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Android Piracy Sites Seized By US Government
Dupple writes with news that the DOJ took a few Android app piracy sites offline. From the release: "Seizure orders have been executed against three website domain names engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android cell phone apps, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin of the FBI's Atlanta Field Office announced today. The department said that this is the first time website domains involving cell phone app marketplaces have been seized. The seizures are the result of a comprehensive enforcement action taken to prevent the infringement of copyrighted mobile device apps. The operation was coordinated with international law enforcement, including Dutch and French law enforcement officials."
Wow, judging by the above comments, the apple trolls/shills are out in full force! Will the real tim cook please stand up?
but most of the good apps and games aren't available in the uganda google play store
Does this not make you scared: "In most cases, the servers storing the apps sold by these alternative online markets were being hosted in other countries, and our international law enforcement partners assisted in obtaining or seizing evidence stored on these servers."
I really hate the extent to which the US is exerting its thought crime laws in other sovereign nations. I guess not so sovereign any more.
Hmm, the humour and sarcasm seem to have been be lost on you.
Does this not make you scared: "In most cases, the servers storing the apps sold by these alternative online markets were being hosted in other countries, and our international law enforcement partners assisted in obtaining or seizing evidence stored on these servers."
I really hate the extent to which the US is exerting its thought crime laws in other sovereign nations. I guess not so sovereign any more.
Hmmm ... labelling copyright violations as "thought crime laws" is what makes me more scared. Come on, people -- we're talking about apps that cost the same as a cup of coffee (if not less). If you've ever written software, you'd know how much work it is; why do people get so upset at having to occasionally pay to support an independent developer?
(disclaimer -- personally, I release all my software as free and open source, but I also believe that it's completely fair and reasonable if people want to charge for what they write.)
Copyright infringement is a civil matter.
But there isn't an Android piracy problem!
It depends on how one defines "piracy problem," like e.g. at what point does piracy become a problem and when it isn't a problem, and who is it a problem to anyways? Is it a problem if there's over 1% piracy rate? If so then iOS, Android, BB, Windows, OSX, Linux, BeOS, DOS and so on would have a "piracy problem." Or is it a problem only when popular things are being pirated? Atleast I don't see law enforcement ever going after pirates for spreading some niche product that only appeals to a small base, even if the piracy rates in that base were over 90%. Is piracy a problem to the users, is it a problem to developers who are actually still making nice profit even with 40% piracy rates, or is it a problem to publishers who cry foul even about a single pirated copy even if they're raking in cash like madmen, all just because they want every single last penny in their pockets? I don't see users complaining about piracy, and I see plenty of developers who simply ignore piracy as long as they're generating profit, I only see these money-hungry entities complaining.
Even if we just focus on the fact that there's piracy on Android-platform we have to look at its surroundings: Android is very similar to e.g. Windows in terms of end-user-oriented openness, allowing one to install and remove software freely. Only Android, however, is getting flak for piracy at the moment, piracy on PCs is being ignored. Why? Well, because people like OP like to jump on whatever happens to be the new trend, because developers these days are trained to believe that any amount of piracy whatsoever is a problem, and because, well, most Android-apps are crappy, shallow pieces of sh*t and cost mere pennies -- the general populace won't see the apps worth much if even the developers themselves don't, therefore said populace won't see it as a loss for the developer if they just pirate the things instead. Combine said arbitrary worthlessness with an open platform and it's no wonder piracy exists.
All that said the developers and publishers themselves are to blame for their problems: make your apps worth not pirating, and either develop only for walled-garden platforms or accept piracy as a fact of life and ignore it as long as you're still generating profits.
The fandroids said so!!! This is all just Apple FUD!!
No, I'm not an iShiny faggot, either.
To be honest, your sexual orientation is not relevant here nor does it reflect on your intellect in any way or form. The use of terms like "fandroids," "iShiny," and "faggot" along with multiple exclamation marks and the lack of any kind of argument whatsoever does, however. I do realize your comment was an attempt at trolling Slashdot-users and you were hoping for some enraged comments which is why I so much enjoy responding to these kinds of attempts with calm, coherent comments -- think of it as reverse trolling, if you will.
It's immoral to allow some to determine the distribution of their work for a limited time?
Yes, it is. You don't do it by yourself, you know? You go to nanny State and papa Government and beg them to please, pretty please, violate the property rights of every single other human being on Earth for your own benefit, so that my computer isn't mine anymore, it's the government's, which now merely allows me to use it in the ways they deem right and legit. That's quite immoral, yes.
Which isn't to mean authors shouldn't be rewarded. But they should be rewards in whatever way the free market develops, not by way of employing the full force of the hugest apparatus of violence ever assembled in the History of mankind.
Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.