Sopa won

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
Well last news I read congress was backtracking as fast as they could. Especially when the FBI.gov, CIA.gov, IRS.gov, Sony/BMG, and about a dozen other major sites got blacked out by hackers within minutes of megaupload being shut down. I'd say SOPA got its azz whoooped!
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
The government shut down MegaUpload and related sites, most likely with the same idea as SOPA. This is yet another complaint about the government's crazy antics nowadays... :eek:
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
I don't know much about MegaUpload, but the fact is copyright is a real thing, and does need enforced. This is not a new thought. If you try to post or encourage giving away copyrighted material here on All About Circuits your thread will be closed and if you persist, you will be banned.

I choose to give away my work. It was my choice. It was my work. Emphasis on work folks. It didn't happen by itself, it is something I created with my personal valuable time and brain sweat.

If some one creates something with their time and sweat it is theirs. It is not free information, it belongs to them. They deserve to be paid for their efforts.

The reason the patent system does not work is because big business (especially in foreign lands) takes what it wants and does not reimburse the inventors. If the folks that create content do not get paid they will have to find other work so they can eat, pay rent, and do the other things we take for granted. If they get paid for creating content then they will continue to do so.

I am willing to bet MegaUploads ignored copyright entirely, even when notified they had crossed the line. This becomes a legitimate legal and criminal issue.

The reason SOPA was so onerous is a site could be shut down over a simple say so, no real proof needed. It would have become the owners site to provide proof what they had was legal.

It basically starts with the fairly unique American concept of innocent until proven guilty. With SOPA it would have been guilty until proven innocent. One is almost impossible to prove, while the other puts the burden of proof on the government, where it belongs.

In any case, stealing someones work just because you want it is still unethical, criminal, and is not supported by any reasonable person. Just because it is easy to do does not make it right. The concept of information striving to be free sounds cute, but if you steal information and give it away you are inflicting real harm on a person somewhere, and are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Information is not a life form, someone created it.
 
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Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Hollywood just needs to find a new model to collect their money, but they want everyone else to do if for them. Tain't gonna happen.

When VCRs were new we went through the same battle. They eventually figured out they made money, since they could rent and sell old video content. They wanted a surcharge off every video tape, since it was going to hold "their" content.

Not every site that gets shut down is a victim, though these sites would like to portray themselves as such. You have to find a fair ground for both sides. Releasing a movie on the internet before it hits theaters isn't right. If you like movies they have to get paid for somehow, otherwise there will not be any more movies.

It is hard to have sympathy for an industry that tries to bankrupt 12 years olds and their grandmothers to make an example out of them. That is neither fair or balanced either. In many ways they are paying for it, because people see them as the enemy. I suspect the laws are going to be a bit more lax than they probably should be because of it, but then I'm an idealist.
 

justtrying

Joined Mar 9, 2011
439
I agree completely. Music industry is another example. There are many artists who put out their new music through independent means because of the way that record lables do their business. And in my experience people will support their favorite bands when they see that the money is not going to a big fat corporation.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
I agree, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Yes, downloading music without direct permission from the artist, or not paying for it, should definitely be stopped. Same with movies and tv shows online. But where is the "copyright" line drawn? Technically, SOPA could take out sites like youtube and google, if it wanted to. I think there's a fine line between what SOPA is doing and what is unconstitutional. I really think they should be very careful around this sort of thing.....
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
Ehhhh megaupload wasn't even one of the big ones. They just made too much money. Most pirate sites operate in the red or from donations. These guys were made 140 million dollars. I think thats the only reason they got popped.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
SOPA showed a good demarcation of the line by going over it. If you think a site is showing copyrighted content you should have to prove it, not the other site. If you are indeed an injured party you can collect damages (reasonable damages). Anything else promotes harassment.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
This whole sopa thing points out how much power the .com industry has. they raised awareness almost overnight and squashed... Well, actually directed the populace to squash the bill before it had a chance. I've never seen anything like it. Where was this vigilance in raising awareness for ndaa? Where is the awareness for the country being bankrupted?
 

justtrying

Joined Mar 9, 2011
439
This whole sopa thing points out how much power the .com industry has. they raised awareness almost overnight and squashed... Well, actually directed the populace to squash the bill before it had a chance. I've never seen anything like it. Where was this vigilance in raising awareness for ndaa? Where is the awareness for the country being bankrupted?
I think this points very well to where general populace's interests currently lie.

This is fun to read http://www.infowars.com/president-o...ave-the-power-to-detain-americans-but-i-wont/

but apparently virtual freedom is more important than real one.
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
One thing that Steve Jobs did was prove to the music industry that their business model needed updating. They began selling songs (.mp3s) individually and made money as the people bought what they wanted on their playlists and not a whole album.

Piracy complaints raise their ugly head with each new technology ...

There legal way to handle the anti-piracy ... close them down and prosecute them. Granted, once the copyrighted material is removed, allow them to reopen. But since they don't like "disturbing" evidence, all the non-copyrighted material remains in suspension (non-accessible). DOJ needs to update their business model.
 
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Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
You have to remember the American system is based on Checks and Balances. The President can think whatever he wants, in the end it is the Supreme Court that decides if something is constitutional. Many things passed by the Congress and the President aren't.

There was a concept of the tyranny of the majority, just because the majority of the public wished to steal someones work they are not allowed. It is a classic example of the concept.

I think everyone has used propitiatory software illegally at one point or another. It is important to understand when you do you are breaking the law, and not make excuses that it is OK somehow.
 

thatoneguy

Joined Feb 19, 2009
6,359
I agree completely. Music industry is another example. There are many artists who put out their new music through independent means because of the way that record lables do their business. And in my experience people will support their favorite bands when they see that the money is not going to a big fat corporation.

That's why a lot of Indy producers are releasing digital only and not giving half to their "label".

Kinda like what Joan Jett did in the late 70's when EMI wouldn't sign her after she left The Runaways, she started Blackheart Record Labels, and has been publishing Indy bands since.

The MPAA/RIAA don't "get" the new way things are done. They still want people to go to movie theaters and buy overpriced popcorn. RIAA wants everybdoy to buy a CD instead of download the one good song from Amazon or iTunes.

They are trying not to become extinct because they've lost billions of dollars since broadband internet came out. Not by piracy or theft, just the fact that bands and amateur movie makers had a way to get their work out in pubilc without paying the big guys for the privilege.

It's not about copyrights, it's about control.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
I basically agree with all of the above. I think the genie is firmly out of the bottle too, with the internet their are a whole new set of guardians.

We haven't heard from the neutrality crowd lately, I expect that to heat up too.
 
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