The RIAA's Hit List Named 1008
Carpoolio writes "TechTV is the first I've seen to name names in the fight between the RIAA and music downloaders. Using an online court records search service, they've found a number of the subpoenas served by the RIAA to ISPs, which will ultimately end in lawsuits for the people named on this list. Right now, they've published a number of the P2P user names filed with the US District Court in Washington, DC, mainly Kazaa users. Are you on the list?"
What about people who don't live in the US? (Score:5, Interesting)
Interesting that (Score:5, Interesting)
So I wonder how many people that covers?
hmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
RIAA will probably make more out of lawsuit settlements than through their music
KoalaBear33
True Names (Score:5, Interesting)
UserID to Person Mapping (Score:5, Interesting)
Not that I'm on the list, but do they intend to catch the person who actually created the account, but may not have downloaded any copyrighted material, but inadvertently forgotten to log off? Failing to log off isn't a crime by itself, nor should you be responsible if your account was used for illegal activity, unknown to you.
Let us know if you're on the list & the lowdow (Score:5, Interesting)
If I were to end up on the list I'd damn sure let everyone know and I'd fight it with everything I have.
Remember don't fund an entity that will only sue you into financial ruin. We can hurt them where it hurts them most...in the wallet. This is the only way to make a statement. Once these lawsuits start then the shit is really going to hit the fan and the backlash will be severe.
Think of it this way...what's more important violent crime or copyright violations? Well the RIAA is sending out so many subpoenas without judicial oversight I might add that court systems are having to redistribute their workers to cover the overwhelming workload. That means less work on violent, horrible crimes and more work on copyright infractions? This is beyond ridiculous!
Join the boycott starting August 1-30th and do not buy any music in this period.
Here's a list of who to boycott Boycott List [boycott-riaa.com]
Here's the products to boycott Products to Boycott [cafepress.com]
IP's (Score:2, Interesting)
Yeah yeah, I know, stupid defense, but this is lawyers were dealing with. Probably technology inept ones too.
This whole think irks me. If I leave a cd out on my front porch and someone steals it, makes a copy, then returns it how am I liable?
I never said anyone could d/l what I have in my directories, but I also didn't say they couldn't. I leave it up to them and their conscience.
Hah (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm sure some other places are similar too. The college itself recently changed their network to do a similar thing for all their dorm connections.
Suck on that, RIAA!
Friend of mine was just served a subpoena (Score:2, Interesting)
Is everyone on Kazaalite screwed? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm pretty sure that they ruled that since the filesharing services could be used for other things, they can't really go after KazaaLite... but what about the users?
Are there (accurate) logs of everyone who has ever used KazzaLite? Should we worry?
Downloading or sharing? (Score:2, Interesting)
In other words, if I download a bunch of copyrighted files, but I don't share them, am I at a greater or lessor risk of getting tagged on one of these lists?
Why not say you're behind a wireless router? (Score:2, Interesting)
Jack-O says NO (Score:5, Interesting)
Michael Jackson [cnn.com] has denounced the RIAA
couple o' quotes:
"I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to download, but the answer cannot be jail,"
"Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws
It's not surprising that I actually had to do a search to find the story, although it was on the front page yesterday. It's not even on the entertainment page anymore.
Other ways they won't know (Score:4, Interesting)
2) You use a free wireless access network (you know trading MP3's while at the baseball game mentioned in recent post)
3) You use somebody else's network (An unsecured wireless network, etc)
4) Your ISP doesn't keep good records
I imagine most of these people can eventually be traced to a person, but I'm sure more than a few are getting away with it.
in the navy ... (Score:5, Interesting)
At the risk of telling boring old war stories, I attended a military college where one sad soul forgot to log his machine off. Someone found the machine and used it to send a vulgar message to the universal e-mail alias, including the commandant, director of cadets, and professors, on down to the lowliest first year. In true military fashion, they made no attempt to find the real author of the e-mail, but instead threatened to court martial the guy who left the computer logged on, for violating security rules. Eventually he avoided court martial, but was given a severe administrative punishment.
RIAA capitalizing by targeting KazzaLite (Score:3, Interesting)
The RIAA basically just knocked out thousands (possibly millions) of glass houses with a pebble rock.
we Brits are ok...for now (Score:2, Interesting)
Ie a specific court order would need to be presented for each specific individual, not a 'blanket' claim for ISP user information.it seems the much lower burden of proof in the USA for organisations like the RIAA protects us..... for now.
Re:What about people who don't live in the US? (Score:5, Interesting)
Absolute Power (Score:1, Interesting)
We have billion dollar record companies going after teeny-boppers, who, despite the fact that they may have snarfed a few mp3 files, are nevertheless either current or future buyers of music.
Brilliant. If this was about money, the record companies wouldn't risk alienating their current and future customer base. It's about power, instead--domination of the market by force instead of adaptation and competitive product.
Re:What if I do own the music I downloaded? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:last name on the list: (Score:2, Interesting)
Wireless AP / ISP Rules and KaZaa* User Names (Score:2, Interesting)
Can you claim your Wireless AP under the same type of device as an ISP and possibly be ok? Granted, you might have to produce a list of POSSIBLE people, but then you can just say you are an open network.
Also, the changing of usernames seems to be a funny "workaround" for the time being. But consider how the judge will see your anti-authoritive point-of-view. Maybe you might get off on a "jury of your peers" (why does that sound funny?), but you will more than likely not get a snicker from the judge.
Obviously IANAL, but can someone help me out on this?
Re:Brilliant business plan.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I honestly believe that the majority of file-swappers spend MORE money on cd's than they would otherwise.
These ARE thier customers that they are suing . .
Re:Jack-O says NO (Score:2, Interesting)
I caught the guy on a talking heads program on cable news. According to Tommy Lee (of Motley Crue fame), everyday music companies are closing or laying off people over the revenues losses.
Wow. I didn't know the music biz was suffering so much. Next time I buy an album, I pay 15-20% more at Borders instead of shopping at BestBuy. I'm helping!
How about some indirection? (Score:2, Interesting)
- Create a P2P system that requires a password for access (Windows file sharing should do!)
- Encrypt the password
- Leave the encrypted password and the decryption key accessible
Now, the password itself is a copyrighted work of my creation. So using the decryption key to crack the password should be a DMCA violation. Thus if people (including the RIAA!) use my decrypted password to access my files, it is they who are violating the law, not me, i.e. I cannot be accused of making copyrighted works publicly available.Thoughts? (and apologies if this is how some of the more advanced systems already work; I am not familiar with them)
Re:Always referred to as theft (Score:3, Interesting)
Thanks for the clarification. But it still doesn't matter jack squat. When the media talks about "theft" in the context of file-sharing, everyone knows they're talking about the mass copyright-infringement of media that happens on p2p networks.
What you're doing here is nit-picking because of sour grapes. There's no substantial damage being done to society because of these misappropriation of terms, since everyone knows they are talking about copyright infringement. And in court, the file sharers will be SUED under copyright infringement. Not theft, not copyright theft, not grand theft, but copyright infringement.
headline - RIAA sues the Universities
slashdot - that's bullshit, they should be suing the file-sharers! why do they keep getting it wrong? assholes!
headline - RIAA sues the P2P software makers
slashdot - that's bullshit, they should be suing the file-sharers! why do they keep getting it wrong? assholes!
headline - RIAA sues the ISPs
slashdot - that's bullshit, they should be suing the file-sharers! why do they keep getting it wrong? assholes!
headline - RIAA sues the file-sharers
slashdot - that's bullshit, they should uh.. uh.. uh.. stop using the term "theft"! why do they keep getting it wrong? assholes!
Re:What I'd like to see (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm curious how it would do that. Kazaa, as far as I can tell just acts as a middleman, and your computer makes a direct connection to the computer hosting the file, or vice versa, depending on firewall setups. You'll always have an ip address to work off of. This, and a time of day gives you an ISP account, even in the case of DHCP, and an ISP account gives you a name, address, and credit card, and oh boy, is it all downhill from there.
What I also wonder is how the RIAA is catching people who don't share - I seem to recall reading that they were also going after people who just downloaded songs, one guy as few as five. How do they track that? The obvious way is that the RIAA hosted the files, and waited for users to download them. But in that case, the copyright holder made the files freely available on a public network! Is downloading directly from the copyright holder now illegal somehow?
As a caveat, I don't really care, since I actually don't download mp3's in any form. Not because I think it's wrong, either, I just might be one of the ten people in the world that really likes shopping for CD's, and likes so few albums that it's actually pretty cheap. =p
But who the hell is being sued? (Score:4, Interesting)
But who the hell is being sued? Is the RIAA suing downloaders or sharers -- or both? Is the RIAA really selectively choosing defendents based on the particular songs? If I download an MP3 of an unsigned local band or an independent whose music is not owned by the RIAA, will the RIAA sue me anyway?
I'd like to see these details. They speak to the ultimate motive of the lawsuit, especially if it appears that the RIAA is intentionally trying to flatten the independent music scene or prevent artists from choosing production/distribution by an entity other than the RIAA and its members.
Incidentally, Munkeyspankers 1-20 can hide out at my place until the heat blows over. #21 is SOL.
Re:Oh man! (Score:5, Interesting)
Get a wireless router
Reformat and securely erase your harddrives
Claim that somebody taped into your wireless router and was using it routinely
How could they prove you were lying?
Re:This guy... (Score:3, Interesting)
Mr. Skippy...
Which one?
The Evil Twin
He isn't here right now...
Irony (Score:2, Interesting)
I am on the list (Score:4, Interesting)
What am I going to do about it? Nothing. They can keep sending legal threats, but I will simply ignore them. Arrest warrents?? Pfft. Most cops will not even bother to take someone in for something so stupid. I don't have the time to download movies and music, I simply have plenty of server space and fast connections. I'm doing a public service, and a major disservice to the RIAA/MPAA by moving 100+ Gb a month. Half the stuff that moves through is junk that I would never even want to watch or listen too.
I'm not going to go on about how unfair it all is, I don't even care. I know that what I'm doing is wrong, and I will continue to do it because I know it pisses people off. This is an ideal hobby, especially since it's lower risk, and less time-intensive than pushing dope to kids.
And boycott . Ha! Sounds just like that stupid 'don't buy gas on April 23rd and we'll show those rich fat-cats who's in charge'. Even if such a boycott took off, the RIAA would simply absorb the loss, then attribute it to more filesharing. Way to go! That'll show 'em!
Re:Not on the list... (Score:3, Interesting)
That sort of thing was common and normal in the 60s (early Beatles - Michael Jackson wons those songs now), and still happened in the 70s (Bruce Springsteen - he unwittingly signed away his ownership in his early days, and subsequently stopped recording/performing for years waiting for his contract to expire - this is where he got his nickname), but if someone hasn't learned from the past, read their contract and understood it, not been overpowered by the 'gee-whiz' factor, not been drunk/stoned at the time and isn't a complete idiot, then they should still own their copyright. It wouldn't surprise me if there were some bands/artists who failed all the the above qualifications and got shafted with a bad contract, but then it could be argued that it's their own damned fault if that were the case.
Some writers sign publishing deals in which the publisher takes a cut from the royalties in exchange for services such as collecting royalties and getting songs into a paying position - again, it's a business deal, separate from a recording contract, so anyone signing a publishing contract should understand it fully.
Copyright royalties are The Big Money. That's why ownership is important, and anybody who even just pieces three chords together and trys to be taken seriously would/should know that.
I learned all this when I was involved in the music industry.
Re: well... (Score:4, Interesting)
It's just, damnit it's not right. I didn't think I could hate the RIAA any more than I did, but seeing this shit's happening just makes it all the worse.
I swear, if I ever get signed to a label I want to make sure in my contract it says the RIAA have no rights to sue over anyone downloading my music!
(I'd do it unsigned but I couldn't afford to get by that way, which makes me feel even better...)
Re:hmm... (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes, but I want to know what their long-term sales (and losses) will be like when people like me, who used to buy music regularly, decide never to buy it again. For example, Jane's Addiction's new album came out yesterday and even though I have three of their previous albums (all legit), I have no intention of buying this one simply because it was put out by a member of the RIAA. It's painfully clear that music purchases support a draconian industry with utter contempt for its customers more than they feed "starving artists".
As the RIAA starts suing individuals for even minor infractions, it won't be a stretch for them to be perceived by regular customers as 'evil', and when you attack and alienate customers, your overall business model is doomed. You can't tell me that every one of those people sharing mp3s has stopped buying music completely, and once they're sued, you know all their family & friends are going to stop buying music too.
It's really too bad that it would be impossible to figure out how many people have stopped buying music because of the actions of the RIAA. Any poll on Slashdot would be heavily slanted. Maybe at a concert they should ask people as they're standing in line whether or not they plan on buying music in the future if the RIAA will sue them for sharing 10 mp3s over p2p.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Gandhi
Don't get caught (Score:3, Interesting)
Time for the Customary Freenet Reference :) (Score:3, Interesting)
If you want to trade content anonymously then I suggest you use Freenet. It's priorities are anonymous first, and speed second ;). A link with more
information is found here:
a te [sourceforge.net]
http://freenet.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]
Also you might consider donating money, so the progress is faster. They already have a full time programmer paid for by donations, but they are always in need of more:
http://freenet.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=don
Re:Oh man! (Score:2, Interesting)
The correlation I was drawing between *real* victims was made earlier (molesters on the prowl, kiddie pron). And yes, I make a distinction between predators that will harm (in the physical sense) versus copyright/intellectual property crime. Taking a rapist off the street improves my community, attacking a 15 year old kid because he copied some music and shared with his friends IS different.
My ultimate point was drawing the line and who can request such information from my ISP (police with warrant, a copyright holder, my boss, you?). I think a reasonable solution would be let the copyright holders attack the P2P, but if you want my info, from my ISP, that should require a warrant. IMHO
Any good ISPs out there that destroy records? (Score:5, Interesting)
I know that many librarians, after the Patriot act was passed, started to destroy circulation records daily - it wasn't illegal for them to do it, and they felt very strongly that the government shouldn't be able to see what books people were getting. (Incidentally, this is a tragedy in some literary circles since a popular field of study in literature now is examining old library records from the 18th century onward to see which books were popular during eras past).
These big ISPs, comcast, earthlink, etc. offer unlimited plans, and have no need to record which account is mapped to which IP for anything longer than a day (just to ensure bandwidth usage isn't being abused or something). If they were to have a policy of discarding the records every day at midnight, it would save them hassle (what a pain in the neck it must be to recieve 200 lettes from the RIAA in the morning) and protect thier user's rights. How can they go wrong?
Create a P2P virus (Score:3, Interesting)
Create a virus that goes to screwed up machines and installs P2P software.
Then systematicaly download VALID mp3 files from the P2P network and share them with the world.
Then the RIAA can have lots of people to mess with.
What I dont get though..why is it illegal to share files you have on your computer? You are not doing anything illegal. Not like you are sending them to the person. Besides the person knows if they are allowed to download the songs or not!
Just a thought.
well done kazaa alternative (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:My thoughts, and a simple solution (Score:2, Interesting)
not quite (Score:3, Interesting)
Slightly unrelated, but you may also want to check out this site [arl.org] for a history of American copyright law.
MJ has seen the future... (Score:3, Interesting)
Regardless of their own feelings on the matter.As the boycott takes off, this is going to become the only safe public position for a musician to take on this issue, repeating the RIAA party line is going to have an immediate downside for the musician in terms of smaller concert audiences and reduced record sales.
In fact, I expect musicians to be told by their labels and publicists to denounce their employers as soon as the boycott picks up steam.
Denouncing the labels is going to become the smart, safe thing to do... just as denouncing the War in Vietnam was the smart, safe thing for musicians to do in the '60s. It's called the marketing and commoditization of protest, and it can be very profitable. Well, this is a good thing, as long as all the money goes to musicians who aren't working for the RIAA labels.
Don't be fooled by major label musicians who denounce the industry and above all, DON'T buy their records just because they're saying cool public things about the boycott, buying their records just weakens our position..
If a musician not only denounces the RIAA, but immediately breaks his contract with the label and starts selling on the Web and uploading MP3s to P2P and Internet Radio, then reward him by buying.
However, in the meantime, just make sure all the music you buy is from independent artists and spend just as much on music as you usually do.
Every dollar spent on independent musicians is another nail in the RIAA coffin.
Let's nail the lid on the RIAA coffin nice and tight.
Re:Oh man! (Score:5, Interesting)
PLEASE READ THIS (Score:1, Interesting)
I am going to make a suggestion that i would like everyone to help out with. This is a legal thing so dont worry
We need to announce a global moratorium on music purchases as a statement against the RIAA's actions. this will let them know that we, as their customers, will not stand for being criminalised for our actions. We need to make it clear that WE hold the power, not them and thier lawyers.
What I suggest is that on Monday the 4th of August (a week and a half from now) that noone buys any music on any format, be that cd, tape, MD or whatever. Its only one day and its easy to do. Just wait till the next day... however the global sales trend will be PHENOMENAL.
I repeat... ON MONDAY THE 4TH OF AUGUST.. DO NOT PURCHASE ANY MUSIC IN ANY FORMAT.
Those of you who are so disposed should feel free to go nuts with the downloading on that day if you so desire.
In order for this to work what needs to happen is that everyone who reads this needs to cut and paste this message into an e-mail and send it to as many people as they can. If we get the word out on this we can really make a statement to the RIAA.
RIAA
ACCEPT what is happening. Music piracy has always been around and its never destroyed the industry before. The internet does in some ways make it easier, however if you stop people downloading music, they can still copy CD's. What you guys need to do is work on digital music distribution formats and focus your vast resources on getting people to pay a fair fee for reliabel music downloads rather than suing and criminalising your customers. We will not stand for this. You are alienating your customers. The more people you sue, the more people you hurt, the more people are going to stop buying music in protest.
People, PLEASE help me out with this. WE CAN make a difference and all it takes is for you all to just pass this mail on.
Also if you lovely slasdot folks could put this on a page and mention it in the daily mailout it would be great
Signed
Metatron
EMAIL Addresses for MSK (Score:1, Interesting)
Managing Partner
Thomas Lambert [mailto] tpl@msk.com
Chief Operating Officer
Kevin Gaut [mailto] keg@msk.com
Executive Director
Jerry Kaufman [mailto] j1k@msk.com
Director of Human Resources
Charles L. Curtis [mailto] clc@msk.com
Client Development Manager
Gail V. Reysa [mailto] gvr@msk.com
Director of Operations and Facilities
Linda Schwartz-Wright [mailto] lsw@msk.com
Director of Information Systems
Paul E. Banks [mailto] peb@msk.com
Director of Library Services
Carolyn A. Pratt [mailto] cap@msk.com
Re:EMAIL Addresses for MSK (Score:1, Interesting)
yxm@msk.com
Yvette Molinaro [mailto]
Re:Oh man! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Oh man! (Score:3, Interesting)
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC.
15503 VENTURA BOULEVARD
ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 91436
UNITED STATES
Anti-Piracy Operations
PHONE: (818) 728 - 8127
Email: MPAA@copyright.org <mailto:MPAA@copyright.org>
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Name: <removed>
E-mail: <removed>
ISP: <removed>
Via Fax/Email
RE: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures
MPA Case Name: dcc://roached11(galaxynet)@<removed>/ [with IP address: <removed>]
Reference #: 2xxxxxxx5
Date of Infringement: 7/19/2003 3:02:06 PM GMT
Dear <removed>:
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) represents the following motion picture production and distribution companies:
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Paramount Pictures Corporation
TriStar Pictures, Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
United Artists Pictures, Inc.
United Artists Corporation
Universal City Studios, LLLP
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
We have received information that you are providing Internet access to and possibly hosting the internet site;
dcc://roached11(galaxynet)@<removed>/
which is offering downloads of copyrighted motion picture(s) including such title(s) as:
28 Days Later
Bruce Almighty
Fast and The Furious 2, The
Hulk, The
Just Married
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The
Spaceballs
The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.
We request that you immediately do the following:
1) Disable access to this site;
2) Remove this site from your server; and
3) Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.
By copy of this letter, the owner of the above referenced Internet site and/or email account is hereby directed to cease and desist from the conduct complained of herein.
On behalf of the respective owners of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 512, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owners, their respective agents, or the law.
Also pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owners of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.
Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions. Kindly include the above noted Reference # in the subject line of all email correspondence.
We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested.
Respectfully,
Thomas Temple
Director
Worldwide Internet Enforcement
Re:Oh man! (Score:2, Interesting)
Everyone I know that keeps MP3 copies of the music they own just rips it from the disk that they have.
Some CD stores (e.g. The Wall) will replace a broken CD for free, for the life of the owner.
Re:Oh man! (Score:2, Interesting)