Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

MPAA Blames Linux Australia Notice on Human Error

Posted by samzenpus on from the pirated-movie-down-under dept.

rjch writes "According to ZDNet Australia, the MPAA is blaming their recent takedown notice to Linux Australia as 'human error'. 'MPAA spokesman Matt Grossman denied the MPAA's system, which sends out 100,000 notices of claimed infringement on an annual basis was flawed. He said the organisation was not doing blind keyword matching against Internet content and sending out automatic infringement notices without checks, as Linux Australia had previously claimed.' When asked why this slipped through their checks, Grossman told Builder AU 'the answer is a simple human error unfortunately. Everyone has a bad day'. Grossman further denied the MPAA was sending out unsolicited e-mails."

16 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. automatic checking! by psy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can you really believe that they are going to manually check 100,000 files for legimacy?

    1. Re:automatic checking! by kanenas · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sure they have 100.000 monkeys

    2. Re:automatic checking! by .orvp · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They would need more than that, he said that %99.9999 of the people getting them were actually sharing the files illegally. That would mean that since there are 3 highly publicised mess ups, they have sent these notices to over 3 million people. And really, I bet there are more than just 3.

      So if there are 10 people who get bad notices, did they really send out infringment notices to 10 million people? That is a lot of monkies you need.

      --
      My other sig is just as lame
  2. Human Error ? Everyone has a bad day ? by anti-pop-frustration · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.

  3. Human errors will not be tolerated at MPAA by JVert · · Score: 5, Funny

    MPAA vowes to eliminate any posibilty of human error on their next "mailing" by incorporating high tech tools that will seek out and verify the violations using descriptive meta-data and file naming system. Furthermore any attempts to circumvent this proccess will be dealt with in a strict and obscure manner. We reccomend that you check your current library against known copyrighted work unless you want to get pwnd.

    Thank you.

  4. Unsolicited emails... by aaza · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Have the MPAA ever done business with Linux Australia?
    Doubtful, but I would need to check.

    Is the mail sent of a commercial nature?
    "Take this down or we sue." Kinda commercial, if suing people is their business (for the RIAA it seems to be, maybe it is for the MPAA as well).

    CAN-SPAM?
    Apparently they can.

    --
    In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
    In practice, however, there is.
  5. Maybe.. by Wilkshake · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Maybe the MPAA needs to start basing their takedown notices on actual or proven infringement of copyright rather than just their current reign of circumstantial and claimed legal Gestapoing.

    ---

    --

    -
    "I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous." - David Bradley, inventor of Ctrl-Alt-Del
    1. Re:Maybe.. by Tom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      you can still inform the *AA that what you're doing is, in fact, completely legal.

      I could. But why should I? They are looking for something, it's their job to verify their search results. Why should I waste a second of my time pointing out to them what they should've checked themselves?

      They're sending these messages out in the thousands. If we assume an error rate of 1%, and that is a very forgiving assumption, that's a hundred or so errors. If it takes 30 minutes to sort things out, that's 50 hours burnt on account of the **AA, 50 hours that they don't pay a dime for, but should.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  6. Demoscene also under MPAA scrutiny by andr0meda · · Score: 5, Interesting


    See here

    Reading it, you can clearly see that their 'human error' is no other than an automated filename scan.

    --
    With great power comes great electricity bills.
  7. Human error, sure ... by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Everybody get's away with human error:

    Some guy:
    "No it ws human error, I didn't mean to:
    - violate the speed limit by 100KM/h
    - kill that guy
    - steal money from tax payers
    - cheat the stock market
    - use an aimbot
    - attack iraq because I thought they have WMD
    - ..."

    Judge:
    "Oh, if it was human error then law doesn't apply, so it's ok."

    Can somebody spell bullshit?

  8. Human error? THEY ARE LYING by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    This is what, the 100,000th incorrect 'copyright infringement' notice that's been sent out? And they claim it to be human error? Proof that they are FULL OF SHIT - this was received by someone at a board I frequent. Keep in mind this is a board where the topic is emulator-assisted videogame speed runs. Excerpts, since apparently in posting the whole thing I was using too many "junk" characters (the fuck?):
    We have received information that you are providing Internet or Usenet access to the above
    referenced account holder, or hosting the above referenced Internet site, which has made
    available the download or streaming of copyrighted motion picture(s) including such title(s)
    as:

    SPEED

    Infringement Detail:
    Infringing Work: SPEED
    Filepath: supermetroid-speedrunv3-frenom-avi.torrent/
    Filen ame: supermetroid-speedrunv3-frenom.avi
    First Found: 6 Sep 2004 00:29:14 EDT (GMT -0400)
    Last Found: 6 Sep 2004 00:29:14 EDT (GMT -0400)
    Filesize: 182,426k
    IP Address: (removed)
    IP Port: 26887
    Network: BTPeers
    Protocol: BitTorrent
    If that's not patternmatching then they're hiring retards to send these notices out. I'm betting on robots.
  9. Auto-Generated Fake Warez Movie Site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I finally got around to scripting a dynamic fake warez site. There are currently 250 movies, but you can add your own to the flat text file. This should work on ANY php webserver.

    If you try and download a file, you will get the correct mime-type, and filesize, but the transfer will gradually get slower and slower and it will never finish (well, maybe some day, but its garbage anyways).

    Preview: http://ciagon.dnsalias.com/movies/
    Source: http://ciagon.dnsalias.com/movies/index.phps
    Movie List: http://ciagon.dnsalias.com/movies/movies.txt

    Enjoy!

  10. Jam MPAA by uglyduckling · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Remember Jam Echelon? Perhaps it's time we all filled our http/ftp servers with files whose names will attract attention but whose contents are completely legal...?

  11. Congratulations by pjt33 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Can somebody spell bullshit?
    As one of the /. spelling Nazis, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that you can. You even spelt it correctly.
  12. RIAA Pit of Confusion by salimfadhley · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My tarpit scripts are all GPL2'd for your lawbot defeating pleasure.

  13. Re:In their defense.... by pjrc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This can't have happened very often in the past or else we would have heard about a lot more cases like this.

    Just in case anyone didn't see this as satire....

    MPAA mistakes various free code in small zip files (all under 64k) as the movie "Basic" and television serial "Alias")
    http://www.scene.org/showforum.php?forum=5&topic=4 0047

    MPAA mistakes a file manager for X windows as X-Files movie based on television series.
    http://lsolum.typepad.com/copyfutures/2004/09/dmca _iselfhelpi.html

    ESA mistakes "INFMapPacks123FULL-MAN.zip" as Pac Mac video game.
    http://gauley.ucs.indiana.edu/~cshields/dmca_lette r

    RIAA accuses Penn State's Peter Usher of pirating music by rap band "Usher".
    http://news.com.com/RIAA+apologizes+for+threatenin g+letter/2100-1025_3-1001095.html

    RIAA admitts to "several dozens more additional errors" but won't disclose details. No direct link to Cnet coverage on May 13, 2003.
    http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/20030926_unsafe_harbors. php#_edn2

    Diebold intentionally files false takedown notice to silence (very well deserved) criticism of its shoddly voting machines:
    http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/001465. php

    Cult of Scientology attempts (yet again) to shut down xenu.net, which exposes embarrasing truths about their documents made public in a court case:
    http://www.peerfear.org/rss/permalink/2003/02/04/1 044497702-DMCA_Takedown_Notice_Scientology_and_Pac Bell.shtml

    Apparant con artist David Waathiq attempts to use DMCA threat to shut down critical website:
    http://mdwaathiq.worldwidewarning.net/DMCA.aspx

    .

    To be fair, many of these aren't the MPAA (though at least the 2nd one is)... but there is definately a pattern of abuse. These are just the ones I found in 5-10 minutes of searching. It's quite likely there are many more out there, and many that go utterly unreported.

    --
    PJRC: Electronic Projects, 8051 Microcontroller Tools