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Should There Be Punishment For Bogus 'Pre-Settlement' Letters?
,----[ Quote ]
| We've recently seen efforts to ramp up the
| system of "pre-settlement" letters as a way to
| "profit" off of file sharing. The scheme works
| by having a company that either holds the
| copyrights to certain works or has merely
| licensed them for this purpose put those files
| online and then see who is downloading them.
| That's the simplest version (though, of
| questionable legality since if the copyright
| holder itself is putting the content online,
| you can raise questions about whether or not
| the sharing is really unauthorized). Some
| others in the space don't actually put their
| content online themselves, but try to find IP
| addresses of those who are sharing the
| content, and then sending those users "pre-
| settlement" letters, in the hopes that many
| people just pay up, rather than fighting the
| letters (or, more likely, ignoring them).
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091130/0616407124.shtml
Using faulty data to demand settlements from innocent surfers
,----[ Quote ]
| A Princeton researcher finds himself bombarded
| with demands to pay up after swapping adult
| movies onlineâbut he didn't do it. It appears
| to be another case of extremely-lazy IP
| "enforcement" using bad BitTorrent data
| collection.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/using-faulty-data-to-demand-settlements-from-innocent-surfers.ars
Virgin Media Using Deep Packet Inspection To Spy On Your
Internet Usage For Hollywood
,----[ Quote ]
| While this is just a test, and the information
| is being aggregated in a supposedly anonymous
| way just to judge the extent of the problem,
| there are a bunch of issues with such claims.
| First, there is no such thing as an anonomyzed
| dataset. Second, there are some pretty serious
| privacy questions raised by this. In the US,
| the use of Deep Packet Inspection for looking
| at what users do has been frowned upon, but in
| the UK it's been deemed not so bad by the
| legal system (however, the wider EU doesn't
| agree with the UK on this position). No matter
| how you look at it, it does seem quite extreme
| for your ISP to carefully look at everything
| you do online. In the end, of course, this
| will only serve to drive up the demand for
| encryption technology.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091130/0316037113.shtml
Inaccurate Copyright Enforcement: Questionable "best" practices
and BitTorrent specification flaws
,----[ Quote ]
| In the past few weeks, Ed has been writing
| about targeted and inaccurate copyright
| enforcement. While it may be difficult to
| quantify the actual extent of inaccurate
| claims, we can at least try to understand
| whether copyright enforcement companies are
| making a "good faith" best effort to minimize
| any false positives. My short answer: not
| really.
`----
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/mfreed/inaccurate-copyright-enforcement-questionable-best-practices-and-bittorrent-specificatio
Virgin Media and CView to rifle through your packets
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029471,49304424,00.htm
If We Don't Kick People Off The Internet For File Sharing, Football Will Die
,----[ Quote ]
| We've discussed in the past how the UK's
| Premier League's fear of the internet has been
| a case study in what not to do online. But it
| seems that the Premier League bosses still
| want to push forward with plans to make it
| more difficult and more annoying for fans to
| actually watch matches.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091125/1651027094.shtml
MPAA to FCC: critics of video blocking proposals are lying
,----[ Quote ]
| Hollywood is now resorting to calling critics
| of its analog stream-blocking proposal liars,
| while talking out of both sides of its mouth
| about DVD encryption and piracy. But the brunt
| of this accusation, Public Knowledge, still
| insists that shutting down the output to
| millions of HDTVs won't benefit consumers.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/mpaa-to-fcc-critics-of-video-blocking-proposals-are-lying.ars
Recent:
BREAKING: Leaked UK government plan to create "Pirate Finder General" with power to appoint militias, create laws
,----[Quote ]
| A source close to the British Labour
| Government has just given me reliable
| information about the most radical copyright
| propoQuotesal I've ever seen.
|
| Secretary of State Peter Mandelson is
| planning to introduce changes to the Digital
| Economy Bill now under debate in Parliament.
| These changes will give the Secretary of
| State (Mandelson -- or his successor in the
| next government) the power to make
| "secondary legislation" (legislation that is
| passed without debate) to amend the
| provisions of Copyright, Designs and Patents
| Act (1988).
`----
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/19/breaking-leaked-uk-g.html
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish the proposed law that will
see alleged illegal filesharers disconnected from their broadband connections,
without a fair trial."
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/dontdisconnectus/
Dictatorial, disastrous, dire: Mandelson must not pass
,----[ Quote ]
| The powers that he wants to create - by
| means of a statutory instrument, which
| bypasses Parliamentary debate and decision -
| will criminalise downloading of content
| without permission. They will give him or
| anyone he chooses the power to enforce by
| law any action he or his successor thinks
| fit, in the service of protecting copyright.
`----
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10014488o-2000331777b,00.htm
Questions for Lord Mandelson
,----[ Quote ]
| The bill includes a provision for
| unappointed, unelected, monopoly collecting
| societies to "assume a mandate to collect
| fees on behalf of rights holders who have
| not specifically signed up to that society."
| Why should doing this be considered anything
| less than criminally defrauding the people
| these fees will be collected from and
| stealing copyright (in the true sense of
| claiming ownership, not the way it is
| misused as a synonym for infringement)?
|
| Why does the government see file sharing as
| both so trivial that it can be dealt with by
| just sending a letter and simultaneously so
| serious that it warrants the imposition of a
| new Â50,000 fine?
`----
http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/blog/2009/nov/20/questions-lord-mandelson/
Mandelson's Madness
,----[ Quote ]
| This is penalising every other industry, and
| every online user, for the sake of one,
| congenitally lazy sector that has fought
| every new technology for the last century on
| the basis that it will âdestroyâ its
| business model, and âruinâ it. Of course,
| just as every new technology turned out to
| be a new *opportunity* for those self-same
| companies once they were forced to work with
| it rather than against, so file-sharing will
| enable a host of new business models. Until
| that point, though, if the current proposals
| go through, we will all be paying the price
| for this unjustifiable preferential
| treatment.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2646&blogid=14
British Government Goes Batshit Insane Over Internet
http://www.nickharkaway.com/2009/11/british-government-goes-batshit-insane-over-internet/
Filesharing laws to hit websites and newsgroups too
,----[ Quote ]
| The government is planning to award itself
| powers to change copyright law almost at
| will, in expectation that new anti-peer-to-
| peer laws will drive infringement to other
| services such as Rapidshare and newsgroups.
|
| The measure, which is the most severe
| contained in the Digital Economy Bill
| published today, will be interpreted as a
| major victory for rights holder
| organisations. It will grant the Business
| Secretary Lord Mandelson and his successors
| undprecedented control over civil
| enforcement of copyright.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/20/digital_economy_bill/
Mandelson seeks to amend copyright law in new crackdown on filesharing
,----[ Quote ]
| Lord Mandelson is seeking to amend the laws
| on copyright to give the government
| sweeping new powers against people accused
| of illegal downloading.
`----
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/19/mandelson-copyright-filesharing-murdoch-google?CMP=AFCYAH
Mandelson to get Nominet reform powers
,----[ Quote ]
| Ministers have revealed new legislation
| that will allow the government to take over
| and reform Nominet, following a boardroom
| battle over the .uk registry's future.
|
| The reserve powers are included in the
| Digital Economy Bill, published today by
| Lord Mandelson's Department for Business.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/20/nominet_law/
TalkTalk threatens legal action over Mandelson's filesharing plan
,----[ Quote ]
| TalkTalk, the second largest internet
| service provider in the UK, has threatened
| to launch legal action if business secretary
| Peter Mandelson follows through with his
| plan to cut off persistent illegal
| filesharers' internet connections.
`----
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/29/talktalk-threatens-legal-action-mandelson
ISP's attack government anti-filesharing tactics
,----[ Quote ]
| THE UK'S TOP Internet service providers have
| opposed Business Secretary Lord Peter
| Mandelson's daft plan to cut off persistent
| illegal filesharers' Internet connections.
|
| Talktalk has even said that it feels the
| scheme infringes upon people's rights and it
| will be happy to go to court to have it
| struck down.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1560307/isp-attack-government-anti-filesharing-tactics
Mandelson and âThree Strikesâ: Not So Much âDark Lordâ...
,----[ Quote ]
| Unjust, because it allows the media
| industries to function as prosecutor, judge
| and jury, with only minimal oversight by
| proper legal authorities; unjust because it
| cuts people off from what is fast becoming a
| necessity of modern life, as the UK
| government itself is promoting; unjust
| because it penalises an entire family for
| the alleged actions of one member: something
| that in war would amount to a
| disproportionate and vindictive act of
| reprisal - a war-crime, in fact.
|
| It is unworkable because it will be almost
| impossible to tell whether copyrighted
| material is being transmitted legally or
| not; and ultimately it is unworkable because
| people will simply start encrypting material
| before downloading.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2616&blogid=14
Mandy confirms he'll cut off filesharers
,----[ Quote ]
| Labour's plan is that the music industry
| will monitor what people are downloading,
| and on their say-so (not in any court of
| law), internet subscribers will receive two
| warning letters and then have their internet
| access cut off. The music industry will not
| have to prove that the subscribers have
| being doing anything wrong; instead
| Mandelson's plan is that they will act as
| judge, jury and executioner. And it's not
| just the subscriber who will be cut off,
| their whole household will be too; this
| collective punishment, if done in wartime,
| would be a war crime under the Geneva
| Convention.
`----
http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/blog/2009/oct/28/mandy-confirms-hell-cut-filesharers/
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish the proposed law that will see alleged illegal filesharers disconnected from their broadband connections, without a fair trial.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/dontdisconnectus/
Parliamentary Comms Group Says âNoâ to UK 3-Strikes
,----[ Quote ]
| An increasing death-knell is sounding for Lord
| Mandelsonâs proposals for 3-strikes Internet
| disconnections. The latest blow comes from the All Party
| Parliamentary Communications Group. After a consultation
| earlier this year, they have now published their
| response, and itâs not one favorable to âDarth Mandyâ
| and his plans.
`----
http://torrentfreak.com/parliamentary-comms-group-says-no-to-uk-3-strikes-091017/
U.K. Minister Defends Internet Suspension In MPAA Speech
,----[ Quote ]
| Meanwhile, a joint statement from the Featured Artists Coalition, the British
| Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and the Music Producers
| Guild also condemns the plan.
`----
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ie0fe1e4b8826bd934c32abe14fad750c
Lammy appeals to film and music industries to help tackle online piracy
,----[ Quote ]
| Lammy cites apparent inconsistencies in copyright law, citing the example of
| a CD owner who wants a copy on his MP3 player. "Is he breaking the rules or
| just refusing to be ripped off?"
|
| "Something isn't right with copyright. Not just in the UK but as a whole. And
| I want to do something about that," he says.
`----
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/03/david-lammy-speaks-out-on-online-piracy
An open letter to Lord Mandelson
,----[ Quote ]
| Your proposal is wrong for purely economic reasons. It is wrong because it
| will stifle a major opportunity for economic growth right at the point where
| we need it most. And it is wrong because as a government your role is not to
| legislate to protect business models but to regulate in a way that balances
| the risks of damage in one sector against the potential for encouraging new
| sectors to develop.
`----
http://blog.openwetware.org/scienceintheopen/2009/09/04/an-open-letter-to-lord-mandelson/
Creative industries and consumersâ rights
,----[ Quote ]
| We hope that the Government will consider genuinely consumersâ rights in its
| endeavours to protect the creative industries.
`----
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6819093.ece
Good Thoughts on Naughty Lord Mandelson
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/09/good-thoughts-on-naughty-lord-mandelson.html
The Right to Science and Culture
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1354788
Peter Mandelson Defends His Sudden Conversion To Kicking People Off The
Internet
,----[ Quote ]
| You do realize that a UK-based music organization (PRS) recently released a
| report noting that the music industry in the UK is actually growing? Right?
| These are the sort of facts the Secretary of Business knows, right? And if
| the industry is growing, despite complaining about file sharing, isn't it
| possible that the real issue is just focusing on business model improvement,
| rather than the hand of gov't stepping in and slapping people around?
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090831/0134186048.shtml
BSA Jumps Onto The Three Strikes Bandwagon
,----[ Quote ]
| More troubling, however, is that when questioned about the new statement by
| Ars Technica, the BSA said it was necessary because "last year our industry
| lost over $50 billion (USD) worldwide." Hmm. It's really quite troubling that
| the BSA still stands by these numbers when they've been debunked so
| thoroughly over and over again. They count the "retail value" of every piece
| of software as being "lost," which is clearly a lie. Five years ago, the
| research company that runs these studies for the BSA, IDG, flat out said that
| the BSA was wrong in claiming that "the retail value" of the software is the
| same as "losses." So why does the BSA continue to get away with claiming it?
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090831/0230056052.shtml
UK "Three Strikes": Please Write to Your MP
,----[ Quote ]
| Yesterday I wrote a quick analysis of the insane U-turn effected by the UK
| government over "three strikes and you're out". Below I've posted the
| corresponding letter that I've sent to my MP on the subject.
`----
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/08/uk-three-strikes-please-write-to-your.html
Fon and Games with "Three Strikes"
,----[ Quote ]
| Suppose, now, that people use some of those million hotspots to download
| copyright material: how easy is it going to be (a) establishing exactly who
| downloaded it and (b) cutting off that person?
|
| Gives a new meaning to the term "hotspot"...
`----
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/08/fon-and-games-with-three-strikes.html
Lord Mandelson pays off his Â750,000 mortgage within a year
,----[ Quote ]
| The mystery of how Lord Mandelson managed to afford a Â2.4 million town house
| in Regent's Park took a new twist this week with his claim in a newspaper
| interview that he did not possess a mortgage on the property.
`----
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6011346/Lord-Mandelson-pays-off-his-750000-mortgage-within-a-year.html
38 Degrees backs campaign against âDigital Dictatorâ Mandelson
,----[ Quote ]
| Online campaigners 38 Degrees have launched an attack on Mandelsonâs plans to
| give himself the power to order internet cut-offs without trial. Other
| campaigners from a range of NGOs are getting in touch with us about this:
| there is a growing sense of outrage among people who know that the internet
| is the most important political tool we have.
`----
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2009/08/38-degrees-backs-campaign-against-digital-dictator-mandelson/
Taking something for nothing is wrong . . .
,----[ Quote ]
| [by] Peter Mandelson
`----
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6814187.ece
UK Wants to Zap File-Sharers
,----[ Quote ]
| It seems the British government is going loony for anti-piracy rhetoric from
| the likes of U2 and David Geffen.
`----
http://newteevee.com/2009/08/25/uk-wants-to-zap-file-sharers/
Mandelson goes to war on teenagers downloading their music and movies... just
days after dining with anti-piracy billionaire
,----[ Quote ]
| Lord Mandelson launched a crackdown on internet piracy just days after
| meeting a leading Hollywood critic of illegal file sharing.
|
| The business secretary plans to criminalise the estimated seven million
| people - one in 12 of the population - who illicitly download music and films
| over the internet.
`----
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206901/Mandelson-launches-crackdown-file-sharing--just-days-meeting-record-producer.html
âTaking something for nothing is wrongâ â No, not expenses, data.
,----[ Quote ]
| In the meantime I am going to increase my sharing of Linux distros and hope
| that someone tries to accuse me of sharing files illegallyâ..lets see how
| much of my unlimited monthly broadband I can use. Maybe time is up for the
| proprietary model? Maybe you should now be looking towards FOSS and the GPL?
| You certainly donât have to worry about sharing issues then.
`----
http://openbytes.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/taking-something-for-nothing-is-wrong-no-not-expenses-data/
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