

    As a taxpayer I can think of a hell of a lot of things the FBI should be spending it's time on WAY before jailing bootleggers.

    Well, at least they are making a distinction between terrorists, spies, and copyright infringers.

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  51. Stop! by quakeroatz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or we'll make even bigger warning labels! Big bright ones with popup stop signs and menacing pictures of fingers wagging in disapproval!

  52. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by iminplaya · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...but cybercrimes covers a vast number of crimes.

    Therein lies another problem. They're painting this with a very broad brush, like terrorism. They can tack on huge sentences for the most trivial of violations, simply because it falls under the category of cybercrime or terrorism. I understand your point about safety related issues, but we're talking about money here. Hardly a valid point compared to murder, rape, assault, etc. They've put corporate profits ahead of all these.

    --
    What?
  53. oops- my bad! by RouterSlayer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    first time I read the title I thought it said "FBI Anti-PRIVACY seal".

    pretty much the same thing, no? :)

  54. "Piracy"? by haggar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Shouldn't /. take a stand of principle, and do not use the word "piracy" to describe unauthorized software copying?

    --
    Sigged!
  55. NEWS: FBI Introduces Anti-Piracy Seal by cje · · Score: 4, Funny

    WASHINGTON, DC (UPI) - Vowing to put a dent in an illegal practice that robs the entertainment industry of three billion dollars a year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has unleashed a new tool in the fight against online music pirates. In a media event this afternoon at FBI Headquarters in Washington, Director Robert Mueller unveiled Chester, the bureau's official Anti-Piracy Seal. Chester, a seven year-old harp seal that was rescued from a fisherman's net off the coast of Maine, has been recruited by the bureau to "inform America's youth about the harmful practice of copyright infringement," according to Mueller. "We hope that he will teach our children that it is wrong to steal music from the Internet."

    Chester impressed a crowd of roughly 100 reporters, music industry representatives, teachers, and students by balancing a copy of Hoobastank's latest CD The Reason on his nose while holding a copy of Incubus' Crow Left of the Murder between his front flippers. At one point in the press conference, an actor portraying an online music pirate attempted to take the Incubus album from Chester, at which point the seal snarled and bit off the would-be-thief's left pinky. Chester also demonstrated that he was able to use lawn darts to burst large balloons that were imprinted with the logos of Kazaa, Morpheus, Gnutella, and other popular Internet P2P ("peer-to-peer") file sharing applications.

    "He's quite the talented creature," beamed Mueller.

    After the press conference was over, Mueller loaded Chester up in an unmarked Chevy Malibu and took him to Millard Fillmore Elementary School in suburban Washington, D.C. for a classroom visit. The popular seal captured the hearts of Mrs. Eleanor Richards' third grade class when he waddled around the room with a bucketful of FBI/RIAA anti-piracy literature hanging from his nose. "Chester taught me that it is real, real bad to steal music," said nine year-old Timmy Jacobson, of Alexandria, VA.

    "I learned that Adolf Hitler also stoled music," pointed out ten year-old Kaitlyn Frankenhoff.

    Chester is scheduled to visit five schools a week during an extended tour that is expected to last eighteen months. His initial weeks will take him from the Beltway south through the Carolinas, to Georgia and Florida, and finally to New Orleans, LA. Mueller is excited about the impact of Chester's mission. "We will get the truth about music sharing out," he said. "The next generation of American children will understand the value of honesty and the reward of a hard day's work." According to Mueller, Chester is also able to "answer the telephone", "close car doors", and "play sand volleyball." When he's not fighting music pirates, Chester enjoys dining on rotten fish and soft serve ice cream.

    Hillary Rosen contributed to this story.

    --
    We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
  56. I've got a deal for you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here's the deal. If large corporations agree to pay their taxes like everyone else, and not use illegal tax shelters, generally show a bit of civic responsibility, I'll agree to not pirate ANYTHING. /me just finished watching Frontline.

    Look here:

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ta x/

    Sound fair? Good. You cannot have your cake and and pie and cream puffs and every last damn thing you want AND eat it too. Greedy bastards.

  57. Why a seal? by ArmorFiend · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't understand why they're developing an anti-piracy seal. I mean MacGruff the crime dog made sense, but when I think of anti-pirate animals, I mostly think of that alligator from Peter Pan.

  58. Re:This existed long before the DMCA... by pla · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's why this logo is stupid, printing a silly message is NOT protection. It's just a scare tactic.

    So by the Patriot act, doesn't that make both the MPAA and the FBI technically "terrorist" organizations?

    Hmm...

  59. This is what happens... by Undefined+Parameter · · Score: 2, Funny

    when beaurocrats get bored.

    "Hey Brian, what are we going to do, today?"
    "The same thing we do every day, Paul! Try to take over the world!"
    "But we did that yesterday, Brian."
    "Oh, right. Well, then... are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
    "That now would be a great time to make some logos?"
    "...Actually, that's not a half-bad idea, now that we have that whole world thing out of the way."

    Or when beaurocrats have to defend their jobs.

    "...That's what this staff meeting is all about! That's what happened at the CIA last year. You have to interview with a consultant and they bring in efficiency experts. You're interviewing for your own job!"
    "Maybe we could... do something. You know, to convince them to let us keep our jobs."
    "Like what?"
    "I don't know... make a new logo?"
    "Sounds good to me. I'm in."

    This attempt at humor brought to you by:

    ~UP

    --
    Eat the Path.
  60. Actually ... (ahem) by neilio · · Score: 2, Interesting

    >>pursuits will add a new federal level

    Copyright infringement is already at a federal level. The FBI warning is merely informing that you are violating copyright if you copy the stuff, and saying "we will get you if you pirate this".

    Copyright is a federally assured protection, therefore is federal by default, with or without the FBI warning. That little c on the back cover is all that is legally required. The rest of us have to pay. The pirates just cut out the annoying delay and FBI message.

    That's why copyright is far superiour to the "mail it to yourself" trick for music protection. If you only mail it to yourself you only have federal proof that you had the recording on a given date, meaning it is good enough for evidence.

    Since you aren't protected by a copyright certificate, you need to fight the court battles in all 50 states to sue for infringement. Basically you are almost as screwed as doing nothing at all.... You are protected, but do you have the money for that kind of fight? Most mail it to yourselfer's don't.

    Copyright doesn't matter anyway, since it all ends up somewhere on line anyway and not even the federal gov can really kill it.

    This sucks because we might be up for a possible signing deal soon. Even if I get signed, I won't ever make anything : ( Luckily I am not in it for the money.

    l8,
    neilio

  61. It's not their fault by max+born · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The FBI is an essential and necessary part of the U.S. government. To give them credit, they have done a great deal in investigating and prosecuting government corruption, organized crime, child abductions, and many other serious crimes.

    Unfortunately the FBI, through no fault of their own, are being coerced by politicians at the behest of the entertainment industry (whose multi million dollar campaign contributions have had an undue influence on public policy) to become more and more a private law enforcement agency for powerful and wealthy organizations, propping up archaic and inefficient business models, who should be financing their own investigations. (I doubt the FBI would pursue GPL violations.)

    I encourage all taxpayers to lobby their respective representatives with the aim of curtailing this waste of our important resources.

    The downloading of copyrighted videos and music is now largely done via P2P networks. Unless it concerns national security, espionage, terrorism, or organized crime, etc., the FBI should not be spending its resources on prosecuting Internet file sharers.

    1. Re:It's not their fault by Eric+Smith · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The FBI is an essential and necessary part of the U.S. government.
      It is neither essential nor necessary. In fact, it is questionable whether the U.S. Constitution actually gives the federal government the power to have such a police force.

      There's no obvious reason why law enforcement can't be left to the states. For that matter, there's no obvious reason why most functions currently performed by the federal government can't be performed by the states instead, and probably at lower cost to the taxpayers. Sending tax dollars to Washington D.C. to pay for things that are done in other parts of the country just burns up a larger fraction of the money in bureaucracy.

  62. Good news, the way I see it by djupedal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Monroe said preventing and prosecuting cybercrimes is now the FBI's No. 3 priority, behind anti-terrorism efforts and counterintelligence operations.

    What a relief. Once again, it's safe for tradition to come out of the basement.

    We can all go back to counterfeiting $100.00 bills and transporting drunken underage hookers across state lines :)

  63. Here's some stickers for you by MichaelCrawford · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Is it time to practice civil disobedience?

    $10.00 for a pack of one hundred, including postage. Alternately the page has artwork you can download to print your own.

    --
    Request your free CD of my piano music.
  64. Arr! Video Pirates! by Black+Art · · Score: 2, Funny
    This reminds me of the movie Amazon Women on the Moon.

    Pirate Captain: [Looking at the FBI Warning on the video.] Ohhh, I'm so scared.

    How many minutes until the new logo is pirated?

    --
    "Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
  65. As soon as it is ripped... by david_reese · · Score: 2, Insightful
    The seal is completely useless. $DIETY forbid these old-world dumbasses realize that physical prevention does nothing for a completely digital medium (unless they manage to infest your ID3 tag, too maybe).

    I wonder if this wonderful new self-adhesive artwork will increase the price of CD/DVDs? Like oh, maybe a $1 a media? How about the Recording Industry^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HCartel then decides that the Artist must pay this fee as part of the contract, also?

  66. viruses, anyone? by the_greywolf · · Score: 2, Funny

    a little off-topic, but it seems rather topical. anyone else get an email like this one?

    ---------

    From - Wed Feb 18 16:55:05 2004
    X-UIDL: 40330bda00000021
    X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
    X-Mozilla-Status2: 1a000000
    Return-Path:
    Received: from ns12-1.futurepoint.com (root@localhost)
    by the-junkyard.net (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id i1IE9r824340
    for ; Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:09:53 -0500
    X-ClientAddr: 80.181.221.127
    Received: from SCODA.com (host127-221.pool80181.interbusiness.it [80.181.221.127])
    by ns12-1.futurepoint.com (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id i1IE9kS24311
    for ; Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:09:46 -0500
    Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:09:46 -0500
    From: bill@lavoro-a-domicilio.com
    To: news@the-junkyard.net
    Subject: You use illegal File Sharing ...
    Importance: Normal
    X-Mailer: Xfworks
    X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
    Message-ID:
    MIME-Version: 1.0
    Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="SCODA7a911414cb96"
    Status: O

    This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

    --SCODA7a911414cb96

    Ladies and Gentlemen,
    Downloading of Movies, MP3s and Software is illegal and punishable by law.

    We hereby inform you that your computer was scanned under the IP 195.38.50.145 . The
    contents of your computer were confiscated as an evidence, and you will be indicated.
    You get the charge in writing, in the next days.
    In the Reference code: #9983, are all files, that we found on your computer.

    The sender address of this mail was masked, to fend off mail bombs.

    - You get more detailed information by the Federal Bureau of Investigation -FBI-
    - Department for "Illegal Internet Downloads", Room 7350
    - 935 Pennsylvania Avenue
    - Washington, DC 20535, USA
    - (202) 324-3000
    --SCODA7a911414cb96
    Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=refcode9983.txt.scr
    Content-Transfer-Encodin g: base64
    Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="refcode9983.txt.scr"

    [followed by a 100kb virus. don't recall which one]

    --
    grey wolf
    LET FORTRAN DIE!
  67. Good Grief! by rnturn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Where's a William Proxmire when you really need him? A Proxmire impersonator would do just as well.

    Now we'll find out who all the Baby Boomers are. Are rather who isn't. (They'll be all the people postings ``Huh?'' and ``Who's that?'' replies. :-)

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  68. Intolerable Cruelty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...just bought the DVD at the store and bingo, intolerably cruel, unskippable commercials. Not even the STOP button works! The only trick that works with these is to eject the disk. Upon reinserting it, my DVD player luckily remembers it had already started playing the preamble and goes straight to the main menu.

  69. Open Source/Free Software logo or seal? by Eric+Smith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Perhaps we should come up with a "Copy all you want, we won't sue!" logo or seal for Open Source and/or Free Software? Since the FBI is trying to get more public recognition that you're not supposed to make unauthorized copies of proprietary software, maybe there's a corresponding opportunity to make the benefits of Open Source a little more visible.

  70. Open Source Variation of this Logo by Bill+Kendrick · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I couldn't resist creating an Open Source variation of this logo. I mean, I want to have shiny logos on my software, too! It's just all Open Source stuff, though! ;^)

    Anyway, here you go. ("Don't worry, it's Open Source!")

  71. seals are easy to fool-- bring fish! by SethJohnson · · Score: 3, Funny


    Pirates have long known that seals are no match. Sure, they can make a lot of racket when your schooner is leaving the harbor, but if they see you tossing a bunch of mullet overboard, they'll quickly jump in the water to feast. Shuts them up pronto.

    So, the FBI is using old technology. It's easily circumvented with a bucket of dead fish. Sometimes even a beachball thrown for them to balance on their nose will do the trick.

    Piracy will continue.
  72. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by MullerMn · · Score: 2, Funny

    You'd think they had more importaint things to do like prevent another 9/11.

    I know the FBI is a powerful agency, but do they really have the ability to stop dates occurring? And more importantly, if they do manage it, what will come after the 10th of September each year? Will they change the 10th so that it has 48hrs? A 10th of September, part 2?

    Enquiring minds want to know.

  73. Re:wooooooo, so neat and pretty.....too bad by Kirth · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Terrorism would be number 1, so would murder, or serial rapists be number 4?

    Are you crazy? Number 4 is of course "consumption of illicit drugs".
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    "The more prohibitions there are, The poorer the people will be" -- Lao Tse
  74. Zappa by fossilstar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    One of Frank Zappa's movies had the FBI warning at the very end. You'd only see it if no one bothered to shut it off after the movie ended. I liked that...

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