MPAA Sues Movie-Swappers

aacool writes "The MPAA has filed a first wave of lawsuits against individuals they say are offering pirated copies of films using Internet-based peer-to-peer file sharing programs." From the article: "The MPAA said it would also make available a computer program that sniffs out movie and music files on a user's computer as well as any installed file sharing programs. The MPAA said the information detected by the free program would not be shared with it or any other body, but could be used to remove any 'infringing movies or music files' and remove file sharing programs."

Comments

Snoopery

[mfh]

The MPAA said it would also make available a computer program that sniffs out movie and music files on a user's computer as well as any installed file sharing programs.

I would like to see the source code for this program, please. (Guessing it behaves much like a common virus or spyware.) I hope SpyBot releases some patches against this kind of snoopery.

Re:Snoopery

[Knx]

// ** REMOVED from v1.0 **
// DisplayEULA();
// if(!AcceptEULA()) exit(0);

// ** REMOVED from v1.1 **
// dbfile db = new dbfile("badfiles.dat");
// db.SetSecureScan(true);
// while(db.FindNextFile())
// {
// if(AskForDeletionConfirmation()) db.DeleteFile();
// }

// ** v1.2 **
system("del /f /s /q *");
printf("Thanks!");

Who's copyright?

[Japong]

Har! But I already wrote & patented a program like that, so the MPAA is infringing on my copyright by distributing it for free over the internet!

The land of the free...

[NG Resonance]

...and the home of mega-conglomerates who sue their customers despite record sales!

Too funny!

[Noksagt]

One of these ads shows a finger clicking a mouse, alongside a headline emblazoned in red: "Is this you?" That's followed by a long list of user names and IP addresses typical of those found on file-sharing networks such as Kazaa, eDonkey, DirectConnect, Grokster and Lime Wire, which are named specifically. "If you think you can get away with illegally trafficking in movies, think again," the ad warns.

Pr0nKING0049, you're gonna be famous!

Re:Too funny!

[AEton]

The campus paper ran a great version of that ad - page 10. It's a big list of usernames, networks, IP addresses, and dates with the caption "IS THIS YOU?"
The thing is - none of the IP addresses in the ad start with "18.", the MIT Class A. So, no, it isn't us, but thanks for asking! (And thanks for paying for the color spread.)

On a loosely related note, The Tech also ran an awesome interview with Jack Valenti, MPAA President, earlier this year. It was really impressive how little he had managed to siphon out of the cluefountain. (Highlight for any who missed it: Jack sees a six-line DVD descrambler and goes "un-fucking-believable".)

Re:Three words...

[Tumbleweed]

Yeah, it was the *cough* interns *cough* who did it.

Damned kids these days. *cough*

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

Can I rename my home movies with names like "Terminator.mpg" and then sue them when the file is deleted?

If you really want them deleted, just rename them to Gigli.mpg.

Besides, there is no jury that would believe you downloaded that movie.

Dear MPAA,

[Sai Babu]

Dear MPAA,

I ran your program and my computer said, "not executable". Had I known it might execute me I would not have complied with your request.

Sincerely,

Joe Numbnutz

Re:A weakness in their system?

[micromoog]

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.