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Trans-Pacific Partnership Enables Harsh Penalties For Filesharing

An anonymous reader writes: The Electronic Frontier Foundation went through a recent leak of the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, an international treaty in development that (among other things) would impose new intellectual property laws on much of the developed world. The EFF highlights one section in particular, which focuses on the punishments for copyright infringement. The document doesn't set specific sentences, but it actively encourages high monetary penalties and jail terms. Its authors reason that these penalties will be a deterrent to future infringement. "The TPP's copyright provisions even require countries to enable judges to unilaterally order the seizure, destruction, or forfeiture of anything that can be 'traceable to infringing activity,' has been used in the 'creation of pirated copyright goods,' or is 'documentary evidence relevant to the alleged offense.' Under such obligations, law enforcement could become ever more empowered to seize laptops, servers, or even domain names."

97 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. NWO by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So the NWO (once a tin-foil hat conspiracy theory) is coming true, only 25 years after it was predicted.

    It's well past time for https everywhere, constant VPNs and full encryption for everything

    --
    So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
    1. Re:NWO by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Interesting

      ... https everywhere, constant VPNs and full encryption for everything...

      Trivially blocked by your service provider. This continuing single point of failure is the obstacle to overcome. Not much can be accomplished before then.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:NWO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ... https everywhere, constant VPNs and full encryption for everything...

      Trivially blocked by your service provider. This continuing single point of failure is the obstacle to overcome. Not much can be accomplished before then.

      More importantly those VPN logs are subject to seizure by law enforcement with the appropriate warrant or other legal instrument deemed valid by the Government and the Courts of Law. Show me a VPN service provider that is not subject to lawful access by law enforcement.

    3. Re:NWO by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The better long term solution is:

      * open source software
      * Creative Commons License

      You can't pirate what you are legally allowed to share. :-)

    4. Re:NWO by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      ... https everywhere, constant VPNs and full encryption for everything...

      Trivially blocked by your service provider. This continuing single point of failure is the obstacle to overcome. Not much can be accomplished before then.

      I invite them to try. Commercial companies which exist to make money can't just block something everyone uses and expect to remain a viable company with paying customers.

    5. Re:NWO by WaffleMonster · · Score: 2

      More importantly those VPN logs are subject to seizure by law enforcement with the appropriate warrant or other legal instrument deemed valid by the Government and the Courts of Law. Show me a VPN service provider that is not subject to lawful access by law enforcement.

      I wish that were true. Given US government track record of obtaining everyone's call records without any legal showing the more likely scenario is warrantless seizure of "any tangible thing" justified by invoking 3rd party doctrine or batshit insane abuse of Article II.

    6. Re:NWO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Centurylink is blocking most of my torrent traffic on DSL in Vancouver Wa.
      I had a open wireless router that is accused of downloading copyright material. I hope they charge the router with the crime.

    7. Re:NWO by rea1l1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      p2p wireless mesh based on %100 open source software and hardware

      Check this out

      http://www.freedomboxfoundatio...

    8. Re:NWO by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Commercial companies which exist to make money can't just block something everyone uses and expect to remain a viable company with paying customers.

      With their protected monopolies they certainly can do what they want, and the voters will grumble and then dutifully reelect for the fifth time the crooked politicians that made the deal.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    9. Re:NWO by t_ban · · Score: 1

      You were probably expecting this, so let me be the first to ask - what is NWO?

      --
      First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. -Gandhi
    10. Re:NWO by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Commercial companies that continually receive money from the Governments sure can. In fact how do you think that commercial companies have stayed afloat after the NSA revelations last year? Government control of media, and government funding for data.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    11. Re:NWO by s.petry · · Score: 2

      New World Order. The origins go back much further than 25 years. The first public use of the phrase (in context) to my knowledge was Reagan talking about aliens, but every US President after him has been quoted mentioning this "New World Order". Privately, you could read a book by Carol Quigley called "Tragedy and Hope" (I highly recommend this one). If that one is too long, try Gary Allen's "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" (free downloadable). Rockefeller's autobiography also talks about it, as does Henry Kissinger, and countless other political figures.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    12. Re:NWO by s.petry · · Score: 2

      Apologies for the double post, no Karma please.

      I should have warned you that any time someone mentions Gary Allen's books the sock puppets come out of the wood work to bash it, in hopes that you won't bother to read it. Do read it, and check every reference he gives in the book (which is an enormous amount) and you will see he is spot on with facts. He also discusses a lot of material covered in Carol Quigley's book in much fewer words, so it's a fast read. Once you are done, you can make up your own mind. Don't let the sock puppets discourage you.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    13. Re:NWO by X.25 · · Score: 2

      So the NWO (once a tin-foil hat conspiracy theory) is coming true, only 25 years after it was predicted.

      It's well past time for https everywhere, constant VPNs and full encryption for everything

      No. It took 25 years for people to wake up and see what's happening around them.

      Unfortunatelly, it is way too late now.

    14. Re:NWO by Livius · · Score: 1

      It's been coming true for all of those 25 years. People just didn't pay attention when it was merely about other people losing their jobs.

    15. Re:NWO by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      No. It took 25 years for people to wake up and see what's happening around them.

      Unfortunatelly, it is way too late now.

      25 years ago it wasn't justified to take to arms to solve the problem. I'm not sure it is justified yet either.
      But I don't see anyone in power trying to correct things so there is no way this will end other than with bloodshed.

      Well to quote Thomas Jefferson

      God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    16. Re:NWO by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Your time span is way off, well over half a century if you count Carol Quigley's "Tragedy and Hope". Gary Allen makes similar predictions, George Carlin's comedy career in the 1970s made predictions, etc... I'm trying to think of what was release 25 years ago, how did you come up with 25 years? Was that just a plucked number, or when you first started noticing?

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    17. Re:NWO by s.petry · · Score: 1

      But I don't see anyone in power trying to correct things so there is no way this will end other than with bloodshed.

      Of course not! There are no people in politics today that play for the other team. This has been a very long time coming, very well planned, and well played.

      I heard a speech in the 80s where someone warned people about the harm allowing the monopolization of media would cause. I wish I could find who it was, but the quote that sticks in my head is "What happens when Rupert Murdoch's opinion no longer matches your own?". This speech was never played on US Television, and he was allowed to buy up more and more media. Today, your media is all monopolized and you hear the same set of talking points on every station. Their phrasing may be a bit different, but it's the same exact message. Tele-prompt reading is not Journalism, but people still cling to the false belief that "News casters" are not actors. That Brian Williams was a great "journalist" until he was caught right?

      The fights in politics are just a ruse! It is fake Jerry Springer like bullshit so that people believe a false reality. Isn't it strange that every member of the House and Senate passed the Patriot act without reading it? Strange that the same bunch of people plead ignorance to AHCA? Nobody saw the problems with HB1033 giving advance Military gear to local Police?

      In fact the only actions that have been taken in the last few decades has been the worse possible action for the US Public. Do you think it's all an accident and tens of thousands of politicians, lawyers, judges, and military people are just idiots? If you think that, I'll ask you to reconsider who the idiot really is.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    18. Re:NWO by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      They can when they are a govenment-enforced monopoly.

    19. Re:NWO by Methadras · · Score: 1

      I agree that it looks like everything needs to be encrypted at this point. I don't see any other solution to stop these despots of law.

    20. Re:NWO by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      The better long term solution is:

      * open source software
      * Creative Commons License

      You can't pirate what you are legally allowed to share. :-)

      Yes you can, as piracy is copyright infringement.

      Want to violate GPLv2? Easy - release binaries without source. It's happened (inadvertent or not) many times already, and it IS copyright infringement - you don't have to agree to the GPL, but if you don't, the code reverts to All Rights Reserved and whatever limits copyright law gives you. (Hence why we call it "copyleft" - because agreeing to it gives you more than what copyright gives you - but if you don't agree, that's fine as copyright provides you certain rights, but less of them than if you did agree).

      Ditto with creative commons - anything with "ND" or "NC" can be obviously pirated by simply not obeying it. NC can be violated by innocently putting it up on a website with ads.

      Again, copyleft because you don't have to agree to the CC license to use the material - default copyright All Rights Reserved will apply instead (which is basically NC+ND without implicit permission).

    21. Re:NWO by mgcarley · · Score: 1

      I have a feeling he's talking about ISPs, which got "bailouts" (not really, but I'm sure it could be spun that way) years before the banks made it fashionable (again).

      How is it that they got away with taking hundreds of billions of dollars (and not delivering) and the latest 3 towns to be 100% wired with fiber in New Zealand's UFB project came out with an averaged cost of under NZ$1,100 per premises passed (about half the average nationwide projection)?

      And don't even try the population density argument, that has no business in this equation.

      --
      Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com) // t: @mgcarley
  2. The Dangers of globalism by Subxerox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You don't get a vote.

    1. Re:The Dangers of globalism by rubycodez · · Score: 3

      yes you get to vote; no it won't make any difference

    2. Re:The Dangers of globalism by bakes · · Score: 1

      That's not the only problem here. In many places the exact details of the TPP have been deliberately kept secret. We know there are stricter copyright provisions proposed, but what ELSE is in there?

      --
      Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
  3. A right to trial by your peers by JamieMcGuigan · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wish this was America, I hear we would be tried by a jury of our peers and I've always seeded generously http://xkcd.com/553/

    1. Re:A right to trial by your peers by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      And, if you really want that trial, you can wait in prison for a few years until they get around to having it.

  4. Re:Jail terms by TheReaperD · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More like enshrining the outdated copyright cartels into law with their own legal enforcement powers so they can keep funneling money into political campaigns

    .

    --
    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  5. Re:What were you expecting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    it still boils down to you taking something you should probably be paying for

    No, it boils down to you making a copy of something that the government thinks you shouldn't be making a copy of.

    You "take" only in the sense that you take a photograph, and you "should be paying" in the same way any group of thugs says "I'll hit you if you don't pay me for doing this".

    Every creative work is highly derivative. The leeches are not the copyright infringers, but those who profit from copyright. "Fuck you!" they say, "I've taken advantage of everything up to the moment before this work, but from this point on, you pay me."

  6. Thanks Ross Perot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You were right about the sucking sound!

    It's just it is China now, not Mexico.

  7. Re:What were you expecting? by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

    An inescapable fact is, there are WAY more people outside the sphere of law enforcement. That means the odds are, greatly, that the brightest people are not in law enforcement.Authorities will always lose the "War On (Stuff)."

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  8. Re:What were you expecting? by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 4, Interesting

    http://www.theguardian.com/med...

    As content is worth less and less, they need to do something to prop up the profit structure.

    Sad thing is, if the content being infringed is worth less and less, why are people getting stiffer and stiffer penalties for infringing?

  9. youtube video summary of trans pacific partnership by doug141 · · Score: 4, Informative
  10. It's even worse than that .. by lippydude · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's even worse than that. Under TPP a corporation can sue sovereign governments in secret courts if such governments are deemed to have impinged on the corporations right to sell product. Laws such as those to protect against excessive toxins released into the environment. Or if a local government decides to make cheaper generic drugs, instead of buying the corporations more expensive patented product.

    1. Re:It's even worse than that .. by mbone · · Score: 3, Informative

      WTO and similar arbitaration boards existed for many moons now. They deal with protectionist tariffs

      No, they don't.

  11. Re:What were you expecting? by farble1670 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If we continue to cultivate a society where even the most crafted and artisan digital items are throwaway flash sale detritus, how can we expect to continue enjoying the talented minds that create them?

    interesting.

    when profits drop to reasonable levels for music and movies, they'll get made / created by people with a love for the art, as opposed to a love for money. sounds fine.

  12. Next step destruction of public libraries by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Libraries have too long been a place where people could share information, books, movies, and games. This senseless devaluation of media hurts content producers. You've done society a disservice for too long libraries. Your time is coming.

    1. Re:Next step destruction of public libraries by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      No need. Libraries are already in decline.

    2. Re:Next step destruction of public libraries by jtgd · · Score: 1

      Then the publishing corporations should just sue all the libraries in the world for lost profits from books not being sold.

      --
      J
    3. Re:Next step destruction of public libraries by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "Then the publishing corporations should just sue all the libraries in the world for lost profits from books not being sold."

      Well, they do.

      Don't know in USA but in Europe there *is* a canon to be paid by libraries because of the "lost sales" which were created by the lobbying pressure of the publishing corporations and at least Spain had to pay a fine because not wanting to abide.

  13. Cool by DMJC · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So big media is finally going to off itself, or cause an uprising, one way or the other. So either everyone who was pirating and consuming more content will stop, and their sales will plummet. Or the people who can't afford media, due to unemployment/low wages are going to have even less stuff to keep them entertained. Should be fun to watch the crime increase as these people have to leave their homes for entertainment. Personally I think it'll just cause a shift away from film/tv back to gaming. Games last longer, are replayable, and cost less than films.

    1. Re:Cool by tepples · · Score: 1

      Personally I think it'll just cause a shift away from film/tv back to gaming. Games last longer, are replayable, and cost less than films.

      Anybody can make a short film and post it to YouTube. The same used to be of short games back in the days of Newgrounds, but Flash Player has since been deprecated. So where can someone make a game and post it for the world to play? In other words, Netflix is to YouTube as Steam is to what?

  14. Re:What were you expecting? by trout007 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Intellectual monopoly is a danger to real property rights. You cant own something if you aren't allowed to configure it how you want.

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  15. "Four boxes" by mrchaotica · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As the saying goes: "There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo. Please use in that order."

    But treaties circumvent three of those boxes.

    Guess which one is left.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    1. Re:"Four boxes" by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      So what are you going to do with your soap box?

    2. Re:"Four boxes" by Skidborg · · Score: 2

      Build a tiny pirate ship.

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
  16. Re:What were you expecting? by chipschap · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's worse than this. You're denied the rights to even use WHAT YOU PAID FOR in the way you wish. Witness Kindle books as one example. Want to read them in the reader of your choice, on the device of your choice? Sorry, can't do that, and DCMA outlaws decryption tools.

  17. Re:What were you expecting? by chipschap · · Score: 1

    I mistyped. DMCA.

  18. Re:youtube video summary of trans pacific partners by rmdingler · · Score: 2
    This.

    Reich, Robert not the Third, has a handle on this trade agreement being slipped right on by us.

    Always remember that government regulations are a feature of fascism (not a bug), and when corporations are allowed to write their own ticket (lobbying), they are interfering with the market in an unnatural way. Fascism is most accurately described as the preeminence of the needs of corporations and governments above the rights of the populace.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  19. Worked for drugs by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Harsh penalties have virtually eliminated illegal drugs, right? it's gotten to the point where I could purchase methamphetamine on the street far easier than purchasing legal Sudafed at the drug store.

    1. Re:Worked for drugs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm not sure methamphetamine is a direct replacement for Sudafed. You might want to double check that.

    2. Re:Worked for drugs by dryeo · · Score: 1

      But my government keeps going on about how making drugs legal means the children will have an easier time acquiring them.
      Same government keeps going on how these free trade agreements are going to make us rich.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    3. Re:Worked for drugs by hawguy · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm not sure methamphetamine is a direct replacement for Sudafed. You might want to double check that.

      The point isn't that Sudafed is the same as meth, but that it is restricted because it can be used to make meth, yet I can buy the meth directly easier than I can buy Sudafed.

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/da...

      Also, this war on meth has resulted in the pharmaceutical industry selling what is essentially a placebo in the form of a "meth-resistant" Sudafed PE:

      http://consumer.healthday.com/...

      Seven other studies, according to the authors, found that phenylephrine didn't work better than a placebo.

      "It does nothing," Hendeles said. "Clearly the 10 milligram (dose) does not work."

      So consumers are being guided into buying a product that doesn't work by a drug policy that also doesn't work.

    4. Re:Worked for drugs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      But my government keeps going on about how making drugs legal means the children will have an easier time acquiring them.
      Same government keeps going on how these free trade agreements are going to make us rich.

      The children already have an easy time acquiring drugs... act up a bit, Ritalin and a host of other drugs can be theirs totally legally.

    5. Re:Worked for drugs by dryeo · · Score: 1

      The children already have an easy time acquiring drugs... act up a bit, Ritalin and a host of other drugs can be theirs totally legally.

      Not so much in my country but it is sure easy for kids to get the illegal ones compared to the regulated alcohol and tobacco.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  20. Re:What were you expecting? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    when profits drop to reasonable levels for music and movies, they'll get made / created by people with a love for the art

    So everybody is going to sing? Instead of just listening to recordings of a few people singing?

    Why does anything at all have to change for that to happen?

  21. jail terms = right to jury trail by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    So they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are doing copyright infringement. They may be able to lock you up pre trail but the jails are filled up and there are much more violet people to put in them pre trail.

    1. Re:jail terms = right to jury trail by mbone · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that sure does stop the marijuana laws.

    2. Re:jail terms = right to jury trail by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      that is legal in some places.

    3. Re:jail terms = right to jury trail by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Why the hell would they want violent people in prison? Cuts into profits as you need more guards, more secure prisons and can't rent out their labour as easy.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  22. cut off the lifeline that generic drugs provide fo by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    cut off the lifeline that generic drugs provide for people living with HIV/AIDS and many other diseases.

    So they can just that part to kill this.

  23. Re:What were you expecting? by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

    when profits drop to reasonable levels for music and movies, they'll get made / created by people with a love for the art

    So everybody is going to sing? Instead of just listening to recordings of a few people singing?

    Why does anything at all have to change for that to happen?

    Because people follow the path of least resistance. Recorded audio and video give people the impression that they're interacting with others without forcing them to actually do so. Same with Facebook. That said, if people spent more time in the shower, they'd probably have a richer musical experience, assuming *some* exposure to the music of others.

  24. Re:What were you expecting? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    Obviously, my Kindle has a decryption tool. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to read the books on it.

    So obviously only SOME decryption tools are outlawed.

    That's something we can chip away at.

  25. Secret Agreements, bah. by mbone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I personally don't care what the TPP terms are, the process is irredeemably corrupt. It is an attempt for corporations to obtain in secret negotiations what they could never obtain through actual democratic processes, and should be opposed by anyone who supports our system of government.

    If they want to enact this, publish it, and submit it as a Treaty to the Senate for ratification. We have a Constitution for a reason, quit trying to do an end-run around it.

    1. Re:Secret Agreements, bah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If they want to enact this, publish it, and submit it as a Treaty to the Senate for ratification. We have a Constitution for a reason, quit trying to do an end-run around it.

      But think of the corporations! With fast track there is only one person that will need bribing.

  26. Can get less time and have less BS shop lifting by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Can get less time and have less BS to deal with then you have with shoplifting.

    Let's see 1-2 years for downing a movie vs a fine (Maybe some very soft time for shoplifting the blue ray from best buy) hell you can sneak into a movie and they likely will not call the police. I also most did that accidentally did that one (walled in did not see the place to buy tickets at first and I don't think any one would even tried to stop me from just not paying and going right into the show.

  27. Re:What were you expecting? by dissy · · Score: 2

    Piracy is huge, and despite all the arguments for it, it still boils down to you taking something you should probably be paying for.

    But I am going to pay for it. I've made certain my check will clear 70 years after the death of the author. Who could complain about that?

  28. Re:What were you expecting? by Scarletdown · · Score: 2

    It's worse than this. You're denied the rights to even use WHAT YOU PAID FOR in the way you wish. Witness Kindle books as one example. Want to read them in the reader of your choice, on the device of your choice? Sorry, can't do that, and DCMA outlaws decryption tools.

    And I reclaim the ability to read them on any device I choose via Calibre and any other appropriate tools.

    Why? Because fuck you. That is why. (addressed at the planet's owners; not you, chipschap)

    --
    This space unintentionally left blank.
  29. Re:jail the real criminals by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    AT least the doctor is free / very low cost in lockup

  30. expropriation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "destruction, or forfeiture of anything that can be 'traceable to infringing activity,' has been used in the 'creation of pirated copyright goods," So we can get the mpaa's members' equipment, cameras, sound stages and whatnot destroyed or forfeited because all the pirated copyright goods trace back to where the material was created and distributed?

    Sounds like a recipe for government confiscation of private property.

    1. Re:expropriation? by dryeo · · Score: 2

      Heard Randy Bachman bitching about politicians using his music for campaigning, seems they really like the song Taking Care of Business. In particular the American ones who create a shell company to run their campaign which goes bankrupt after the election so it's not even worth suing.
      My government recently changed the copyright laws due to some media not allowing them to use their copyrighted stuff in their attack ads so they made an exemption for themselves as they're the tough on crime party and can't be seen breaking the law.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  31. Re:What were you expecting? by jones_supa · · Score: 5, Funny

    You "take" only in the sense that you take a photograph, and you "should be paying" in the same way any group of thugs says "I'll hit you if you don't pay me for doing this".

    What if your girlfriend made a 3D printed dildo replica of your penis, and every time she used it, she would say "no one loses anything if I just make a copy".

  32. Re:What were you expecting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I finally bought a couple kindle books to test the waters and what a pain in the ass. Decryption is possible, but the process is a nightmare, especially on Android. Why in the hell would I do that, you might ask? Well, in Japan there is no PC version of the kindle reader, just some cloud-based garbage. This is of course after using a fake street address and a VPN just to be able to purchase the damned books. Amazon will happily ship print books overseas, but ebooks are just too special for such a simple process.

    The final insult, was poor quality at a price identical to the print version. The pages with images were low-quality jpegs with serious artifacts, and illegible characters. (ie. on a map...).

    -- another reader who merely wants quality books in an open format, and at a reasonable price...

  33. Afrin by tepples · · Score: 1

    The government made pseudoephedrine hard to get, and phenylephrine isn't significantly better than a placebo. So I switched to oxymetazoline nasal spray (Afrin, Sudafed OM, etc.), in one nostril at a time so I don't become dependent.

  34. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs by tepples · · Score: 1

    Recreational pot is technically illegal in all parties to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. So "some places" must refer to the non-parties, namely Afghanistan, Chad, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, South Sudan, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. But these don't appear to be highly developed countries.

  35. Re:What were you expecting? by rea1l1 · · Score: 1

    She would be correct.

  36. Re:What were you expecting? by Skidborg · · Score: 1

    It was that way for thousands of years. The idea that music has to come in a file is an invention of the electronic age, born from pure convenience.

    --
    Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
  37. Re:What were you expecting? by ganjadude · · Score: 2, Funny

    well if it was YOUR girlfriend that may be correct OHHHHH!!!!

    thank you, thank you, ill be here all night, dont forget to tip the waitress

    --
    have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  38. When will TPP finally drop? by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    Personally I'm looking forward to the shit storm of global, coordinated backlash against TPP when the politicians are done jerking off.

  39. Re:Why not houses? by ShaunC · · Score: 2

    They can already take your house, they don't need a new treaty for that.

    --
    Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  40. Corporations overruling countries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This is bullshit! Corporations are something that we allow. They shouldn't be writing government policy or law. And yet here we are. The TPP is a piece of crap. Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper is all in. There are a million reasons why this guy has to go. But this reason alone means his entire political party should be gone yesterday.

  41. Re:youtube video summary of trans pacific partners by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    But without regulations, corporations can be just as oppressive and destructive - driving smaller competitors out of business with underhanded tactics or using exclusive deals to prevent entry into the market, suppressing any activity that harms their profits, manipulating academia with selective funding or threats of legal action to distort science in their favor, damaging the environment and silencing anyone who speaks out with frivolous lawsuits that cost millions to defend against.

    It isn't a simple matter of 'government is evil, and should be as small as possible.' It's about recognizing that sometimes the only thing that can keep a dangerously powerful organization is check is another dangerously powerful organization. The problems really come from trying to keep one from seizing control of the other.

  42. Re:What were you expecting? by LainTouko · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would be flattered.

  43. Who will these copyright be used against ? by Alain+Williams · · Score: 1

    Individuals, not corporations. Think photographs as an example: if you copy a corporation's picture and put it on your web site - you will be hammered; if a corporation copies one of your pictures and uses it - nothing will happen; you can complain and will just be ignored.

  44. Re:What were you expecting? by gerddie · · Score: 1

    What if your girlfriend made a 3D printed dildo replica of your penis, and every time she used it, she would say "no one loses anything if I just make a copy".

    Sounds like a good plan for a long distance relationship.

  45. Re:What were you expecting? by msobkow · · Score: 1

    Incorrect.

    For thousands of years, the only way to listen to music was live performances. Recordings of any type are a recent phenomenon, as is the resulting concept of mass marketing.

    The same goes for movies, which previously were only available as live performances of plays.

    I, for one, do not think the concept of mass marketing a single performance to be fair or reasonable, and nor does a lot of society. That's where the fundamental disagreement comes from, not purely from the idea of a file that can be copied without adding or subtracting to the value of the original file.

    I think in the long run, music recordings are going to be seen as yet another form of radio, used primarily to advertise and promote the concerts where all the real profits will be made.

    Movies? Well, they're in a tougher position. They're as easy to make copies of, but it would be awfully hard to capture all the F/X in a live performance. But I really don't think most modern movies are worth paying a dime to see -- I've only been able to stomach watching two to completion in the past year out of all the stuff I downloaded. In most cases, I would have been walking out of the theatre after 20 minutes demanding my money back.

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  46. Re:awsome by easyTree · · Score: 1

    What is wrong with you? You are denying the gun industry an opportunity to advertise to children and secure them as customers later in life.

    I'm not an American but that sounds like un-American behavior right there. Sound the Commie alarm!

  47. Re:Jail terms by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    Why can't it be both?

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  48. So... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    So if a media corporation were to steal someone else's art (like that YouTube rapper whose name escapes me), does that mean that under the TPP the board members of said media corporation would be doing hard time and paying millions in fines?

    Or should I go ahead and create a craigslist ad for the Brooklyn Bridge?

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  49. Re:What were you expecting? by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    Influence and power are out of context in a world where a dumpster diver is pwning those with influence and power.

    What he learned, notes one friend, is that "if you try to work with the system, they fuck you over." And so, from then on, Hammond would dedicate himself to working outside it. Over the next few years, he threw himself into the day-to-day life of the radical community in Chicago, renting houses that quickly became crash pads for any homeless kid or traveler who happened through. Always the first to offer a toke or some food, he became famous for taking friends on epic dumpster-diving expeditions to hidden outposts like a local Odwalla plant, where, after plundering the refuse, he'd return with enough fresh juice to last a month. At night he'd settle in with "riot porn" – Internet clips of black-clad anarchists facing off with the police.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  50. Re:What were you expecting? by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

    only in the since that you take a photograph, and you "should be paying" in the same way any group of thugs says "I'll hit you if you don't pay me for doing this".

    Well the government also thinks they have a right to charge you for simply taking pictures on national park and forest service land too.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/envi...

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  51. Re:What were you expecting? by msobkow · · Score: 1

    My apologies. I should have read the great grand parent post.

    The poster was not incorrect.

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  52. When will they finally learn? by kheldan · · Score: 2

    You can't stop the signal, Mal.

    Those iconic words from Serenity have always embodied the obvious reality that corporations are apparently deeply in denial over: People will find a way, and they're not going to stop. The tighter corporations and governments squeeze, the more slips through their grasp. They're wasting time and money trying to stamp out a problem that really isn't a problem, making everything cost more for everyone, which just incentivizes filesharers even more. This 'agreement' isn't going to change anything, other than hurting individuals who really aren't harming anyone or anything, ruining their lives because they wanted to hear a song or see a TV show. The organized criminals and terrorist groups who are mass-producing pirated movies and other content to fund their activities won't be any more affected by this than they're prevented from having firearms in places where it's been made illegal for people to own firearms, they'll go right on with their operations without so much as blinking. Memo to media corporations: The more draconic you make things for everyone, the more everyone is going to hate you and not want to pay for your content. It's time for you to retire your 19th Century business model and get into the 21st Century with the rest of us: Stop screwing us over for your content, stop destroying people's lives with gigantic judgements against individuals, accept the fact that some filesharing is going to happen and move on already.

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  53. Re:What were you expecting? by s.petry · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you mean something other than what you are implying, but at your word I call BS. Kindle does not put "bad" quality images into books, sorry. They put in the best quality image possible. Sure, some books are going to have better images than others but that is because the "best" available is not good.. not a desire from Amazon/Kindle to be cheap or unconcerned with readers. Original publishers don't have to provide high quality images to Amazon and sometimes don't.

    Your complaint about books is not restricted to a Kindle problem either. It is largely a Government problem. Amazon has to abide by what the local Governments require for their books and devices. The US is not the only country at fault, just the easy target. Many countries ban certain material and use DRM for their censorship. The US happens to use DRM more for profit than censorship. DRM can be used in either direction.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  54. Re:Jail terms by TheReaperD · · Score: 1

    Very true. There's nothing saying they're mutually exclusive. I'm in the U.S. so we have the fully private for-profit prison system here. Dirtiest business since nuclear waste dumping.

    --
    "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  55. Re:Jail terms by mgcarley · · Score: 1

    Mainly because nobody wants to be labeled as a terrorist... so, the person to do this would have to be white, 100% sane, not known to have any clinical conditions or vices, no being on any medications, no police history at all, good upbringing/happy childhood... ideally, a proper stand-up true-blue pillar-of-the-community type - otherwise unfortunately, that's how it would be spun and you'll have the same type of bullshit coverage you get over school shootings or had over Oklahoma and the rest of the public will sit there staring at their TV screens saying something to the effect of "oh dear, that's terrible... change the channel".

    After eliminating all those things, there probably aren't many people left who would agree to or take it upon themselves to do this.

    --
    Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com) // t: @mgcarley
  56. You get what you expect and you deserve what you t by mgcarley · · Score: 1

    You get what you expect and you deserve what you tolerate.

    --
    Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com) // t: @mgcarley