Wikileaks Reveals BitTorrent Lawsuit Background

daria42 writes "A US diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks has revealed much of the previously hidden background behind the BitTorrent court case currently playing out in Australia's High Court, including the Motion Picture Association of America's prime mover role and US Embassy fears the trial could become portrayed as 'giant American bullies versus little Aussie battlers.'' Oops. Looks like there's a little bit of egg on the movie studios' faces!"

Comments

And what?

[chuckymonkey]

Good, nice to see stuff like this. Although to be honest I don't really see anything changing. Really, what are the proles going to do? Protest? I'm sure the MAFIAA is oh so terrified of the protesters who after a day or so will get tired, go home, and watch a movie and listen to some music.

Re:And what?

[Xest]

To be fair I think it's more subtle than that. Each time people see something like this they feel ever less guilty about, and ever less desensitized to piracy.

Each time the MPAA does something like this, they push people further and further away from legitimate services.

I for one don't see why anyone should see the slightest guilt in downloading MPAA movies, frankly paying money to buy their product to support their existence seems more morally bankrupt than downloading, or ideally just simply not watching their content at all nowadays.

Really, all wars in whatever context rely on either winning the hearts and minds of the people, or brutally supressing them. The MPAA in it's war on piracy is attempting the latter, yet even the latter only works as a temporary stop gap, the former is the only permanent solution, yet that's a battle they've already long lost.

Re:And what?

[Lumpy]

My favorite is the argument that downloading TV shows is stealing.
I pay for cableTV so I get all those channels. how the hell is it illegal for me to download a TV Show that aired on a TV channel I PAY FOR to watch it later? I'm just using the internet as a TiVo... which is 100% legal.

And how about all TV shows that are broadcast over public airwaves? Those are free to record.

So I gladly continue to download TV shows. and tell the MPAA,RIAA,WMAA, NCAA and WNBA to stuff it up their rectums.

Re:And what?

[Xest]

"If you dont like the laws, change how you vote."

But this is equally a rediculous argument. When parties are too focussed on corporate interests at the expense of the voterbase, through, as we've seen recently in the UK, the likes of entire political parties running shit scared of the likes of Murdoch, then what use is voting when it comes to such things? On such issues most Western countries simply can't be classified as democracies as democratic principles are ignored when legislation is made surrounding things like saner copyright laws.

"But dont try to push some "I can do whatever I want and then act outraged when the courts disagree" nonsense, part of being an adult is that you put childish ideas behind you.."

Except many adults would disagree with you, and in fact, so would history.

Pirate radio in the UK in the 60s and 70s was instrumental in creating the UK's thriving private and public sector radio broadcaster market today. At the time law meant that radio was limited to literally only a select few stations, but because pirate radio persisted, government finally, over 20 - 30 years eventually realised that the only way to solve the problem was to give consumers what they want, not to fight them, because it's a fight that government and other vested interests cannot win.

The ideas you see as childish are the types of ideas that have kept democracy thriving. Bowing down blindly to government and putting faith indefinitely in a corruptible political system is naive at best.

Re:And what?

[RearNakedChoke]

I pay for cableTV so I get all those channels. how the hell is it illegal for me to download a TV Show that aired on a TV channel I PAY FOR to watch it later?

Because the laws of the land, in combination with the terms you agreed to with your cable and internet service, say so.

Its like people think they arent responsible for the laws of their land or for the agreements they sign. If you dont like the terms, dont sign the agreement (regarding software licensing, DRM, etc). If you dont like the laws, change how you vote. But dont try to push some "I can do whatever I want and then act outraged when the courts disagree" nonsense, part of being an adult is that you put childish ideas behind you..

There's many times where you SHOULD say fuck the law. It was the LAW that made slavery legal. And it was "illegal", "lawbreaking" slaves that dared escape from their masters. And it took a damn war to make change, not stupid letters to their congressman. And It was the fucking LAW that made Rosa Parks a criminal. It wasn't the fucking voting booth that made change. It was people breaking stupid ass laws and going to jail that did it. And don't try to argue that slavery is different than corrupt copyright law. Of course it is dumbass. The point isn't the level of injustice, but rather that injustice is sometimes best overcome via civil disobedience.

Re:Oh gee

[azalin]

But these studios are the victims here. Not the bullies.
Poor, wretched victims... Where is the MPAA relief fund when they are in such dire need.
*Glues plastic tear under left eye*

Re:Just go away Wikileaks

[elrous0]

Is that the OFFICIAL response from the MPAA, or are you just speaking for yourself?

The Truth

[Sponge Bath]

US Embassy fears the trial could become portrayed as 'giant American bullies versus little Aussie battlers'.

So they are worried about the truth getting out. That is a warning flag that you are on the wrong side of an argument.

Re:The Truth

[Baloroth]

Fear of being "portrayed" as giants bullies is a far different thing than actually being giant bullies. Now while I think the MPAA are giant extortionist bullies, but this cable is less fear of leaking the truth and more simple image management. And the Embassy doesn't really have anything to do with the case, it looks more like they were briefed simply because it's an international case, and what they fear is America looking bad. It's not like the US Embassy is trying to defend their own actions.

The cable doesn't actually seem to contain anything scandalous, it just comfirms that the MPAA is the primary motivator behind the case. IANAL but that doesn't seem like either a surprise or a problem (legally speaking. Of course the MPAA are a bunch of scummy bastards who should be banned from legal filings pretty much period.)

Dinosaurs

[Severus Snape]

The most worrying part of the cable is they admit one of the main reasons behind the higher rate of piracy in Australia is due to wait for content to broadcast in Australia and in some cases TV series and such never been released on DVD at all. They accept this, why the hell don't they tackle the real problem then instead of sueing everybody into oblivion just because their business model fails?

Re:Dinosaurs

[Anonymous Coward]

Because the MPAA, being a shield organization, can't really change that. Its members have to come to the same realization, but they're paying the MPAA dues to keep from having to confront reality.

MPAA is paid to shield the movie studios from the reality that their business model is broken. When these things "hit the fan" so to speak, the MPAA takes the flak and the movie studios hype their next release. How many people gripe that Sony, Universal, or Disney do these things? None. They blame the MPAA. Thus the real culprits never face the wrath they deserve. And because of that, they never learn the lessons they need to learn.

Re:Dinosaurs

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Under the(now broken) assumption that "not selling" means "the consumers just have to suck it up and wait", it can be a useful price discrimination tactic. If one market is willing to pay more, you release there first(so that if there is any uncontrolled intra-market flow, remember kids, free trade is only for corporations, not for you!, it is more expensive copies flowing to rabid fanboys in lower-price countries, rather than low-price-but-legitimate copies being imported into higher priced regions). NTSC/PAL differences and DVD region coding are also directed at stopping that; but those are mostly a dead letter at this point.

There are likely also delays that stem simply from the transaction costs and delays involved in the hellish morass that is international licensing contracts; but those aren't really the product of intention, just inertia.

Commonwealth countries are, presumably, hit particularly hard by this sort of thing because they are more likely to get english-language releases, which would be generally quite acceptable to customers in the US and UK, which are prime early-release markets. Markets with less common languages may see a delay for dubbing; but it is less likely that studios would be worried about those being imported, except by relatively small expat populations.

Movie Studios Don't Care

[organgtool]

Oops. Looks like there's a little bit of egg on the movie studios' faces!

There's no egg on any movie studios' faces. The MPAA is used as the tool to deflect hatred away from the groups it represents. If consumers directed their anger squarely at Sony, Universal, et al, then those people would likely consume fewer of their products. But since it's the MPAA we hate, we don't think anything of buying the products of the companies they represent.

In addition to that, the cables state that the US Embassy is the one who fears the image of the United States. The MPAA doesn't care because they're used to be hated - that's become their primary purpose.

MPAA and bad PR

[cain]

.'' Oops. Looks like there's a little bit of egg on the movie studios' faces!"

The movie studios do not care that the MPAA looks like goons and everyone hates them. That's what the MPAA was created to do and that's why the studio keep them funded: they take all the bad PR on behalf of the studios. They are a front to take the bad PR.

I will get moded into oblivion....

[FlyingGuy]

But the simple answer is, stop pirating content and they will stop taking you to court.

Regardless of peoples "I want it therefor since they are not providing it I will find a way to get it without their consent and give it away to all my friends" actions and attitudes the content is the property of the creators and it is their right to distribute it in the manner and time of their choosing and no one elses.

Re:I will get moded into oblivion....

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that like:

"don't let anyone know you're homosexual, if you don't want to be persecuted for it"

"don't dress like a slut if you don't want to be raped"

"don't make a fuss if you don't want to be hammered down" ?

Yup, I can totally see your point..... If I disagree with your actions than have no proven effect on me, and you have every natural right to be doing (which we do in this case, even if it's not legal, it is bloody moral) I should hit you as hard as I bloody well can.....

 

Why Piracy rates in Australia are high

[StArSkY]

Australians are getting ripped off, and are jack of it, so piracy is increasing. No surprises there.

Some examples:
The AUD and USD are close enough to each other to be comparable.

Netflix Streaming only subscription in US - $8 per month UNLIMITED.
Streaming service in Australia (no Unlimited subscription services exist as far as I know.
Bigpond movies $6/movie. Sony on PS3 $6 or $7/movie, Quicklix $6/movie

New release DVD purchased in Australia (Battle: Los Angeles) - $30
New release DVD purchased in US (Battle: Los Angeles) - $20

New release Blu-Ray purchased in Australia (Battle: Los Angeles) - $40
New release Blu-Ray purchased in US (Battle: Los Angeles) - $30

2D Cinema Ticket in Australia - $15.50
2D Cinema Ticket in the US - ~$10.00