RIAA/MPAA vs. xMule Author, EarthStation 5 1107
Two bits of news in the ongoing battle between the RIAA/MPAA and the rest of the internet: One P2P company, apparently based in Palestine, has thrown down the gauntlet to the movie industry. Meanwhile, a developer of another P2P tool who unwisely chose to live in the USA has been shut down (mirror) by the RIAA.
Full text of article (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's the full text of the article, to hopefully stem some of that tide.
RIAA and the legality of filesharing. (Score:1, Interesting)
Music is a creative process. Today, when a musician publishes music, i.e., exposes it to the outside world, only a privileged set of individuals are able to use the music as they please (RIAA). However, the artist has drawn from the creativity of many other musicians and there is an existential responsibility placed upon them to give this back unconditionally, so creativity is fostered among people. This is why peoples using music how they like is imperative.
Consider: RIAA-bought legislators are trying to get insane bills made into law. Whether or not they succeed, there are plenty of confusing copyright protection regulations out there already, and the latest tactic the music industry is using in its attempt to slow the death of their obsolete business model is to target individual users, not just commercial CD duplicators or large-scale file-sharing networks.
There seems to be this big RIAA push to outlaw all devices that facilitate file copying. Computer operating systems, for example, all have ways to copy files, and all those new little USB memory devices are certainly handy places to stash files and give you an easy way to move them from one computer to another, even if neither computer is hooked to the Internet or a LAN.
And then there's that MP3/Ogg player. My SO has many years' worth of legally-purchased CDs, and loves the idea of being able to transfer the music on them to a small solid-state device instead of using a portable CD player and lugging stacks of CDs everywhere. But would my Stevie suddenly become a criminal if he started ripping all his CDs?
Apparently not. Yet. It seems the recording industry powers-that-be haven't gotten around to suing customers who transfer music (that they've paid for) from one medium to another to make personal use more convenient. But will this largesse on their part continue? Could my SO be at the beach one day and find himself tossed in the back of a police car if he has music in his possession for which he has no receipt on his person?
(Yes, this is one of those "slippery slope" arguments, and the idea of an innocent music fan getting arrested is as farfetched as the ideas of copyright terms getting extended by Congress every time Disney?s copyright on Mickey Mouse is due to expire.)
But it looks like the RIAA is now going after music fans who share as few as five songs with friends over the Internet.
What if my SO hands his headphones to a young friend who may not have heard a piece of 'classic rock' he enjoys? What if he shares five songs with ten friends at a party? What if he makes a compilation CD full of MP3 or Ogg Vorbis files for a friend by using a 'copyright circumvention device' like, say, his laptop computer? So far, the nasty old Internet hasn't come into play. But if my SO emails those same files to a few friends, is he suddenly a pirate?
I have given up trying to sort out all this music filesharing stuff. The only 100% safe solution I've come up with is to avoid owning any music whatsoever produced by RIAA member companies. If you look around a little, you can find plenty of interesting pieces, in almost all genres, sold directly by the artists or by small recording companies that aren't trying to make trouble for their customers.
Hopefully you'll take similar steps yourself to eliminate the risk of being arrested by the FBI or other law enf
And guess who? (Score:1, Interesting)
(MPAA) and the Record Association of America (RIAA),"
IMHO Earthstaion 5 hasnt declared war,
they are formalising it, the war has
been on for years now.
I dont suport ppl braking copyright laws,
but i hate companys that dont allow
there arhived copyrighted matrial to be
bought...
what is the point of having copyright and
sueing left right and center and yet not
makeing it avaible for purches at a resonable
price..
some companys out there want top $ for
products 20+ years old, even anchent
computer games and the like, it sickens me.
Copyright treaties in occupied countries (Score:5, Interesting)
Most countries are signatories to one or more copyright treaties that commit them to recognizing and protecting international copyrights. They are therefore more or less prohibited from allowing the explicit breach of copyright declared in this PR release.
But who is responsible for enforcing copyright in an occupied country? Palestine has been recognized by the UN as an occupied territory, with Israel as the occupying power. With little real power, is the Palestinian Authority still supposed to enforce copyright restrictions? Or is that for Israel to do?
The same situation would apply, I assume, in Iraq. America is the occupying power, so I would think the same criteria should apply as in the Israel/Palestine situation. There is no true Iraqi government to enforce copyright, but on the other hand it seems a bit absurd to think that American laws should govern Iraq.
Interesting situation....
Nope.. (Score:5, Interesting)
"Our group is made up of many people, Jordanians, Palestinians, Indians, Americans, Russians and Israelis. Some of us are Jewish, some Christians, some Hindus and other of us are Muslim.
Believe it or not, we all love and respect each other.
We all work and play together. Our families on many occasions eat at the same dinner table. We trust each other and are very close friends with each other. As a group, the most important thing in our life is our children, our families and love ones and of course our friends. "
Cuts both ways (Score:3, Interesting)
And now that I think about it...Israeli-US relations...bulldozers...the apache strike-helicopters are probably powering up even as I write this.
Provided this whole thing isn't some kind of hoax of course.
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:1, Interesting)
Other then that, I haven't bought cds since 2001 (And those were just second-hand jazz cds). I have all the music I want, and none of the new music is very interesting. Oh, except for Ben Verdery (really cool guitar), but that isn't RIAA owned, he's independant.
probably hoax (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not a speaker, but AFAIK "Ras Kabir" is arabic for "large head"
definately a pseudonym.
What's more, with the fighting in the west-bank over the last two years,
I doubt that people there had time to run any OS project, let alone one with "15 million active online users" cocurently. Especially entertainment-oriented.
This "declaration of war" is probably a hoax, and I wouldn't be surprized if kooky conspiracy-theories actually turn-out true in this case
(BTW, I'm not much of a speaker, but AFAIK "Ras Kabir" is arabic for "large head" definately a bad pseudonym )
You know what's idiotic? (Score:2, Interesting)
Seriously, I've been taken in by too many 'previews' of movies, thought 'this looks good', gone to see it, then wished I had not. Feels like I'm getting conned half the time. I'll buy DVDs, I'll pay to see good movies, but since I can't actually see a movie before I pay for it (unless I 'aquire it') what choice do I have?
None, and that's exactly what the MPAA wants. Text message that.
Boycotting is bad! (Score:2, Interesting)
I still buy CDs/DVDs and goto the Cinema, why they hell wouldn't I? watching a Film at home isn't the same as the Flicks, I don't care what TV you have. When LOTR Two Towers came out my and 15 of my mates went to see it at the Odeon London Leicester Square (Biggest Screen in the UK) Us and the other 2000 where in that screen, man, what an experience.
The Industry will learn that they can still make good sales with P2P if they just lower their price, not shut down the networks. I've downloaded moveis that I would NEVER buy, I wouldn't have bought them even before P2P was around, so the RIAA or whatever can't claim that for every movie we download they are losing that much money, cause thats a stupid statement, are they saying that in my house (5 students) we would have spent like 10000 on movies?!?!?! yeah get real. Don't deprive yourself to prove a point that's counter-productive
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:3, Interesting)
Nice sentiment (BIG) BUT (/BIG) (Score:5, Interesting)
Not that I'd de-advocating this sort of stance. I'd really prefer that my money not go to these money-grubbing [NAUGHTYS].
But think on this for a second. These idiots don't even have a NODDING acquaintence with common sense, or even REALITY. All they'll see, and yammer about, when sales plummet is "It's filesharing!" "It's texting!" "It's freedom of speech!"
No matter what, they're utterly incapable of believing tha that their sales dropoffs are actually due to:
Need I go on?
In short, no matter what people do, or do not, buy, the likes of the MPAA and the RIAA will merely blame-shift so they don't have to accept responsibility for their own [NAUGHTY]-ups.
I'm very impressed with ES5... (Score:5, Interesting)
2. Web site not slashdotted.
3. 40kb/sec download of the software. Exactly what kind of net pipes do they have running into Jenin? Maybe download.es5.com is located somewhere else...
4. None of this "we're just technology providers" bullshit. No, this is theftware at its best. Hey, the US has paid billions to help the Israeli state bomb the Palestinians into the stone age, it's not surprising there is not huge local support for US "intellectual property".
The software was apparently developed in Russia, financed by Arab and Israeli businessmen. It appears to use UDP rather than TCP/IP, which is a neat idea when you are sending redundant chunks of information around, and SSL for security, which may or may not be really secure.
The whole thing may be a hoax, I am downloading it to a test machine to try right now.
At last, someone with the guts to sock it to those bums at the MPAA and RIAA. Yeah!!
Re:Precedent against this sort of suit (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a HOAX!!! (Score:1, Interesting)
Second, E5 seems like a hoax, Ras Kabir? It means Big Head if i'm not mistaken, not quite your regular Palestinian name. So it is a nick/pseudonim, fine, but all these absurd press releases about P2P software and wars on RIAA make it seem a little funny. Has anyone tried the E5 software? Does it do what they say, or is it just another Kazaa Lite?
I'm afraid to try it because I'm running Windows, and you know what might happen if you take software from strangers...
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:It's Idiotic. (Score:5, Interesting)
No they don't. They have the right to TRY to make money by making movies that people want to see. They have no right to expect a profit if they make crap, no matter how much they spend making the crap.
ridiculous (Score:3, Interesting)
Let me ask you something; how can we call the US the 'free capital of the world', or 'a place where personal freedom thrive' when one can be pretty much condemned because of the connontations and possible uses that the piece of software one wrote *might* have?
Who are we as individuals when we support and raise our stand to *free the world of tyrans* overseas, when we let this type of things happen @ home? Yes, I know. Two totally different things. The consequences of having a tyran as a ruler are definitely not the same than having a corrupt and money driven institution that proposes and passes laws; but the underlying principle is the same. Freedom, of any kind.
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:2, Interesting)
Newsflash: most P2P file-transfer apps are used for copyright infringement. Blame the users and Napster--but you still have to live with it.
(Oh, and if you are just working on P2P, take anonymnity out of the picture and RIAA will probably leave you alone. P2P isn't bad, but anonymous P2P is almost certinaly so.)
I urge everyone reading this to be very diligent in your boycott of buying new music or going to see movies.
Bah. If I care about how the law is going, I'll write a letter.
Useful URL. (Score:2, Interesting)
( I know, shameless plug. )
Yup (Score:5, Interesting)
a) Are cheaper
b) Don't send money to the RIAA
I haven't bought a new CD in many years. I have bought used though.
half.com rocks.
p2p can be used for illegal actions.. (Score:2, Interesting)
I would presume that you can use a gun to do things that are much worse than what you ever could achieve with Kazaa (RIAA might disagree)..
Then again, while we are at it: you could speed in a car, or drive drunk and kill somebody.
Point being the obvious: I dont care if piratism is illegal, it should be, its just that today its easier to pirate music than to buy it, so, it is pirated. The fault for that lies with the industry, but its still not justifying piratism.
But: Dont illegalize tools that may be used for both good and bad, they are only tool, and as I said, I can think of things much worse and harmful than a p2p application..
Re:Interesting (Score:3, Interesting)
Still, an UDP based network requires known servers or points of contact. Even if those change, they're still targets that can be traced and attacked. ES5 is a step in the right direction towards anonymous file sharing, but it's not quite there yet.
They aren't anti-MPAA and Anti-RIAA (Score:4, Interesting)
From the article:Earthstation 5 also has a FREE multi-user Voice and Video chat system,
FREE Dating system, provides FREE video streaming of first run movies, FREE
ten SEX channels, FREE live Sporting events, and will be releasing soon a
Voice over IP application providing FREE local and international telephone
calls to its users to communicate with each other.
They are attacking the old bricks-and-mortar businesses, in an attempt to force them to change their ancient business practices. And good for them! Information wants to be free, but content doesn't have to be. These companies had better start releasing their music/movies/services to the unwashed masses in a proper and timely manner or people are going to do it for them.
Cyber Terror Opp? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm no fan of the MPAA, or the Israli Government, and I don't want to add fuel to their arguments to shut down P2P, but, doesn't anyone worry about connecting to a renegade server in Palestine? Doesn't it seem too easy?
The name of Palestine. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Full text of article (Score:2, Interesting)
Come to Canada. We've already established that file sharing is legal [techcentralstation.com]...
Re:Full text of article (Score:1, Interesting)
As much as we'd all like to think we're safe from RIAA-style action up here, we're not. Don't be fooled into a sense of safety.
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:5, Interesting)
Jaysyn
Stealing stolen movies from ES5? (Score:5, Interesting)
Frustrated, I whipped out my trusty copy of ASFRecorder. Imagine my surprise when it failed to connect! First time that has ever happened to me. So I whipped out my trusty backup copy of ASFRecorder that was recompiled with a Windows Media Player User-Agent string. That didn't work either! This was bizarre. I'm watching the video play right now (albeit poorly) in WMP but ASFRecorder with the exact same user agent is getting connection closed. I try HiDownload, again, failed, even with the same agent string! What is going on here?
The entire thing is SWF based so I download an evaluation copy of SWF Scanner and decide to see what URL I'm actually going to. Low and behold, what is this?
on (unLoad) {Get URL("mms://stream.es5.com:1755/es5/movies/The%20H
What the hell is with that blank "target" paramenter? Can anyone explain that? I have a feeling that is the problem. ASFRecorder only takes a URL, there is no place to specify a target. Ditto for HiDownloader and Windows Media Player. I confirmed that if I type the stream location into Media Player, it fails to connect. But, if I make an ASX file that links to the stream and includes the blank "target" parameter, it works!
Okay, now it's gone beyond trying to see if The Hulk is really as crappy as everyone says. This is a mystery, and I'm hoping someone here can figure it out.
In short, streaming file plays in Windows Media Player but it seems impossible to capture this stream using any of the tools available. Is there a solution? And why would these boneheads at war with the RIAA/MPAA bother to sabatoge downloads to begin with?
- JoeShmoe
.
Effect on local Palistininan Entertainment market? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Nice sentiment (BIG) BUT (/BIG) (Score:5, Interesting)
The MPAA and the RIAA are quite aware of why they're not making money. They don't truly beleive that filesharing and text messages are killing their business. The people running these things are many things, but stupid is not one of them.
What they are really interested in is providing the perception of being victims. They are hoping to use this perception that they are failing at the hands of college-age criminals in order to garner anti-competitive protections for their business. Even if they may be making less money than before (is that even true?), media remains a TREMENDOUSLY good business for established players. By establishing themselves as victims, they can prevent new distribution channels (like P2P) that they can't control from allowing new competitors to emerge.
In the end, that's what this is about. The Theater->Video->Tv chain is a tightly controlled one for the members of the MPAA (the RIAA has similiar in CD->Radio). When indepednent film makers can start to distribute quality work over alternative distribution channels it is in the best interests of these companies to shut them down.
One thing to consider.. if the RIAA wasn't seen as the victim of 'stealing' on Napster, does the DMCA even get passed? I doubt it.. Much like the airline industry bail-outs. Without 9/11 the Airlines would have a much more difficult time getting money out of our government, but since they are seen as 'victims' of the increased fear after 9/11 it is much easier for them to get these kinds of concessions.
These laws are not born out of hatred for the American consumer, but generally on really wanting to do the right thing. After all, if the MPAA is being stole from then we should do what we can to fix that. The problem is, our representatives are having trouble seeing the difference between justice and manipulation.
Re:Full text of article (Score:1, Interesting)
This could probably be argued either way, since it has never been tried in court we will have to wait to see. No doubt a good lawyer could make it fit as there are no provision that states that transfers for person use over electronic means is disqualified under the act.
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:5, Interesting)
That's not a boycott. That is just you making a choice. It is the same as me, a non-smoker, saying I have boycotted the tobacco industry. If you're not in the market and you don't buy then it is not really a boycott is it.
We can argue all day that the music industry sucks and the bands all suck but when the bands sell out concert venues in 30 minutes then someone must like them. But why aren't their CD's selling? In 1983 I'd pay full price for a Billy Squire tape for a couple good songs. In 2003 I don't have to. Is P2P to blame? Hell yes. It might be hard to prove using sales figures. You can't look at a pile of receipts and figure out why there are more or less but when you look around at the popularity of P2P, the volume of files online, and the volume of comments HERE and other places as to why people trade there is your proof that P2P is hurting the industry.
This post will probably be modded as troll or flamebait but it is pretty close to the truth.
Re:Not that it needs to be said, but (Score:3, Interesting)
The RIAA is trying to kill the first sale principle so they can collect royalties each time a CD is resold. They have enlisted Garth Brooks as a high profile spokesman for this unholy crusade. To him, I say, "Sorry Garth, that would be giving you and the label way too much control. You are not being robbed because you were paid the first time. Get over yourself, you pretentious twit!"
Maybe I'm paranoid... (Score:1, Interesting)
Thats right, their web site says they are a group of multinationals, and all good friends. Its a good thing you can trust everything you read on the net...
He should have got a line with a second ISP (Score:2, Interesting)
Now, I agree that his situation sucks. But when practically all your own life depends on an internet connection, how come you don't have some safeguards in place, like a second connection, even if it's a modem one?
My work isn't online, but here I have 4 computers, an UPS, and another one that I'll buy because I'm running out of capacity. I can also dig out my old modem if I ever need. If you depend so much on something, you have to take some care and make sure that you won't lose money while you look for some place that still sells AT supplies, or something like that.
Sounds too good to be true (Score:2, Interesting)
How can they afford to give away FREE everything with no Ads or Spyware? What is the catch?
Please don't tell me that not everything is about money because it is.
- SR
Re:Has anyone tried the ES5? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Precedent against this sort of suit (Score:4, Interesting)
I could care less about having a gun for my personal civil protection. The chances of me getting to a firearm before a criminal shot me are next to nothing. But the fact of the matter is, we don't trust our Government. That's why America was founded with so many checks and balances; one of which being the people shrugging off a tyrannical government. I believe it was either Jefferson or Washington who said that it was essential for a people to revolt every so often so as to keep the government clean and honest. I don't know that I necessarily agree with that, but the truth is, we want to have the ability to protect our rights (if it ever came down to it.)
That is why I believe in the 2nd amendment. I don't care that it's a sport, I don't care that it "protects" people from criminals (which I don't believe justifies the many more deaths as a result of illegal gun violence each year). I just want to make sure that, if it ever came down to it, I, or my children, or my children's children would have the means to do what they need to do if the situation were to call for it. I don't mind gun control. I'll lock my guns up in 3 safes and bury them if I have to. But I want to have access to a firearm if it were needed.
Paranoid? Probably. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. Like someone else stated: I value my liberty over security. The Patriot Act, gun banning, etc, etc, while potentially keeping me safer draw perilously close to trading my freedoms for a little more "safety".
I'd rather be free and fighting (or dead) than safe and a slave.
Sharon started the current war... (Score:1, Interesting)
Someday there'll be a US administration that doesn't blindly follow Israeli fundamentalists and their ethnic cleansing agenda ("Israel as a Jewish state"). When that happens, right-wing Israelis will regret their past irresponsibility. I, for one, can't wait.
Re:The problem is (Score:2, Interesting)
It has nothing to do with not paying and everything to do with convenience. It is simply more convienient to spend a day downloading a movie than it is to go buy a DVD for $20 at a store. Rather than trying to sue everybody (which wont work) they should make their offerings better than what you can download for "free" (nothing is free unless your time is worthless). Make the downloads reasonably priced, with guaranteed quality and reliablilty, and you won't lose that much to p2p. Maybe Apple should open another iTMS: iTunes Movie Store.
Re:Precedent against this sort of suit (Score:3, Interesting)
Along these same line, I would like to see "drugs" legalized, including hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. Start selling them cheaply, and let people overdose themselves.
My personal view on it is, this is just a bit of chlorine in the gene pool.
And for those who are wondering, no this is not meant to be sarcastic, I really do believe in letting people kill themselves in new and intersting ways.
Re:Ah..but in 1983 you would have paid a fair pric (Score:3, Interesting)
TROJAN? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Precedent against this sort of suit (Score:2, Interesting)
That would only be the case if (a) all criminals KNEW you had a gun (so a concealed weapon, or one in your nightstand, wouldn't be a deterrent) or (b) all criminals knew EVERYONE had a gun (so they would take the trouble to wear bulletproof vests, sneak around more and be brazen less, plan to grab hostages as quickly as possible so that you wouldn't shoot, and so on).
Either way, crime wouldn't go down...in case (a), crime for YOU would go down, but up for other people*, and in case (b) crime would not go down, the nature of it would merely change to suit the new circumstances**.
*this becomes a "blame the victim" argument eventually, by the way -- the way that the "I drive an SUV to protect my family" justification becomes the "I don't worry about killing another family who owns a small car, they should have bought an SUV, too!" argument, which fails because satisfaction of the argument requires everyone else to own an SUV, at which point SUVs cease to provide any practical advantage.
**Consider the "chipped" ignition key, wherein a computerized key is required to start an expensive car. Thefts from parking lots for these vehicles went down, but carjackings (where key and owner are both present, often with tragic results) went up. It didn't stop the crime, it just changed the nature of the crime, in this case arguably for the worse. Unless all carjack victims own guns.
Music Sharing Legal in Canada (Score:2, Interesting)
the solution is (Score:3, Interesting)
Once the industry tracking organizations demonstrate that the money spent on entertainment has simply shifted to organizations not involved with the *AA organizations, it's all over.
No more piracy as an excuse, and a bunch of companies we don't like will be forced to find new business models or die under new management or in the case of the record companies, new owners.
So have many others (Score:1, Interesting)
So why is it that we are always bombarded with Israel? Is it because they're a major oil-producing nation? uh, no. Is it because they possess some natural resource that is of vital importance to the strategic security of the United States? uh, no. Is it because they are a major trading partner? uh, no. Is it because they are strategically important to the U.S. military, as in major American bases are there? uh, no. Is it because Israel is an incredibly populous country? uh, no. fewer people than the greater Cleveland metro area, actually. Is it because they're an extremely powerful country? uh, no. never have been, never will be. Is it because they're an embattled democracy? Well, gee, so is Columbia. So is India. BFD. We don't get to watch anything about them in the news though, do we? In short, there is no good reason why the entire populace of the world's only superpower should be plagued with incessant whining about a country that most people couldn't care less about.
I recognize that all 1.5 million Jews in this country might care very intensely about Israel. Fine, go obsess on your own time. The other 250 million plus of us just wish you'd shut the hell up.