Feds Shut Down Elite Torrents

honkimon writes "Cnn Money reports, "Government agents said the onslaught included 10 search warrants and the shut down of a central Web site used to coordinate all file-sharing activity on the Elite Torrents network. That Web site, Elitetorrents.org, had a selection of copyrighted works that government officials described as virtually unlimited.""

Comments

Re:It seems unreal...

[shark72]

" Why the FUCK would the FBI (who's purpose is to prevent communism) even get involved in copyright infringement?"

I'll assume you're not trolling:

Because if you do enough of it, it's a crime. This falls under federal law.

I'll go ahead and answer some other Slashdot noob copyright infringement questions while I'm here:

Why is the government enforcing this law? Aren't there be terrorists to catch?

Walk &
Chew gum &

No, really. What's it to them?

Spend some time out of the US and you'll learn that intellectual property is one of the US's biggest exports. The revenue earned (and taxes paid) by US-based citizens and companies through the distribution of intellectual property -- whether it's music, movies, books, or software -- is absolutely enormous, and whether we like it or not, it's a significant reason that we in the US enjoy the quality of life that we do. Like original sin, we are all stained by the shame of enforcing the rights of copyright holders.

Enough with this borgouis capitalistic intellectual property nonsense. This country is ruined by greed! Except for the part where I download music and movies for free instead of paying for them... I wouldn't consider that greed. But I digress. Isn't there a sane place where people don't pay no never mind to intellectual property?

There sure are -- try the (somewhat short) list of countries that aren't signatories to the Berne Convention. Iran and Iraq are among them, as well as a few African nations and dirt-poor tropical islands. They are largely places that the typical US citizen would not want to live. Revenue sources like the taxes that Microsoft pays tend to go toward things like infrastructure here in the US -- clean running water and the like.

Isn't this a victimless crime? Owners and creators of movies, books and music are all rich beyond my wildest imagination. I see this pointed out on Slashdot all the time, and so it must be true.

You have taken the first vital step toward sanitizing the act of ignoring others' rights. This trick is pretty common. For example, it worked well in the 18th century when "manifest destiny" dictated that we grab all the land. It became immensely easier to do this once we started thinking of Indians as godless, drunken, flea-infested savages who stole our horses and raped our women.

So what's your point?

If you'd rather download that song or that film rather than pay for it, go ahead and do it -- just don't try to make it a social cause. At best, you're being wise with your dollar. You're not a hero, you're not advancing a social cause, and this is not the Montgomery freedom march.