Copyright absudities

[1veedo]

If you look at the bottom of this page, you should see a copyright notice. I put it there just to link to some legal information (hosting off my current ISP is iffy) but it's still there. Because of a legislation contained in H.R. 5211, you, right now, have an unauthorized copy of my copyright material and therefore it is open for me to attack your computer. Most browsers make “cache” of pages viewed by the user to speed up the time it takes to load a webpage. However, sense 2002, this is now an illegal and unauthorized practice. With your IP address, I could send a note to the Department of Justice, and in a week, I would have a legal right to attack your system across the Internet.

 

This is of course a joke because I don’t believe in the practice. But it is entirely true. The RIAA, Microsoft, and several other controlling monopolies would like to be able to hack a remote system containing material they hold copyright to, regardless of whether or not you actual own a license (bought the material) or not. Ever sense p2p, they’ve been making copyright laws more and more complicated just to fit their needs.

 

It is now also illegal to backup DVDs you’ve legitimately bought in a store. If your DVD breaks, too bad. Looks like you have to give the MPAA more money! And you know what? I don’t really care. I installed xine with CSS descrambling because I believe this is simply fair use. I want to be able to digitalize my media. I don’t want to have to purchase a copy of a lost CD. Plus I actually like listening to music on my computer! People want to be able to fairly use their media. According to a xine RPMs website, “The xine developers do not support CSS descrambling. The use of this software for watching your legally purchased DVDs may be illegal in your country. [<a href=”http://cambuca.ldhs.cetuc.puc-rio.br/xine/”>Daily xine RPMS</a>]

 

According to the 5211 bill, a p2p network is (2A) any two computers connected via computer software that enables the computers to transmit files or data. The actual bill looks like this:

 

`(h) DEFINITIONS- In this section--

`(1) the term `economic loss' means monetary costs only;

`(2) `peer-to-peer file trading network' means two or more computers which are connected by computer software that--

`(A) is primarily designed to--

`(i) enable the connected computers to transmit files or data to other connected computers;

`(ii) enable the connected computers to request the transmission of files or data from other connected computers; and

`(iii) enable the designation of files or data on the connected computers as available for transmission; and

`(B) does not permanently route all file or data inquiries or searches through a designated, central computer located in the United States;

`(3) a peer-to-peer file trading network is `publicly accessible' if--

`(A) participation in the network is substantially open to the public; and

`(B) the network enables the transmission of computer files or data over the Internet or any other public network of computers;

`(4) the term `file trader' means an individual who is utilizing a publicly accessible, peer-to-peer file trading network to transmit, make available for transmission, or download computer files or data, or the owner of a computer that is connected to a publicly accessible, peer-to-peer file trading network and is engaged in the transmission of computer files or data through the peer-to-peer file trading network;

`(5) the term `distribution', in the case of a computer connected to a peer-to-peer file trading network, includes the placement of a computer file or data in an area of a computer that is accessible to other computers connected to the peer-to-peer file trading network; and

`(6) the term `copyright owner' means a legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under section 106 and any party authorized to act on the owner's behalf.'. [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.5211:]

 

 

By their definition, a p2p network can be anything transferring data over webservers, ftp, mailing lists, instant messenger, and just about any network medium. By clicking the link to view this pace, you (ii) requested to transmit this file from (iii) my computer designed to make the files available. (B) narrows it down some by saying it doesn't permanently route all files through a designated central computer. But the fact is that web traffic does not, mailing servers do not, and most instant messenger services do not. (3) goes on to say that anything publicly accessible with the ability to transfer data is also a p2p network (which applies to anything on the Internet) and that (4) a "file trader" is pretty much anybody using such a client like web browsers, servers, instant messenger, and basically any service connected to the Internet.

 

In this way not only are you violating copyright law by viewing this website, I'm breaking copyright laws by making this site available – and it’s my work that I’m making accessible! I don’t know how much money I could make, but by giving free access it’s obviously nothing at all. It’s in this way that the RIAA owns music made by artists, and not the artists themselves. Every time you use AIM or yahoo (both mail and messenger), you are a p2p network and therefore liable to be hacked by the RIAA. Hell, if they wanted to, they could read your private email! I suspect that in the future, there will be exploits built into software and if Yahoo! doesn’t comply to let others read your mail, they’d be sued and threatened to be shut down. FYI, MSN already archives your private mail.

 

What I want to know is this: What happened to the simple days when having a work not legitimately bought was a copyright violation? What happened to free use of a purchased product? If I want to listen to a CD in my computer’s CD player, why am I breaking the law? What’s so wrong with this?

 

The future of the computer industry is looking worse and worse as new laws such as TCP are coming in. And it’s already started. Information self-determination is already becoming more and more illegal. Pretty soon, it will be illegal to copy or save files, and create programs – all will be controlled by Microsoft and if you don’t do things their way, you can be put in prison (TCPA law). Free speech will be illuminated. And the computer industry as we know it today will be gone.

 

The only way to stop this is to let people know what’s going on. I’m doing my part.

 

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I was writing this originally for a blog or article at my site. So when I mention copyright notice, I realize that SFN probably has some sort of disclaiming saying the ideas of it's users are not of SFN, but for all practical purposes...

[swansont]

If you look at the bottom of this page, you should see a copyright notice. I put it there just to link to some legal information (hosting off my current ISP is iffy) but it's still there. Because of a legislation contained in H.R. 5211, you, right now, have an unauthorized copy of my copyright material...

 

 

Unauthorized? How can that be if you posted it to the internet? Did your left hand not know what the right hand was clicking?

[1veedo]

On the Internet, yes, but the bill is concerning data contained on an actual computer. Many artists, for example, have music in some sort of flash thing. You can listen to it, but extracting the music (if it's possible) would be illegal. Technically speaking, the article (or anything on my site) is not copyright work, but it illistrates a point:

 

Simply, if it were copyright, a person reading the article would have an unauthorized copy of material contained on their hard drive via cache. Try copying an article from another website and posting it on these forums. A moderator would be quick to edit your post and inform you that it's a copyright violation.

[Icheb]

Technically speaking' date=' the article (or anything on my site) is not copyright work, but it illistrates a point:

 

Simply, if it were copyright, a person reading the article would have an unauthorized copy of material contained on their hard drive via cache. Try copying an article from another website and posting it on these forums. A moderator would be quick to edit your post and inform you that it's a copyright violation.[/quote']

It is copyrighted work. You have the copyright to everything you create yourself automatically without having to claim it. And by publishing it on the web you choose a means of distribution for the work you created (this is certainly not illegal, despite what you said, because you can do with your work whatever you want) and everyone who has access to the web can legally view it. Additionally, everyone is entitled to their own personal copy of your work if they acquired it legally, at least according to the laws in Germany. This protects your cached copy of the work.

Besides, how can you know someone cached your website and didn't turn their cache off? I never cache anything.

[1veedo]

"How can you know" is exactly why a copyright holder could hack a system on just "suspitions." Go to the actual bill, I just covered it's definitions to illistrate what it meant by "p2p networkds". The definition applies to almost everything on the Internet!

`(h) DEFINITIONS- In this section--

`(1) the term `economic loss' means monetary costs only;

`(2) `peer-to-peer file trading network' means two or more computers which are connected by computer software that--

`(A) is primarily designed to--

`(i) enable the connected computers to transmit files or data to other connected computers;

`(ii) enable the connected computers to request the transmission of files or data from other connected computers; and

`(iii) enable the designation of files or data on the connected computers as available for transmission; and

`(B) does not permanently route all file or data inquiries or searches through a designated, central computer located in the United States;

`(3) a peer-to-peer file trading network is `publicly accessible' if--

`(A) participation in the network is substantially open to the public; and

`(B) the network enables the transmission of computer files or data over the Internet or any other public network of computers;

`(4) the term `file trader' means an individual who is utilizing a publicly accessible, peer-to-peer file trading network to transmit, make available for transmission, or download computer files or data, or the owner of a computer that is connected to a publicly accessible, peer-to-peer file trading network and is engaged in the transmission of computer files or data through the peer-to-peer file trading network;

`(5) the term `distribution', in the case of a computer connected to a peer-to-peer file trading network, includes the placement of a computer file or data in an area of a computer that is accessible to other computers connected to the peer-to-peer file trading network; and

`(6) the term `copyright owner' means a legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under section 106 and any party authorized to act on the owner's behalf.'.

Seriously, read this. It's absurd definitions like this that make it illegal to listen to music or whatch a movie on computers.

[JPQuiceno]

Interesting. I'm in the middle of actually digesting the whole thing. I will be giving my opinion on the matter in a couple of hours, and take the right action!

[ike]

1veedo, I agree with you 100%. Why should it be illegal for me to

make a backup copy of a DVD that I paid for ? I bought DVD XCOPY

some years ago to backup my existing DVD collection. Now I have

to disconnect from the net(and my FTP as well) in order to use it

because of the damn snitchware that is embedded in it.