[olug] MPAA toolkit

Tue Nov 27 21:26:50 UTC 2007

OBrien, TG wrote:
> On Sun, November 25, 2007 16:52, Sam Tetherow wrote:
>   
>> DYNATRON tech wrote:
>>     
> [snipped]
>   
>>> don't be surprised to see this type of software enforced by law, not
>>> just in
>>> the university com closet, but also in your telcos.
>>> it's only going to get worse, time for the next tech revolution.....
>>>
>>>       
>> I doubt you will see much movement here from a legal standpoint.  There
>> was some discussion on a similar topic late last year and early this
>> spring at ISPCON.  The proposal was to require ISPs to keep email and
>> network traffic laws for a considerable amount of time (something like 1
>> to 3 years).  But no one other than a select few in government seen it
>> as anything other than another hair brained idea.  The general
>> consensus, even from many state attorneys, is that it would not pass
>> constitutional muster in a court of law and from a tech standpoint it is
>> not very viable due to cost considerations.  That added to the fact that
>> ISPs are now required to be CALEA compliant means that the law has
>> little benefit unless they can manage to change a wire tap request to be
>> retroactive.
>>     
>
> Bollocks! For another example, some proposed legislation (form the latest
> Compynight meeting email reminder mailing):
>
>   
So are you Bollocks'ing my Bollocks? I doubt that "CAMPUS-BASED DIGITAL 
THEFT PREVENTION" section will survive. They tried it in July and it 
died a quiet death then. Turning the universities into copyright 
enforcement agencies is not a solution that will fly either practically 
or legally.

http://www.bizorigin.com/2007/riaa_nuclear_option has a good hashing of 
requiring the Universities to enforce copyrights.

"Next, MPAA would go to the federal government and say "there are a lot 
of bootleg copies of movies being sold in downtown LA. In the Highway 
funding bill, please add an amendment - City of Los Angeles has to 
provide an alternative to these cheap DVDs, and No more highway funding 
for LA until they fix the DVD bootlegging problem." That's exactly what 
RIAA and MPAA are doing to the Universities.

This is like Visa going to the University and saying that "a lot of 
students are not paying their bills on time. Mr. Dean of the University, 
you have to make sure that nobody is late in their payment, and if they 
can't pay on time, you should make the minimum payment on their behalf. 
And if you don't, we will take away all financial aid for the 
University!" How absurd is that!"

> * US to Tie University Funding to Copyright Enforcement?
>
> A new piece of US legislation would require universities to 1)
> provide students with legal music downloading options and 2)
> consider technology-based measures to stop downloading on campus
> or 3) lose government funding for student aid.  What a deal for
> record companies!  Step 1 suggests that schools may have to get
> campus-wide licenses up for RIAA-approved subscription services
> like Napster or Rhapsody, the cost of which will likely be passed
> on to students.  Step 2 will help the recording industry outsource
> its litigation efforts to campus IT departments.  And Step 3?
> According to a letter from several university presidents to the
> bill's sponsor:
>
>     "Even more alarming, it is our understanding that
>     the consequences of the Secretary deciding that a
>     targeted institution has failed to prevent illegal
>     file sharing would be loss of Title IV student aid
>     eligibility. Such an extraordinarily inappropriate
>     and punitive outcome would result in all students
>     on that campus losing their Federal financial aid
>     -- including Pell grants and student loans that are
>     essential to their ability to attend college,
>     advance their education and acquire the skills
>     necessary to compete in the 21st century economy.
>     Lower income students, those most in need of
>     Federal financial aid, would be harmed most under
>     the entertainment industry's proposal."
>
> That's right - if the school fails its copyright physical, *all*
> students could lose their federal student aid.  If that sounds
> like a bad idea to you, check out the Electronic Frontier
> Foundation's action alert on the bill.
>
> Links
>
> EFF Backgrounder on H.R. 4137:
> http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/11/campus-copyright-mandates-threaten-financial-aid-funds-and-campus-networks
>
> EFF Action Alert on H.R. 4137:
> https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=331&pg=makeACall
>
>
>   
>> The MPAA and the RIAA have shown themselves to be nothing more than
>> bullies in these cases and all they seem to be interested in is taking
>> peoples lunch money.  The "fines" they assess do not come close to
>>     
>
> And they will continue to be bullies; doing whatever possible to keep
> their flawed, dying market plan alife as long as possible.
>   
You are absolutely correct here.
>
>   
>> the money from these collections.  I personally would like to see more
>> Universities and ISPs stand up to them when the come knocking.
>>     
>
> Good luck with that. Let me point to another article/blog opinion posting:
>
> When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief
> History of Record Industry Suicide.
> http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/2007/10/when-pigs-fly-death-of-oink-birth-of.html
>
> The fat cat record companies have it good in their eyes, and are going to
> do everything possible to stay in that lifestyle. Just like the previous
> format wars...
>
>
>   
Not done with it yet, but it's been a good read so far.

Sam Tetherow
Sandhills Wireless