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How the RIAA Targets Campus Copyright Violators
Posted by
timothy
on Tue May 13, 2008 12:23 PM
from the lures-them-in-with-jim-hawkins-dolls dept.
from the lures-them-in-with-jim-hawkins-dolls dept.
jyosim writes "The Chronicle of Higher Ed got a briefing at RIAA headquarters on how the group catches pirates. They just use LimeWire and other software that pirates use, except that they've set up scripts to search for songs, grab IP numbers, and send out notices to college officials. They claim they don't target specific colleges, though many feel that they do."
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Jeoparody (Score:5, Funny)
Not exactly targeting... (Score:5, Insightful)
Harvard anyone? (Score:5, Interesting)
I seem to recall reading somewhere that Harvard has never been hit with one of these RIAA money grabs. Most probable reason being that there is enough talent there to rip the RIAA to tiny ribbon sized shreds in front of the judge, which would pretty much end their extortion racket.
So, does that still hold true? Anybody at Harvard ever been hit with one of these?
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Re:Harvard anyone? (Score:5, Informative)
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not exactly targeting... (Score:4, Funny)
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How (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How (Score:5, Funny)
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Judging from the "quality" music they produce these days, it is only logical that they do first check from their captive audience.
RIAA "making available" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:RIAA "making available" (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:RIAA "making available" (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:RIAA "making available" (Score:4, Informative)
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
In which case, if you download the music from them (the RIAA), then it would seem (IANAL, etc.) that they couldn't possibly charge you with copyright infringement since they, the copyright holder, offered the MP3 for download. Or am I missing something?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
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Doesn't matter, though. That's not how they're using LimeWire (or other P2P clients), as the GP would've known if he'd RFTA.
They're not making the music available; they're using the client to search for others who are making the music available.
Re:RIAA "making available" (Score:5, Informative)
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Hate Emails (Score:5, Insightful)
If you risk getting hate mail simply because you work at a certain company, perhaps it's time to look for a different job?
On the other hand, if this guy actually stuck his neck out and shared how the RIAA really finds their suckers, he'd probably get thank you letters rather than hate mail.
In either case, he probably needs to do some deep self-examination to see why he stays at this job.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
"You're fired"
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
In either case, he probably needs to do some deep self-examination to see why he stays at this job.
I often question why people would work at companies that have questionable business practices. I assume that it is similar to the reason why I work at a company that doesn't. (a) They gave me an job offer, and (b) they consistently provide me with a paycheck.
Sadly, there are not enough jobs to go around within companies who have strong morals and upstanding business practices. It is Supply/Demand... and when the demand for employees is highest in immoral organizations, it is no wonder why people end
Target selection (Score:3, Interesting)
Change LimeWire EULA now! (Score:5, Interesting)
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Sue LimeWire ... (Score:5, Funny)
IP is not an identity (Score:5, Insightful)
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They will stand on the side of Hollywood, not the side of the citizens. Just like they always have.
Legality of MediaSentry (Score:5, Interesting)
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/11/1427257 [slashdot.org]
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/10/1542222 [slashdot.org]
Could they not do the same with torrents? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Could they not do the same with torrents? (Score:5, Informative)
Easily.
How does that differ from Limewire?
With a torrent there isn't any way to "see all of the songs that a given file sharer is offering to others", just that one. And in fact, most people only do a few torrents at a time, so even if the RIAA could detect them, it wouldn't sound very impressive. They'd prefer to be able to go into court and say, "Look at this list! This criminal mastermind was distributing 2000 files! But we're only asking money for the five that we actually downloaded."
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no capability of targeting any school? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why The RIAA Has No Case (Score:5, Interesting)
This is why the RIAA has no legal case, and why they must resort to bluffs, threats, extortion, smoke, mirrors, and press releases.
The song file has to be downloaded by another unauthorized person (RIAA investigators don't count) for it to be infringement. The RIAA itself admits here that they have no way of knowing if anybody else has ever downloaded this song. To properly win in court they have to convince judges and/or juries that despite this complete lack of proof that they were infringed anyway.
It's all the Big Lie on their part.
A humorous solution (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Figure out what music is currently quite popular.
2) Make your own covers of it without instruments. Sing both the lyrics and the melody with interpretive musicianship. The worse it sounds, the better.
3) Host as the file name.
4) ????
5) Waste their time!
IANAL but I don't think you could get in trouble for posting fake songs up. Technically, you could claim you're helping fight piracy while making Mediasentry's job harder. I imagine the in worst case they ask you to cease and desist. Perhaps someone more versed in law can say if this is valid.
Another option could be to simply use the band's name and make up fake songs with similar names to original songs with fictitious lyrics. This would replace step 2. Granted I believe they are solely looking for song titles.
Ben Folds - Rocking the Penguin
Beastie Boys - Ubuntu in Effect
Whitney Houston - OSX will save the day
Re:A humorous solution (Score:5, Insightful)
You are correct that the easiest way to defeat the methods they deploy is to flood them with garbage, but how is the casual user supposed to filter out the garbage without The Man doing the same?
The closest analogue I can think of would be currency. The Treasury Department changes the design every few years because it takes a while for counterfeiters to, reverse engineer, develop copy techniques, and perfect methods for mass production. By the time that's complete a new bill is in circulation.
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Make your own song (Score:3, Interesting)
2) rename it as a popular song: eg. Madonna - 4 Minutes
3) they download it after it fails hash check
4) sue them for copyright infringement
5) ?
6) Profit!
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
college safety and reviews (Score:3, Interesting)
Although some kids may need to reign in their activities, the RIAA methods' technological and litigation basis are unsound and dangerous. RIAA and their overlords need to be made recipocally accountable with the colleges taking more responsibility too.
What, NEVER? No. NEVER! Well, hardly ever. (Score:4, Interesting)
In other words, they do not engage in unauthorized downloading and copyright infringement. Except when they do. Because they what sounds to them like a really good rationalization for their behavior.
Which is exactly what their victims do.
If the RIAA being straight arrows, they'd forego the downloading in those "rare" cases. Why is it so important to nail these "rare" that they will compromise their own principles?
Perhaps, if the truth were known, those "rare" cases aren't really all that rare.
The 3 key points in the article (Score:5, Informative)
1. MediaSentry is a customer of Audible Magic software, the software in which Dr. Jacobson has an indirect financial interest, and uses Audible Magic software as part of its investigation. So when Dr. Jacobson testifies about how reliable MediaSentry is, he's talking about his customer, and when he testified that he doesn't know what their procedures are, he was lying.
2. The software process used by MediaSentry differs markedly from the way Richard Gabriel has sought to describe it in his representations to various courts.
3. Cara Duckworth, the RIAA's spokesperson, admits that
Re:Maybe capitalism really does promote darwanism (Score:5, Interesting)
That's the real reason behind these suits. They can't possibly be afraid you'll hear top 40 crap, because if they did they wouldn't let the radio (easily sampled to better than iTunes or MP3 quality) play them.
It isn't Britney they want to keep out of your ears, it's the indies. Note they don't say "illegal downloads" except when the context infers that all downloads are illegal? Their aim, mostly met, it to make you think they do indeed have a monopoly (or rather, cartel) and that all music is RIAA music. it worked on you, didn't it?
"Piracy" isn't hurting their sales and they know it. The indies (and the gasoline and food companies) are eating their lunch. Most of us have only so many dollars to spend. If I buy four $5 CDs from the band that plays at the bar (professionally recorded and duplicated, with art and packaging) that's twenty dollars I don't have to buy an RIAA CD.
Their only hope for survival is to kill the internet. Good luck with that.
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Re:Maybe capitalism really does promote darwanism (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree. In addition, this is one big reason why their "lost sales" calculations are huge stinking loads of bull manure. The RIAA figures that 1 song downloaded (regardless of the legality of the download) equals one sale not made which means that much revenue not put in their pockets. You could easily use the same reasoning to prove that Indie labels cost the record labels money. Or that food store sales cost the record companies money. Or that oil companies cost the record companies money.
Hey, there's an idea. Pit the Big Oil companies against the Big Record Companies/RIAA. Two Companies Enter! One leaves! We won't really be cheering for a winner so much as cheering for one of the companies to be beaten to a pulp.
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Re:Maybe capitalism really does promote darwanism (Score:4, Insightful)
But by the same token, the larger the group, the more idiots will be in that group, and the higher the likelyhood that some of them will be exceptionally stupid.
That also follows for competence.
The larger the group, the greater the need for organization. Above a certain critical limit, the bureaucracy bogs the effectiveness down.
But I don't see how this applies to evolution.
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Chicago ordinance will put an end to independents (Score:5, Informative)
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Hint: neither file name nor first few seconds being the same will do it.
Re:If you P2P then use protection. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:If you P2P then use protection. (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Peerguardian is better than nothing. But not by a lot. It maybe keeps the MafIAA from spotting you from their own IP address, but sometimes they neglect to inform PG when the IP numbers change. The MafIAA is perfectly capable of getting online via their local cable system (or one in Russia, for that matter, the tubes go everywhere), or registering a domain under an assumed name, or doing it from their mom's basement.