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RIAA MediaSentry, Dead In US, Is Alive In Australia

Posted by kdawson on from the down-under-up-for dept.

newtley writes "Disgraced and discredited 'private investigator' MediaSentry, fired by former patrons Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music, and Sony Music and their RIAA, may be dead and buried in America, but it's alive and well, resurfacing in Australia where it's once again plying its trade, probably under new management. 'I currently (but not for long) reside at a student dormitory... in Brisbane, Australia,' says a p2pnet reader, continuing: 'Yesterday I got called into the Managers office because the network manager had been contacted by MediaSentry and emailed one of the generic copyright infringement emails as a result of me downloading Angels and Demons. Now instead of studying for my exams and working on my final assignments I must take time to find a place to live before the 29th of May (2009).'"

8 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. Angels and Demons by Andr+T. · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damn, you could at least lose your dormitory for a movie worth watching.

    --

    Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

    1. Re:Angels and Demons by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Damn, you could at least lose your dormitory for a movie worth watching.

      Even worse result:

      <RIAA> See? Illegal file sharing is why Angels and Demons did poorly at the box office and got an average rating of 38%! It isn't the economy or quality, folks, our formula has never failed therefore it must be the file sharers! </RIAA>

      --
      My work here is dung.
    2. Re:Angels and Demons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah the illegallity of sharing movies is a gros affront to human dignity. Downloading free movies is exactly like what Rosa Parks did. Shithead.

      Maybe if Rosa Parks could download the movie she wanted to watch, she wouldn't get the bus to go to the movies in the first place.

    3. Re:Angels and Demons by BobMcD · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is true. Likewise, just because laws can be broken doesn't mean that every crime is a protest.

      What Ms Parks did was absolutely, positively, NOT in the same league as what this student did.

      To claim so diminishes both Civil Rights and the arguments against Intellectual Property.

      There are things in the IP realm to protest, but the 'right' to download Angels and Demons is NOT among them.

    4. Re:Angels and Demons by CoolCalmChris · · Score: 5, Informative

      My wife loses hers soon because the Movie Industry is laying off heavily.

      Sorry to hear that, but if you think she's getting laid off because people are downloading what they can't afford to buy (ten dollars for a non-matinee ticket?) then you've had a little too much Kool Aid.

      If the actors and executives voluntarily took a pay cut and redistributed the wealth a little bit so people could keep their jobs and possibly float the studios through this recession, I wouldn't see the film industry as being ridiculously top-heavy and greedy. I might even give some credence to the MPAA screaming "We're getting robbed blind!" every time they get near a reporter.

      For the record, I'm not trying to be an apologist for people who choose to download copyrighted material, but at the same time I don't make any excuses for the business model the entertainment industry is fighting tooth and nail to preserve either.

      Something to think about.

  2. Re:Not that sympathetic by Andr+T. · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It seems he got a damn fast judgement. And a damn fast judgement done by a private company.

    Does anyone remember 'Judge Dredd'? 'I am the law!!!'

    --

    Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

  3. Stupid replies ignoring the point. by apathy+maybe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As expected, there are a large number of replies by people who didn't even bother to read the summary. (Or, have poor reading comprehension, or even both, I guess.)

    The submitter is not the same as the student.

    Anyway, the point is, MediaSentry is still "alive", and still sending out automated messages.

    Now it seems that the student admitted to downloading the file ("as a result of me downloading Angels and Demons"), which sort of screws over any real complaint they may have had.

    Personally, I think it's disgusting that the manager paid any attention to the "generic copyright infringement email" at all. Seriously, if I were in that situation, I would delete the email and forget about it.

    I wonder, who is MediaSentry acting for in this situation? Does that company know that MediaSentry is doing this? Do MediaSentry have the right to sue on behalf of that company?

    And, is MediaSentry keeping track of these emails and watching for responses?

    --
    I wank in the shower.
  4. Re:Boo hoo.... by langelgjm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    you DID read the acceptable use policy before you signed it right?

    He must have missed the part in the AUP where it said dorm management would evict you for violating network policies based on the accusation of a private third party.

    Seriously, WTF /. Half the comments are along the lines of "you deserve this." Sure, he was downloading infringing material and violating the AUP - cut off his internet access. But throwing someone out of a dorm?

    Hint: what's to stop a creative student who is pissed at someone from spoofing an e-mail from MediaSentry to the management, and having someone else thrown out?

    The real ire should be directed at the management for throwing someone out of housing for violating network policies. What next - run an open access point, and you get expelled? Download a song, and your landlord throws you out of your apartment?

    --
    "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson