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MPAA Violates Another Software License

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-a-little-cold dept.

Patrick Robib, a blogger who wrote his own blogging engine called Forest Blog recently noticed that none other than the MPAA was using his work, and had completely violated his linkware license by removing all links back to the Forest Blog site, not crediting him in any way. The MPAA blog was using the Forest Blog software, but had completely stripped off his name, and links back to his site. He only found about it accidentally when he happened to visit the MPAA site.

6 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. Not the first time by Ydna · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is not the first time the MPAA has been caught pirating the copyrighted works of others. They got caught making and distributing copies of This Film Is Not Yet Rated without permission (and after they claimed they did not make any copies).

    --

    "The great thing about multitasking is that several things can go wrong at once." -me

    1. Re:Not the first time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      I don't know why your post is modded as "informative," because you haven't provided any information about the incident to which you are referring. Maybe if I post that the MPAA were caught red-handed drowning kittens and leaving the toilet seat up I can be modded "informative" too?

  2. Here's the MPAA response: by All_One_Mind · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the next blog post on the authors site:

    Well, I must say I'm surprised;to after getting no response to my previous emails to the MPAA about their use of Forest Blog at the tail end of last year I got a result within five hours this time, unless they were just replying to the original email?

    Anyway, thanks to Paul Egge and Richard Kroon the situation has now been resolved and they've removed Forest Blog from their web server.

  3. Re:Maybe they should be investigated som more by Chiaro+Meratilo · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you see his latest post, here, you'd see the MPAA's response.

  4. Re:Maybe they should be investigated som more by Patrick+Robin · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm the creator of Forets Blog and, obviously, the author of this article so its only right that I respond to your queries.

    1) The screenshots show as much detail as possible, I can/could only view the output of my system and not the source.
    2/3) I came across the blog through my website referals when they accessed the RSS feed from my site. The site was live and online but I'm unsure whether it was ever linked to or if it was spidered by google, but it was on a live web server that was accessable by any member of the public. It has been removed from their web server since the article was written after some dialogue between myself and the MPAA.

    I have been in communication with Paul Egge and Richard Kroon (Director of Application Development) at the MPAA and have copies of all of the emails that were sent.

  5. Re:Maybe they should be investigated som more by Patrick+Robin · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think you are getting slightly confused, the calendar isn't there to access archive posts but to view events that the blog owner has entered in to the system and the calendar operates independantly of which ever page is being browsed. When you are viewing the events for a given date, such as you have linked to, the calendar will change to show that month. If you are just browsing the site it will show the current month/year by default. If you look at my update on the site (http://www.patrickrobin.co.uk/default.asp?Display =5) you will see why the MPAA blog is no longer visible.