Well, yes and no. Technically, when you or I or anyone else - let's say - refrains from speeding or decides not to shoplift, we're "working to protect the rights of those" around us. I know that may sound kind of far-fetched, but from a legal standpoint, it's true. As participants within the framework of our legal system, we're specifically empowered - to varying degrees depending on the state a person's in - to protect property we think we own. Someone breaks into your house, you can protect yourself and your property (esp. if you're in Texas. Yikes.). However, if you see someone walking down the street riding your bike, your technically not empowered to physically stop them and question them, because their protections under the 4th and 6th amendments trump your right to property protection. And really, that's the bigger deal here. When the RIAA tries to get Colleges and ISPs to hand over traffic data, they're exceeding any "investigative" power they may think they have; no gov't agency has issued them warrants towards obtaining that info, and if they had any real law-enforcement power they could simply issue such warrants themselves. Regardless of how it may sound on their website, I can assure you that they aren't legally empowered to go after P2P file-sharers (who, incidentally, I don't exactly support) in the ways they're doing it.
Well, that's sort of the joke: they don't have any standing to send takedown notices, or rather, copyright infringement notices. According to their own website, "The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry." They are, at best, a partial shareholder in some intellectual property rights. However, they can't issue subpoenas or adjudicate in any way, which is doubly unfortunate for them since Federal courts seem to be ruling against them a lot as reported here and here and here and here.
Actually, the RIAA is only "an advertising or marketing body." They are essentially a PR firm with one amoeboid client: the recording industry. They aren't a political group or law enforcement agency; they're Ambassadors of Jackassery. That's why their attempts to bully P2P music sharing is so ridonkulous. Nonetheless, I agree with you that just because NIN put some songs on USB keys doesn't necessarily mean that Reznor means for everyone everywhere to have access to them. However, he has given stuff out like this before. He posted GarageBand-ready songs on his site a long time ago and invited users to mash 'em up. And really, if someone puts something like an MP3 out there on the web, the assumption HAS to be that "everyone everywhere" might potentially get access to it. Hmm, so maybe I don't agree.
The kind of analysis HexView suggests seems to promise a drastic bottleneck in email delivery as their servers check source IP addresses, etc. Awesome. I love the possibility of MY email grinding to a halt in an attempt to cause spammers delays in packets delivery. Sounds like greylisting under a euphamized name, like how time-shares are now called "fractional ownership."
Well, at least as far as recordable media is concerned. Evidentaly the case against XM, regarding their recording mobile unit will proceed. I liked the possibility of having an MP# player filled with new stuff I heard on XM, but I guess it'll never happen. Hooray for the FCC and the RIAA. Check it out here: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseac tion=Articles.san&s=54217&Nid=26769&p=409224.
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Well, yes and no. Technically, when you or I or anyone else - let's say - refrains from speeding or decides not to shoplift, we're "working to protect the rights of those" around us. I know that may sound kind of far-fetched, but from a legal standpoint, it's true. As participants within the framework of our legal system, we're specifically empowered - to varying degrees depending on the state a person's in - to protect property we think we own. Someone breaks into your house, you can protect yourself and your property (esp. if you're in Texas. Yikes.). However, if you see someone walking down the street riding your bike, your technically not empowered to physically stop them and question them, because their protections under the 4th and 6th amendments trump your right to property protection. And really, that's the bigger deal here. When the RIAA tries to get Colleges and ISPs to hand over traffic data, they're exceeding any "investigative" power they may think they have; no gov't agency has issued them warrants towards obtaining that info, and if they had any real law-enforcement power they could simply issue such warrants themselves. Regardless of how it may sound on their website, I can assure you that they aren't legally empowered to go after P2P file-sharers (who, incidentally, I don't exactly support) in the ways they're doing it.
Well, that's sort of the joke: they don't have any standing to send takedown notices, or rather, copyright infringement notices. According to their own website, "The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry." They are, at best, a partial shareholder in some intellectual property rights. However, they can't issue subpoenas or adjudicate in any way, which is doubly unfortunate for them since Federal courts seem to be ruling against them a lot as reported here and here and here and here.
Actually, the RIAA is only "an advertising or marketing body." They are essentially a PR firm with one amoeboid client: the recording industry. They aren't a political group or law enforcement agency; they're Ambassadors of Jackassery. That's why their attempts to bully P2P music sharing is so ridonkulous. Nonetheless, I agree with you that just because NIN put some songs on USB keys doesn't necessarily mean that Reznor means for everyone everywhere to have access to them. However, he has given stuff out like this before. He posted GarageBand-ready songs on his site a long time ago and invited users to mash 'em up. And really, if someone puts something like an MP3 out there on the web, the assumption HAS to be that "everyone everywhere" might potentially get access to it. Hmm, so maybe I don't agree.
The kind of analysis HexView suggests seems to promise a drastic bottleneck in email delivery as their servers check source IP addresses, etc. Awesome. I love the possibility of MY email grinding to a halt in an attempt to cause spammers delays in packets delivery. Sounds like greylisting under a euphamized name, like how time-shares are now called "fractional ownership."
Well, at least as far as recordable media is concerned. Evidentaly the case against XM, regarding their recording mobile unit will proceed. I liked the possibility of having an MP# player filled with new stuff I heard on XM, but I guess it'll never happen. Hooray for the FCC and the RIAA. Check it out here: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseac tion=Articles.san&s=54217&Nid=26769&p=409224.