Slashdot Mirror
Brazilian Court Bans P2P Software
Earlier this year, at the behest of an anti-piracy group consisting of the usual suspects from the recording industry, a Brazilian court ruled that a company named Cadare Information Technology must implement a filter on the P2P software they distributed on their website to weed out copyrighted content. Cadare was unable comply with the order because they didn't develop the software; they merely offered it for download. The case went back to court, and a Brazilian judge has now decided to ban distribution of the software because it can be used to assist copyright infringement. "He went on to suggest that any website offering the software alongside advertising (i.e, trying to profit from offering it) would be committing a crime, punishable by between two and four years in jail."
to start killing the lawyers yet?
lol
Does this mean it's still legal to download other P2P software?
What's the point of this ruling?
Firefox gets used for piracy a lot too. Why not ban it?
I'm not really clear why the courts have been treating peer to peer software as different from client-server software. My best guess is that in a client-server model, they see the server as being responsible for the illegal content, but in the peer-to-peer model, they blame the software for the illegal content. Really, this doesn't make a bit of sense, especially in light of the fact that there is no technical distinction in any TCP/IP protocols which differentials which computers are "servers" from which are "clients" or "peers". It's just a model of network interaction which exists in the minds of the software developers and users.
I'm curious if this will change if and when judges understand the underlying technology better.
Ruining someone's life for 2-4 years because the Brazilian court system is dabbling in pre-crime... Kind of makes you wonder why society considers the copyright system an equitable trade...
Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
Torrentfreak.com. Real news for real people.
Guess he'll have to ban the Internet...
"...because it can be used to assist copyright infringement..."
Good to see they are keeping it real down there in Brazil.
Society use your Sciences
My God! kitchen knives can be used to assist murder...let's ban them!
It's only fair.
Let's ban all computers while we're at it too "because it can be used to assist copyright infringement". And without a computer I won't be able to run the software. Oh and we need to collect money everytime a person sings a song in their head. Because the record label is not being paid for the content since you heard it on the radio and just kept replaying it in your head. We'll put chips in your heads to monitor what songs you've played in your head every month and send you a bill on itunes.
Stone has been banned in Brazil because someone once wrote some things on it and it can therefore be used for copyright infringement. Other implements such as the stylus and clay tablet are also under consideration.
RKB
The internet in its entirety is "p2p" by nature. This is what differentiates it from TV, radio, or any other medium for that matter, and it is provided "for profit", by these shady companies called "internet service providers".
This judge has just ruled his nation into the stone age, placing it behind even remote african villages in terms of telecom structure.
I predict a large number of ISP's dragged into court and shut down using this precedent.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
This only apply on the Brazilian State of Paranà as the process happened there, it is not a Federal decision.
Some people say the next thing Paranà will ban are cars, as a lot of people die because they use it as you may crash when you drive one of those damn things!
Precedent is a common law thing. Brazil - and pretty much the rest of South America - has a civil law system. The common law article even has a link to a neat picture: Legal systems of the world.
________
Entranced by anime since late summer 2001 and loving it ^_^
Should the judge be castrated, because his penis can be used for rape?
Sure, a hammer can be used for legitimate purposes but we all know how deadly a hammer can be when you want to hurt somebody. Ban hammers now so we'll all be safer.
Well, lets see...
CD burners: only pirates use those to make copies of disks
DVR: makes illegal copies of shows
MP3/4 players: plays copies that are likely illegal
blank media: odds are it is going to be used to make illegal copies
mass storage: who needs over a few MEG, any more and you must be using it to store illegal music/movies/software
printer: you could print out books cutting out the publisher
computers: used to copy music/movies/software and share them
email/mail/pigeons with flash drives: used to send illegal copies
When it comes right down to it the only way to stop anything from "assist[ing] copyright infringement" is to ban all energy, without movement data cannot be transferred hence no copies! Now how much energy will it take to cool Brazil down to absolute zero?
while(1){sig.get()}
so...basically, the download page for the p2p software can't have any advertising.
(wonder if the judge mentioned whether or not the website can't have ads at all...or just "alongside"...anyone speak/read Portuguese?)
either way, I still think that's stupid logic....streets are used for a multitude of law-breaking purposes, including copyright infringement (how do you think people transport counterfeit goods? an Asgard teleporter?), not to mention, prostitution, kidnapping, drug-running.
And by that logic...the government not only builds and maintains (except in my city...where the pot holes can scare the shit out of Russia pot holes) roads, they collect monies for them (either thru gas taxes or tolls, etc.) and thus profiting from crime...
Whoa there, hold on a sec before modding down! =D. Peer-to-Peer does have legal uses but the fact is that in the majority of uses it is for copyright infringement. Copyright is a good thing. It keeps people from stealing GNU software for example - they can't copy and close someone else's effort. I believe in Open and I ultimately believe that Open in general will prevail. P2P is slowing this inevitability. When someone steals a Closed product they are diminishing the demand and therefore development of Open alternatives. The Open world as a matter of principle should be against all infringing uses of effort as copyright is also at its core. Open provides a vibrant alternative to todays corporate wasteland, the Freedom to remix effort is the way of the future and the sooner society locks-in to Open the better. Peer-to-Peer's role today does not respect the licenses the creators wish to use. If you believe in Open then you must let Closed people have their way as well even if they are ultimately mis-guided. Both Open and Closed rely on the same foundation of copyright. Open will win but in the meantime kicking Closed in the nuts through infringement isn't helping anyone.
Shh.
I haven't been following WOW at all, but don't they use BitTorrent for distributing their updates? Will they ban Opera for including BitTorrent support in their browser too? Imagine all the lobbying required for application vendors to have their P2P-enabled software to be "legal".
I'm brazilian and I've read Internet Legal's press release about this (which is a bit like EFF), and what the judge actually prohibits is showing ads FOR THE SOFTWARE. The website in question (www.iplay.com.br) displayed ads which, according to the judge, implied that the software was meant for illegal file sharing.
Also, what happened here is that a second judge REVERSED the decision made by the first one, that said P2P applications are like knifes: you can use it for good OR evil, and there's nothing the maker can do about it. The second judge compared the P2P software to an establishment that sells both drugs (illegal) and soda pop (legal): even if legal products are available, the correct thing to do is to shut everything down.
in pt-br: http://www.internetlegal.com.br/2009/09/tjpr-decide-que-e-ilicito-o-uso-de-software-p2p-para-baixar-musicas-pela-internet/
in english (courtesy of google): http://translate.google.com.br/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.internetlegal.com.br%2F2009%2F09%2Ftjpr-decide-que-e-ilicito-o-uso-de-software-p2p-para-baixar-musicas-pela-internet%2F&sl=pt&tl=en&hl=pt-BR&ie=UTF-8
So all of the following are now illegal in Brazil, since they can be used to assist copyright infringement: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Filezilla, the cp Unix command, etc.
It's a dangerous place to be when governments tell people what they can and can't communicate and how they may or may not communicate that information. Every other industry adapts to market conditions except the content industries. All they do is lobby governments so that they can maintain their business model and not go the way of the wagon wheel makers.
Opera has p2p feature build-in. Why not ban it as well.
It's getting into gray aria more and more.
Hahahahaha, nice one!!!
tmegapscm
This is not equivalent to a federal law in Brazil, and is not a federal resolution. Only after this case reach the supreme court and after the supreme court agree with this resolution will be possible to say that P2P file sharing softwares are illegal in Brazil. This was just a 1st instance case, and the 1st instance in Brazil for complex cases like that, or anything related to Internet, says a lot of crap. The only thing that this decision says for the future, is that in future similar cases this resolution can be a guide for a judge, if it want, and if one of the lawyers make a reference to this case. And until the case is closed, in other words, after all the appeal rounds of all the parts in the case ends, no one can make a reference of this case for future cases since it doesn't have a final resolution yet.
Either way, topless, p2p, whatever. Each morality has his priorities. Considering RIO climate, I support the motion by the ocean. Let freedom ring with butt floss, forget the p2p at Carnival!! ......Aaaarrrghhhh!!
Pushing the P2P users to the wall by banning such companies is noly going to result in negative and more such sites would pop up. http://next-world-war.blogspot.com/
Couldn't a pencil also as be used to "assist copyright infringement" ????
... because most users of P2P-software use it for copyright infringement.. Then how about we ban guns?
I don't have any hard numbers, but lets look at how many people actually use them to comit crimes vs. how many use them for legitimate purposes, such as hunting, or actually preventing a crime..
After that's done, we could look at the same ratio for people who aren't cops or soldiers. And byt this I also mean the times when they are off-duty.
Just to make things more interesting, lets say that aggression, state-sponsored terror and the like, are also crimes (which they indeed are).. How many legit uses did you say there were for guns?
Oh, and yes, this does include stuff done by 'the good guys' of the world. Most countries have war crimes on their conscience.
Now, don't get your panties in a bunch because I'm talking about guns, or, even worse, because you feel I'm talking about things done by specific countries. Keep on track; this is about using an example in another scenario :P
trees get felled.
There is a huge problem banning P2P and this comes about through port blocking. Once these idiot geniuses realise that port blocking to stop P2P means that they are going to inadvertently block their needed communication lines. Can you imagine the Brazillian government IT department doing all the firewall and IP tables to stop this. I say good luck shutting down p2p.
All cows eat grass!
Many years ago my mom had a Renault Dauphine, a car with a 850cm3 engine and 23HP. That car could go up to more or less what's the legal speed limit on the highway, but no more than that.
Any car with a bigger engine should be banned, because I know of no one who has a more powerful car who hasn't used that power to break the legal speed limit.
As a backbone network administrator, yes I can imagine that: Implementing a few ACLs on a few international choke points can be done in a matter of minutes (isn't IOS wonderful?). Forcing autonomous systems to block all kind of ports at their boundaries is also quite trivial, and enforcing a non-P2P mode inside those AS is also just a matter of reconfiguring their access routers. Since backbone and access routers config files are generated dynamically nowadays, that too would be just a matter of minutes. It would break some stuff, but Joe Sixpack won't notice anything as long as his web browsing and e-mail checking aren't blocked.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
Apparently the principle of "if it has legitimate uses" (rather, "commercial value" in that case) "then the mere fact it could possibly be used for non-legitimate uses is immaterial" doesn't apply in brazilian courts. Of course that was an american ruling, but this european likes that principle enough to want to see it recognized world-wide. For that reason alone I would support any pirate party.
Nope. If you ban the stuff, all they need to do is to come up with something different that's not banned (yet).
If you don't ban the stuff the competition needs to come up with something *better*.
Then I would support it in the USA.
If, like me, you don't want any illegal songs, software, books, or movies; then why do you really need P2P software?
The problem that I have with the MAFIAA goons is that they tend to persecute the guilty and innocent alike. For example, there is no requirement in microsoft's eula that you keep original receipts for software; but the bsa will fine you $90K if you don't have them handy. How is that fair, or even legal? Sure you can fight it in court, but that will cost you $250K. Those legal fees are the basis of the entire racket. And it really is a racket.
Here is a nice article on WOW. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25307 The latest patch generated 4.7 petabytes of data.Somewhere else i read that they use P2P to distribute the patches.
Thats the headline 95% of the /. audience wants to read.
What the hell, that could happen, the software runs on Windows!
I'm quite curious to see how these infringement cases fare in Brazil, from the point of view of popular support. My impression (and a bit of hope) is that decisions such as these are more based on the ignorance of the responsible judge than on respect for the sanctity of the rights of associations who represent copyright holders. That is not to say that copyright is not respected by the justice system, but my feeling is that people would have a harder time to accept a judgement that leaves a person with millions in debt for sharing a few songs, for example.
It is generally perceived in Brazil that the country has many deeper and more pressing judicial problems to tackle than copyright. And pirated music, movies and software are frequently sold even in universities. In my opinion, it reaches the point that it would be seen by many people as a form of exploitation to charge a poor person high prices for music.
In the end, what I would hope to see in Brazil is a justice system with a healthy respect for reasonable copyright, but a society that will not tolerate the judiciary abuses that take place in the US.
So can the web server its placed on. So can the phone lines.. so can your fingers and brain.
lets just outlaw people and be done with it.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
To maintain an appearance of consistency, the same Brazilian court has also banned several other technologies that might be used to assist in copyright infringement. The banned technologies include DVD burners, blank CDs, dual cassette decks, cameras of all sorts, pens, pencils, paper, and Microsoft Windows.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
In a related story, the same judge today ruled that automobile manufacturers must install cameras and microphones in all automobiles sold in Brazil and monitor drivers and passengers for illegal behaviour such as ingestion of controlled substances and bank robbery. Several major auto manufacturers have already announced plans to stop sales of new autos in the country, and a spokesman for a used auto trade organization called the ruling "great news for the fight against crime in Brazil".
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Seus viados.
Tomem vergonha na cara e vao lavar esse brioco!
"He went on to suggest that any website offering the software alongside advertising (i.e, trying to profit from offering it) would be committing a crime, punishable by between two and four years in jail."
So the web site has to be put in jail? Does that mean those tools may only be provided from BSD web servers?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
well you can use any webbrowser to download copyrighted stuff from filehosters, so why isn't steve ballmer in jail for 4 years? they distribute IE on their website and even sell it (together with some other stuff) on discs!
furthermore you CAN use a butterknife for murder, so why isn't every owner of a supermarket, that sells butterknifes, in jail?
this is one of the most stupid court descisions I have EVER heared of!
The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
BAN ALL CARS! They can be used to kill people if used improperly. BAN ALL WATER! People have been drowning in water for years. That has to stop! BAN ALL SUNLIGHT! Its been burning people for years, and causes cancer. Its time for that to stop! I could go on, but the judge is mentally retarded, full stop. I think he knows he is mentally retarded, as do the defendants. The plaintiff doesn't mind the judgment, but I suspect that 1. they expect a really obvious court challenge to this and 2. the judge is mentally retarded.
test test
There. No more torrent packets from your modem. What are you gonna do,
It appears to me, that the judge has made a very serious error. There are all sorts of technology that can be used to infringe on copyright. If we use this Judges logic, we would have to start banning internet browsers, email software, photocopiers, scanners, blank cds and dvds, and on and on the list goes.
I hope this decision gets overturned on appeal.
brasilian? in Brasil, Brasil is spelled with an "s" not a "z"...
Ask Me About... The 80's!
As a backbone network administrator, yes I can imagine that: Implementing a few ACLs on a few international choke points can be done in a matter of minutes (isn't IOS wonderful?). Forcing autonomous systems to block all kind of ports at their boundaries is also quite trivial, and enforcing a non-P2P mode inside those AS is also just a matter of reconfiguring their access routers. Since backbone and access routers config files are generated dynamically nowadays, that too would be just a matter of minutes. It would break some stuff, but Joe Sixpack won't notice anything as long as his web browsing and e-mail checking aren't blocked.
cpghost you are a true scholar and you should be paid by the Brazillian Gov on NOT how to screw things up! If I had mod points, I would mod you up! Kind Regards, NSN
All cows eat grass!
I was threatened with moderator abuse here http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1375693&cid=29486519
I was threatened with moderator abuse here http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1375693&cid=29486519