How To Address A Visit from MPAA Senior VP Rich Taylor?

tedswiss writes "Fate has dropped a unique opportunity upon my lap: I teach at a moderately small independent school who has as one of its alums Richard Taylor. Mr. Taylor is both speaking at our start-of-year festivities and being honored with this year's "Distinguished Alum Award." Having followed and been disgusted by the MPAA's corporate practices regarding DRM and government lobbying in the past (Anyone remember DeCSS?), I would love to make his visit a chance to truly educate our student body, not just indoctrinate them. The school administration is sympathetic to my plight, but I want to present them with more than just my complaints. How would you best make use of this opportunity if you found yourself in my shoes?"

Comments

Hmmm.

[MightyMartian]

Ask him if the MPAA uses the same "accounting" for determining losses due to piracy which its members so often use when declaring that movies rolling in cash in fact lost money.

Re:Hmmm.

[Brian Gordon]

Ask him to say hello to your little friend..

Re:Hmmm.

[Brian Gordon]

That was obviously a joke by the way- I don't want the MPAA to pressure the police into charging me with conspiracy to murder or something!

Re:Hmmm.

[dr_strang]

C'mon, it's Slashdot, not Fark.

Re:Hmmm.

[MrSteveSD]

Very good point. For example, you may remember a popular Sci-Fi Series called Babylon 5. J. Michael Straczynski absolutely killed himself making it, writing entire seasons by himself. It was a very successful show and has made a huge amount of money in DVD sales. Yet Warner Bros have done some amazing Hollywood accounting with it and have managed to make it all look in debt, so no-one gets a dime.

So you could ask, "Piracy may effect the money made by hard working writers and actors, but do you think your members should perhaps set an example by not stealing from them through Hollywood Accounting trickery?"

Re:Hmmm.

[nutrock69]

My first thought was that the MPAA is more likely to sue you for copyright infringement - using a line from one of their movies...

Re:Hmmm.

[the_bard17]

I can see them refuting the "fair use" defense by stating that it would only apply if part of the line was used... not the whole.

Re:Hmmm.

[Minwee]

In that case you can explain how fair use promotes teamwork.

You know, a man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork.

Re:Hmmm.

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

It wouldn't surprise me if Babylon 5 did actually lose money. It didn't have the widespread love of a cross section of the populace the way that Star Trek, or Star Wars did. Non Geeks are rather indifferent to the show. Most wouldn't remember it now, those that do just remember changing the channel when it came on. You can admit liking Star Trek in any social gathering, babylon 5 requires a carefully selected group of people to find some one that won't laugh, or just stare at you.

Re:Hmmm.

[stephanruby]

It wouldn't surprise me if Babylon 5 did actually lose money.

This is actually a good point, not that Babylon 5 lost money -- but that you better be able to back up your allegations with hard facts -- not just some information you've glimpsed from an article or two. I don't mean to disparage the parent, but if you go after someone who's getting paid to spread FUD about his organization, you better be well prepared in your arguments, because the guy who's getting paid full time to do this will be able to spit out figures and arguments whether those arguments are accurate or not.

Re:Hmmm.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask him how he can stand in front of students as a supposed "distinguished alum" when he is at the same time a part of attacks on students across the country for sharing with other students on an educational network. Ask him how he dare be so hypocritical.

Re:Hmmm.

[mwvdlee]

You COULD try to attack based on past MPAA mistakes, but in all likelyhood he can deny his hand in those and at the very best it'll just be an ad hominem attack that does nothing to disprove the MPAA's claims.

You've gotta ask yourself what you want out of this. Is it your goal to convince mr. Taylor or is it your goal to convince the students. With the right questions it's very possible to let mr. Taylor leave feeling he won whilst in fact having demonstrated to the students how wrong the MPAA is.

Ask him to explain to the students what "Fair use" is, and what is allowed by Fair use.

Next, ask him to explain how having DRM is more consumer friendly than not having DRM.

Make sure you've studied the subjects beforehand so you can correct him. Don't attack the MPAA, just state facts and numbers to undermine the claims. Also try and catch any logical fallacies and make sure to label them.

Re:Hmmm.

[wharlie]

I wouldn't "ask" him anything, we all know his stance on copyright.
You and your students should take this oppourtunity to politely "tell" him your views on how copyright affects you.
He probably never gets a chance to hear from "real" people.
Make sure that you consider your comments carefully before making your opinion known.
Do your research, have your comments prepared.
For instance, instead of saying stuff like "MPAA rips off artists" say something like "I would be more likely to pay for material if it was distributed online DRM free".
You never know, you may even have an affect on him, these are the people we need to convince, not annoy.

Re:Hmmm.

[EatHam]

"Distinguished" does not mean "good".

Re:Hmmm.

[Johnny5000]

Yet Warner Bros have done some amazing Hollywood accounting with it and have managed to make it all look in debt, so no-one gets a dime.

Probably the best known example of Hollywood Accounting is Forrest Gump.

Forrest Gump was hugely successful (in reality) and a huge money loser (on paper, due to "Hollywood accounting.")

The worst part of it all was the studio approached the guy who wrote the book about licensing the sequel for a movie, after they completely ripped him off... so he told them he couldn't in good conscience allow them to make a movie that was sure to lose huge amounts of money.

Re:Hmmm.

[Anonymous Coward]

My first thought was that the MPAA is more likely to sue you for copyright infringement - using a line from one of their movies... Well of course yes: First he sues you, then he says hello.

Re:Hmmm.

[Insightfill]

Very good point. For example, you may remember a popular Sci-Fi Series called Babylon 5. J. Michael Straczynski absolutely killed himself making it, writing entire seasons by himself. It was a very successful show and has made a huge amount of money in DVD sales. Yet Warner Bros have done some amazing Hollywood accounting with it and have managed to make it all look in debt, so no-one gets a dime.

Quote from the wiki:

Hollywood accounting is not limited to movies. An example is the Warner Bros. television series Babylon 5 created by J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski, who wrote 90% of the episodes in addition to producing the show, would receive a generous cut of profits if not for Hollywood accounting[citation needed]. The series, which was profitable in each of its five seasons from 1993-1998, has garnered more than US$1 billion for Warner Bros., most recently US$500 million in DVD sales alone. But in the last profit statement given to Straczynski, Warner Bros. claimed the property was $80 million in debt. "Basically," says Straczynski, "by the terms of my contract, if a set on a WB movie burns down in Botswana, they can charge it against B5's profits."

Re:Hmmm.

[beckerist]

he DID use "your" instead of "my"

changing POV implies an artistic interpretation...right?

Re:Hmmm.

[Anonymous Coward]

It wouldn't surprise me if Babylon 5 did actually lose money.

This is actually a good point, not that Babylon 5 lost money -- but that you better be able to back up your allegations with hard facts -- not just some information you've glimpsed from an article or two.

In the first month it was available, the gross sales for season 1 of the Babylon 5 DVDs was more than the entire budget of the 5-year series. It's tricky to find such info today, since it is years since the release, but Warner was crowing about the sales pretty loudly back then.

Sure, this isn't proof of anything, but 4 more seasons worth of DVDs, plus the syndication fees, plus the SciFi channel reruns make it likely that they didn't lose money

Add to that the memos JMS has posted about the absurd things compltely unrelated to B5 that got charged against the B5 profits shows pretty much the accounting model. B5 was unique among TV series in that many inside things were posted by JMS that most other producers/writers/etc. would be afraid to post because of future lack of work caused by a "big mouth".

Tear Gas

[Anonymous Coward]

I think that would be the very best way to welcome your fellow alum back to campus.

Re:Tear Gas

[Azuma Hazuki]

Tear gas? You're very polite. I was thinking something more along the lines of napalm...or how about a flechette gun loaded with shards of broken DVDs? A tar pit would be fine too, and very appropriate...

Teamwork

[Raindance]

I suppose it depends on the opportunities and contexts you have access to (what classes you teach, whether you can hold a seminar or discussion panel before/after his address, etc). But my primary advice would be:

Be respectful. Think teamwork. Don't try to rain on the parade the college is throwing for him. Nobody will thank you for that. Not that you seem to be leaning that way, but it bears mentioning on Slashdot.

Consider sitting down with Mr. Taylor privately (asap, if it'll be in addition to other things). The article you linked said he seems willing to take outside concerns seriously. It sure seems that he could be a great resource in 1. getting the MPAA to take consumer/citizen concerns more seriously, and 2. helping educate the student body about what's at stake here (on both sides).

Perhaps you could set up a panel on intellectual property/DRM while he's in town (you, him, maybe some other relevant folks), and invite the student body. Man, I'd love to go to that.

Re:Teamwork

[MightyMartian]

Just let him do his talk, usher him out of the building with a nice certificate, and leave it at that. The MPAA isn't going to change its ways because you had a talk with this guy. You'd be wasting your time talking to him privately, and would embarass your school if you went after him publicly.

Re:Teamwork

[FuzzyDaddy]

I disagree. I think this is a good opportunity to make a point. No, the MPAA isn't going to change, but you're at a school, and educating the students by getting them to think about things they might not otherwise is a good thing to do.

I don't have specific ideas about what to do, but I have some advice on what NOT to do. Don't attempt to harass, trap, or otherwise embarass this guy. Be civil. Your goal here is to get people thinking, not to attack this particular person. Likewise, your goal isn't to express your anger or disgust - it's to educate the student body about the very real and sometimes subtle issues. Handouts? Teach-ins? Big signs and pamphlets? Parody films? It depends on your target audience, venue, etc.

But do something!

Re:Teamwork

[blhack]

His point isn't to change the mind of the MPAA, it is to prevent the MPAA from indoctrinating his students with their views on the matter (or rather, indoctrinate them with his own). No offense, but I HATE it when people claim to be "helping the children" by "telling them the real story". So often that "real story", is a bunch of bias garbage that ends up hurting them 10 fold when the reach adulthood. They end up having a completely warped view of reality (at least warped relative to the their peers; even if they are right, they are stilling playing with a handicap). For instance, lets say that we took a group of elementary aged kids and taught that that IP was a totally evil concept. To US (adults) that is okay because we have grown up around IP and understand the reason that it needs to be changed; however, if you teach somebody that has no frame of reference that IP is evil, they won't understand why. This will end up actually hurting them in the long run. People need the ability to come to their own conclusions. People who try and let their kids skip that whole "experience" thing, and jump right into the understanding part are doing their children a great injustice.

Re:Teamwork

[MightyMartian]

We're talking about a bunch of kids that probably download episodes of their favorite TV shows, so I doubt very much that some MPAA mouthpiece is going to make them burn their DVD burners, shave their heads and begin worshipping Hollywood.

Re:Teamwork

[Tackhead]

> Be respectful. Think teamwork. Don't try to rain on the parade the college is throwing for him. Nobody will thank you for that. Not that you seem to be leaning that way, but it bears mentioning on Slashdot.

And by "respectful", we mean "moon him so wide the Goatase Guy would be impressed", and by "teamwork", we mean "everyone in the auditorium", and by "don't try to rain on the parade", we're not sure, but it probably involves some sort of Rube Goldberg contraption involving an enema bag, a colostomy bag, and an industrial-size manure spreader.

Nobody would thank you for that unless you get video of it from at least three strategically-placed cameras.

Not that you seem to be leaning that way, but it bears mentioning we'd at least fund your bandwidth bill, if not your legal defense team, if you had a change of heart.

Or you could just take the high road. Even a thousand-goatse-moon and a spraydown with a million gallons of manure won't make MPAA's bullshit smell any sweeter. So let him say his piece, and then hoist him by his own petard. The Emperor has no clothes, and the more he brags about how good he looks, the more obvious it'll be to your classmates who's full of shit. MPAA's business practices are their own worst enem...y.

Re:Teamwork

[Brian Gordon]

"even if they are right, they are stilling playing with a handicap" O_O Do you realize what you're saying?! Doublethink > Truth?

Re:Teamwork

[blhack]

I really think its a problem that kids are growing up today not know that blatant copyright violations really ARE stealing. Somebody really DID have to go through the work to create whatever it is that you're getting online for free. Most of us grew up having to actually purchase our music in a record store. When we download something online, we know that it is something that we would have normally had to pay for. If we understand that the recording industry is screwing the artists, that this CD used to cost us 13 dollars, and that the majority of artists make their living from touring, we are more likely to actually attend one of those shows for the sake of supporting the musicians. Sure we can tell the kids that are growing up around this that music is really something that they should have to pay for, but the internet found the problem and routed around it ;-), however without the actual memories of mowing some grass in exchange for an album, or actually handing a clerk some cash, they won't really have a FULL understand of what is going on.

Re:Teamwork

[blhack]

And in the story that you're referencing with "doublethink" what happened to winston? He ended up exiled from his city, barely survived the ministry of justice, and had to live out the rest of his life in the proles knowing that his society had serious problems, but that there was nothing he could do to change it.

Think about a person sitting on their deathbed; if they truly believe that when they die they will live out eternity in heaven, they will have a MUCH more peaceful death than if they know that they body will become, essentially, worm food. They will decay into what is basically liquid filth, and will become the nourishment for a bunch of bacteria and parasites.

Ignorance is not always, but can be, bliss.

so yes, sometimes Doublethink > Truth.

Re:Teamwork

[Brian Gordon]

The rest of us slashdotters value truth more than a peaceful death or a happier life, or even safety- unlike the rest of the world which will accept anything and give up any freedom to a power guarantees their safety in a time of danger. The willingness to accept lies because they're afraid to stand up for themselves is what got Airstrip One in that pickle in the first place. But enough reasoning- the plain fact is that your argument is disgusting and deserve to be modded -5 troll for the rest of your days >:|

Re:Teamwork

[dcollins]

"People who try and let their kids skip that whole 'experience' thing, and jump right into the understanding part are doing their children a great injustice."

I've heard this before, and to me it's nonsensical. By saying that, you're asserting that teaching and writing have zero value. The advancement of civilization intrinsically runs on being able to communicate highly condensed lessons from one person's experience, to many others, through language. While it may not work for *some* boneheaded kids, I'm pretty confident that there's suficient evidence to conclude that overall the process does work very well indeed.

Personally, looking back on my teenage years, my primary complaint is not that people didn't give me enough understanding; it's that there was plenty of stuff they knew damned well, never thought to tell me, and wasted years of my life finding out myself.

Re:Teamwork

[poopdeville]

You need to be very careful when you approach events like these. For example, David Horowitz was invited to Reed College to participate in a "discussion" (read: debate) his "Academic Bill of Rights". See: http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/archive/ 2006/August2006/ReedCollegeSteinbergerDebate082806 .htm. (Yes, TL;DR, I know. But the Ask Slashdotter might want to check it out)

Accusations of bad faith were flying all around. The consensus after the fact was that there was a miscommunication with David Horowitz. The event was billed as a debate, but he thought he could wing it and showed up essentially unprepared. Steinberger was very prepared.

The point being, accusations of bad faith were launched at an event where both speakers should have been prepared to debate. It would only be worse to try to seriously debate someone who isn't prepared.

Re:Teamwork

[somersault]

I doubt you can speak for every /.'er. Though personally I prefer the truth over all too. If the truth is that horrific then you maybe need to change your attitude towards it rather than try to ignore it..

Re:Teamwork

[blhack]

the rest of us slashdotters value truth more than a peaceful death or a happier life, or even safety I'm glad that slashdot has elected you to speak on behalf of us as a whole, but count me as at least one person who wasn't included in the vote.
Valuing truth more that a happy life is a contradiction, in the case of a person like you, truth is what gives you the happy life. The fact that you stated you would prefer to live an unhappy life (you said you value truth over happiness, meaning that you don't ACTUALLY find happiness in truth) leads me to believe that you are either a masochist, or have big time emotional problems. Are you seriously depressed or what man?

STOP BRINGING THE REST OF US DOWN!

Re:Teamwork

[blhack]

"Understanding" without the actual experience to back it up isn't understanding, its recitation. The knowledge that A will lead you to B doesn't allow the opportunity to infer anything, it also doesn't allow for improvement. All you will ever know is that A leads to B. What people with your philosophy on teaching are suggesting is that concepts should be layed in stone, what i am suggesting is that they should be layed in clay. Your model doesn't allow students to ask "Why?".

Re:Teamwork

[Simon80]

Copyright infringement is not theft, it's copyright infringement.

Re:Teamwork

[jedidiah]

Spreading creative works far and wide and building on them is the whole (original and ultimate) point of copyright law.

Perpetual copyright is stealing from future artists.

Re:Teamwork

[Fnkmaster]

I agree. Invite him privately to do a panel discussion with either yourself or some other third party folks who can present an effective, but non-foaming-at-the-mouth counterpoint to the MPAA's position on copyright issues. I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to get some relevant folks to agree to do such a panel, depending on what your geographic location is.

If he refuses, publish an open invitation to him in the school paper to do a panel discussion, in which you very politely but correctly point out policy positions of the MPAA that might be questionable to some.

Then if he still refuses, he looks like a pussy and your point is made. If he agrees, then you or the relevant third parties get to make their point in a positive, discussion-focused setting.

Just make sure everything is done in an uber-polite manner so as to avoid offending anybody or making anything personal. You never want to be disrespectful to your school's honored alumni, but it doesn't mean you have to agree with their positions on everything.

Re:Teamwork

[westlake]

To US (adults) that is okay because we have grown up around IP and understand the reason that it needs to be changed; however, if you teach somebody that has no frame of reference that IP is evil, they won't understand why.

In the world beyond Slashdot, you will find many adults who don't believe that IP is evil.

I think the most interesting cultural phenomenon I've seen in a long time - and one the Geek needs to study much more closely much more closely than he has - is the wall of protection build around the release of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

--- not by Rowling's publishers, but by her readers.

Re:Teamwork

[Simon80]

It sounds like you're talking about patents - the original point of copyright was to give publishers a monopoly in exchange for their co-operation in censorship. Then it seems that when there was no longer any point in that, cheaper books started flooding into England from other countries, and politicians bowed to lobbying by enacting copyright laws.

Perpetual copyright is stealing from future artists.

Amen.

Re:Teamwork

[Brian Gordon]

A desire for a happy life is not highest priority. There are things I value more- for example the truth. And I would rather "stay true" to the truth than forsake it to live a happy life. This is basic, come on- more than 2200 years ago: "better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied". Look at this chart. OK yes I'd probably "love big brother" if basic physiological needs were denied me- too much survival instinct to fight. But love of the truth is definately farther down than living a safe and happy life. Come on, would you really rather be Breen than Vance?

Re:Teamwork

[Ajehals]

No one should be disputing the fact that the creator of a work should have some exclusive rights to it for a given period.

Every time I see threads regarding copyright it seems that there are two views,

Copyright infringement is theft, its stealing, its analogous to stealing a car, pinching a handbag, shoplifting etc..

Or

Copyright is wrong and we should just take what we want and make it available to whomever we chose.

Both arguments are flawed. The basis of copyright law should be based on some moral common sense, that is that if you spend time creating a work of art, or developing something, you may require a period of exclusivity to try to profit from it, if you can, then maybe you will advance your art and be able to continue to do so, if you are successful you may even inspire others to try.

That is not too much to ask, and most people would probably agree that if you produce something, even something intangible such as a work of art you should have a chance to gain from its creation (you have no right to make a profit but you should be able to try if you wish). What is badly askew at present is that the period of exclusivity is far too long.

On top of that the terms associated with "intellectual property" are so restrictive that inspiration can often not be used for fear of legal repercussion, I see no reason why someone shouldn't be able to write a book that parallels the Harry Potter series, it would be a natural furthering of the work, potentially an innovation in itself. I would bet that legal action would be taken against the author (if possible). After all the owner should only have rights regarding the work produced, not of works that have similar themes. That is what I would see as a common sense approach.

To me it seems that it would be sensible to reduce the period of protection granted to works under copyright, especially since global distribution can now be affected not only extremely, but also cheaply. Moreover we are in an age where works are almost disposable, a book may be a best seller for a week, a song may be at the top of the charts for a few days, as such the value of each item has been reduced.

Copyright (as with any legislation) should reflect the social and cultural changes occurring in the area it seeks to benefit (within reason), instead it seems that it is being used as a big stick to maintain unsustainable business models, and being extended in a manner that is antithetical to its stated purpose.

Sadly I am sure that even if copyright lengths were immediately reduced, the violation of copyright holders rights would continue albeit without the moral justification that those rights are excessive and damaging.

A reduction of copyright lengths, a reduction of the penalties associated with violations, together with serious changes in the business models of organisations that provide copyrighted works (especially culturally related works)and more strenuous enforcement of copyright law may be more effective.

At the end of the day its about common sense and being fair, but then that does not seem to apply to many of the actions carried out by individuals, corporations or governments at this time.

But hey - I'm rambling again, I'll go and get some sleep :) .

Re:Teamwork

[rossifer]

Holy crap, that is an amazing discussion. Steinberger wiped the floor with Horowitz. I almost felt sorry for the poor, put-upon neocon :)

Re:Teamwork

[nojobjones]

almost sounds like you're talking about religion here heh

Re:Teamwork

[ResidntGeek]

Ignorance is only capable of being blissful when it's ignorance of a single individual. Collective ignorance is not, and can never lead to, bliss.

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

Just because you probably had lousy teachers who couldn't (or didn't have time) to respond to questions like "why?" and instead forced the memorization and regurgitation of facts doesn't mean it has to be that way. A good teacher won't teach to the test, he'll promote understanding (assuming a student is wise enough to want it).

Re:Teamwork

[belmolis]

No, he's talking about copyright in the United States. You are right about the history of copyright in England, but the US Constitution is explicit in authorizing both copyrights and patents for the purpose of the advancement of knowledge (Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 8):

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries

Re:Teamwork

[fractoid]

"Understanding" without the actual experience to back it up isn't understanding, its recitation. The knowledge that A will lead you to B doesn't allow the opportunity to infer anything, it also doesn't allow for improvement. I think you're mistaking "without actual experience" for "without knowledge of the reasoning behind, and foundation of". I have never experienced a major car accident, for instance. I still understand that if one happens it's important to get paramedics to the scene, contact police and insurance, etc. I don't need to learn that by personal experience because I can learn from the experience of others.

The reasons behind "A -> B" is usually no harder to teach than the fact itself. Teaching the latter without the former is simply inadequate education.

Re:Teamwork

[revengebomber]

make them burn their DVD burners Hey guys! Did you hear about how you can make a burning laser out of your DVD writer? That's right... yeah... go on...

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

Copyright infringement is not theft, it's copyright infringement. Voluntary manslaughter is not murder, it's voluntary manslaughter. They're both still morally wrong.

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

If you do decide to rain on his parade I would recommend to you a yellow stream of justice.

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

Apples to oranges. I mean, really.... HOW IN THE HELL can one seriously say such garbage like "one type of murder is like the other co copyright infringement must be theft" when you are comparing the murders to two completely different scenarios to begin with? And who are you, to play devil's advocate, to say you are more qualified to determine moral status of crimes? Also, I thought we were talking legally, not morally to begin with. Please stay in context of the main discussion.

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

The analogy was meant to be inflammatory, and it seems to have had its intended purpose.

The GP seemed to imply (given the post he was replying to), that because copyright infringement is not theft, that it is OK. I don't believe that it is. I have no qualifications, as such, to make that judgment, but I believe I am allowed an opinion.

I also think that it is splitting hairs to wholly separate legality from morality as you seem to do; clearly they differ, but both are concerned with the nature of right and wrong. Within the context of copyright and the infringement thereof, the above post was not of place, even if it was a bit trollish.

Re:Teamwork

[Anonymous Coward]

This comment is probably the most sensible discussion of copyright that I've ever read (on Slashdot, anyways, although perhaps that lowers the bar too much). Copyright exists in something of a moral grey area. Infringement isn't like stealing, but it's certainly not right to copy and distribute recent works whose sales directly provide the livelihood of their creators.

One day I'll actually get an account so I can mod posts like yours up :-).

A Simple Greeting:

[nurb432]

AK47

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[hax0r_this]

I was going to suggest snipers, but same concept.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[Pop69]

Flame thrower, why take any chances ?

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[c0d3h4x0r]

But spawns of satan don't burn.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[nurb432]

collateral damage.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[wolfman_jake]

The only fool proof method would be a round house kick from none other than Chuck Norris.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[Associate]

Well if you're going to take that mindset...
Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[Propaganda13]

Not in this case, cockroaches, lawyers, and mafiaa members may survive a nuclear strike. Put child porn on his computer and call the FBI. Seriously, no one can explain away child porn on their computer.*

*Remember this applies to you if you get caught. "I don't know how that got on there" isn't a good defense.

Re:A Simple Greeting:

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, don't waste weed that good on him..

well...

[onemorehour]

First off, I'd announce the planned visit on a very popular website (making sure to mention his name in the title), thus dramatically increasing the chances that he will catch wind of whatever clever plan I come up with.

Okay, sorry. In all seriousness, I think the coolest thing to do would be to invite him to a Q&A session with your class, and try to ask him questions that shed light on these issues (lobbying, legal overreaching).

Make his visit interesting ...

[ScrewMaster]

Taser the bastard.

Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

1) Pie in the face.
2) Roll in circles on floor hollering "Woo Woo Woo" ala Curly
3) ???
4> PROFIT!!!!

Just like home!

[Anonymous Coward]

File a whole bunch of baseless lawsuits at him as soon as he walks in. He'll feel right at home!

Re:Just like home!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can provide you with a photocopy of screen capture you can use as evidence of his wrongdoings.

Re:Just like home!

[Anonymous Coward]

Why go easy on him? File a bunch of baseless lawsuits at members of his family, including his three year old grandson. Ambush his niece and trick her into signing a sixteen page confession taking responsibility for everything from the Kennedy assassination to writing 'Ishtar' and 'Gigli'. Kidnap his Mother and demand $80,000 to release her, only to ask for $160,000 more if he pays.

It will be like he never left the office.

Don't be a jerk

[kevin_conaway]

Seriously.

Somebody more powerful than you thought it a good idea to bestow this honor on him. I wouldn't ruin the ceremony by sandbagging him. Perhaps you could invite him to your class to discuss some issues but I wouldn't use this opportunity to harangue him and make yourself look like a whiny prick in the process.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[darkhitman]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[MightyMartian]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

That is the formula for the bulk of decision-making throughout history.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that like when middle class people think that rich people shouldn't have to pay more taxes, because they hope that one day, when they themselves are rich, they won't have to pay more taxes either?

Power needs to be checked. It is wrong that people who abuse their power can go through their daily lives like nothing happened. Make their lives miserable, show them that you mind. But no, they get honors and preferential treatment instead, because their power somehow makes them better people, no matter what they do with that power. I'd rather be a jerk than a kiss-ass.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[Stubtify]

I have to agree with OP on this. You'll be the one with the egg on your face. I've had the pleasure of meeting with high level executives. It's a strange feeling, when you converse you'll get to see that they are no different than you. Just as strongly as you believe they are wrong, they believe they are right. A discussion, even in private, is not going to bring to light the fact that you are indeed correct. Someone that high up has a strict script they must stick to in answering questions. Their personal feelings and the company's might be very different, but a great VP will never let you know this.

While the blanket statement that "someone more powerful than you..." might stir within you a basic need to push back against authority... this is your job we're talking about here. The last thing you'll want to do is throw him/MPAA right under the bus. A better idea might be to ask your students to debate, one side backing up the VP's claims, the other arguing the opposite. This can be done after the VP has left, and can have a lasting impression on your students, much more so than some stuffy suit's speech will.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd suggest holding the debate before the VP's visit.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[arth1]

So let the people more powerful eat their canapes and drink their champagne, but the best YOU can do is to show total indifference. MPAA is a has-been on the way down, and is best ignored, lest it drag you with it.

In other words, don't treat this like an "opportunity", cause there's only opportunities for bad things, whether you honour the guy or ask him pointed questions.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[dbIII]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

Good point. If they think this guy is aluminium sulphate they really are a bit confused.

You guys really have to do something about your K-12 education because that is really all your leaders of the future are going to get.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[westlake]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

Take that attitude into the classroom and I guarantee that you will come across looking like a jerk.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[darkhitman]

Sorry, what? I don't think I was describing an attitude there, much less a portable one.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[JAlexoi]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

That is the formula for the bulk of decision-making throughout history.
Yeah...... Let him demonstrate his "intelligence" and then "crush" him by displaying caveats...
But you might try to be careful... he may be really smart and not disillusioned and knows the reality... So try not to get burned.
But anyway even the smartest person can be exposed as dumb...

Re:Don't be a jerk

[pla]

but the best YOU can do is to show total indifference. MPAA is a has-been on the way down, and is best ignored, lest it drag you with it.

Bingo.

Colleges love PR opportunities. They don't love people who take it upon themselves to spoil PR opportunities. Does the FP author like his job?

The single most effective way to "confront" this guy involves actively ignoring him. The FP author could start an underground (since he should want nothing to do with it, officially) movement to boycott any event attended by Taylor. Make sure he speaks to empty rooms, rubs elbows with ghosts, and even eats in near-solitude. Getting a sizeable chunk of the faculty in on it would help greatly (those intimate champagne and fois-gras socials can look even more empty than a vacant lecture hall).

Guys like that thrive on opposition. Even given a chance to educate the students beforehand and fair debate, he'll just twist the message into whatever he wants. So don't give him that chance. Ignore him as befits an irrelevant dinosaur.

Re:Don't be a jerk

[mgblst]

Somebody more powerful, yes, but not necessarily someone more intelligent.

Or certainly not as intelligent as you think you are! And why bother to try and justify your own intelligence, I mean just because this someone is in a higher position than you, well, it almost proves that you are more intelligent than he is!!

Good one, to people who really believe this shit, go and get into a position to back up your "qualifications" for intelligents, or just fuck off!

Re:Don't be a jerk

[darkhitman]

I believe you misunderstand the meaning of "not necessarily". Or perhaps you just took it out of my post, to make it "...but not someone more intelligent"? Either way, thanks for putting words in my mouth.

what you should do

[Anonymous Coward]

get down on your knees and suck his dick cause that's what it sounds like you want to do anyways.

Demonstrate ...

[joeyspqr]

how easy and rewarding it is play one his client's movies using software approved by his organization ... say, an HD movie on a Vista laptop? be sure to point out how the enhanced experience will motivate customers to pour bushels of cash on them.

i for one

[Anonymous Coward]

welcome our senior vice-president overlords.

Whatever you do...

[hax0r_this]

He will be prepared. Slashdot is on the internet.

Don't be a jerk.

[wheatwilliams]

The word that worries me in your discussion above is where you say that you have been "disgusted" with the Motion Picture Association's activities.

If you've got a distinguished and influential guest addressing your class, you need to show him respect.

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument. It does not affect your ability to earn a living and feed your family one way or another. Richard Taylor, on the other hand, speaks for tens of thousands of people who earn their livings making and financing motion pictures and record albums. He wants to present their point of view, and he knows what he is talking about.

So show some class, act like a gentleman, and make sure your students are respectful as well.

You won't convince or influence anybody with scorn and invective. If you listen to Richard Taylor, you might learn a few things and better understand his point of view.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[djdbass]

F-that.

Burn the Witch!

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[c0d3h4x0r]

If you've got a distinguished and influential guest addressing your class, you need to show him respect.

Why? Respect is something that must be earned, and people devoid of ethics deserve none.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[langelgjm]

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument.

I have to disagree here. The legislation that is produced on behalf of MPAA and similar lobbying has real effects on many, many more people than just those who make or finance movies or music. It's one thing for an industry group to try and promote their own interests; it's something completely different when they do it at the expense of the public.

Certainly I agree with the necessity of showing respect, but on the other hand, the MPAA's representatives would do well to show some respect and attention to these students, as well - they are the generation that is growing up with torrents while Blockbuster slowly disappears. Their attitudes towards media consumption are shaping and will continue to shape the industry, whether the MPAA likes it or not.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Anonymous Coward]

Richard Taylor, on the other hand, speaks for tens of thousands of people who earn their livings making and financing motion pictures and record albums. He wants to present their point of view

Every opinion put forth by the MPAA since the 80s has been dishonest rhetoric designed to mislead or demonise. What on earth makes you think this time will be any different?

Make him sign a ten page agreement including a long list of ludicrous things he is not permitted to do before you let him set foot on the premises. And if he dares quote anybody during his speech, call him a thief.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Anonymous Coward]

The word that worries me in your discussion above is where you say that you have been "disgusted" with the Motion Picture Association's activities.

So the guy's in touch with his feelings, I'm not seeing the problem here. Bottom line, the guy feels how he feels - but what he does in response to his feelings is another matter.

If you've got a distinguished and influential guest addressing your class, you need to show him respect.

What's with this "need" business? There are a number of reasons for "should show respect" (and there are also a number of reasons for "should not show respect") - but what's with the "need".

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument.

Chances are the guy squanders many many hours of life his watching motion pictures and listening to record albums. At the very least, he will, in his capacity as an educator, be constrained by copyrights on motion pictures and records.

It does not affect your ability to earn a living and feed your family one way or another.

The motion picture industry could go away entirely and people would still be able to feed their families (with other jobs) - or are you one of those people who thinks that slave plantations were a good thing because they allowed the plantation owners to feed their families?

So show some class, act like a gentleman, and make sure your students are respectful as well.

Well, if I were to give the guy some advice it would start with "So how much do you want to get fired?" 'Cause chances are good that there's an administrator somewhere in this guy's educational outfit that thinks like the parent post. It's not the ability of the people in the motion picture industry to feed their families that's at stake here - it's this educational guys ability that's at stake.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, no. Your point would also have applied to most of most disgusting individuals from the past century. Not all distinguished and influential speakers need or should be treated with respect. Would you have extended such courtesy to, say, Idi Amin, Pol Pot and Al Capone? They were, no doubt, very distinguished, and unfortunately rather influential (within their respective areas of control).

Thing is: just because someone higher up has no problems with inviting leader of such infamous organizations as MPAA (or RIAA) doesn't mean everyone must be toothless and just "give him a fair chance".

This is not to say that it wouldn't pay to avoid being seen as a raving lunatic, and acting in civilized manner. But there is no need to lose sight of one's values and principles: if MPAA is seen as an evil conglomerate that abuses legal system in order to try to maximize short-term profits (as well as quite possibly risking long-term sustainability of the very industry it represents) there is no point in spinelessly hiding these views. They can be expressed in appropriate manner, effectively but sternly. But there's nothing more disgusting than cowardly smile-at-your-face - but - whine-behind-your-back demeanor.

Alternatively, just ignore the whole thing. Do not go see or listen to the scumbag; do not lend any credibility for anything to related to visit of this "distinguished gentleman". That is probably what I would do: it should be a bigger insult to be ignored, than to be harangued.

As much as I do appreciate basic american small-talk commodity politeness, I wish it was not displayed in wrong places/times. This is an example where less is more.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[mycroft822]

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument. I disagree with this part of your post. As a consumer of Mr. Taylor's products, he does have a stake in the arguments surrounding DRM and the consumer's rights. As a tax paying (I assume anyway ;) ) citizen of the US he also has a large stake in the argument of lobbying and essentially buying laws favorable to the MPAA. These are the actions he says disgust him.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[heinousjay]

Yeah, let's stick it to those dirty bastards who want to be paid for producing the content everyone else wants for free. I see where the MPAA has the ethics problem here.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[RobertM1968]

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument.

Let me correct this error. Everyone of us who buys DVDs or VHS or goes to the movies, or watches them on Pay Per View IS in the business of "financing" motion pictures.

It does not affect your ability to earn a living and feed your family one way or another.

Well, in the case of people erroneously sued by the **AA, it definitely does. Suggesting a business model that protects the investments the labels have made - that we are then expected to pay off (and then some) - while dropping the "Sue em all - whether they are guilty or not" business model would be quite valid topics to discuss... show interest in protecting the **AA's properties, while protecting innocent consumers as well. (Innocent) "consumers" is in bold because I am referencing people who buy their music/movies - as opposed to pirates - which I have no problems with the **AA suing.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[c0d3h4x0r]

Yeah, let's stick it to those dirty bastards who want to be paid for producing the content everyone else wants for free. I see where the MPAA has the ethics problem here.

They're not dirty bastards for wanting to get paid for their work. They're dirty bastards for trying to control and restrict how paying customers use what they've bought, and for demanding to be paid over and over again for the same content.

If I buy a DVD, I've already paid for it! I own it. (Don't tell me I've only "licensed" it, that's bullshit. I own it.) I shouldn't have to buy the same movie again to get a backup copy, get it in a different format, or be able to play it on a different device -- because I already paid for the content, and it's no one's business but MINE what I do with the things I own. And I shouldn't be restricted by my DVD player from fast-forwarding through the fucking ads and previews. I shouldn't have to endure any ads or previews because I already paid for the damn thing!

That's the unethical MPAA behavior I'm talking about.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[jedidiah]

> You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument.

What a total load of bullshit.

These people are lobbying for laws that harm ALL OF US. They cause creative works to be lost to history and time. They make it more difficult for new artists to create. They interfere with the process of documenting history. They can be used to suppress academic inquiry.

They are harrassing institutions such as this one through abusive litigation.

Their greed and narcisism has far reaching consequences. Anyone that uses technology, consumes creative works or works as a computing professional is directly effected by their shenanigans. Some of their failed lobbying attempts simply boggle the mind. They would trash the rest of the economy just to prop up their outdated business models.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[cybermage]

Respect is something that must be earned

That notion is one of the problems with today's society. Respect should be afforded to everyone until they prove themselves unworthy of it. Now, in this case, respect may not be deserved; but, no respect for others should not be your default stance.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Anonymous Coward]

Please don't respond to the trolls. Ignore them and they will go away.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[mr_matticus]

You bought the DVD. What do you own? What does it mean to "own" a DVD? What ownership rights are afforded you by the law? I hear this lame-ass defense on Slashdot all the time, but it's always from people who don't fundamentally understand the way ownership works under the law.

You've got certain ownership rights; the rightsholder retains most of them. Copyright is a guarantee of rights to the author and by extension to society at large. There is no single 'ownership' condition in the law. Like property, it's a bundle of separate rights and authorities. Your use of the content *is* undeniably and manifestly a license under the law--a grant of the right of use. Just because, in common parlance, you don't like the word "license" (and don't understand its legal implications) doesn't change a thing.

You "own" certain rights conferred to you by an originating party. The only thing you "own" in the property sense is the disc itself. You don't own the film, nor the right to reproduce generally. That right is reserved to the author or his agent. You have been granted usage rights and certain limited reproduction rights.

Demonstrate otherwise.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[vertinox]

If you've got a distinguished and influential guest addressing your class, you need to show him respect.

Stalin was distinguished and influential when he was alive. They would give him standing ovations that would last longer than his speeches. Does that make him any less what he stands for any less evil? I'm not saying the MPAA is akin to Stalinism, but there comes a time when you need to disrespect your enemy because treating them like equals only appease them and makes others see their ideology as a valid decision.

If you listen to Richard Taylor, you might learn a few things and better understand his point of view.

The point of winning hearts and minds is sometimes to treat jerks as what they are instead of appeasing them in a gentleman's discussion because they are using lobbyists and government legislation in an all out battle to extract as much control and money from you.

It is what he is paid to do. He may or may not believe in his own cause, but his duty is to subvert public opinion by any means necessary to achieve a profit from the member's company share holders.

Anything less and he wouldn't be doing what he is being paid for.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[heinousjay]

Oh, save me the bullshit. This is no more about "backups" then custom firmware on a game console. The MPAA realistically doesn't give a shit about the usage scenarios you've described. They just don't want people distributing their movies online.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Almahtar]

If you've got a distinguished and influential guest addressing your class, you need to show him respect. Bullshit. Castro, Hitler, etc are all distinguished and influential. They do not deserve respect. I think someone deserves respect when they show evident character like selflessness and maturity.

You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument An additional bullshit. There are many things that you just must experience to really speak of with credibility. Financing a movie or album is not one of them, sorry.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[k8to]

It depends what you mean by respect. A basic level of respect should be afforded to all, but what the top of this thread is talking about is some kind of deferential level of respect, which is meaningless unless earned.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[Anonymous Coward]

"You are not in the business of making or financing motion pictures or record albums, so you have no real stake in the argument."

Being a consumer of said motion pictures or record albums, and having to put up with every new harebrained scheme to control how where when and by who said movies and music are watched and listened to after you have paid for the right to do so isn't enough to give you a stake in the argument?

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[mux2000]

It's called POLITICS.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[justthinkit]

I think you have confused respect and courtesy. Everyone should be courteous, none have to have any respect whatsoever.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[odoketa]

While I agree wholeheartedly with the your comments about 'not being a jerk', the assertion that someone has no interest in their own cultural patrimony is problematic, to say the least. In the same way we have an 'interest' in seeing our children grow up in a better world than we ourselves did, we have an interest in ensuring that they have at least as much access to cultural artifacts as we ourselves have had. In locking things up, or denying access to them for purposes of further creation, we stunt their intellectual and cultural growth. Arguing that 'they will do it anyway' creates a false sense of entitlement, which will come to crashing halt when the rules are actually enforced - we are beginning to see that now, with patent trolls for example.

Re:Don't be a jerk.

[greedyturtle]

There's a difference between respect and admiration. I have tons of respect for Hitler. Castro, not quite as much, though some. Only a fool doesn't respect his enemies; overconfidence is as sure a way to fail as the lack of it.

I'll tell you

[Anonymous Coward]

Get ahold of Ali G and let him handle the interview...

there you go.
MPAA owned

Re:I'll tell you

[MorpheousMarty]

Booyakasha!

Here are some suggestions...

[KingSkippus]

Put 'im in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him.
Put him in the longboat till he's sober.
Heave him by the leg in a running bowline.
Put 'im in the cabin with the captain's daughter*.

I could go on...

*The "captain's daughter" is a cat o' nine tails.

get me within 500 yards of him....

[Indy1]

I'll do the rest :)

(for any law enforcement reading this comment, its a joke, not a threat).

Re:get me within 500 yards of him....

[Anonymous Coward]

you puss... why the disclaimer? we all knew you were joking :)
let me guess, you live in some paranoic rogue communist state?

Re:get me within 500 yards of him....

[Dachannien]

You'd have been safer saying 5 yards. After all, that's pie range ;)

Re:get me within 500 yards of him....

[Indy1]

sadly I do, its called the USA.

Organize a protest

[iamacat]

Unless you can get the school to organize an official debate on intellectual property, that's all you can do.

Come to the event with a big sign illustrating your message and objections to his status as a distinguished alum. Have a group of students do the same as well as boo and chant before/during/after the event. Engage in civil disobedience by bringing a notebook and helping friends make backups of their own DVDs in his plain sight.

Re:Organize a protest

[E 99]

Unless you can get the school to organize an official debate on intellectual property, that's all you can do.

Come to the event with a big sign illustrating your message and objections to his status as a distinguished alum. Have a group of students do the same as well as boo and chant before/during/after the event. Engage in civil disobedience by bringing a notebook and helping friends make backups of their own DVDs in his plain sight.

Are you serious? Why? How is making yourselves look like obnoxious and inconsiderate buffoons going to help your cause? Those are not the actions of someone possessing reason, or a reasoned argument. Congratulate him on his award and challenge him to a public debate. I'll bet he would take you up on it.

Re:Organize a protest

[Graff]

Come to the event with a big sign illustrating your message and objections to his status as a distinguished alum. Have a group of students do the same as well as boo and chant before/during/after the event. Engage in civil disobedience by bringing a notebook and helping friends make backups of their own DVDs in his plain sight. It's one thing to have a meaningful demonstration, it's another to attempt to censor someone by being loud during a speech.

Loud and obnoxious demonstrations often do no good or even harm the cause that you are campaigning for. The personage on stage will put you further on the "pay no mind" list, Joe and Jill average will treat your cause with disgust at being so rude, and you stand a good chance of getting kicked out/arrested and thus being put out of the picture.

If you really want to make a difference then organize some public debates and invite the press, write up some short (and cordial) position papers and distribute them, write an article or two and submit it to local and national news organizations, and so on. If you are reasonable, calm, and assertive then you will garner much more attention than some loud, obnoxious protest. You will also get much more sympathy and understanding from the people not directly involved in your cause.

It's so easy to raise an unruly mob, that takes almost no dedication to a cause. A true proponent of a cause uses methods that act at a steady, long-term pace even though it takes more effort to achieve them.

I mean what's your whole purpose with a demonstration? Do you hope that you'll be such a pain in the ass that the guy will suddenly realize the error of his ways, give up his cushy job and become a monk in Tibet? You know that no matter what you do you won't turn him over to your cause so easily so instead work on the neutral people in a more calm manner. If you win them over with reason then your cause will be much harder to ignore.

Re:Organize a protest

[iamacat]

Name me one challenging cause that succeeded by people writing position papers without also keeping the issue in public eye by prominent protests? End of Vietnam war? 40 hour work week? Equal rights for women/minorities? Abolishing fur as popular fashion? Getting British out of India?

Few people really enjoy being hated. Maybe the current president of MPAA - or current president of USA - will do nothing. But the next guy in charge might try to avoid being yelled at every time he/she shows up in public.

I would ask your students...

[gillbates]

To think about how they would solve the problem of compensating those involved in media production, and if lawsuits would be an ethically appropriate part of your business model.

Re:I would ask your students...

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree... I would ask them how they feel if they were in either side's shoes (try to find some actual statistics of what artists actually get from their album sales and appearances/promos)...

the question to me is as much "what is the agreeable answer".. so far certain groups agree to buy CDs, others choose to download legally, others still choose to download illegally... the question to be asked is what is to be gained and lost by both "sides" (all parties involved/etc)... maybe a student would have a solution that no one thought of.

Once they've had THAT debate, they should be ready to talk to this guy :)

Autograph plz!

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask him to sign your burned copy of "Mean Girls"

Or..

[hax0r_this]

Play a pirated HD movie (make sure the name is clearly visible when you start the movie, and make sure it is an obviously "torrent style" name) in Linux using unapproved software. See if they actually come after you for it, or if they would rather just pick on the little guys.

I've hated the MPAA a long time, but...

[Trojan35]

At a certain point you have to follow street advise of: Don't hate the player, hate the game.

The fact is the overzealous legal system, big-business government, and uninformed politicians have lead us down this path. The MPAA is winning within the rules given to it, and using loopholes to create their own rules. We are at that "certain point" where we (as a country made of citizens) have to take responsibility for what we have allowed to happen.

Don't be petty or childish and try to embarrass him in some sort of "win" against the MPAA.

Re:I've hated the MPAA a long time, but...

[daeg]

What's wrong with hating the player? There is no game if there are no players.

How about a "What I would do" speech?

[RyanFenton]

Something along the lines of:

"Today, we welcome Richard Taylor, of the Motion Picture Association of America.

As a member of an association of movie makers, his task is to..." ...At this point, you can go two ways. First, you could be honest and say that his task is to help garner as much money as possible for his group and the studios that fund them. From that, you'd say, "What I would do if I were in his position, is to figure out how to milk even more money from artists, and to cheapen art as much as possible so that the only thing that filters to the imaginations of the viewing public is more explosions and weak innuendo."

The other approach, is to toe the line of "...his task is to assure that hard-working artists get their fare share, in an entertainment industry that continues to provide for all involved. That's why, what I would do if I were in his position would be to..." and then be honest in the other direction, and explain why there really is no role for an MPAA if all they wanted to do was to protect artists and the things they care about.

Ryan Fenton

Re:How about a "What I would do" speech?

[jedidiah]

Cut through the crap. Drop the mindless rhetoric. He is associated with the MPAA, not the SAG.

Don't confuse management with labor. That's one important distinction that often gets lost here. The RIAA and the MPAA are basically an old boys club that is made up of the likes of Lee Iacocca. They have about as much interest in seeing that the artists get fairly compensated as does the CEO of Ford has an interest in seeing that UAW members get paid.

Both of the *AAs are wolves in sheeps clothing.

Portraying him as an advocate for the artists is just bogus.

Two words:

[Cervantes]

Two words:
Cream Pie

Re:Two words:

[Lehk228]

three words

google image search

Re:Two words:

[networkBoy]

Three options:
o No filtering o Use moderate filtering o Use strict filtering

Re:Two words:

[Cervantes]

four words

don't do at work.

So far it's only been a metaphor...

[TheWizardTim]

but go on stage and say, "For so long you have been screwing the public, you might as well do it for real." and then drop your pants and bend over.

Who do you want to educate?

[mykepredko]

In your question, you are asking what question to ask to educate the student body - I would think that this would be an opportunity to educate Mr. Taylor.

If you read some of the other replies, you'll see that people believe that the appropriate greeting for him is tear gas or an AK-47.

I would think that the meeting would be a chance for him to see your fellow faculty and students as people and not as criminals as we are always viewed by the **AAs. It could be a good chance for him to sit down with students and understand how they would like to enjoy the products that he represents and discuss ways that are mutually beneficial to both parties.

If he isn't receptive to this idea, then bring out the tear gas and AK-47s.

myke

Re:Who do you want to educate?

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

Tear gas and AK-47s? I'll explain one more time:
First you weaken him with holly water, a supersoacker is appropriate for this. It's a good idea to open a window in advance to let the smoke out.
Then you hold him down with a few crosses. Have a few friends around to keep those in place.
Next you proceed by driving a wooden stake through his wallet. Classic literature mistakenly says you need to puncture the hearth. This is because the wallet is commonly seated in a pocket in the jacket of a suit, which may, for the untrained eye, look as if the stake is driven through the heart. But, as the experts would tell you, a demon does not have a heart.
Do not try to hurt him by playing Britney Spears 'music'. Demons are immume for their own deviced tortures. They do get aggitated by the smell of burned money.
One word of caution: don't let him get to your wallet. Once he touches it, he's got your soul.

I know...

[Anonymous Coward]

Put an electronic surveillance device on his award, and make sure he knows it's there to prevent him from making illegal copies of it.

Sometimes the classics do it best...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ever seen the movie Carrie? Big bucket of Pig's Blood, you know you want to.

[Obvious]

[Anonymous Coward]

"Through intense lobbying, your organization has all but purchased copyright legislation such as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act and the DMCA. Many people take the position that this is eroding rights that have been enjoyed by the consumer ever since the beginning of copyright law. How do you respond to this?"

you are a troll

[Anonymous Coward]

Just keep your mouth shut when he visits, you troll. Amusing how /. loves the term troll, unltil it's turned on them.

Re:shut your mouth

[Anonymous Coward]

DRAMA!

Don't be a spitton

[Anonymous Coward]

"The word that worries me in your discussion above is where you say that you have been "disgusted" with the Motion Picture Association's activities."

Not as worrying as when slashdot spit on the grave of the last guy.

Why do they make pirated products more attractive?

[_xeno_]

What I've always wondered about companies that require DRM on their products is simply this: why do they insist on making their paying customers suffer, which those that don't bother supporting the content creators get a more convenient product?

With movies, the pirated version usually jumps straight to the movie without going through previews or FBI warnings. It doesn't include slow, time-wasting menus. It doesn't force you to skip by commercials for other movies. It just gets you to the product and lets you view it with minimum hassle.

As an added bonus, the pirated version doesn't prevent me from transcoding to a format my iPod can support or prevent me from storing it on my computer and streaming it via my TiVo. If I ever get an XBox360 or a PS3, I can stream them to that too.

With a DRM-encumbered movie, I can't do any of that.

Why do they insist on giving their paying customers a product that's simply worse than the pirated version? Why do they think we'll put up with it?

SUCK IT UP

[Anonymous Coward]

And don't be an asshole

management facing change

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask if he thinks the lower costs and barriers to entry will lead to contract terms that are more favorable to writers, producers, and actors -- see southparkstudios.

Also, ask him why the MPAA isn't a non-profit (it doesn't appear to be)...he will probably mention lobbying, so follow it up with a question on why a trade association of _distributors_ has focused on lobbying and PR instead of working with their members to develop a high-quality internet distribution platform. (Instead of losing money to poor quality youtube, and higher quality stage6).

Ask him how distributors and producers can respond to sites linking to randomly named videos on You Tube/Stage 6, etc--cases where users don't even have to use p2p to get access, the company hosting the content has no idea what it is, and the linkers are user-generated.

Let the students handle it.

[Spy der Mann]

1. A few days *before* his visit, open a debate in your classroom about filesharing, DMCA, DRM, piracy and the music and film industries' business models. Make your students do a research paper on it for homework (the homework will be BEFORE the class debate), and give the homework a +1 point over the final exam.

Perhaps you can research a little and give some pointers (links) that they can use for the research i.e. hackers' rants, slashdot posts, the 09 F9 scandal, and so on.

2. Invite the students to ask any questions they had when the MPAA Senior comes.
(I'm sure that after being educated with the debate, they'll ask questions on playing movies on Linux machines, DMCA, the broken DRM security model and so on).

3. Buy some popcorn and enjoy the fun. Trust me, It will get more embarrassing than Bill Gates' BSOD on the Win98 presentation. ;-)

Re:Let the students handle it.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Perhaps you can research a little and give some pointers (links) that they can use for the research i.e. hackers' rants, slashdot posts, the 09 F9 scandal, and so on."

Yeah, God forbid they write an objective paper.

Re:Let the students handle it.

[Anarchitect_in_oz]

Great idea although I'd tackle it without direct confrontation.
Organise a student debate make sure both sides are well covered with a mixture of good debaters and the tech and arts students.
Don't frame the debate as an attack but as a more general discussion.
say "Is IP good for my creative health?"

Then Invite Mr Taylor as a prominate member of a organisation charged with protecting the IP of creative content creaters you would like to take advantage of his insight to moderate and critic the debate. If the debate has covered both sides well then you forfill the purpose of education, also the invited guest either has to acknowledge both sides or show an obvious bias, which prevents any indoctrination.

Re:Let the students handle it.

[businessnerd]

I agree that this is a task best handled by your students. If you can actually get this guy to come talk to your class, you as the teacher (and in this case the moderator of the discussion) are not in any position to ask these kinds of questions. It needs to come from the students or from the speaker. Your job is to make sure the discussion stays on topic and keep track of the time. The homework idea above is a good way to get the students to ask the questions. I have a way to make your speaker ask the questions.

First, prior to his arrival, I would come up with an anonymous survey for your students to fill out. The questions on the survey would essentially be designed to get an understanding of how much your students know about your speaker and what he does and also understand what issues your students are concerned about the most. In it, you might also have a question about movie piracy. For instance, "Have you ever downloaded a movie from the internet using a filesharing program?" with choices "Yes" or "No". This is where the anonymity of the survey is important. Then have a follow-up question like, "If Yes, what were your primary reasons for doing so." Here give several possible reasons one might download a movie illegally. For instance: "Price", "No previews or commercials", "I can watch it on my iPod", and "I just don't care". Now compile the results. Most likely, at least 50% of your students said yes and gave a reason. Before your speaker arrives or is set to address the class, give the results to him. Basically, just tell him that you made up this survey so that he can focus his talk on what the students are most interested in and how much they already know about you. You might even highlight the piracy question as having "interesting" results and that you were hoping he could address this one particularly. This should begin the discussion. At the very least, you would at least have a better understanding of what his philosophy is on the issue. Hopefully, it will make your students think about it a little more. And really, that's all you can really ask.

Re:Let the students handle it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a video of this.

Re:Let the students handle it.

[jafac]

Yes, absolutely!

By all means, invite Lawrence Lessig as well!

Re:Let the students handle it.

[Judebert]

I never thought I would say this, let alone in a day-old discussion, but the parent (quoted below) really should be moderated up. This has got to be the best of all possible solutions.

Great idea although I'd tackle it without direct confrontation.
Organise a student debate make sure both sides are well covered with a mixture of good debaters and the tech and arts students.
Don't frame the debate as an attack but as a more general discussion.
say "Is IP good for my creative health?"

Then Invite Mr Taylor as a prominate member of a organisation charged with protecting the IP of creative content creaters you would like to take advantage of his insight to moderate and critic the debate. If the debate has covered both sides well then you forfill the purpose of education, also the invited guest either has to acknowledge both sides or show an obvious bias, which prevents any indoctrination.

Re:Let the students handle it.

[Merk]

Yeah, that's really the best approach. Try to get the students thinking about a lot of the thornier issues:

• What is the fair length of a copyright term?
• What is the purpose of granting someone a copyright?
• At what point should copyright violation go from a civil offense to a criminal one?
• Are artists helped by copyright? If so, does the medium matter? Is it different for chart-topping bands than it is for much smaller acts?
• Can limited copyright infringement have a positive benefit for a copyright holder, either through promotion or building a market?
• When someone receives an infringing copy of something, how much potential revenue is lost to the copyright holder? For a downloaded movie, is it the cost of a ticket in a movie theater? The cost of a DVD? A percentage of the cost of a DVD? Does it depend on the quality of the copy?
• Is copyright infringement the same as theft? Should it be called piracy?

Also, look at the history of copyright, and the current state for developing nations:

• Was the US wrong to reprint English copyrighted books early in its history?
• Was the early US a pirate nation, and if so, did that help or hurt the development of the country?
• Do the copyright terms in use in the United States make sense worldwide, or should each country have their own rules?
• Would developing countries benefit most from the same copyright laws used in the United States, or from more lenient laws?

Finally, look at some of the alternatives:

• Can artists make a living releasing works without a copyright, or under a Creative Commons type license?
• Is the GPL a good idea, and fair to other programmers?
• What kind of license should work done by the government be released under?

If he's willing to moderate or participate in the debate, that could do a really good job of bringing the issues to the table. I would expect that most students would have different opinions from his about what's fair, and that you might not have to prepare them very much. At a minimum have them read up on the Wikipedia entries for Intellectual Property and The History of Copyright Law.

Ask Why

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask why the DVD Forum feels it has the right to control a users DVD player that they do not own by using inserted User Operation Prohibition controls such as disallowing fast-forward or skipping during trailers and ads. In other words, just because someone owns the IP of a movie does it give them the right to control the DVD player?

I would encourage everyone to bring a small

[WillAffleckUW]

fire extinguisher.

Then, whenever they say "Distinguished", let loose and "extinguish" him.

It's only fair.

Other ideas

[Spy der Mann]

Let students bring protest cards saying "NO TO THE MAFIAA", "Don't take away my rights", "DMCA is EVIL", "09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0" and so on :)

tedswiss

[Anonymous Coward]

what a pussy-ass name. fuckin cocksucker.

Re:Why do they make pirated products more attracti

[Nqdiddles]

Because enough people still support them by paying for it?

Re:shut your mouth

[Anonymous Coward]

um, you did notice that he teaches at the university, right?

The Class way of doing this

[RobertLTux]

Before he speaks have a lawyer type give a 5 minute discussion on how the preceding speech is CopyRight (R) $date by $school and reproduction by any means
will result in prosecution. Then Lock the doors (make loud slamming noises) and have him give his talk.

Re:The Class way of doing this

[HunterZ]

Before he speaks have a lawyer type give a 5 minute discussion on how the preceding speech is CopyRight (R) $date by $school and reproduction by any means
will result in prosecution. Then Lock the doors (make loud slamming noises) and have him give his talk. Preceding speech? I'm resisting the urge to be pedantic and failing, sorry >.>

Re:shut your mouth

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut your mouth and let the abuse continue. It's the American Way.

Supersoakers...

[El_Smack]

...full of ferret pee.
Then offer to pay his dry cleaning bill. No need to be a jerk about it.

Ninja Stars!

[Anonymous Coward]

Give every student in the audience one. :-)

Or you could...

[Anonymous Coward]

Roll him up in a carpet, and throw him off a bridge!
</homer>

I'll buy the "be respectful" part at least...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll give you the "Be Respectful" part because I agree with that on principle, even if the guy might be a douchebag. The rest, however, I do not buy.

This may not be the best time to get on a soapbox--after all, he's being brought in as a "distinguished alumnus" or something, so that's not a great time to rain on anyone's parade. If you do anything, make it subtle and innocent.

It wouldn't hurt to let him know that normal people are sick of their shenanigans, but it WOULD hurt to do so by embarrassing him in public.

The Biggest Lie

[Nom du Keyboard]

The Biggest Lie of the MPAA (and RIAA) is that every download equates to a lost sale, or a percentage of a lost sale. I'd love for him to have to explain how he can truly justify that position.

Re:The Biggest Lie

[Teancum]

I would note in particular that the motion picture industry had perhaps their largest box office total ever this past summer... over $4 billion dollars worth just in the USA alone. And that little factoid has been in the news quite a bit lately.

More to the point, is this hardcore attitude toward cracking down on somebody who brings a camera into the theater and prosecuting somebody who grabs 3-5 mintues on their their cell phone something really worth prosecuting, or "charging" off to the respective movie studio P.R. budget instead?

Hardcore pirates are more likely to do something more obvious like when a movie theater owner was held up at gunpoint to hand over a complete print of Return of the Jedi on the opening day of wide release. Or simply get a copy from one of the studio production crew members or even studio executives themselves. Does arresting a kid in Podunk, Arkansas really make that much of a dent to stopping movie piracy when these much more obvious forms of piracy are being done (and seldom even prosecuted)?

How about this as a more "friendly" but related question..... what real prosecutions have occurred over the past 10 years to put major pirate groups behind bars? In other words, what real success has the MPAA had to stop piracy besides going after a grandmother who doesn't even have an e-mail address?

Re:The Biggest Lie

[big_paul76]

"The Biggest Lie of the MPAA (and RIAA) is that every download equates to a lost sale, or a percentage of a lost sale."

Here, here!

This is the basis of virtually everything unpleasant the MPAA does.

Personally, my objections to to drm have less to do with annoyances like difficulty making backups and anti-skip features, and more to do with my fear of an incremental slide towards Stallman's (loveable kook that he is!) story "The Right to Read".

Maybe start out with reading an abridged, "coles notes" version of that story, and ask him what he thinks of that outcome? Chances are he'd think it sounds like paradise, but I wonder if you could get him to admit that in public...

Re:The Biggest Lie

[Rudolf]

The Biggest Lie of the MPAA (and RIAA) is that every download equates to a lost sale, or a percentage of a lost sale. I'd love for him to have to explain how he can truly justify that position.

Someone will only download something because they want it. If they want it then it has some value to them. If it has value to them then they would be willing to pay for it if it were not free.

Re:The Biggest Lie

[stud9920]

So by your model, everyone not going to the most expensive seller of a particular good is a thief ? Go back to Economics 101. This is called supply and demand curves. There is lots of demand for free music, there is lots of offer too, which translates into a deal. There is also lots of demand for cheap or expensive music, which translates to different deals at different price points called allofmp3, itunes, or CD sale, all being essentially the same product. Legality at this point is not related. You also seem challenged about the difference between value and cost. Something can be free and be of great value (e.g. food in the west), some very expensive things can be worthless (e.g. a PS3 lollerz).

I'm not joking

[squarefish]

But rather than post here what you should ask him and risk he won't, see if he'd be willing to provide a /. interview.

It's worth a shot and may be the best way for someone to approach him directly about it. I'm sure he's probably been asked in the past and was able to easily ignore the emails or phone calls. Asking him to do so in person will put him on the spot and he may take it more seriously.

Re:I'm not joking

[entropiccanuck]

Your sig: "Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains." Damn it, you almost made me spew my drink all over my keyboard from laughing, and it's one of those green Spirulina drinks that'd be a major pain to clean up. Perhaps that's karma for me being a Creationist. :)

Re:I'm not joking

[squarefish]

another /. user had that as part of a political post and I loved it- I never asked them permission, but I still consider it borrowing. I am not a creationist, but I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it.

You better..

[pickyouupatnine]

.. shoot a video of whatever it is you do.... :)

I love idiots like this

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey. Moron. This isn't an interview. You can tell because it's in "Ask Slashdot" and not the "Interview" section.

It's a guy asking for advice on how to talk with someone who disagrees with him on something. Not an interview.

On that note, make sure you listen to what he's actually saying and don't just repeat idiotic anti-DRM talking points like the parent here did. Actually respond to what he's saying, listen to his arguments, and otherwise don't try and antagonize him. He's a guest, not a target.

Re:I love idiots like this

[Anonymous Coward]

whoosh.

During his speach

[Anonymous Coward]

see if you can cough 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 :D

With such a visit

[Alien54]

from someone as illustrious as this ...

It is well worth it to propose a week long series of special classes about the man, the organization, and the controversies. This allows plenty of time for a balanced presentation from all of the viewpoints. And of course, you can encourage students to put on their on presentations and reports, etc. This should be done in advance of the visit, so that when there is a question and answer period with the celebrity, you can rest well assured that students will ask well informed questions.

Remember that Copyright is included (under Article 27) in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (some clever human rights PSAs here)

Article 27.

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

and this provides for other angles and viewpoints that the MPAA might not be actually friendly to, even if they claim to be artist friendly. (Remember Hollywood accounting!) There is also the argument that the corporations are not acting in the best interest of the Artists, but their own personal profit.

finally, the European view on copyright and an artist's rights are significantly different compared to typical american viewpoints.

Re:With such a visit

[Desipis]

WRT Article 27, I wonder at what stage something moves from being someone's artistic production to being part of the cultural life of the community?

e.g. Mickey Mouse. Someone's artistic work, or part of the culture of the community?

Re:With such a visit

[Glonoinha]

Yea, or they could plant a two ounce bag of crack in his jacket pocket, 'tip off' the police and have him arrested and thrown in jail for posession of crack cocaine on a drug-free school zone with intent to distribute. Fuck his life up real good for something he didn't do, destroy him professionally / financially / emotionally and then say - there now, that's not very nice, is it? You don't like it when people do it to you, don't do it to other people.

(Does crack come in bags?)

Re:With such a visit

[metlin]

You know, that just gave me an idea.

Just prepare a list of questions (say, 10) and print them out clearly. Distribute that to the students and to Mr. Rich Taylor.

Tell him that you expect clear and concise answers, not fluff and excuses. And in that list, you could include such questions as --

1. Why the MPAA's principles do not seem to agree with what even the UN's Declaration of Human Rights dictates?

2. Ask them how they think that the exaggerated numbers of piracy relate to the actual numbers? Bring some tangible evidence to the table and ask them how they think that copied media equals revenue lost.

3. Ask him what the MPAA thinks about such things as Creative Commons and how they could think that long-term copyrights (e.g. Disney) is conducive to what the founding fathers of this land had in mind?

4. Cite some examples of how DMCA has harmed people, and ask him his opinion on that. If he agrees with the DMCA, then obviously it is wrong. If he disagrees, you can ask him if he thinks the law should be tested in a court of law. After all, their tactic seems to be making even fair use hard for people.

5. Why are the big boys (RIAA, MPAA) afraid of new media? Isn't it like a scrivener complaining about the arrival of the printing press?

6. Bring up the issue of fair use and piracy - you could cite personal examples where you (or your friends) have had to download media because it was easier than making backups of your own data. How can the MPAA distinguish between such piracy?

7. Citing the previous case, explain that they should either understand that not all variants of piracy is bad, or alternatively make it easy for you to back up your own media. Trying to discourage both sounds like they are against the very concept of *you* copying *your* media.

8. Ask him what he thinks of you lending a book to your friend. And how is it different from you lending your movie to a friend? Now if the friend could easily make a copy of the book without spending a penny, is it bad? Ignoring today's copyright law, ask him if his business model is wrong or is the friend wrong?

9. On that same note, ask him if there are any plans of improving the existing business model, since it is clearly unsuitable for an era where things can be copied for free. Clearly, artists are being robbed, given how poor the Hollywood actors are and how they live in filth and squalor (well, to be fair, they *do* live in LA, but still...)

10. Bring up the issue of suppressing your own customers - and how it has worked out for people in the past. After all, suppressing something is not the best way to accomplish it, and sometimes being open can be better for everyone.

Re:With such a visit

[Minwee]

Just remember that a man who was the senior vice president for external affairs of the MPAA has probably heard all of your questions before and has a prepared response for each of them. Be prepared to have your questions dismissed without any kind of real answer and quite possibly twisted around into something completely different. Read old interviews with him, watch videos. Try to get an idea of what to expect.

If a professional weasel with his background and in his position lets himself get blind-sided by a couple of University students with an obvious axe to grind then, first off, something is very wrong with the world.

And secondly, if you think that's what really happened, count your fingers. And your toes. And review exactly what was said by whom, and ask yourself if you have any way of proving it.

Re:With such a visit

[xophos]

Umm yes that could be defined as culture. Bending the standards ever so slightly. ;-)

Re:With such a visit

[jhol13]

DRM. You forgot DRM. I would add example of how e.g. HDCP makes consumers pay more (e.g. I have DVI capable TV - but no HDCP). And, actually, so does every other DRM scheme known to man.

Re:With such a visit

[Warbothong]

Ask him since copyright infringement is allowed to be called stealing then shouldn't charging people for the same thing again and again on different formats, making it illegal for them to do it themselves, be called stealing too? Also, ask him since it is acceptable to call copyright infringers pirates, ie. murdering rapists who rob cargo at gunpoint on the high seas, whether similar names for abusive publishing companies should become mainstream to even things out a bit. I suggest, along the lines of MAFIAA, gangsters (organised cartels of evil-doers who own the law through bribery, offer dubious goods to the public under ridiculous terms with extremely over-the-top punishment for non-compliance, use brute force and persuasion to keep business restricted to a small number of people, etc.), or possibly cannibals (those who eat their own flesh and blood [ie. customers]).

I'd love to see mainstream news stories saying "Movie studios say losses to pirates are in the billions" instead say "Gangsters say they are losing billions due to infringement of their copyright". The issue takes on a whole new meaning by fiddling with the words, trouble is that publishing companies by their very nature are able to control the mainstream media and shape the debates in their favour from the very beginning. As it is anyone opposed to the current system has to spend their entire argument on the matter crawling out of the hole dug for them, rather than actually making any sort of case, plus at the end of it they seem like a petty, smallminded criminal trying to get away with a crime due to technicalities.

Re:With such a visit

[Monchanger]

On the whole, this is a decent list of valid questions I wish consumers could get straight answers on. I think if students were given time to ponder these and other issues and then bring them up in an open forum, you'd have a good event.

But here's the point I have:

Be respectful.

I hate the RIAA/MPAA as much as any faithful Slashdotter, but by attacking a speaker (as many other posts have humorously suggested) you're not going to convince Microsoft to play fair, Cheney to allow accountability, or the MPAA to close up shop.

If at all possible, I think the best way to educate the students would be a fair debate of the issues. If your premise to the student is "this guy coming to campus has it all wrong- let's tell him why," you're not helping them think. Had the time been available, I'd try to get the "English 101" and other related classes to study these and other issues of interest. I wish I was allowed to choose interesting topics to write about, and I'm sure your students would be excited about the topic as well. Given that this sort of activity requires much more time, I'd promote self-study among the student body (and to be realistic- put an emphasis on reaching out to freshmen and honors students).

Re:With such a visit

[rasputin465]

(yes)

Re:With such a visit

[Johnny5000]

Just remember that a man who was the senior vice president for external affairs of the MPAA has probably heard all of your questions before and has a prepared response for each of them.

Usually that response can be as simple as saying "I'm glad you asked that, it's a very important question" and then he can ramble on for 10 minutes about something entirely unrelated, until everyone forgets what was asked in the first place.

Re:With such a visit

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice. I'd also suggest looking at whatever lofty rhetoric the school has about their goals in the education of their students. Start a question with, "One of your alma mater's goals has always been to ..." and then use something about ethics in there. (Most schools have something like that.) And end it with, "How does your corporation's violations of ethics get your personal approval, as you control the organization which violates this(these) school goal(s)?"

It's such a shame that schools tell their students that people who donate money are the best, despite ethical considerations. If a school honored graduates who led ethical lives AND enriched society, they're much more valuable "products" of the school, and should bring greater esteem to the school, which, in turn, should have the school be more financially successful in the long run.

Re:With such a visit

[bzipitidoo]

Yes, tough call. Boycott him so he has no one to talk to? Find out if there are hundreds of people who want to scream protests in his face, and don't discourage them? I'm thinking you ought to have a list of hard questions ready to go, and a plan B. Courteously ask him things like what has he to say about the sister organization, the RIAA, being the most hated organization, even more hated than Halliburton. Region encoding for DVDs was an anti-competitive, uncapitalist thing to do, and it didn't work and it couldn't work. All it did was annoy people, and provide a dead easy way for pirated copies to be superior to the originals. Why??

Plan B is for the instant he weasels on a question. Hopefully he won't. But if he does, then the gloves come off. Switch his role from speaker to audience, because there's obviously no point in listening to him. Go on with specific examples of students being sued, of lawsuits being pursued in defiance of all reason, of artists being ripped off (Babylon 5, Peter Jackson), of the unintended and very bad consequences and side effects of the laws they've lobbied for, of the physical and scientific impossibility of their goals. If there are any victims on campus, have them there to tell their stories. Probably the best one can hope for is that he comes away impressed (not favorably impressed, just impressed) with the determination and emotion of the crowd.

Re:With such a visit

[zero_offset]

It's actually worse than that. I've been stuck defending shit I disagreed with (Citrix). Sometimes you gotta just pay the bills, and in those days I learned the importance of the follow-through. You're correct -- begin with a glad-handing statement like your example, and ramble on without saying anything substantive, just as you suggest. But the real trick is to wrap up by reminding people what the question was. You'll find that most people just assume you addressed the question, and that they're at fault for not really getting it, and you score bonus points for answering a "difficult" question.

I still hate Citrix, and we'll still have DRM.

Re:With such a visit

[krbvroc1]

(Does crack come in bags?) Of course not. It only comes in hermetically sealed 1/2oz opaque glass jars with child proof lids. Can you imagine crack in a bag - how trailer park.

Re:With such a visit

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Why the MPAA's principles do not seem to agree with what even the UN's Declaration of Human Rights dictates?

What? Quote the relevant section, please!

I'll even help you out with a link to the text.

While you're groping around there, try also to explain how the MPAA is not an agency for the purposes of Art XXVII.(2).

Re:With such a visit

[CalSolt]

You people are pathetic. Like it or not, he's a successful businessman and probably has some good inspirational advice for the kids. Remember, morality is relative. So what if you disagree with him? Do you really want to attack him on behalf of some sort of personal vendetta and ruin the experience for everyone? I think the most responsible thing to do would be to give a short, unbiased 20 minute presentation about the man's work and the issues that he has to deal with. The kids will decide for themselves. Also, remember that this person as an individual has nothing to do with the RIAA. He just happens to be a good publicist and is being payed by his employer to advocate a certain viewpoint. He's just doing his job.

Re:With such a visit

[zero_offset]

You don't appear to actually be replying to me specifically, but since you did, I'll point out that (a) all I did was clarify how to "just do your job" better, (b) you don't get extra super-best-friend brownie-points for "just doing your job" when your job involves supporting a bunch of assholes, and (c) just because he's doing his job doesn't mean you have to go easy on him. In fact, his job is to field and/or deflect questions exactly like this, in between the propagandizing (irrespective of the merit of the message, or lack thereof).

Additionally, I suppose my post was an agreement with the parent poster's supposition that the only way he could address these questions would be to simply avoid them, because there really aren't any answers they could give that anybody wants to hear.

I didn't say shoot him in the face, after all. I'm sure certain dorks will say just that, but you didn't choose to respond to them.

Check his laptop for unauthorized content

[Anonymous Coward]

Scan his laptop and see if there is anything unlicensed on it.

Ask him if he stole his car.

[kramer]

Interrupt the beginning of the speech. Ask him if he stole his car. When he says no, ignore him and launch into a 5 minute prepared speech about how stealing cars is wrong, and the effects of stolen cars on everyone. Tell him how bad he is for stealing his car, and how he'll be punished when he gets caught. Most importantly, do not let him interrupt you or skip any portion of your speech. When you're finished, ask him how he appreciates being treated to a lecture about being a thief during time that is supposed to be his.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[E 99]

If I ever saw someone behave in that manner, I would have to assume that whatever their point was, they couldn't possibly be right.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[rk]

Exactly. And E++99 was enlightened.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[SimonInOz]

So appealing ... after all, they call me a thief when I'm not and waste my time in a maddening fashion. Insulting. Pirate DVDs from Thailand are so much nicer to use.

Sadly, this action will result in little more than getting you fired. Or something.

Here in Australia, we have a wonderful program on ABC (non commercial) television called "The Chasers War on Everything". They do exactly the sort of things like this that you really want to do but won't dare. (See www.abc.net.au/chaser/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chaser's_War_on_E verything)

My favourite? A leading (and my personal choice) newspaper in Sydney is the Sydney Morning Herald (creative name, eh?). They starting sticking little post it notes with advertising all over it. It was incredibly annoying. And when you removed them they pulled the ink off the paper.

So Chaser managed to track down the editor or owner of the newspaper and stuck post it notes all over him until they were dragged away. On camera of course.

The annoying post it notes stopped for quite some time - but they're baack. Time for another dose.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[NullProg]

Interrupt the beginning of the speech. Ask him if he stole his car. When he says no, ignore him and launch into a 5 minute prepared speech about how stealing cars is wrong, and the effects of stolen cars on everyone. Tell him how bad he is for stealing his car, and how he'll be punished when he gets caught. Most importantly, do not let him interrupt you or skip any portion of your speech. When you're finished, ask him how he appreciates being treated to a lecture about being a thief during time that is supposed to be his.

I understand what your point is but this is such a bad analogy I had to comment. Unless you have your own forge, can mine and melt your own iron (etc.), the car analogy doesn't work. The barrier to entry is too great.

Movie and graphic production can be made by anyone with access to a cheap computer. There is no barrier to entry for content creation.

The argument for video/graphic production and creation actually works better with your analogy.

Ask the guy if he has made any home movies. Asked him how he would feel if he shared his LA vacation movie as "Escape from LA.mpeg" and got sued by the MPAA attack lawyers with no proof of copyright violation. Ask how would he feel when his home movie won't play under Vista on his parents computer because of the DRM restrictions.

If you did the car analogy security will escort you out.

Convince the guy to think, not think of us as crackpots.

My two cents,
Enjoy.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, ask him how long copyright should last

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/1 3/1233201

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[Mr. Roadkill]

Also, ask him how long copyright should last

"Oh, that's easy. Age of Steamboat Willie + 50 years. No, not just 50 years from now - from whenever the question is asked, forever more. Next question?"

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[Grishnakh]

My favourite? A leading (and my personal choice) newspaper in Sydney is the Sydney Morning Herald (creative name, eh?). They starting sticking little post it notes with advertising all over it. It was incredibly annoying. And when you removed them they pulled the ink off the paper.

So Chaser managed to track down the editor or owner of the newspaper and stuck post it notes all over him until they were dragged away. On camera of course.

The annoying post it notes stopped for quite some time - but they're baack. Time for another dose.

Obviously, they didn't do it right the first time. Since the notes pulled the ink off the paper, the Chasers should have used modified post-it notes with superglue (cyanoacrylate), so that removing the post-its from the editor resulted in pulling his skin off. That might have gotten the message through.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[Grishnakh]

You can't convince people like this to think. In fact, a good general rule of dealing with people is, "you can't teach people a lesson". People make this mistake while driving all the time. Doing the same bad thing to someone that they did won't result in them learning; they just don't care. They want to do bad things, but not have bad things done back to them. That's why they do these things to begin with. If they cared, they wouldn't have done anything wrong to piss people off.

The object of the OP's idea was not to make Mr. MPAA think, it's to make the students think. Those are the ones who need to be convinced, not the current goon at the MPAA.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[CopaceticOpus]

*Woosh* (Point sailing over your head.)

Yes, the car analogy is terrible, but in this case that's part of the point. This is how many commercial DVDs begin playing now, forcing you to sit through a lecture that begins with a bad car analogy. It's just as obnoxious for them to stick that at the start of the DVD as it would be for someone to force this onto the start of the lecture.

I don't think the suggestion was completely serious, but I really hope some student or local resident decides to do this. If I had the chance to do it, I would bring a megaphone, and everytime someone tried to stop me I'd point at them and yell "Prohibited Action!" It's not the most productive response but it would be damn funny and it would sure feel good.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you were commenting on the GP, do realize that they probably weren't making a serious suggestion, but rather a joke playing on the unskippable anti-piracy ads you find on DVDs and the like(You wouldn't steal a car...).

I thought it was pretty funny, and I doubt it was meant as anything other than a Slashdot ha-ha-only-serious joke. You can't really blame the teller of the joke for the fact that you would look like an asshole if you were to act it out in public.

Re:Ask him if he stole his car.

[E 99]

I took it to be at least half serious. It's not much worse than other serious suggestions I've read here, like organizing a group to demonstrate and chant slogans during his speech.

Eh? What about protesting

[rgaginol]

Not that I'm saying protesting is called for here: the MPAA do have a right to protect their income source... but if someone felt strongly enough against the MPAA's practices, I actually don't think that protesting should be out of the question. Being 'polite' and 'a gentleman' is the path to faffy ineffectual management practices. If you think about their intrusion of privacy and the dodgy means their going about investigating it - not to mention the fact that the punishments far far far exceed the crime which would lean towards making an example of someone rather then finding adequate punishment, I'd almost say that protesting would be quite adequate if someone felt strongly enough about it. As long as you're protesting in a peaceful manor, I don't see what harm there is in there. In fact, I'd go on to say that you'll teach your students a much better lesson by showing them that your society allows people the right to peaceful protest by standing up for what you believe in.

Personal vs. Corporate Copyrights

[turgid]

Ask him to explain the difference between a copyright held by a corporation and by an individual, rights and protections for the individual copyright holder v.s the corporation and Fair Use.

Ask him to explain why some "copyright" (sic) works may be freely redistributed (GNU, BSD, Creative Commons, Public Domain etc.) and why others can't.

Ask him how technological measures to enforce copyright can respect these different regimes, and who polices them.

Ask him to explain the difference between copyrights, patents, intellectual property.

What I suggest...

[maino82]

is fire up a computer running your favorite Linux distro (sans libdvdcss), then pop in a home made "Welcome" DVD of sorts that you and your students make (the unencrypted DVD works just fine... splendid!). Then, introduce him and announce that you have some examples of works that the MPAA has produced that the students may find memorable. Then proceed to pull out DVDs of movies that you rightly purchased, and attempt to play them on the computer (Oh dear... there seems to be a problem with the disks...).

Re:What I suggest...

[KevReedUK]

This is a risky proposition, as many DVDs released by his members carry notices forbidding their display in public environments, often explicitly including schools along with other, less obvious, locations such as oil-rigs!

While I agree the point should be made, you'd be inviting legal trouble with this more than you would be succeeding in making your point.

Why not...

[E 99]

See if he's game for a public formal debate following the award ceremony.

Be creative....

[xednieht]

Put together a collage of video clips gleaned from pirated movies that welcomes him to the opening day festivities. Pirated clips of famous movie stars talking on your behalf would demonstrate that your immense creativity is only surpassed by the size of your balls.

I'd ask him..

[The Living Fractal]

How does it feel to be a dinosaur?

I kid, I kid.

Record and tape the event

[Anonymous Coward]

Record and tape the event, then give him a copy on a DVD, but in an open source format - say Vorbis. No protection, but include on the DVD a license agreement that is horrendous and has a special web site link at the end for "more information." Buried in the license agreement, say that watching this constitutes his acceptance of a $1,000 "viewing fee."

When he or someone else clicks on your web site, contact him for the fee. It doesn't matter if he didn't watch it, it was in his hands and the site was only provided to HIM. He's liable for all use.

"Distinguished Alum Award"

[SEWilco]

"Distinguished Alum Award"

"Alum powder, found amongst spices at most grocery stores, is used in pickling recipes as a preservative, to maintain crispness, and as an ingredient in some play dough recipes."

So you want to put him in a pickle?

Cory Doctorow

[Anonymous Coward]

See if you can get Cory Doctorow to debate him in a public forum of some sort. Cory speaks eloquently on the subject of DRM.

Ask him what "Fair Use" means to him...

[r_jensen11]

And do it in a non-obvious way. Like complaining about how the auto industry is deliberately designing vehicles so they can't be serviced on your own any more.

Copyright

[burndive]

The root issue here is copyright. The founding fathers of the USA made provisions for copyright for a set of stated purposes.

The movie industry owes much to being able to make derivatives of others' works, and copyright legislation hinders their creativity just as much, if not more, than others. The Internet has revolutionized the economics of distribution (or, at least, it has the potential to do so if the proper frameworks are invested in). In this new environment, what is the optimal period for society to grant a temporary monopoly to creators (or their agents) via copyright? Obviously, there is more at stake than simply profit for the movie industry: there is the intangible value of access to the art of one's culture, but the profitablilty of the industry are not without value to the culture.

Discuss. Debate. Whatever. Engage the students' minds.

Student Concerns.

[twitter]

Think teamwork.

Good idea, get student help. Make him feel the evil he's doing to people just like himself. There are several issues that he might be sympathetic to if he was presented with them and he could be made to say and do several useful things:

• The average student only has a PC to watch movies and listen to music. Everthing else is too expensive and can be stolen. What is the MPAA doing to make their life easy? DRM is snake oil - get him to admit it is little more than a headache for legitimate users.
• Get him to admit that video made the MPAA plenty of money. Ask why the member companies are so paranoid after watching supposedly deadly threats turn into profit centers.
• The student victim of copyright warrior attacks. Get him to repudiate the RIAA's random and unjust attack on the student population. This would best be done by an actual victim.
• What opportunities does his industry have for the graduating class? Does the career path he took still exist?

Chances are, he's just a flack. Even if you could gain his sympathy, it would not matter. What he says, though, can be good for all of us.

Re:Student Concerns.

[jb.hl.com]

Yeah, acting like a total prick and trying to beat confessions of wrongdoing out of the guy will surely make him repent all of his sins, join the EFF and start downloading movies.

Jesus wept.

Pig's Blood

[AndOne]

It was good enough for Carrie. It's good enough for you!

How about recruit him to an Ask Slashdot session?

[snowblind]

Why not take the opportunity for him to respond to a moderated question forum from the Slashdot audience?

opportunities

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you have time to acquire a high powered, scoped rifle?

Just asking...

Invite

[Joseph1337]

Invite Steve Ballmer, get him to a classroom full of chairs and get Richard say 'Google'. Then get on the ground

A kinder, gentler greeting

[Roadkills-R-Us]

Shower him with CDs thrown like frisbees. The whole campus population can participate!

Don't even think of sharpening the edges and dipping them in hot sauce first...

Too late.

[twitter]

Perhaps you could invite him to your class to discuss some issues but I wouldn't use this opportunity to harangue him and make yourself look like a whiny prick in the process.

It is already too late to co-operate and that's the story that will be told, regardless of what really happens. He just published his intention to ask difficult questions and will be treated as an enemy. The industry will now do it's worst to him regardless of what he does, so he might as well go down fighting.

If he or someone else records the QA session, it will be harder for the industry to lie about it but they will then smear him with other things. Angry people in odd places can and will be used as tools. To see how easy this is, look at what M$ did to Quinn. You can go further back and look at how telphone operators, hotel clerks and other people were happy to help the FBI wiretap and spy on Martin Luther King Jr.

The man or someone petending to be him has just kicked a powerful industry. Things are going to be hard for him.

Re:shut your mouth

[somersault]

DRaMa!! Or quite possibly drmAA. Who even knows any more.

Bullets

[swordgeek]

"How would you best make use of this opportunity if you found yourself in my shoes?"

Bullets.
Well probably not, but it's nice to daydream.

Don't let things degenerate

[Dachannien]

Sure, it's easy to just throw out barbs and generally make the guy feel hated. The MPAA makes it easy. But this is an opportunity to show Taylor, and by extension, perhaps the MPAA in general, that tech-savvy consumers are not copyright-hating anarchists.

Address concerns like the limitations put on consumers from making legitimate private use of the content they buy. Make it clear that you don't endorse copyright infringement, but also be clear that much of the content industry's DRM efforts haven't been about preventing infringement (user operation prohibition and region codes on DVDs, for example).

The more you make your discussion about things other than piracy, the more you'll get out of the discussion. Piracy is the red herring in the DRM debate, so steer the conversation away from technologies which are ostensibly there solely to prevent piracy. CSS and AACS are, IMO, the topics you don't want to get into.

But if you feel you've milked those topics enough, you can get into HDCP, the broadcast flag, OCAP, CableCARD, etc., all of which are technologies which place huge burdens on the legitimate TV-viewing public in an effort to prevent them from time- and space-shifting the TV that they watch, even though DVD sales of TV series have been highly successful in general, and PVRs have revolutionized (for the better) the way people watch TV.

Provide Usefull Information

[blavallee]

I would take the opportunity and discuss the difference between hobbyists and 'for profit' piracy. While the MPAA has changed the laws to include 'no monetary gain' through its lobbying efforts, the true pirates are still selling DVD's on the street.

You should also learn about his personal interests and use relevant analogies.

I would compare the hobbyists that post 0-day screeners to something like mountain climbers attempting to beat the fastest time to the peak of Mt. Everest. There are challenges and risk associated with both, but there is also the thrill that compels people to do both.

While I may not know who or what the current record may be, there are real climbers that do. Help him understand what he is really facing as the MPAA attempts to eradicate piracy. Help him understand that each 'tool' that the MPAA employs only presents new challenges to the hobbyists.

Overall, provide him with useful information that could help him do his job better.

best tag ever:

[Anonymous Coward]

howtogetfired

btw, have we ever slashdotted /.? If not, everyone click here for a try: all tags.

lol

[martin_henry]

come in wearing a portable music player of your choice & when you go to introduce yourself, just quote a random IP address.

Not a good advertisement for your school!

[techno-vampire]

I don't think "Distinguished Alum Award" means what either you or your school think it does. Alum is a mineral, mostly used as an astringent (as in a styptic pencil) or in pickling. The word you want is "Alumnus."

What do you teach?

[Anonymous Coward]

"I teach at a moderately small independent school WHO has as one of its alums..." They must really be dropping their recruitment standards.

Simple...

[sjpm]

...DeCSS T-shirts for all!

Here's what you do...

[Revotron]

Q: How do you address a visit and speech from an MPAA official? ... A:Publicly announce that his speech will be freely available for download.

SERVE PIE!

[Anonymous Coward]

You should have a buffet of banana and coconut cream pies in the back for his speech for people to eat while listening to his words of wisdom. Of course you should explain to people they should be very careful not to drop their pie or get any on themselves or anyone else. In fact you should have more pie than anyone could possibly really eat.

and then

[oliphaunt]

When you're finished, ask him how he appreciates being treated to a lecture about being a thief during time that is supposed to be his.

and then AK47.

Please deliver this message to Jack Valenti

[BillGatesLoveChild]

> How To Address A Visit from MPAA Senior VP Rich Taylor?

I believe to correct title is 'Darth'

Relevant disclosure

[BierGuzzl]

Wheat has also worked as a technical writer, music journalist for national magazines, and publicist in the music industry. Off and on over the years he has been a professional musician as well.
(see: http://wheatwilliams.com/computers/index.html )

They are going to call him a "prick" anyway.

[twitter]

A troll taunts:

acting like a total prick and trying to beat confessions of wrongdoing out of the guy will surely make him repent all of his sins, join the EFF and start downloading movies.

That's not what I advocated, but this guy can do anything he wants. He's already a marked man, and will need video evidence that he was not rude just to keep himself from being fired. Acting like a prick is for industry flacks like yourself, jb.

Re:They are going to call him a "prick" anyway.

[jb.hl.com]

Um...yeah. Right.

"Industry flack". Of course. Never mind that the main extent of my involvement with the movie industry is buying some DVDs and writing a few shitty scripts for fun. No, no, little Don Twitote, you just carry on talking shite.

Re:shut your mouth

[Anonymous Coward]

Then, let me amend my original post.

Take your paycheck and shut up. Quit your bitchin. Even less than having some damned student with no conception of the worth of creativity preaching at me, I really want to hear some freaking staff at a university preaching at me. Teach your class, THAT is your area of expertise. You have no expertise in this matter unless you teach copyright law, in which case you should teach your students that its still a law and that copyright infringement=jail time. If you don't teach copyright law, shut your pie hole and don't preach the benefits of illegal activity.

Ant Bait

[oliphaunt]

One type of ant poison works by slow poison- the workers eat some, carry it back to the nest, and share it with other ants. Eventually, all the ants in the colony have some, including the queen.

Then they all die.

If only we could find something like that which worked on MBAs.

For Dinner...

[rthille]

Serve him Blinky!

Opportunity for a civil rights lesson

[np_bernstein]

If you, as you say you are, disgusted with the actions of the MPAA, then why not take this opportunity to exemplify freedom of speech and the right to free assembly with a respectful organized protest. Engage the social studies teachers and ask them to put the idea out in their classes. Many of the students are probably upset by the MPAA's actions as well, and it seems like a good opportunity to foster activism, one of the core values of a healthy democratic citizenship. You could even write up pamphlets which look like the early American pamphleteers, and maybe involve some of the art classes, to help you age and weather the paper.

I would discuss this with the school administration, however as it at least polite to inform them that you are going to be doing something of this nature. Characterizing it as the above: a way to connect with the students about an issue they care about and foster activism may make it more acceptable to the administration as it demonstrates a clear educational agenda.

Best of luck, and let your conscience guide you!

Do a gates...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hit him in the face with a cream pie.

Resign

[jeko]

Seriously, find a better class of people to work with. If the head of the community college where you teach thinks this schmuck is a fine example of what they want their students to become, then you need to find a better place to work.

Bottled water?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask him whether he has observed the growth of the bottled water industry and what he thinks that industry should be doing about the worldwide cultural epidemic of people drinking from countless state-supported free sources of water.

Ask him whether he thinks the bottled water companies should lobby against taxpayer-supported municipal tap water delivery systems as being one of the most anti-business organizations ever devised, one that cuts directly into their core value-add and into the bottom line.

Ask him whether he thinks plumbing needs to be re-designed to automatically add impurities if it detects water that is "too pure" to prevent the blatant piping and sharing of water, along with legislation passed making it a crime to use unapproved plumbing in residences.

Organize a pants-shitting.

[Anonymous Coward]

Get all of the attendees to not defecate for about two days before his address. Once he starts speaking, have everyone sit silently for about 5 or 6 minutes. At that point, set off a discrete signal that all the audience can see. At that very moment, everyone simultaneously releases the feces they've been holding for the past two days. After everyone has done their business, continue to sit there, silently. He will likely smell the smell that tends to be released when 350 people simultaneously crap their pants.

You think he'd be able to complain, but he really can't. Do you really want to say that that a speech of yours made over 300 people shit themselves, and it wasn't even because they were laughing? No.

Re:Organize a pants-shitting.

[ilikejam]

Reminds me of this classic.

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere

[cybermage]

Print up a flier explaining, in great detail, the MPAA's "accomplishments" in DRM enforcement, copyright extension, etc. under your distinguished guest's management. Paint as rosy a picture as possible, to the point of exageration if necessary. Get the more educated students so fed up at the line they're being fed that they take it upon themselves to protest.

Your job, I assume, is to educate the students, so educate them fully as to what the MPAA means to their rights. I'm sure you can find some great material here.

Re:Why do they make pirated products more attracti

[Anonymous Coward]

Games are often even worse in this regard.

F with his mind.

[Lord Kano]

Ask him if he's ever had a man make angry love to him.

If he says yes, laugh at him
If he says no, ask him if he wants to because there are millions of technology enthusiasts in the world that want to fuck him up!

BTW, I'm not making light of rape. I'm suggesting that people like him should get back a share of the misery that they introduce into the world.

LK

Burning What...

[Genda]

In a related article... Dell today proclaimed that there is nothing technically wrong with their batteries, and they cannot be held liable for the batteries' incendiary demises

They've determined that God has changed venues, and in no longer speaking from bushes, but is now trying to talk through Dell's batteries... and per their standard license, is not respnosible for acts of God

Opportunity

[AlHunt]

>How would you best make use of this opportunity if you found yourself in my shoes?"

A banana cream pie comes to mind. Whoopee cushions. Tape his address, post it online and claim a copyright. Give him a few copies of your favorite movies for the flight home.

Give him the greeting deserved by tyrants

[Confessed Geek]

Pie in the face.

Its classic. Its humiliating. It makes them a laughing stock.

Its what undergrads are for!

Re:Give him the greeting deserved by tyrants

[ErikZ]

Actually, it's just stupid.

you're a bore

[Anonymous Coward]

just another little whining bitch trying to get some attention.
 
you're probably a linux user too. which means that you're probably a dick smoker.

Ask him: why Hollywood and not New Jersey?

[dpbsmith]

The motion picture industry began in New York and New Jersey, with much of the outdoor shooting being done in New Jersey. The cameras and projectors depended on a key patent on the "Latham Loop," the familiar loop of film that acts as a buffer between the slow-turning, high-inertia reels and the intermittent claw action that pulls the film through the film gate. WIthout it, it would be impossible to shoot or project more than about twenty-five feet of film at a time.

The patents were owned by a trust which charged a lot of money to use it. Properly licensed cameras were accordingly very expensive to rent.

Movie producers used pirated, improperly licensed cameras, and moved West to make it hard for process servers to reach them.

The movie industry as we know it was founded on violation of intellectual property.

Kiss-and-punch

[Anonymous Coward]

First of all, keep it short. Attention will fade away and you'll be considered annoying.

Secondly, use a partial-positive approach, at least in part of your speach. Be positive on some of his intentions ("although it is honourable that you try to prevent copyright infringement, and I wish you all the success in the world..."), and then swing to the partial-negative side in an only partially negative way, maybe even sarcastic or such. It generally gets appreciated better by those that you'll want to impress most, i.e. those that don't know yet and are not pre-disposed to either side of the debate.

Then again, just telling him to not steal your car as per above is also worth a try, and would be quite funny, especially for those in the audience that know what he's actually doing.

mod this up!

[Anonymous Coward]

insightful and funny!

Re:mod this up!

[Anonymous Coward]

It would only have been even slightly funny if he had called it a "shit-in". As it stands, a pretty pathetic post.

I'm Sorry

[jon287]

Thier actions have left only one possible corse of action.

Egg the bastard like a 12 year old.

Mix Tapes.

[arthurpaliden]

I would ask him if he has ever made a mix tape and if he ever shared it with anyone.

I would as him if he ever photocopied sections of a library refrence book while researching a paper and then did he share them with any one.

Hold a panel...

[TemporalBeing]

Hold a panel on Copyright issues, invite him and a colleague to represent the MPAA; also invite a lawyer that specializes in IP, specifically Copyright; the prof who teaches the school's Business & Law class (if you have one; the EFF; some reps from the faculty and student body; and then hold a public panel where the MPAA can present their case, and you can present yours, and then open up to questions from anyone in attendance.

Also, arrange with the school TV network to broadcast the panel across campus, and arrange with the school telephone registry to have a line so anyone on campus can call in questions too.

Put out invites to local schools as well, so that you can get the broadest coverage, and get the issue out in the public as much as possible. For that matter, invite some members of the press - both the school newspapers (for your and any other school that participates) and the local TV stations and newspapers.

See if you can arrange with the schools IT department to have it webcast. And if you can't do that (due to lack of resources) try to record it to host it later on GoogleVideo/YouTube/etc if you can't host the video off the school's website. (Who knows, perhaps EFF would be willing to host it.)

Just some thoughts.

Lots of lots of feathers

[chifut]

I suggest that you ask some of the students to bring lots of feathers. I'm sure you're getting the idea :)

Re:Lots of lots of feathers

[ChrisMounce]

Pillow fight?

Trust your students

[Garwulf]

I've read through a lot of the ideas on here, and I figure it might be worthwhile to throw some of my own words into the mix.

There are a lot of anarchists on here - they don't like to be called that, but that's what they are. There are a lot of people who wouldn't know copyright law if it hit them in the face, but insist on speaking out as though they're authorities on it. There are people here who are quiet and informed, and quiet and uninformed. There are informed brawlers, soft-spoken lawyers, writers, programmers, and pirates. And, there are a lot of people who would push their own agenda on anything that comes their way, even to the detriment of you and your class.

Trust none of them.

Your students are about to meet somebody who is at the heart of one of the major social issues of our time. Get them reading up on it, make sure they're reading both sides of the issue, and then leave it in their hands. Don't put your trust in Slashdot, or some online forum - if you do that, you're putting it into the hands of a bunch of people who you've probably never met, and who may not even be who they say they are. Put your trust in your students - give them what they need to be informed, and then trust them to understand it (and if they disagree with your conclusions, keep in mind that YOU could be the one who misunderstood something). The most important part of education in the end, the part that ultimately can save you from something terrible, is learning to think critically for yourself and make up your own mind. Let them do that.

Re:Trust your students

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, you could show them this great and freely distributed documentary (which features CEO and President Dan Glickman of the MPAA amongst others) which tries to give a nuanced overview, in advance.
http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/

Re:Trust your students

[Hitto]

Hey, don't trust the parent post, either!
In fact, don't trust me, either.
Don't trust yourself! The corporate plants are EVERYWHERE! AAARRRRGH!

Re:Trust your students

[JAlexoi]

I've read through a lot of the ideas on here, and I figure it might be worthwhile to throw some of my own words into the mix.

There are a lot of anarchists on here - they don't like to be called that, but that's what they are. There are a lot of people who wouldn't know copyright law if it hit them in the face, but insist on speaking out as though they're authorities on it. There are people here who are quiet and informed, and quiet and uninformed. There are informed brawlers, soft-spoken lawyers, writers, programmers, and pirates. And, there are a lot of people who would push their own agenda on anything that comes their way, even to the detriment of you and your class.

Trust none of them.

Your students are about to meet somebody who is at the heart of one of the major social issues of our time. Get them reading up on it, make sure they're reading both sides of the issue, and then leave it in their hands. Don't put your trust in Slashdot, or some online forum - if you do that, you're putting it into the hands of a bunch of people who you've probably never met, and who may not even be who they say they are. Put your trust in your students - give them what they need to be informed, and then trust them to understand it (and if they disagree with your conclusions, keep in mind that YOU could be the one who misunderstood something). The most important part of education in the end, the part that ultimately can save you from something terrible, is learning to think critically for yourself and make up your own mind. Let them do that.
I should add that he has to inform the students about his own views and basis for them.

Re:Trust your students

[slacknhash]

When I had a look at a load of responses to this post, a hundred and one hare-brained schemes sprang to mind: awkward questions, daft stunts, etc. Eventually I decided I'd suggest just giving him the silent treatment. Make his reception as frosty as good manners would allow... then I read this post and yes, I think Garwulf's got it. Any action on this front is best left to the students. They may come up with something great, or it may be utter crap. Either way, they'll be better at organising themselves. Any attempt to stage-manage it yourself will probably leave all those involved (yourself and them) feeling a bit disappointed on the day. It'd lack a certain spark. No, get them interested, point them at the facts and let them handle the rest.

Re:Trust your students

[LuYu]

While I agree with your comment in general, I do not agree with your characterisation of people who oppose copyright as "anarchists". I think it is a bad term for a number of reasons.

• People who are opposed to one law are not necessarily opposed to all law or the concept of law in general.
• Copyright is a monopoly and is at odds with the principles of laissez-faire capitalism and is a remnant of the monarchical laws of England, laws that the Constitution was meant to protect the citizens of the US from.
• Information is not land and should not be territorialised as such.
• Copyright violates your First Amendment right to Free Speech, especially if you view information as speech (who is to say what I can and cannot sing in public or anywhere?).
• Copyright may have originally been conceived as a form of censorship.

For these reasons and many others, people who oppose copyright cannot be considered "anarchists". In fact, calling such people anarchists would be similar to claiming that Thomas Jefferson was an anarchist, especially since, according to his writings, he would have been right along side the people calling for the abolishment of copyright.

Other than that, I have one other point of contention: He is a university professor and an adult. I am certain that he will not take his questions verbatim from Slashdot. Even if he did, there are enough trolls and *AA sympathisers to balance the viewpoint somewhat. From the comments I have read, it appears that there are quite a few people who think Mr. Taylor will be reasonable -- an astonishing thought considering his employer and position.

Re:Trust your students

[Garwulf]

"While I agree with your comment in general, I do not agree with your characterisation of people who oppose copyright as "anarchists"."

Funny - I didn't actually specify who the anarchists are. You're putting words in my mouth. But let us take a look at your points, shall we? I may not be a lawyer, but I am a pro writer, and that does mean I have to have a working knowledge of the law and why it is there.

"People who are opposed to one law are not necessarily opposed to all law or the concept of law in general."

Very true. And I would not call anybody opposed to one law on logical grounds to be an anarchist. I would call somebody who is opposed to that law so that they can take advantage by making an exception for just themselves, however, to be anarchistic. For example, Lawrence Lessig (whose logic I find tends to be a bit on the faulty side, but he does mean well) I would not consider to be an anarchist - he has taken a legal position based on his understanding of the law, history, precedent, and striking a balance between the rights of the consumer and the creative artist. An 18 year old IP pirate who has taken up the cause because he doesn't like paying for music or movies, but god help you if you trample on something he feels entitled to, is anarchistic. He talks a good talk, but deep down inside he only cares about himself - his idea of a balance between the creator and the consumer is whatever gives him the free music, and he doesn't care who it hurts.

"Copyright is a monopoly and is at odds with the principles of laissez-faire capitalism and is a remnant of the monarchical laws of England, laws that the Constitution was meant to protect the citizens of the US from."

Well, seeing as I'm in Cananda, I care a lot more about the Berne Convention than any American laws, but they do affect me, as I do write in the American market whenever I can. Your understanding of copyright is faulty, however. Copyright operates in some ways like a monopoly - the law grants you limited rights to control distribution of your work - but it does not permit you to control anything outside your work, and there the comparison fails. I am currently working on a novel about Vikings. If it was a monopoly, then once the copyright is recognized, I would be able to block anybody from ever using Vikings again in their work. But, I can't. I can prevent somebody from stealing my exact characters, and from distributing my work without my consent. But even there, there are limits, such as fair use. I really suggest that you read the Berne Convention to get a better idea of what copyright is.

"Information is not land and should not be territorialised as such."

True. But a created work is not information. It is a product, and the result of the work of a creator. Before the creator does his or her thing, the created work does not exist. Information, on the other hand, is gathered. It exists prior to somebody writing it down.

"Copyright violates your First Amendment right to Free Speech, especially if you view information as speech (who is to say what I can and cannot sing in public or anywhere?)."

Um, no. Free speech guarantees that the government will not prevent you from speaking your mind. Copyright's main protection is for creative artists when dealing with their distributors (this may come as a shock, but the consumer isn't all that important for most of copyright law). That being said, it has been abused in the past, and certainly there are instances where the RIAA is abusing it now. I have yet to see an interpretation of copyright law that includes humming a tune to be anything other than fair use held up in a court of law. But the abuse of a law is not the letter or spirit of that law, and the difference should be recognized.

"Copyright may have originally been conceived as a form of censorship."

Very true. But things have changed in the roughly 500 years since then. We are living in 2007, not 1507. A lot of things in our society have diffe

Re:Trust your students

[LuYu]

Well, it appears we disagree more than I anticipated. You have a rather liberal attitude toward the definitions of words. However, I can never slight someone for an abundance of creativity. Let me see if I can shed some light on your points here:

I may not be a lawyer, but I am a pro writer, and that does mean I have to have a working knowledge of the law and why it is there.

It is funny how people who work with publishers of this and that frequently think they are knowledgeable about copyright after listening to their publishers tell them about the issue. I often find, as well, that this understanding is tainted by its source. Then again, the publishers created copyright to protect their position, so they have a vested interest in getting you to believe what you believe.

Very true. And I would not call anybody opposed to one law on logical grounds to be an anarchist. I would call somebody who is opposed to that law so that they can take advantage by making an exception for just themselves, however, to be anarchistic. . . An 18 year old IP pirate who has taken up the cause because he doesn't like paying for music or movies, but god help you if you trample on something he feels entitled to, is anarchistic. He talks a good talk, but deep down inside he only cares about himself - his idea of a balance between the creator and the consumer is whatever gives him the free music, and he doesn't care who it hurts.

This is one of those liberal definitions I was talking about. Let us see what Mr. Webster has to say:

Anarchist An"arch*ist, n. [Cf. F. anarchiste.]
An anarch; one who advocates anarchy of aims at the overthrow of civil government.
[1913 Webster]

Anarchy An"arch*y, n. [Gr. ?: cf. F. anarchie. See Anarch.]
1. Absence of government; the state of society where there is no law or supreme power; a state of lawlessness; political confusion.
[1913 Webster]

So, an anarchist by the dictionary and nearly everyone I have ever had the pleasure to speak with -- except for you -- is a person who opposes government and laws as a general principal and advocates the abolition of both. I doubt very much that this can be limited to greedy, self-indulgent teenagers who enjoy trolling on Slashdot or whatever fora that catch their fancy. I think referring to this very constrained category as "greedy teenagers" or something similarly accurate would have been a very much better choice.

While I am now quite certain I do not fit your definition of an anarchist, the fact still does stand that you used the term rather wantonly -- rather like an irresponsible news reporter is apt to do.

Well, seeing as I'm in Cananda, I care a lot more about the Berne Convention than any American laws, but they do affect me, as I do write in the American market whenever I can.

Well, considering that the Berne Convention is one of the worst things ever to happen to the intellectual landscape of the world, it is nice to hear that someone is proud to be oppressed by such an evil set of laws. In short, the Berne Convention is evil because:

• It eliminates formalities: This is bad because it means that anybody can claim to have a copyright on anything, and it takes going to court and hiring a lawyer to prove one's innocence or assert one's rights from a false claimant. It basically turns the law on its head by making everyone guilty until proven innocent. I think the RIAA and IFPI have provided ample demonstrations of this principle in action.
• It eliminates documentation: Stemming from the above point, because anybody can claim a copyright and there is no registration, there is no way to find out who has copyrighted what. This means that authors wanting to create new works based on or referencing older ones cannot

Ask him...

[Shaltenn]

Ask him what the difference is between the Warner CEO's son and your average joe that allows the CEO's son to get away with a stern talking to when everyone else gets the shaft.

That's the sort of thing I want to know about.

Don't surprise and embarass him

[ribman]

Seriously.

Negotiate what you can discuss with him before-hand.

You will feel the breath of hell if you try some "stunt", naively thinking you will have some courageous experience and look like the minority hero like some Robin Williams movie.

If he doesn't agree to a fair debate before hand, you will die the death of a thousand sackings by surprising him on the day. Mainly because you will probably find he is not as unintelligent or uninformed as you may wish to imagine, and will probably be very well armed intellectually so as to fry you in a stand-up debate, then all hell will break loose when the administrators realise you ambushed him to further a minority lobby groups' fringe-legal aims.

A time to hone your humility.

Tipping him off

[vux984]

I probably wouldn't have tipped him off by posting that you were looking for a tactful way to obliterate him from the face of the earth by posting on a rapidly anti-MPAA forum like slashdot. ;)

Oh, you weren't looking to obliterate him? Um... why did you come to us again?

Easy.

[NerveGas]

    Tell him how much you appreciate all of his efforts, and that you're behind him all the way. Tell him that you support him entirely, and think that all of his detractors can get lost.

    At the end, say, "And so again, in closing, thank you SO MUCH for your web site, The Pirate Bay." :-)

Re:Why do they make pirated products more attracti

[Zephyr14z]

This is exactly the reason I'm running a "pirated" copy of XP right now. I also have a license for it($18 for students at my university). Using the "legal" version was just such a hassle(wouldn't activate, and MS phone support was no help) I gave up and downloaded a cracked version. It really is only paying customers who suffer because of copy protection schemes, and I won't be paying for another Microsoft product ever, not even at $18.

'Let the students decide and discuss' - I agree

[Bananatree3]

The students should be informed on both sides of the fence. You can bet for sure that Rich Taylor is going to push the MPAA case. So be it. Give the students a discussion that presents the opposite side as well. I agree with the poster above that this is an AWSOME situation for your students to discuss a deeply controversial issue of the Internet Age so intimately as this opportunity will provide. And chances are, most of the students understand at least a basic understanding of the issue. I mean, this is college in the internet age, most of them have probably heard or tried P2P software. I would recommend providing a forum for them to discuss and learn from each other as well.

Re:'Let the students decide and discuss' - I agree

[CopaceticOpus]

I agree as well. Unfortunately, that's 3 of us slashdotters now, and according to the grandparent post, you really should trust none of us!

September 19?

[ozbird]

Please, please, please make him visit on September 19...

Welcome!

[richie2000]

How would you best make use of this opportunity if you found yourself in my shoes? Well, if you're a pacifist, cake him. If not, a high-powered rifle, a nice scope and a good vantage point sounds about right.

movie trailer

[rev_karol]

I suggest you open with a movie trailer. Like for the Bourne Ultimatum. The trailer I have is about 2 hours long, if you would like a copy. :P

Dedicated Teacher

[sciop101]

REMIND administration, faculty, student body, etc., this is EDUCATION, not political indoctrination or personal agenda.

ENFORCE your dedication as a teacher.

ARE YOU A PRO / SEMI-PRO MUSICIAN?

DEFLECT / DENY / LAUGH OFF accusations, assertions, and comments you became a teacher to have weekends free to play in a band.

I would sue him for using the English language

[gelfling]

Which he has clearly expropriated without the corresponding copywrite.

Whack him in the throat!

[OriginalPrime]

Or, seriously... I think that working with the school to allow a series of discussions or workshops with the students prior to Mr. Taylor's arrival would be an eloquent solution. Let them do their own research, let them come to their own conclusions. I'd also think it important to remember that no matter how much you may dislike the practices and policies of the MPAA, Mr. Taylor may very well report to his own set of Masters. Also, there's a fair chance that his accepting some honorary award from your school is a communal gesture, not intended to stir up politics or his company's business practice. I do hope that y'all have the opportunity to inform current students (and faculty), and that Mr. Taylor is responsive to his community's constructive criticism. Good luck!

One more: #0 on list

[192939495969798999]

#0. If to "make available" is infringement, then isn't the original selling to me of a DVD infringement too? That's "making available" a copy that people can pirate, right? If you don't want people to make copies of digital media, why are you selling me a physical copy of the digital media with which I can make copies? Can't you just charge more for movie tickets, stop selling DVD's, and only sell tickets for download to DVR, etc? If you sell me a DVD, what do I own precisely? If you still own the content on the DVD, why are you selling me a copy of it? Aren't you in a sense "pirating" it by selling it to me?

Pie...

[nicklikesfire]

Pie to the face. Fun yet classic. Or make it a brick if you feel really daring. Anyways, I don't have to know copyright law to know the MPAA and RIAA cases are bullshit. I know that SHARING music, movies, and pretty much anything else, is not wrong. I don't care if it's legal or not.

why not just be straight forward?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask him if he can you a straight simple answer to this question:

Have you run the numbers? Does it make sense to spend millions, maybe BILLIONS on attempting to 'protect' your content as well as the countless lawyer fees and ill will towards your industry, when people have shown not only a willingness, but a desire to pay for unprotected versions of your content?

Thank You.

Have someone videotape it...

[the saltydog]

...with a handheld camcorder, and right in the middle, send in campus police, and have him/her "arrested".

Discuss.

That should make for some interesting commentary... :-)

Alum?

[nmrtian]

He's a double sulphate? Or does your school find itself unable to deal with a bit of Latin?

Invite RMS

[Culture20]

Invite RMS, then sell tickets to a well-arranged meeting of the minds. Make it profitable for yourself.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

[Marty_Krapturd]

Watch it. Watch it numerous times.
The MPAA is responsible for much much more than the manipulation of copyright law.
Watch it. You might not get away with showing it in the classroom, but there is nothing stopping you from suggesting that your students watch it.
I checked it out from a public library and watched it. I watched the special features. I watched and I learned.
The premise is that someone wanted to make a documentary about the MPAA, but the MPAA would have nothing to do with it, so he hired some private investigators to snoop into the inner workings of the MPAA. And what they found out was disturbing and upsetting. The ratings system is meaningless and this organization is more than willing to violate the rules that it enforces upon others.
After seeing this amazing documentary some questions I would have for this man:

1. If your ratings review board is supposed to be made up of parents with at least 4 children of an age of 18 or under, why are there members who have no children, or have no children under the age of 30?
2. Just what is wrong with the concept that a woman might actually enjoy sex?
3. Why are abstracted (and often detailed) depictions of heterosexual whites participating in sexual acts OK for a PG-13 or R rating, but depictions of homosexuality, female self pleasure and minority sexual acts (often abstracted or greatly obscured) deemed to be NC-17?
4. Why does an unsafe sex act between a white man and a white woman merit a PG-13 rating, but a safe sex act between a black man and a white woman merit a NC-17 rating?
5. Why is violence (a destructive act) OK for children to watch and have awareness of, but "strong" language and positive sexual roles are not?
6. Why is it OK to show children acts of violence? I mean, why does violence get a pass on a G rating? Fer crying out loud man!!!!! The whole purpose of the MPAA in the beginning was from the "think of the children" standpoint. Sheesh!
7. If you represent the interests of the artists, then why are you an agent of the large studios and distributors?
8. If you represent the interests of the artists, then why don't you trust the artists to convey the message that they are trying to get across?
9. Why aren't your internal processes open and transparent? (Then a huge series of follow up questions that drive him into a corner.)
10. Who in your organization is above the law? If no one, then why do you make copies of films without the express permission of the artists at the time of rating screenings? Do you intend upon ever paying the fines that are incurred by this activity? Who will pay those fines? Who will sit in jail for those offenses?

I'm sure you get the idea. Do research, do more research, instruct your students in how to formulate multi-tiered questions intended to drive the standard answers away and to bring out the truth (or at least the bumbling), videotape it all and post it on the internet. Engage in debate about free speech and the meaning of ownership of a commodity that can be propagated to infinity with no reoccurring production costs. Talk, ask questions, research, learn, vote, write letters, help your students become the future of the nation.
And don't forget to make him fall for the banana in the tailpipe.

11.

[mrraven]

11. Bring up how VHS tapes and cassette tapes did NOT destroy the movie and music industries.

Archives

[fadethepolice]

You should bring up present availability of recordings from the early twentieth century as compared to classical music, and how our culture will be lost to history because private companies go out of business and their private collections tend to just disappear.

Do like Sadam did back in the day.

[delvsional]

Format your Hard drive and reinstall. Then leave a game of solitare open.

Have Schools Orchestra play the Imperial March

[Qbertino]

Have Schools Orchestra play the Imperial March when he pulls into the driveway.

Peta

[Anonymous Coward]

A peta shirt and a bucket of red paint will make national news and bring a smile to every geeks face.

Head shot!!!

[Ang31us]

Sniper rifle is definitely the way to go.

Find a nice high spot with lots of dark shadows so no one can see you. Make sure you set your scope according to the distance, wind direction, and firing angle.

Once you set up a good shot, don't miss!!! These MPAA-types run around like cockroaches when disturbed and you may never get another opportunity like this for regime change.

Wow - lots of assumptions there.

[Garwulf]

You know, you are very good at trying to put words in my mouth. The problem is that you have made a number of assumptions about me and my knowledge, and pretty much none of them are right.

"It is funny how people who work with publishers of this and that frequently think they are knowledgeable about copyright after listening to their publishers tell them about the issue."

Now there's a load of bullshit. The reason that any successful writer needs an understanding of copyright law is to PROTECT him/herself from the publishers. My training came from actually reading the laws themselves, interpretations of the laws from commentators, and interpretations from my agents. As a result, I can recognize a bad contract when I see one.

Funny how anti-copyright people tend to accuse those who disagree with them as being in league with distributors and guilty of groupthink or being easily led. Mind you, I've also been called a thief and a murderer because I believe in fighting for my rights under the law, so groupthink is the least of those things I can be accused of.

"You know, you should really write your own dictionary."

And you should go into public relations - I applaud your ability when it comes to spinning the truth. Unfortunately for your argument, "Mister Webster" doesn't actually actually make any mention of things that are CREATED. It does not cover a short story, or a musical tune, or a novel. It covers statistics and research. As I myself said, information is not a created work. Tell me, have you ever thought of joining a smoking lobby? They could use a talent like yours.

And while we're at it, lets talk about that lovely definition of anarchy that you provided. You have talked about it as a political theory, essentially, but the actual meaning of the word comes from Greek - literally "without rule." While an Anarchist (capital "A") certainly believes in wiping out all laws, there is plenty of room in the definition for an anarchist - somebody who wants to be without rule in a smaller way. So, my definition and use of the word actually does hold, and considering that one of the definitions that you yourself quoted was "a state of lawlessness," I would suggest that you read a bit more closely and try to understand how the language works, rather than holding up a dictionary definition and talking down to somebody who has spent the last seventeen years mastering the language.

"As an aside: Is it possible for Canadians to have a discussion without pointing out the fact that they are Canadian?"

Well, maybe if most of Slashdot would stop assuming that the world ends at the American border and that we are Americans, we wouldn't have to specify that. I do live in a different country, and I am proud of that country. And quite frankly, the intentions of your founding fathers are utterly meaningless when it comes to OUR laws.

And, quite frankly, your interpretation of the law is bad enough that I pray to god you never end up in court trying to represent yourself. Your words on the Berne Convention (minus melodramatic bolding):

"It eliminates formalities: This is bad because it means that anybody can claim to have a copyright on anything, and it takes going to court and hiring a lawyer to prove one's innocence or assert one's rights from a false claimant. It basically turns the law on its head by making everyone guilty until proven innocent. I think the RIAA and IFPI have provided ample demonstrations of this principle in action."

Actually, it still is an "innocent until proven guilty" system. If you have to take somebody to court for infringement, you have to prove that they did it, and that the copyright is yours. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. An accusation of infringement is not proof of infringement, as the recent court decisions in regards to the RIAA have shown. You were paying attention to those, weren't you?

"It eliminates documentation: Stemming from the above point, because anybody can claim a copyright and t

Re:Wow - lots of assumptions there.

[LuYu]

I will first respond to your last statement and then address the rest of your post in its original order.

And, by the way, don't bother replying. I've expended all the time I can afford in this discussion.

You are a very interesting person. Like most people from North America, or perhaps the English speaking world, you consider it acceptable to repeatedly call someone's arguments "bullshit" and then claim you are finished with the argument and that the discussion is a waste of time. If it was a waste of time, why did you bother to respond in the first place? Is this the way you always back out of arguments that you are losing?

Given that you are forcing me to defend my point of view by attacking it, I feel compelled to do just that. I also cannot let your arguments, however irrational, pass into the future unanswered. Your opinions are too threatening to the very concept of Free Speech to be allowed to stand unchallenged.

Do you honestly think that this argument is not costly for me as well? Do you think you are the only person that has better things to do with his free time? If it was not for this whole copyright thing, I would be able to devote more time to creating and learning. It may surprise you to learn that copyright suppresses a lot of art as well as encouraging it.

Finally, I have to make it clear that these arguments are not merely intended for you. They are primarily intended to add my voice to the growing public outcry against unjust and immoral information land grab perpetrated by monetarily lascivious businessmen and facilitated by the nefarious manipulation of legal systems and treaties worldwide and a few generations of indoctrinated sheep like yourself.

You know, you are very good at trying to put words in my mouth. The problem is that you have made a number of assumptions about me and my knowledge, and pretty much none of them are right.

Touché. I have made some assumptions, and for instances where I was wrong, I apologise.

"It is funny how people who work with publishers of this and that frequently think they are knowledgeable about copyright after listening to their publishers tell them about the issue."

Now there's a load of bullshit. The reason that any successful writer needs an understanding of copyright law is to PROTECT him/herself from the publishers. My training came from actually reading the laws themselves, interpretations of the laws from commentators, and interpretations from my agents. As a result, I can recognize a bad contract when I see one.

In that case, you should read more about the tradition and the intent of copyright. The letter of the law often does not correctly respect its spirit. Recognising bad contracts for yourself as an individual is one thing, but the law is very much like a contract for everyone. While the contract embodied in the Statute of Anne was one that might be acceptable to societies in general, the current state of copyright law worldwide should be considered unacceptable by everyone. In my previous post, I listed a few of the reasons why the Berne Convention, specifically, has harmed our common intellectual landscape greatly.

Funny how anti-copyright people tend to accuse those who disagree with them as being in league with distributors and guilty of groupthink or being easily led. Mind you, I've also been called a thief and a murderer because I believe in fighting for my rights under the law, so groupthink is the least of those things I can be accused of.

I have no difficulty believing you have been accused of many things, but you are a victim of groupthink. Whether or not you learned about copyright on your own, your reasoning

MPAA veep, huh?

[Loosifur]

You are tenured, right?