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In New Zealand, a Legal Battle Looms Over Streaming TV
SpacemanukBEJY.53u writes After a threat from a law firm, two New Zealand ISPs have withdrawn services that let their customers navigate to content sites outside the country that world normally be geo-blocked. Using VPNs or other services to access content restricted by region isn't specifically outlawed in either New Zealand or in neighboring Australia, but it appears the entertainment industry is prepared to go to court to try and argue that such services can violate copyright law. Intellectual property experts said the situation in New Zealand, if it goes to court, could result in the first test case over the legality of skirting regional restrictions.
With ISPs now considered utilities, the path to similar restrictions is shorter and easier.
I hope all entertainment giants do this, because when people start discovering they can't get at the latest episodes of their favorite series, the sooner the political pressure will mount on governments to modify these archaic copyright laws.
Why in the name of fuck would any fucking company want to fuck over its customers? What a sick and malignant industry the media giants have become.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Ban non-business VPN services? Block traffic from these services to residential users? Or better yet, allow VPN traffic to be inspected? There's no way around this problem that will satisfy the media conglomerates that isn't a complete violation of everyone's hind quarters.
Hey big media! Not everyone is downloading your stupid TV content illegally.
The concept of geoblocking digital data is silly. New Zealand could solve this problem by simply making it illegal.
I love the absolute terms in which this is posed, as if there was a single, worldwide, copyright law, or even better, a single, worldwide law system. I would love to see common law jurisdictions trying to cite a case in New Zealand as precedent.
Yes, it would have effect, but nowhere as clear cut and definitive as TFA tries to present them.
Personally, I stick with Ubuntu because they use upstart which is what I prefer
/. dont need because faggots like you bring it up in every discussion, so fuck off
It doesn't matter whether it is illegal or not. John Key (the prime minister) changed the country's employment laws under urgency when Warner Brothers threatened to move the hobbit offshore due to a union problem. I doubt a loop hole that allowed the NZ public to circumvent the will of the studios is going to survive long. But he has a great smile so we keep voting him in.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/oct/31/warner-bros-new-zealand-hobbit-film
Sky Television NZ wants to lockout any one trying to by pass paying them for it and you have to rent our box + pay for basic package.
the new offense is "using the internet."
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
You'll see a monster change and the media companies stating to finally flop. I'm 40 and have been cable free for 3 years. My kids and their friends don't even watch tv, just youtube and other free media sites.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
New Zealand is a technology backwater, held to ransom politicians and their buddy buddy businessmen with their heads up their butts. Got a good idea to make it a better place for the average person or something good for the economy? No no, none of that here, here is some red tape to put on that silly idea. And more taxes please!
All you need to know about "entertainment companies" can be found on the beginning of any retail DVD or Blueray disc. It starts with a big "entertaining" warning about copyright infringement that can not stepped past. (Helps get you into an entertained mood...) The only way to skip this unwarranted interruption is to get a nice pirated copy of the movie.
Everyone who has enough technical know how to plug a disc into a player knows that pirating movies is illegal and the "entertainment" companies are pounding the message in a very unentertaining manner down the throats of what they know are paying customers. If an industry is this stupid there really isn't much hope for them.
Yes, this is basically what it comes down to. One company, who have been fairly used to having a stranglehold on paid content in NZ, don't like that, and oh, there might be this scary thing called competition, so rather than adapt, they get out the lawyers. There is no legitimate reason for Sky to have a stranglehold,* so as far as I'm concerned, this just needs to get chucked out of court to make a clear demonstration that it is not ok to abuse your customers and complain when someone undercuts you.
* I'm not a hardcore capitalist, so I do see that there are places where legislation or government intervention are needed to protect a market in order for it to stay free and fair. Of course, one of those places is protecting against abusive monopolies...
We're no longer in the dark ages. Entertainment has to go global. Region coding/limiting practice needs to end.
Whats it going to take to get politicians elected (not just in New Zealand but in Australia, the USA, Europe and elsewhere) that are no longer in bed with the big media companies and no longer giving those companies whatever the hell they want?
This is going to be an interesting battle, and undoubtedly the Media companies are going to claim that Global Mode is breaking copyright protections. New Zealand Law does have protections for TPMs, but it also contains very specific language about what those TPMs cannot do, specifically:
"[TPMs must] not include a process, treatment, mechanism, device, or system to the extent that it controls geographic market segmentation by preventing the playback in New Zealand of a non-infringing copy of a work"
Global Mode is merely providing a tool to get around that geographic market separation. It is no different than a company selling region-free DVD and Blu-Ray players (which are perfectly legal in NZ).
The Media companies will argue that does not apply because the content will be infringing if it plays here. The simple counter to that is that Global Mode are not providing the content. Furthermore, if clients are using legit services like Netflix or Hulu then the content has been paid for and is technically non-infringing under the law. Clients providing false details to access that content is a Terms of Service violation that is a matter between Netflix/Hulu/et al. and their clients. NZ Media companies simply have no standing in that situation.
I'd say that the media companies are well aware of this, but have to be seen to be doing something. I'd say that this letter is a bluff, and that the Media companies will not want to create legal precedent when there is not much hope of them actually winning. I think they are just hoping that smaller ISPs rolling over on this will send a message to others. It won't.
Using a service to buy their product violates the law? It's demonstrates these companies believe they're entitled to a nation-wide monopoly. Australia already decided that region-locking is restriction of trade and thus, illegal. Trying the same story with geo-blocking and expecting a different outcome is a big delusion. It can be argued that enforcing geo-blocking is enforcing a monopoly, which is almost forbidden in Australia.
Do you think it would make a difference in the voting booth? Of course not. Usually in English-speaking countries the voting system is undemocratic (i.e. not propotional) but some kind of geocratic system which keeps The Powers That Be just switching between Rulers and Opposition. When both are firmly in the US governments pocket, the people lose.
When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
Thanks, have a nice day :)
http://www.educa.net/primeros-...
It's so strange to read (not just here) all the entitled bitching that people do when it comes to copyrighted material.
If those companies do not want your business, then fuck 'em. Tell them to keep their shit and then go spend your money elsewhere. You're not beholden to mega corporate content creators! Most of my moving entertainment comes from guys on youtube. And now, more and more of my audio entertainment comes from guys funding their own content.
It's out there but you're all too damn lazy or entitled to break from the pack. "I have to watch Game of Thrones because everyone will be talking about it and I don't want to be left out. Plus I need to tweet about it from my MacBook while sitting at a Starbucks."
It's 2015 ffs. Play globally or gtfo. For reals. This shouldn't even be a discussion
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