Slashdot Mirror
European Piracy Crackdowns
DigitumDei writes "The British
Phonographic Industry has been busy over the last half year. Their recent success which netted them £50,000 in out of court settlements is certainly not going to be the end of it with the UK courts forcing 6 ISP's to release information on a further 31 file sharers. The ISPs have 14 days to comply. And once located will be offered the opporunity to settle out of court. 'We would particularly advise parents to check what their children are doing on the internet and make sure that they are not breaking the law by filesharing illegally,' said Geoff Taylor, BPI General Counsel." And in other news, the oldest and largest ISP in Sweden, Bahnnof was the subject of a raid that netted what looks to be the biggest results in Europe ever; as well papper writes "The Swedish organization Antipiratbyrån, which has nothing to do with Swedish goverment, recently got hacked. This was both revenge for and an attempt to stop similair raids like the one who took place this friday, against the ISP Banhof. During the raid several FTP-servers were seized. On the hacked site the responsible group, AUH, posts some private e-mails about an alleged informer and makes threats to release more information and of course there is the mandatory braging. The site is located at Antripiratbyran with a mirror elsewhere and a translated verison also online (although it seems unreachable at the moment). "
anyway, saw this on their site day or so ago, and i think its cool APB is the most hate institution in sweden, but they have had like 150 or so open cases with people all over. With alot of it going on on TV in sweden this is just the begining.. Btw, baunhoff (spelling?) where their OWN ISP.. so they cracked down and got their self shut down. And now they try and use a off-shore (as in usa) webhost.
A man in Rodez, France has been cleared (in French, sorry, use the fish) Of piracy charges; the court determined that since he did not mass redistribute the movies he downloaded, he was not guilty of what the movie studio accused him. Furthermore, the court said that given the copy-tax people pay on media and computers, they are entitled to private copy, JUST AS THE LAW ALLOWS.
Crazy kids! Downloading Phonographs!
Is there much of a British Pornographic Industry?
Did anyone else read that wrong?
Appenrently they have the right break in and look through other peoples stuff if they think there are some "pirated" things there.
What happens if I don't want them looking through my private mail/pictures/documents?
They will not stop this stupid behavior unless we hit them where it really hurts, their wallets.
So, don't buy another CD, don't see another film, dont rent another DVD and don't buy any programs from the companys sponsoring "Antipiratbyrån" until they stop this foolishness!
The first paragraph or so of the hacked version of their site, as translated by InterTran. Either InterTran leaves something to be desired as a translation tool, or the hackers who hit the site leave something to be desired as far as proficiency in the swedish language goes. You decide:
Hi and greet to AUHs nya home in cyberrymden! We have displaced in here behind they precedence proprietor stayed outcast frn Internet liked a body as braces away kill and unwanted organ. We have as it were yourself wondered very about what as actually happened with Bahnhof and as wes is , formerly youngest , almighty arga s feels wes ourselves exhort that divide that information but s mnga as possible. All for that yous also ska kunna become arga , and that eras friends ska become arga and their friends and s forth until Internet gator is full by an mad mob as sound AUH! AUH! AUH! and am claiming Ponténs blood!
Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
'We would particularly advise parents to check what their children are doing on the internet and make sure that they are not breaking the law by filesharing illegally,'
Its amazing that government authorities still aren't aware that in most cases, its pretty damn clear to a child (over the age of 11 anyway) whether they are filesharing illegally or not. They should be responsible for checking their actions, not the parents.
And the site targeted is Antripiratbyran
The Danish version of the Swedish anti-piracy organization is funded by the settlements, and money from the industry. Absolutely none of the money from the settlements will ever reach the artists.
That's bahnhof, not bahnnof or banhof.
I'm a bit split at how to take this. APB (Translated: "The bureau of anti-piracy") is using illegal methods and a lot of money to track down and convict pirates. I believe we all agree that APB generally sucks. Right?
But defacing the website to publish information about private citizens is in my view worse. There's currently several campaigns going on which aims at terrorizing Pontus Pontén (chief asshat of the APB) by sending hate SMS, e-mail, snailmail. His own kids have gotten several death threats for fucks sake. What kind of message does that send?
There have also been several attempts to break into the APB locales, in at least one case using heavy tools.
APB uses methods thate are questionable to say the least, but this response will only strenghten the public view that pirates are evil anarchists that ought to be hung.
Sweden is a democracy, and we have freedom of speech. I'd like to encourage everyone to protest openly.
Has the RIAA or the MPAA ever provoked this kind of responses?
I'm sure this will all end up the same old discussion all over again, but this case with Bahnhof actually goes beyond "piracy", it's a question of judicial security.
What seems to have happened is this; APB (these are an umbrella org. for Sony and the other big giants) went to a court to get a warrant to search against Bahnhof. They listed the material they were after; Lisa Miskovsky, Kylie, Peter Jöback, Rebecka Törnqvist, Santana, The Ark, Totta Näslund(!!) and Ulf Lundell were some of the artists they mentioned. Anyhow...
They went in, shut the company down for the whole day (no one was allowed to use their computers for the rest of the day -- you can imagine how easy it is to run an ISP when you're not allowed to touch a computer) and found, they say, nothing of the material they used to get their warrant. Nothing!
Now, they did find other material, which they tipped off the police about (seeing as that would have to become a criminal case) the servers.
Now the question is; is it now basically acceptable to lie or just make up material for the search warrant? Should a consortium of large companies be allowed to put a million SEK in escrow, and then shut down another company while looking for anything illegal?
I don't think I've adequatly expressed all the problems (and known details) here, but this is big.
Swedes should look here (JO-anmälan) and here ("Piratjaktens Faror -- Om balansen mellan personlig integritet, rättssäkerhet och upphovsrätt")
Belief is the currency of delusion.
There seems to be a misunderstanding here.. Piratbyran (The Pirate Bureau) http://www.piratbyran.org/ AntiPiratbyran (The Anti-Pirate Bureau) http://www.antipiratbyran.org/ The mirror of the hacked site is available at: http://ak.webcust.prq.se/Arga.unga.hackare_2k5_rev enge.is.sweet.htm
Quick translation:
AUH = Angry Young Hackers
We have moved in here after the previous owners got repelled off the Internet, just like a body repell dead and unwanted organs.
We have, just like you, been wondering about what happened at Bahnhof (the ISP who got busted) since we are, young of course, very angry so we feel that we need to share the information with as many people as possible
Just so you also will be angry, and that your friends and their friends and so on.. until the streets of Internet are full off angry mobs who scream AUH! AUH! AUH! and demands the blood of Pontén (the lawyer from Antipiratbyrå)
Daniel
In fact, cutting out 90% of the activity may well satisfy The Man. I can't see that it's worth spending millions chasing down people swapping files among their friends via FTP, private newsgroups etc.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
If they can't make money selling their product, the'll make it by collecting "piracy" settlements. The margins are probably better, too!
Hi and welcome to AUH's new home in cyber space!
We have moved in here after the former owners got rejected from Internet like a body rejects dead and unwanted organs. We have, like you, wondered what actually happaned at Bahnhof and since we are, except young, very angry we feel requested to share this information with as many as possible. All because you should be able to be angry too, and so that your friends can be angry and their friends' friends and so forth until the streets of Internet are filled with an angry mob that barks "AUH! AUH! AUH!" and demands the blood of Pontén!
swedish law is messed up.
:)
software piracy falls into the same group as prostitution. its illegal to perform the "act", but its not illegal to exist. if that makes sense.
for example, if a police office catches a prostitude selling services to a gentleman, a crime is being committed. however, prostitutes are legal citizens - and, even their tax is declared so.
the same goes for software piracy, if a company can say "hey, i downloaded this file from user X - which is a copyright violation" and the cops come and cease your computers and find the file in question - you will be convicted of sharing files illegally over the internet.
however, if you have 1TB of TV shows and DVDR images - yet they cannot find the file they have the injunction for; you are free to go. owning the files is legal, sharing them isn't.
there was a case with some direct connect users where a guy got busted by the cops for sharing files; however, he got his computer back with all his illegal files without any legal action been made because they could not find the file in question.
interesting
Is the money these lawsuits still giving them a net profit after paying for the lawyers, the labour to track down the pirates, etc.? Or is the purpose of this just to set an example and scare all the other pirates away? Maybe it's the coffee, but I for one see a future where the music industry becomes almost dead due to pirating and music becomes opensource, like *BSD or Apache. Musicians no longer are paid significantly by percentages of record sales. Instead, music is freely and legally downloaded. The musicians perhaps will get their money some other way, like commercials and live performances.
Powered by caffeine and sugar; BSD
20 pages so here are some extracts...
Hi Oliver,
Please find our P2P fact sheet attached.
Kind regards
BPI Anti Piracy Unit
Sent: 08 March 2005 16:27
To: Tonia Howell
Subject: P2P networks
Hi,
I am a small producer for a few local bands here in the UK and have been thinking about releasing some demo tracks on the P2P networks, as it seems simpler than getting air-play time.
I am worried about recent reports in the news and advertising campaigns linking P2P networks with piracy and Terrorist activities. Although I am not a member of the BPI I would be glad of any advise on the matter.
Reagards,
"The unauthorised distribution of music over the internet is against the law. It infringes the
legal rights of artists and record companies. And it's bad for music.
The British record industry, which is responsible for the lion's share of the UK's investment
in new artists in excess of £150 million per year cannot possibly hope to continue
investing in new music if nobody pays for it."
Note, 'distribution', not copying.
"After years of widespread illegal uploading, the new legal download sites give music buyers
the opportunity to access an enormous range of music whenever they want."
Note, 'uploading', not downloading.
"The UK's official download chart was launched last September, and is set to be merged
with the UK singles chart this April."
Note, this doesn't include bittorrent downloads.
"CONTENTS
1) Illegal filesharing and the music industry
a. What is filesharing?
b. How can I tell if I am filesharing?
c. What's wrong with illegal filesharing?
d. The research: why filesharing damages sales
e. The picture in the UK
2) Online music piracy the industry response
a. Litigation
b. Instant messaging & consumer awareness
3) The rapid growth of legal music downloads
a. The UK digital download market
b. Broadband: opportunity for growth or the end of the album?
4) Further information
a. the UK's main digital music services
b. UK Digital Music Timeline, March 2005
c. Why illegal filesharing is wrong what the industry says
"
"a. What is filesharing?
Filesharing is the activity of trading digital files with other users over the internet. Users
trade files by downloading (to obtain them) and uploading (to distribute them).
In this context, downloading is when an internet user obtains a digital music file from the
internet. If this is done, for free, from an unauthorised source, it is likely that it has been
done illegally. UK internet users can download legally from an increasing number of
sources; see section 4a of this pack.
The more serious activity of uploading, is when an internet user allows other internet users
access to their digital music files. This is commonly done using filesharing programs. The
uploader is effectively distributing music illegally on the internet. This act is unlawful
regardless of whether or not the music was acquired illegally or legally.
Although the technology (also known as peer-to-peer, or p2p) offers lots of potential for the
development of legitimate services, the vast majority of songs currently available on file-
sharing networks are copyrighted works that are being distributed illegally."
"b. How can I tell if I am filesharing?
If you have filesharing software (known as a client) on your computer, have music in a
shared folder, and are connected to the internet, it's highly likely that you are filesharing
music illegally.
Here is a list of the more well-known filesharing clients that are used to fileshare illegally:
Kazaa, Grokster, eDonkey, LimeWire, Overnet, Direct Connect, BitTorrent, Soulseek,
Bearshare, iMesh, WinMX, Ares, Gnutella, GrabIt.
The only way to be sure that no one is illegally filesharing from your computer is to remove
the filesharing software altogether.
Bookmark the webpage below for a simple guide to re
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Hello and welcome to AUH 's new home in cyberspace!
We have moved in here since the last owners were evicted from the internet, like the dead and unneeded organs of a body. We have, like you, wondered a lot about what really happened at Bahnhof and since we are, except young, very angry, we feel compelled to share this information with as many people as possible. So that you will be angry too, and your friends will be angry, and their friends will be angry and so on until the streets of the internet is filled with an angry mob chanting "AUH! AUH! AUH!" and demanding Ponténs[Note: Henrik Pontén, lawyer and front figure for Swedens Anti-Piracy] blood.
We'll start of slow by letting someone named 'Peter' sum up the situation
Hello there, Peter! It will be interesting to find out what kind of infiltration you guys have been doing
Before long, we realize that Pater is a pretty nasty person - time to infiltrate the infiltrator. An just so you know, we have infiltrated you, your sites, your mail and your activity ever since we stole your passwords through SONG 4 years ago. I suppose this makes us more macho than you.
Interesting, Peter is mailing IRC-logs to Anti-piracy. Could this means - is Peter the bad guy? Let's continue looking and see what we'll find!
Oh my.. That's a bad Peter! Mailing from home when you're undercover is just what you need to do if you want people to find out!
w00t! A chello address in
Individual infringers are somebody else's problem:
They sued the mp3 codec clones, but I didn't speak out because I use ogg vorbis,
They sued the pirates of Windows, and I didn't speak out, 'cause I use Linux,
They sued over CSS, but I didn't speak out because it wasn't in my country,
They sued the music and movie downloaders, but I didn't speak out because I used a different filesharing network,
They sued me, but there was no-one left to speak out for me.
I would have to agree with you here. Just because I like a song, and chose to download it, does not mean that if I couldn't download it that I would run out and purchase it.
So therefore, I was not a real sales loss. I think that most people fit in to the same category as myself.
Also, Y is the guilty party. X only provided the oppertunity for Y, X didn't make Y a Y, Y did.
Totally crazy and confusing, reminds me of calculus...
Civilization, the death of dreams.
Hmmm... with a big enough USB drive and a p2p program that needs no install and downloads in small chunks, easy resumable...
I could see that working. Of course, I'm too lazy to go through all that trouble, so I just set up an unprotected WiFi, purge all connection logs regularly, and claim I have no idea who downloaded the whatever it was thats on my heavily encrypted wireless external harddrive hidden where No Man Would Want To Go... (under the GF's tampax)
*cough* well thats what I could do, theoretically, if I was ethically challenged and did not believe in "intellectual property" and other fairytales.
Sorry for that, I'm trying to make the point that there should be public outcry if the public believe it is being robbed of its fair use rights. It isn't right to let individual people suffer because they're not you.
I'm not suggesting that we should burn our money so everything can be free. I'm more pragmatic than that. Further, I think that legal methods should be used to bring justice where the law is broken, but there remain questions about the way in which the industry associations have gone about suing filesharers.
I'm starting to wonder if maybe the suing of illegal file sharers and, in particular, the suing of Sharman networks, may not be a good thing.
Follow my logic here, and in particular, I'm going to concentrate on Sharman networks, but the same also sort of applies to anyone accused of sharing files.
Sharman is basically being sued for providing the means by which people are illegally trading files. Thus, Sharman is likely going to be held legally liable for the actions of its users. In the same way that if I make files available on my machine and you download them illegally, I am really being held liable for your illegal actions.
Now why is this a good thing? Well, IANAL, but it seems to me this opens a terrific can of worms for other industries. By the same analogy, can we not now make gun companies legally liable for gun related deaths? Can we not make cigarette companies legally liable for smoking related deaths? I mean, really, it's the same thing isn't it? Holding the product supplier responsible for the actions of its users?
I certainly wouldn't mind seeing these two industries sued out of business. So, if some clever lawyer can make the coming precedents cross over into these industries and form the basis for some really major class action lawsuits, I might not see all of this as such a bad thing. I mean after all, why should big business have it both ways. Producers liable when it's in their interests and consumers reliable when it's in their interests. Surely we have to decide, as a society who's actually responsible. Either way, the consumers win, I think. Either sharing files (but not downloading them) becomes legal or cigarette and gun manufacturers are liable and thus pretty much out of business.
OK people, this is a running joke and a scare tactic. If the population of England is about 52 million (according to a quick google search), and the latest round of suits targets 31 people according to the story, and if a mere 1% of Britons file share, the numbers look bleak.
52,000,000/100 = 520,000
520,000/31 ~= 16.7K
Hmm, what are the odds of getting hit by a bus? Now, if the revent Slashdot stories about Britonss being the largest group of downloaders out there means that there are more than 1% downloading, the numbers get worse for the industry.
Besides suing your customer base not being the brightest idea on the planet, just ask SCO, the odds of them doing anything appreciable are laughable. Look at eDonkey for example. The RIAA has sued thousands of users in the US, and it is putting such a dent in..... never mind.
This is a headline grap people, and with each headline they grab the tool gets less and less effective. In the US, rounds of new suits barely make a third tier story at HardOCP.
My prediction: News headlines, people fearing big brother, thousands of files purged. Millions shrug and go on with their lives.
Next round: Page 4 news headlines, people mildly nervous, hundreds of files purged. Millions shrug and go on with their lives.
Round 3: Covered in niche publications, no one gives a rats ass, tens of files purged. Millions shrug and go on with their lives.
Round 4: Niche publications have better things to cover, cattle mutilations and CIA microwave mind control lasers trump the latest file sharing atrocities. 7 files purged and a grandmother in Cardiff wets herself. Millions shrug and go on with their lives.
-Charlie