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RIAA Wants To Scrap Anti-Piracy OPEN Act
silentbrad writes with these selections from an article at Ars Technica: "The Recording Industry Association of America found itself in an unusual position this week: opposing an anti-piracy bill that's gaining momentum in Congress ... the RIAA argues the bill won't be effective at shutting down rogue sites. The trade group warns of 'indefinite delays' as claims of infringement are investigated. And it complains that the process envisioned by OPEN would allow for 'endless submissions by parties such as Google,' further gumming up the process. All the while, the alleged rogue site would be able to continue operating. The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process will 'put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.' The trade group complains that sites aren't held responsible for the infringing activities of their users, a rule the trade group says 'excuses willful blindness and outright complicity in illegal activity.' RIAA also says it's 'virtually impossible' to prove that a site infringed willfully, as OPEN requires."
But, but, due process is so Hard!
You wouldn't be able to arbitrarily control the entire internet under the new model. How terrible.
The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process will 'put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.'
What part of copyright law do you currently NOT have to hire a lawyer in order to get 'justice?'
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Someone outside of the minority of educated humans may see the hypocrisy involved here.
Bah
Looks like congress won't give you the big red button to nuke all the sites from orbit and force you to, oh I dunno, ACTUALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT A SITE!
Never thought I'd see a headline like that.
Any second now I'm gonna start seeing frogs raining from the sky... *rushes to the window to watch*
Is anyone really surprised by this? (Well, any /. readers?)
Their "we don't your site around here" legislation got kicked to the curb, and because this doesn't give them the power to shut off whatever websites they feel like, "it's too weak".
BULL. SHIT.
Deal with it, RIAA. Deal with the fact that you might actually have to prove your case before hammering someone with punitive fines/jail time/freezing in carbonite. (Sorry, been playing a lot of SWTOR)
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
I think it's obvious to all that these guys just want the power to kill any website they wish with little oversight...
Arguing ridiculous ideas like this demonstrates that they are pretty much the last people we should hand over the power to do so.
Ugh! Proving guilt before conviction and sentencing? It's like the government just doesn't care about media industry.
Next they'll be advocating their own personal drones.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
>> The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process will 'put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.'
Funny how they're not concerned about those same legal costs that innocent individuals have to face to defend themselves, when the RIAA spam arbitrary blocks of John Does with threatening lawyers letters that amount to extortion.
The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process will 'put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.'
as if they are representing ANY small business.
im a foreigner - but even i learned it ; whenever some politician/lobbyist uses the word 'small business' in american politics, small business has nothing to do with it and its for some fucking 4-5 megacorp monopolizing in any field related to that law/bill.
Read radical news here
Rough translation: "This bill doesn't go far enough and it's going to cost us money. Please kill this bill and surrender the internet NOW or kiss your campaign contributions goodbye. What we want is the US government to go anywhere any time we pull their chains and stomp all over those eeeeeeeeeeeevil pirates who are anti-American, anti-corporate profits and obviously terrorrorrorrorrists too. We'll have the new bill in your office so you can jam it through just before elections and don't forget to pick up your checks."
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
The trade group complains that sites aren't held responsible for the infringing activities of their users, a rule the trade group says 'excuses willful blindness and outright complicity in illegal activity.'
This is, again, the scariest part of their campaign. The ability of sites to not be liable (unless they ignore takedown requests) is the best part of the (otherwise pretty crappy) DMCA, and the XXAA want to undo it. They don't care in the least that it would end every social collaboration web site (like slashdot), because they think their old business models (pay the radio, tv, and newspaper to advertise, then reap profit via local stores and theaters) would spring back to life if we didn't waste all our time and money on the internet.
Seriously, the only way this will end is if someone puts a bullet in them. And by bullet, I mean hostile takeover. And by someone, I mean Google. And if Apple just so happens to take over another one of them a few days later, oh well. Maybe Microsoft would even like to own a music label? Hell, isn't EMI suffering and looking for a buyer?
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
... I'm suddenly very much for it.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Australian here: Should we be urging you guys to get this bill pushed through?
Those who do not learn from commit history are doomed to regress it.
A kinder, gentler machine gun hand?
It's not fair to them until they can have their system of guilty until proven innocent. Or rather guilty until guilty guilty guilty.
RIAA also says it's 'virtually impossible' to prove that a site infringed willfully, as OPEN requires.
Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat
If this OPEN Act passes, RIAA won't be able to push for a more draconian version written by them because Congress will say "we already have an act for that". As it stands right now, they can whine that there is an immediate need to "do something" hasty and ream some of their own legislation through. Or perhaps they prever to do their legislation in secret via international trade agreements like ACTA and the recently uncovered TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement).
Between ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, TPPA only in the past year, it seems there is a relentless barrage of fire against fair use that can only end bad for us.
Hey, if the oil industry and bankers can have them, why not these guys? It's only fair
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
And it couldn't be the provision that allows the committee to fine groups who submit false claims. Cause that never, ever happens.
=================
Unix is very user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are.
At least they are being honest about their desire to extract a pound of flesh from Google. That's what this has always been about. They want Google's profits.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Rob Wyden (D-OR) and in the House by Darrel Issa (R-CA).
RIAA also says it's 'virtually impossible' to prove that a site infringed willfully, as OPEN requires.
If it's too hard to prove that someone is guilty, then maybe - just maybe - they aren't.
They insist on chasing down the wrong people - innocent websites - and they complain that it's hard to prove guilt?
On the other hand, it would be trivial to prove that a user infringed willfully... but there's very little money to be made in that.
Due Process is so expensive. Can't let an irrelevant thing like 3,000 years of developing the Rule of Law get in the way of all the Benjamins, now.
If we're going to have to have something, and I think that we might, just so the politicians can point to it and declare victory, at least in this case the MAFIAA doesn't think it's enough.
Check your premises.
You can see just how much BS they are trying to get passed through when they have to take the other side of the argument,
"RIAA also says it's 'virtually impossible' to prove that a site infringed willfully, as OPEN requires."
well that concept didn't stop them from taking down Megaupload, but when it's in their best interest then they argue that point.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
DMCA is ten years old. They had to shut up for about a decade after they got that. These new restrictions, they want them *now*.
it is people like you introducing a lot of exceptions, conditionals to life, complicating it like the u.s. tax code - just like how it came from simple beginnings to this current convoluted piece of shit.
real life is actually very simple. you can be sure that a lot of people spoke like you at the turn of the century in the carriage industry vs automobile industry debates, and yet look what happened.
Read radical news here
Hey, you idots need to update your troll URL. It's now goatse.info.
C|N>K
it was never about protecting artists
The MAFIAA (which has for decades been rumored to have an actual large MAFIA component) has a century-long reputation of screwing the royal living fuck out of 'their' slaves, er, artists. The only thing they give a flying fuck about is sucking every last penny out of an artist and if they destroy the artist in the process, it's just part of doing business. Given the dominant cultural heritage of most of their low-life so-called 'executives', this comes as no suprise at all.
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n/t
This is still America and we still have the constitution. All citizens are guaranteed the right to due process under the law and their day in court. If you don't like that go do your business in China.
put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.'
When an industry lobby organisation suddenly finds its heart for those who are not amongst its members, you know something is up.
These guys aren't a non-profit. They are paid to do their job.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
So even somethings become too hot to handle for the RIAA. Just sounds like a cover story. I'm sure they'll make another pass with the maw wide.
I think I need to just continually post this, and send it (or more "respectable" transcripts, to all my congressional representatives. We don't need new laws for the internet! Our current ones work just fine, thank you.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2508#comic
I think I need to just continually post this, and send it (or more "respectable" transcripts, to all my congressional representatives. We don't need new laws for the internet! Our current ones work just fine, thank you. http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2508#comic (Sorry for the double-post, I forgot to log in)
This statement is solely an opinion. Kindly take it as such in all cases.
I loved the new Underworld too!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
groups like the RIAA and MPAA shouldn't exist. IP is a sham, especially when it comes to art.
Never say never. Ah!! I did it again!
An old Chinese saying:
"We should support whatever the enemy opposes and oppose whatever the enemy supports."
New Economic Perspectives
Because a lot of the arguments they're using against this Anti-Piracy Act were the EXACT SAME ARGUMENTS used against their precious SOPA/PIPA acts...
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
[quote]The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process will 'put justice out of reach for small business American victims of IP theft.[/quote] as opposed to putting justice out of reach for those unfairly targeted by copyright laws. the RIAA has a long sorrid history of targeting small legimitate businesses with copyright laws of which they did NOT infringe. Many of these business close or fork over large sums of money simply because they cannot afford attourneys. It looks like a reasonable copyright enforcement law has been proposed, but the RIAA explicitly want What to do: Listen to music from non-riaa artists (underground like punk, some forms of metal, goth, some forms of country and folk, indie rock, etc...) install free/libre software on your computer buy local products establish a strong DIY ethic support others who do the same. organize and speak out everytime this happens,.
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Initial thread over.
Of course there's lots of further issues to talk about, but you nailed it - control, not artists.
"Waah, we can't just send means letters and watch stuff vanish!"
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
And use tune2fs to set the scan period to one greater than say 365 days. No more disk check!
Seriously! What is a "Rogue Site"? Are all websites recruited to exist on the Internet under one flag of universal compliance and then BAM! Rebellion! Do rogue sites, like rogue terrorist cells, pop up and seek to destroy the United States of the Internet?
Because that's what it sounds like. A "rogue" is a "loose cannon"-- something that can destroy a bunch of hard-earned gains if left on its own.
And why are we propagating the term "Rogue Site?" We keep doing it with "IP Theft" and "Piracy"-- why don't we stick to the real, non-marketed vocabulary...
IP-Infringers. They're sites that make available copyrighted materials for copying. That's not rogue... that's "The Internet".
And how much of the earnings would it pay to the songwriter?
As I understand it, strict liability means one is found guilty and punished despite having taken due care to prevent something from happening. How many of these strict liability crimes under state law lead to imprisonment, not just a fine? I was under the impression that they were mostly traffic violations and the like.
The RIAA also warns that the need to hire an attorney to navigate the ITC's arcane legal process
I thought they already owned a bunch of lawyers- why do you need to hire more? So you can open the Second Front at the ITC?
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If you are not trying to sell to anyone, then clearly there can be no harm.
I guess Disney's logic is that if I'm buying a pirated copy of Song of the South, I'm not buying a lawfully made copy of Mary Poppins.
You do realize that they can't just up and purchase one of the music labels, right? Pretty much all of them are subsidiaries of companies larger than Google.
I just looked up the market capitalization of three companies. Google is $183 billion, Vivendi $31 billion, and Sony $20 billion.
And it's unlikely any of the parent companies are going to sell them off to Google in the first place.
The only record label that a sufficiently large company can't hostile-takeover is Warner Music Group, as its parent company is privately held.
Or, the hypothetical ICAA could start their own music label, I suppose
Such a label would likely face lawsuits from the major labels' affiliated music publishers alleging musical plagiarism, following the reasoning of Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music.
accusation alone ought to be enough. only communists and terrorists demand proof before guilt is established.
I would be prepared to forfeit the due process up front, allowing sites to be shut down immediately, on one condition. In the event of a false take down, the company making the claim must turn over their entire company/assets/stocks/everything to the wrongly accused.
Seems fair enough. If they are making a fair accusation, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. But they can't just fling shit and see where it sticks, or make up stuff, or bully, or wrongfully accuse without penalty. Also, the company in question must make the claim, not some small shell company they own that has no assests/etc.
"THE INTERNETS ARE BEING MEAN!"
*bangs table*
*throws strained peas at the wall*
for, you are not able to perceive that hollywood and mass media are the ones who are keeping people brainwashed into keeping that corrupt political system you speak of. they are the propaganda machine.
Read radical news here
The RIAA was also against the life+50 years copyright claiming it was too short.
Now they only need to shut PIPA down because it's not radical enough and the Internet will be saved for another year.
And this single ancestral species, if known, would be classified under Parvorder: Catarrhini (apes). Humans not only evolved from apes, humans are apes. The main classification is based on not having a tail and being evolved in Africa. In fact most of the great apes are also classified as hominids.
In this case, rogue sites means sites that are completely legal in their jurisdiction, but doesn't represent the ideas of the Great People's Republic of MAFIAA.
So they now complain at the expense of lawyers and courts getting in their way. Funny how the expense of courts and lawyers stops about 90% of all suits for the reat of the citizens of this nation.
Look at the tragedy caused by the auto insurance industry. Allowing policies that only pay $10,000 per injury in a wreck enables the industry to sell junk insurance. But what about the victim that will have to pay millions for ongoing medical care and never be able to work again after being run over? Usually auto insurance in Florida won't even cover an emergency room much less little items like being in a wheel chair for life. Yet if all drivers had to purchase real insurance there would be almost no cars on the road.
I recently saw a 40,000,000 dollar award given to a victim and her lawyer complained that she is so badly injured and in anursing home that her yield from that suit may not cover her expected life long care.
It was my AC post. I'm in the technical end of the business and have been for decades. I probably know ten thousand times what you do about the RIAA, its formation, specifications and the original purpose that it had as a technical body long before it became a lobbyist/firewall/agitator for the recording industry. I have designed electronic RIAA curve equilization filter circuits into equipment that I have designed, as well as gpp-based software-driven equilization filters.
So, I know a trainload more than you ever will on the subject. Got it?
As to your errant pedanty: first, you need to learn how to read (and then don't just read Wikipedia). Once you have learned to read, re-read my comment and note that I NEVER said RIAA. I said MAFIAA which is a convenient new-speak abbreviation for the collective music and motion picture companies/business and their lobbying efforts.
OK. From now on, only comment on things where you actually inderstand what you are commenting about. Otherwise, keep schtum.