Abarbarian
Acruncher
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
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I have put some snippets from the articles below the links, but you need to read the whole story to see whats going on.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7493365.stm
In the UK Virgin Media is sending out letters to subscribers on behalf of the BPI, accusing people of downloading unlicensed music, while proposed laws in Canada would make it a criminal offense to load your iPod with music from CDs you have bought.
--------
That's what the music industry wants at the moment - if you dare to damage their economic viability then you have to be excluded from everything the internet has to offer.
Of course you're also then cut off from buying from Amazon or Sainsbury's, clicking on Google adverts, sending campaign donations to your favourite candidate or taking part in a great deal of economic activity that benefits other organisations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7486743.stm
The BPI wants all UK ISPs to sign up to a so-called three strikes policy - where users of file sharing networks get two warnings and are then disconnected if they are sharing copyright files.
So far only Virgin Media has officially signed up and it is keen to stress that currently it is running an education-only campaign and that no-one has been thrown off the network.
Virgin said the wording on the envelope which contains the warning letter sent to 800 customers - which threatens consumers with disconnection - was a "mistake".
---------
The current system involves the BPI policing file sharing networks. It looks for illegal traffic and identifies the IP address from which it has come and informs the ISP.
There is no distinction made between someone who has downloaded one illegal track and someone who has downloaded thousands.
A joint letter from Virgin and the BPI is then sent to the individual.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7488009.stm
Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube, a US court has ruled.
-----
Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the ruling a "set-back to privacy rights".
The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address (online identifier) and video clip details.
While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7312460.stm
Yet the CBC saved the best for last. Hours after the initial broadcast, it released a high-resolution version of the finale without copy protection on BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer protocol that is often linked with unauthorised file sharing.
The public is now able to download, copy, and share the program without restrictions.
-------
The use of BitTorrent may come as a surprise to those who mistakenly equate file sharing solely with infringing activities. BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer technologies are finding increasing favour with legitimate businesses attracted to its ability to distribute content in an efficient, cost-effective fashion.
-------
More broadcasters are likely to follow suit in the months ahead, complicating the claims of copyright lobby groups that BitTorrent is a "pirate" technology and ISP practices that hamper consumer access to authorised content online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6379309.stm
The IIPA recommendations are designed to highlight the inadequacies of IP protection around the world, yet the lobby group ultimately shines the spotlight on how US copyright policy has become out-of-touch and isolated from much of the rest of the globe.
The IIPA criticisms fall into three broad categories. First, the lobby group is very critical of any country that does not follow the US model for implementing the World Intellectual Property Organisation's Internet Treaties.
Those treaties, which create legal protection for technological protection measures, have generated enormous controversy with many experts expressing concern about their impact on consumer rights, privacy, free speech, and security research.
------
There are literally hundreds of similar examples, as countries from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America are criticised for not adopting the DMCA, not extending the term of copyright, not throwing enough people in jail, or creating too many exceptions to support education and other societal goals.
------
Countries singled out for criticism should not be deceived into thinking that their laws are failing to meet an international standard, no matter what US lobby groups say.
Rather, those countries should know that their approach - and the criticism that it inevitably brings from the US - places them in very good company.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7493365.stm
In the UK Virgin Media is sending out letters to subscribers on behalf of the BPI, accusing people of downloading unlicensed music, while proposed laws in Canada would make it a criminal offense to load your iPod with music from CDs you have bought.
--------
That's what the music industry wants at the moment - if you dare to damage their economic viability then you have to be excluded from everything the internet has to offer.
Of course you're also then cut off from buying from Amazon or Sainsbury's, clicking on Google adverts, sending campaign donations to your favourite candidate or taking part in a great deal of economic activity that benefits other organisations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7486743.stm
The BPI wants all UK ISPs to sign up to a so-called three strikes policy - where users of file sharing networks get two warnings and are then disconnected if they are sharing copyright files.
So far only Virgin Media has officially signed up and it is keen to stress that currently it is running an education-only campaign and that no-one has been thrown off the network.
Virgin said the wording on the envelope which contains the warning letter sent to 800 customers - which threatens consumers with disconnection - was a "mistake".
---------
The current system involves the BPI policing file sharing networks. It looks for illegal traffic and identifies the IP address from which it has come and informs the ISP.
There is no distinction made between someone who has downloaded one illegal track and someone who has downloaded thousands.
A joint letter from Virgin and the BPI is then sent to the individual.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7488009.stm
Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube, a US court has ruled.
-----
Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the ruling a "set-back to privacy rights".
The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address (online identifier) and video clip details.
While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7312460.stm
Yet the CBC saved the best for last. Hours after the initial broadcast, it released a high-resolution version of the finale without copy protection on BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer protocol that is often linked with unauthorised file sharing.
The public is now able to download, copy, and share the program without restrictions.
-------
The use of BitTorrent may come as a surprise to those who mistakenly equate file sharing solely with infringing activities. BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer technologies are finding increasing favour with legitimate businesses attracted to its ability to distribute content in an efficient, cost-effective fashion.
-------
More broadcasters are likely to follow suit in the months ahead, complicating the claims of copyright lobby groups that BitTorrent is a "pirate" technology and ISP practices that hamper consumer access to authorised content online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6379309.stm
The IIPA recommendations are designed to highlight the inadequacies of IP protection around the world, yet the lobby group ultimately shines the spotlight on how US copyright policy has become out-of-touch and isolated from much of the rest of the globe.
The IIPA criticisms fall into three broad categories. First, the lobby group is very critical of any country that does not follow the US model for implementing the World Intellectual Property Organisation's Internet Treaties.
Those treaties, which create legal protection for technological protection measures, have generated enormous controversy with many experts expressing concern about their impact on consumer rights, privacy, free speech, and security research.
------
There are literally hundreds of similar examples, as countries from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America are criticised for not adopting the DMCA, not extending the term of copyright, not throwing enough people in jail, or creating too many exceptions to support education and other societal goals.
------
Countries singled out for criticism should not be deceived into thinking that their laws are failing to meet an international standard, no matter what US lobby groups say.
Rather, those countries should know that their approach - and the criticism that it inevitably brings from the US - places them in very good company.
