RIAA Uses Local Cops In Oregon Raid

newtley writes "Fake cops employed by the RIAA started acting like real police officers quite a while ago — one of the earliest examples unfolded in Los Angeles in 2004. From a distance, the bust, 'looked like classic LAPD, DEA or FBI work, right down to the black "raid" vests the unit members wore,' said the LA Weekly. That their yellow stenciled lettering read 'RIAA' instead of something from an official law-enforcement agency, 'was lost on 55-year-old parking-lot attendant Ceasar Borrayo.' But it's also SOP for the RIAA to wield genuine officers paid for entirely from citizen taxes as copyright cops. Police were used in an RIAA-inspired raid at two flea markets in Beaverton, Oregon. 'Sgt. Paul Wandell, Beaverton police spokesman, said officers seized more than 50,000 items worth about $758,000,' says The Oregonian. But this is merely the tiny tip of an iceberg of absolutely staggering dimensions, an example of the extent coming in a GrayZone report slugged RIAA Anti-Piracy Seizure Information."

Comments

Re:As it should be

[Jarjarthejedi]

"That being said, it's a bit disconcerting to see them concerned with "who owns reproduction equipment like this". I really don't think that should be a concern of anyone... owning equipment shouldn't be a crime, even if it is professional-quality duplicators."

I completely agree. I was reading through this thinking to myself that this wasn't really an issue, the police doing their job, but then that comment just boggled my mind. Since when did it become illegal to own replication equipment? What if you want to use it to replicate 4 CDs so you can put them in 4 different CD players and not have to carry the CD around with you? Of course since this is supposed to be "million dollar" replication machines (whose parts probably cost a couple grand to buy and put together knowing "million dollar" machinery...) there are probably few legal uses for them unless you're some famous celebrity who the RIAA wouldn't get within a mile of arresting. I'm just worried about the possible precedent if they start going after people for owning these things and the government upholds it which doesn't seem that unlikely...

These guys are small potatoes. China is shipping!

[Proudrooster]

These busts are nothing compared to the container loads full of pirated CD's, DVD's, cosmetics, toys, bikes, medicine, clothing, batteries, cameras, and electronics coming in from China. The goods coming in from China look identical to the legitimate item, except that sometimes the batteries explode due to defects in cloning the original and the medicine, costmetics, and food sometimes kill and/or poison. If our government fails to contain China, the US will become to China what England was to the 13 Colonies. If the RIAA really wants to stop mass piracy and copyright violations, they should start with the container ships and the Walmart supply chains.

P.S. - Take my advice, don't feed the wheat-gluten from China to your pets.

Re:Hardly Insightful! Nice Try Clever Lad

[OrangeTide]

Yes and when a group of gun nut buddies start an armed vigilante group they get arrested. So the second amendment was to allow citizens to control a militia rather than the government, so that the government could be kept in its place. Maybe it's not the government we should worry about. (although the government is the one that allowed the RIAA to get to this point, although not out of malice, just out of weakness)

I guess power really does lie with who has the money. Too bad corporations are allowed to have money and power even though they are immortal (unlike crazy rich old man who abuses his position).

Re:Help us serve you better

[Hal_Porter]

Yeah, just like piracy can be legal, if you have a letter of marque.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_o f_Ron_Paul#Nonintervention

Congressman Paul advocates a non-interventionist foreign policy that avoids entangling alliances. He believes that when a war must be fought, it must be fought to protect the citizens, be declared by Congress, planned out, won and then left: "The American public deserves clear goals and a definite exit strategy in Iraq."

At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Paul, defining them as an act of "air piracy," introduced the Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001, which would have granted Letters of Marque and Reprisal, as authorized by Article One, Section Eight, against the specific terrorists, instead of warring against a foreign state.

Hmm, now that's an interesting idea given that most of the terrorists are essentially pirates.