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Music Piracy Unit Raids ISP in BitTorrent Assault

renai42 writes "Australia's music industry piracy investigations unit has raided an Internet service provider in Perth, Australia in what it says is the first Australian assault on the use of BitTorrent technology for copyright infringement. Outgoing Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) general manager, Michael Speck, said the raid was launched this afternoon at the offices of Swiftel Communications."

36 of 379 comments (clear)

  1. Good!! by I'm+Don+Giovanni · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Pirates give legit BitTorrent users a bad name.

    --
    -- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
  2. WTF by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    WTF is ANY company doing raiding an ISP? Surely this is something for the police or licenced people with a warrant to do..

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:WTF by Rii · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That may be how law works in America, but Australia may be different. Any Aussies out there that can explain how that works? Corporate police sound very creepy to me... The closes we have here are pseudocops with "RIAA" jackets harrasing street vendors of counterfit DVDs.

    2. Re:WTF by Brandybuck · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Aaargh! I'm wrong! In Australia a corporation really can conduct raids. Well roll me in grits and call me cornpone!

      --
      Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
    3. Re:WTF by the_proton · · Score: 2, Insightful

      From the Sydney Morning Herald article:

      The raids were conducted with rarely used search warrants known as Anton Piller orders which are used exclusively in civil proceedings. No police were involved, and the record industry sent its own investigators to carry out the search and seize evidence.

      There's a bit of an explanation of an Anton Piller order here:
      http://www.mgrewal.com/anton.htm and some information on how the federal court decides if they should make such an order is available here: http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/how/practice_notes_cj10 .htm

      - proton

    4. Re:WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It's a court order - if you refuse, you're subject to contempt of court. You ARE allowed to delay entry until you arrange your legal representation to show up but this must be done within a reasonable time.

    5. Re:WTF by R.Caley · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Australia doesn't have a bill of rights. The government can do as it pleases.

      The USA does have a bill of rights, and the government can do as it pleases.

      John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it.
      -- Andrew Jackson
      --
      _O_
      .|<
      The named which can be named is not the true named
  3. Re:Company name by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is MIPI a govt agency? Who gave them the rights to conduct random raids as they please?

  4. Re:MUTE by Husgaard · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Interesting, but trying to avoid the law is IMHO not a solution.

    Trying to change the law is what we need to do.

  5. Not going after users by the look of it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Although they're raiding an ISP, the article seems to indicate that the company is in trouble because it owns the sites that were bittorrenting/giving access to bittorrents of copyrighted material. That doesn't seem too drastic to me. Anyone whose business model is piracy has to expect to be hunted across the commercial high seas.

  6. What does bittorrent have to do with this? by mark-t · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Bittorent is a tool.

    It's sorta like saying that "Before being apprehended, the chainsaw murderer went after the victims with a 2 HorsePower Black-and-Decker Deluxe Model Chainsaw (available at hardware stores near you)"

    1. Re:What does bittorrent have to do with this? by Laivincolmo · · Score: 2, Insightful
      While BitTorrent has great applications for legal file distribution, the vast majority of people do not use it for that. In reality the average person using it is not too interested in downloading the latest liveCD release of Gnome 2.10. My only wish is that somehow peer to peer technology could be adapted to please both parties (eg low price downloads/direct compensation to creators). Perhaps BitTorrent could play some good in this role..

      And while the invasion of an ISP by a company may seem like bad tidings for the cause of free distribution of information... the ISP kind of brought it on themselves by owning a website promoting the distribution of currently illegal downloadable material.

      Free iMac Mini

    2. Re:What does bittorrent have to do with this? by Sancho · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The same could be said of the Internet in general. I've heard estimates that 1/3 of all Internet traffic is Bittorrent. If we can then assume that 1/6 + .0001% of all Internet traffic is non-Bittorrent copyright-violating filesharing, then you could s/BitTorrent/the Internet/ in your post and it would remain true. Given the huge piracy outlet on Usenet, I don't think it's that unreasonable an assumption.

  7. "WTF, mate" by deltatype0 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Well you know, we gotta fight terrorism on a global scale and get every country involved says Bush. Of course that is after piracy = terrorism, which isn't far off I imagine, I'm waiting for the RIAA/MPAA to slip some clause into a bill that pretty much gives them complete legal authority to break down doors.

  8. Re:Company name by mankey+wanker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's The Golden Rule:
    "He who has the gold makes the rules."

    Democracy, Republic, Due Process, Rights - all catchy marketing phrases to disguise the ugly face of unbridled Capital.

  9. Re:Company name by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Insightful
    That's nuts. I found this document on lexisnexis which describes them and related "asset freezing" orders as "the law's two nuclear weapons and the greatest examples of judicial activism in our time. They strike without warning when, as is usual, they are obtained ex parte, secretly and without notice to the respondent."

    That's crazy gestapo crap. I mean it's bad enough that official law enforcement agencies can do this crap but regular citizens!? Insanity.

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  10. So... by bonch · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So, all those people in the CherryOS "stolen source code" article going on about how evil GPL copyright infringement is and how PearPC's authors should pursue legal action against the infringers will now presumably support this, or am I incorrect that there won't be any hypocrisy in this discussion?

    1. Re:So... by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The PearPC guys are giving their product away for free, and only ask that if you build off their product that you contribute back to the free project. The RIAA (and whatever the fuck the Austrialian equivalent is) are screwing artists out of a good living, overcharging for thier product by maintaining an artifical lock on distribution, and discouraging new/interesting music because having just a few big name bands is more profitable. Your comparison isn't valid.

      I don't understand why the 'little people' (us) have to paint everything black and white while the bastards with all the power can come up with any old justification to do what they want. This isn't hypocrisy. If you're not going to show me any decency and respect, I'm under no obligation to do the same for you. I just wish people weren't such a bunch of dumb fucks that they can't see the distinction, and then maybe reform the system for everyone's benefit (except the record producers, my they and their ilk rot in hell).

      --
      Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    2. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      One question, why do Artists sign contracts with them? If RIAA and others were useless, artists would not use them for distribution.

      Look at the average new artist. Notice how they all have something in common? That's right - they're all teenagers.

      How much savvy does your average teenager have? Not a lot. They see a recording contract, they'll sign it, probably without reading it first, and certainly without understanding it. And next thing they know, they've signed their rights away for the next twenty years.

      And they don't particularly mind, because 20 cents per disk sold or whatever is money, while no disks being sold is no money. But does that make it fair, when the RIAA is pocketing many times as much? We say "no".

      Of course, that doesn't justify pirating the music, which means that the artist gets nothing at all.

  11. Better Article by _Hellfire_ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I submitted this yesterday with the originally reported article

    What scares me the most is that police weren't involved at all. These are corporations barging in and taking stuff with the government's blessing!

    --
    "And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."
    1. Re:Better Article by fallen1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, you know - and I don't want to spread suggestions - I know you probably would get into trouble for shooting a _law enforcement_ person who barged in your nice Australian home because they have a LEGAL authority to do so and would announce themselves (more than likely). But, what happens to the corporate goon squad who barges in my house unannounced and I shoot a couple of them because I feared for my life? Regardless of the fact they were "sanctioned" by the government of Australia to conduct the raid they were not government officials and entered my private residence unannounced. I mean, can't you see the conversation - "Fuck, officer, these goons bashed in my door and had no ID and were not wearing badges and the first thought that came to mind was 'I'm about to die in a home invasion' and so, being an upstanding citizen defended myself."

      Of course, would you wonder (A) how many times that would happen before the nice government of Australia made it illegal to shoot people entering your house unannounced regardless of their intent? or (B) how many times that would happen before the Aussie recording goon squads started carrying guns on raids (which would just be LOVELY press if they did not kill the person they were raiding)? or (C) how many times this would happen before the raids were just given up on completely by the "government sanctioned" recording goon squads?

      Please note: I do not condone piracy but the people sitting at home aren't the major issues with "loss of revenue", it is the balck market dealers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries that are making hundred of thousands of CDs, DVDs, and other material available on the black market for $2 or whatever and making millions. The person sitting at home downloading 10 songs, or 1000 songs, is breaking copyright law to be sure but they are not making millions off the material to boot. I say fight the real piracy (the multi-national, sells 500,000 CDs, makes millions) and THEN deal with the other issue - and change your business model to fit with the times.

      --

      Dream as if you'll live forever.
      Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
      ~Anonymous~

  12. Re:Company name by Husgaard · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The United States of America actually forced legislation like this on Denmark. They used the WTO (implying the threat "if you don't comply, we start a trade war").

    So now anybody with a copyright, patent or trademark can raid my private home without warning if they can show that it is probable that I have infringed on their rights to the "court".

    I quote "court" because the "court" that the other part has to show a probable infringement to is lower than the lowest court in Denmark. This "court" has a role somewhat similar to "sherif" in the United States.

    If US people have problems understanding why some foreigners don't like the US, please take this as an example. (Personally I dislike the US government because of it, not the US people.)

  13. Re:MUTE by Husgaard · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Civil disobedience is one way to change the law.

    Civil disobedience is when somebody proudly breaks the law and publicly stands up to it, not when somebody tries to break the law and get away with it.

    Still you have a point. Laws are meant to maintain and uphold the society. If they criminalize large portions of society, something is wrong with the law.

  14. Re:Company name by HD+Webdev · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The evidence isn't admissible, but it is sufficient to obtain a warrant in order to find admissible evidence.

    Exactly. It's the 3rd party dodge to get a warrant for something the Government can't get a warrant for directly themselves.

    It doesn't matter if the Government can directly prosecute with what they have from the 3rd party...but it is enough for them to get an official warrant to investigate further than they normally would legally be able to do.

    --
    This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
  15. Re:Crazy... by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Um england is not an island mate , its a country
    England is on an island with 2 other countrys aka Scotland and Wales ;) sorry back on point

    and to the grandparent , no australia is a break off of the UK not of England ,
    England is also part of the UK as was the USA and Canada at on point .

    Im from Scotland , which is also part of the UK (unless more of vote for the SNP )
    Please stop refering to the whole UK as England , ;) although we dont mind when your refering to civil rights abuses etc (joke)

    A large portion of australia was people called criminals , who were not Read up on it , Alot of Scotsmen were taken away from there homes by frankly abusive laws
    set up to protect the rich bussiness and landowners
    Where people would perhaps steal a farm animal to feed the family or some such thing , perhaps they would take a bit of grain or show someone else how to steal an animal

    petty laws with over the top punishements ,,,, A bit like today with the RIAA and now the abuse of bittorent servers.
    I will not aruge the morality here as its a long tiersome debate
    but i will say , since when is it illegal to show someone how to commit a crime
    I have a several books on lock picking , a book on the mindset of serial killers , a book about pickpockets and the sub culture , all of these show me how to commit crimes just as torrent files show me(witha client) how to download the info . go after the sharer if you really must or the tracker perhaps .

    However i do know one thing , Companys should never be allowed to conduct raids.
    We have an elected rule for a few reasons , and we dont need private companys acting like facists , no way should any persons not under the direct control of the gouvernemt be able to conduct such actions

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  16. Re:Company name by morleron · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm afraid that, for most purposes, government and corporations are indistinguishable. Here in the U.S. the MPAA and RIAA are allowed to serve John Doe warrants themselves. The situation here in the States is such that MPAA and RIAA congresscritters such as Orrin Hatch make little effort to cover up their attachment to corporations. So-called election finance reform has been shown to be a joke; corporations still buy politicians and the politicians stay bought.

    The courts here in the U.S. no longer seem to pay any attention to our Constitution. The "justice" system in this country is not quite as corrupt as the legislative and executive branches of government, but that's changing. Given that the courts have not seen fit to declare unconstitutional such legislation as the DMCA, the PATRIOT ACT, and other acts that limit American's civil liberties, I don't see much hope that the situation will change for the better anytime soon.

    I wonder if it might be possible to convince enough people to boycott everything produced by members of the RIAA and MPAA that we could starve the monsters that are corrupting our political and judicial systems? I think I'll start by cancelling my memberships in various CD/DVD clubs, etc. Frankly, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a move towards such actions already, at least I'm not aware of any, but would be glad to be proven wrong.

    Just my $.02,
    Ron

    --
    Impeach Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional requirement to be a "natural born" citizen to hold the office of P
  17. Re:Here we go again... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    You know the port and you know the IP. Encryption can't make your IP go away. Unless they implement some kind of arbitrary port space with onion routing to BT it won't help one thing to be "impossible to trace".

    Besides, you have nothing to be afraid of if you use the torrents for legal stuff! Why do you even care of some shitty corporate products you could not afford anyway and maybe end up using for 1 hour then forgetting it? The latest shitty movie from Hollywood? Leave them be.

    If it's not worth paying for in the cinema, it's not worth seeing. Why waste your time for such crap?

    The same applies for music as well.

  18. Re:MUTE by rhizome · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >Trying to change the law is what we need to do.

    No, either the music industry or the copyright offices need to get off their fat, money-soaked asses and come up with a workable licensing scheme that doesn't turn huge chunks of the country's citizens into criminals. But, as noted in another story, the record companies are using these suits for revenue more than abatement, so don't worry about the Anton Pillar orders going away soon.

    --
    When I was a kid, we only had one Darth.
  19. Re:Company name by quarkscat · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Exactly so.

    New name for the USA could/should be: People's
    Democratic Republic of the United States of
    North America and the Middle East. Except for
    the fact that we have open borders, all the other
    pieces seem to be fitting together well: secret
    police that spy on everyone, need permission to
    travel (fly), and (coming soon) national identity
    card ("... your papers, please..."). The only
    problem with this whole scenario is the stalinist
    tilt -- because everyone not wearing blinders, or
    in a drug-induced trance should realize that the
    USA has become a Corporate National Socialist
    state. A government by and of the corporation,
    for the people.

  20. Re:Anton Piller order is not a search warrant. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And what are the likely consequences if you refuse and are held in contempt of court?

    Make no mistake - it is just as bad as a warrant, because the threat of contempt amounts to duress.

  21. Re:Company name by cryptoluddite · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Personally I dislike the US government because of it, not the US people.

    Americans get to vote on the federal government at least once every two years. Combine that with state referendums and offices and that's a lot of voting. So no, you should not have a problem with individual Americans, but you should a big problem with "the US people." We voted for all these unconstitutional laws and so-called leaders.

    As a citizen I can say that you should dislike the American people as a whole. Ultimately the buck stops here and we are the ones responsible for our government (at least for now).

  22. Re:Country name. by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This Australia we're talking about here. Not the US. They run things their way. We run things our way.

    Not any more. With Howard's Liberal government (famously referred to as a conga-line of arselickers) in power, we run things your way as well.

    Just look at our government's total lack of response when you lock up our citizens without charge.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  23. Re:Company name by killjoe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The people have been pretty much programmed to buy whatever the television is selling.

    It strikes me as ironic that the govt is fighting to put the ten commandments in schools and public places. I wonder what will happen to a generation of students who walk by a sign that says "thou shall not covet" every day. I wonder if it would make a difference in the consumer society?

    Probably not, it's not like anybody really pays attention to that crap. If they did the streets would be empty on sunday.

    --
    evil is as evil does
  24. Re:Company name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    But the US government is just the shadow, not the substance.
    Ultimately what it all comes down to is corporate interests.

    Iraq wasn't invaded in order to bring freedom to the Iraqi people, it was invaded in order to transform it into a more corporate friendly environment, to open up new markets.

    Likewise, when the US government forces various copyright laws on other countries (this isn't the first time that's happened), the government just acts as a proxy for the recording industry.

  25. Re:Company name by wing03 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We voted for all these unconstitutional laws and so-called leaders.

    IIRC, wasn't it great rifts between the rich and the poor that caused revolutions and the toppling of the many powers that be in the past?

    Bertrand Russell wrote "Religion in any shape or form, is regarded as pernicious and deliberate falsehood, spread and encouraged by rulers and clerics in their own interests, since it is easier to control over the ignorant." which led to Marx's comment about Religion being the opium to the masses.

    It would seem the most successfull religion in the western world, if not the entire world is Capitalism. The rulers are the ones in political power whereas its clerics are the boards and management of corporations.

    IMO, communism was a great idea.... on paper. Perenial high school favourite "Animal Farm" shows where it goes wrong.

    Capitalism isn't without its pitfalls either as we see it going awry with private corporations in control of the state and its people. The opium here is the belief that anyone can achieve greatness in capitalism if they work hard. However, with monopolies and oligopolies protecting themselves from competition, there's little room at the top for an ever increasing population. Room is there for some competition but if you happen to become moderately good and if you start to threaten them, they shut you down by either buying you out or burying you. With a preference on the buying out since it feeds more into the illusion that anyone and everyone can break out of the ranks of the poor working class.

    But, I suppose with every rising and falling of civilizations throughout time, this one will see its end either from an internal revolt or some product(s) of our advancement which our world becomes deeply dependent proves dangerous to us amd kills us off.

  26. Re:Company name by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

    because everyone not wearing blinders, or in a drug-induced trance should realize that the USA has become a Corporate National Socialist state.

    Godwin's law?