4 ms·

RIAA Admits It Wants DMCA Overhaul; Blames Judges For 'Wrong' Interpretation

74 points by nextparadigms 15y ago

beedogs 15y ago
Every ten years, the media companies "upgrade" their copyright protection via Congress, as technology outstrips their content controls. Now they want to circumvent the courts altogether. This has got to stop; it serves no purpose and only alienates (and, often, criminalizes) consumers.
yardie 15y ago
It's absolutely terrible that every branch of the government has been compromised except the courts and now we are relying on them more and more to affect policy. With the other 2 branches able to determine who sits on the bench I feel it's only a matter of time before the courts won't even bother to defend our interests.
- steve-howard 15y ago
  The courts aren't exactly doing a stellar job of watching out for the interests of individuals, either.
  - yardie 15y ago
    Yes, but what we have is a batshit, crazy legislative branch and a Newspeak executive branch. Compared to the other 2 the courts have the dubious distinction of being the least likely to ride roughshod over the Bill of Rights.
    - pekk 15y ago
      You don't like any of the three branches and compare the executive to a totalitarian Big Brother. What do you suggest as an alternative?
      - yardie 15y ago
        I didn't mention Big Brother you did. I'm speaking of the fact that the Obama administration says one thing while doing another. Saying they'll back off from medical marijuana dispensaries and then go full hilt on raiding them. Saying they'll do a serious investigation into the lead up to the Iraq War then sweeping it under the bridge. In fact, with the warrantless wiretaps, broad surveillance powers, and continuation of Bush laws that he promised to repeal, maybe Big Brother is apt for this administration. And God forbid we get an actual, real criminal investigation into the financial crisis.
nextparadigms 15y ago
I've been thinking for a while that RIAA is the single most destructive force against our freedoms in the past few years, perhaps even more so than the Government itself with the Patriot Act and whatnot, because RIAA is trying to push all these restrictions at a global scale, trying to convince as many Governments as possible in the same time to accept them (think e-G8), to make people think that if so many accept them, then they "must be right about that". If it were possible for them to fund a scientific experiment like LHC, that would create a blackhole in the middle of the Earth, that would finally stop piracy, I think they would do it. What I'm trying to say is that they could care less if they bring down the whole Internet and kill it, as long as they just "stop piracy" - even if actually achieving that would lower their sales. But they are too short-sighted to even think about that. With things like RIAA, it's no wonder people are protesting against Wall-Street rather than the Government itself. Because sometimes the companies behind the Government, can do a lot more evil by controlling the Government, than the Government itself would if they just wanted more power.
- yummyfajitas 15y ago
  The RIAA can do precisely nothing without the government thoughtfully doing their bidding. RIAA/Wall St/other evil corporations: "Hey, could you fuck people over to improve our bottom line? Please?" Joe Biden/Orrin Hatch: "Done. Anything else you want?" The politicians pushing the RIAA's agenda are more or less the same people pushing things like the Patriot Act (Joe Biden, Orrin Hatch, etc). To me, they all look like different symptoms of the same problem.
  - MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
    The true pushers of the PATRIOT Act were the guys in the DoJ who wrote the thing; it was all written up and prepared far in advance of an anticipated wartime condition which would allow them to get it passed without trouble.
    - yummyfajitas 15y ago
      Yes, the patriot act was being kicked around in some form since at least 1995. "When I was chairman in '94 I introduced a major antiterrorism bill--back then,...I drafted a terrorism bill after the Oklahoma City bombing. And the bill John Ashcroft sent up [the PATRIOT act] was my bill." - Joe Biden http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/rhetorical-question http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/rhetorical-question
rmc 15y ago
They never learn. Technology has been winning the arms race with them for years now. Every time they try some new law, tech works around it. Can't stop the signal.
- beagle3 15y ago
  > Every time they try some new law, tech works around it. > Can't stop the signal. No, they can't. But they can make life worse for the vast majority of the population, possibly with a minor profit, at little or no cost to them. So they do.

74 points by nextparadigms 15y ago

Every ten years, the media companies "upgrade" their copyright protection via Congress, as technology outstrips their content controls. Now they want to circumvent the courts altogether. This has got to stop; it serves no purpose and only alienates (and, often, criminalizes) consumers.

yardie 15y ago

It's absolutely terrible that every branch of the government has been compromised except the courts and now we are relying on them more and more to affect policy. With the other 2 branches able to determine who sits on the bench I feel it's only a matter of time before the courts won't even bother to defend our interests.

steve-howard 15y ago
The courts aren't exactly doing a stellar job of watching out for the interests of individuals, either.
- yardie 15y ago
  Yes, but what we have is a batshit, crazy legislative branch and a Newspeak executive branch. Compared to the other 2 the courts have the dubious distinction of being the least likely to ride roughshod over the Bill of Rights.
  - pekk 15y ago
    You don't like any of the three branches and compare the executive to a totalitarian Big Brother. What do you suggest as an alternative?
    - yardie 15y ago
      I didn't mention Big Brother you did. I'm speaking of the fact that the Obama administration says one thing while doing another. Saying they'll back off from medical marijuana dispensaries and then go full hilt on raiding them. Saying they'll do a serious investigation into the lead up to the Iraq War then sweeping it under the bridge. In fact, with the warrantless wiretaps, broad surveillance powers, and continuation of Bush laws that he promised to repeal, maybe Big Brother is apt for this administration. And God forbid we get an actual, real criminal investigation into the financial crisis.

nextparadigms 15y ago

I've been thinking for a while that RIAA is the single most destructive force against our freedoms in the past few years, perhaps even more so than the Government itself with the Patriot Act and whatnot, because RIAA is trying to push all these restrictions at a global scale, trying to convince as many Governments as possible in the same time to accept them (think e-G8), to make people think that if so many accept them, then they "must be right about that". If it were possible for them to fund a scientific experiment like LHC, that would create a blackhole in the middle of the Earth, that would finally stop piracy, I think they would do it. What I'm trying to say is that they could care less if they bring down the whole Internet and kill it, as long as they just "stop piracy" - even if actually achieving that would lower their sales. But they are too short-sighted to even think about that. With things like RIAA, it's no wonder people are protesting against Wall-Street rather than the Government itself. Because sometimes the companies behind the Government, can do a lot more evil by controlling the Government, than the Government itself would if they just wanted more power.

yummyfajitas 15y ago
The RIAA can do precisely nothing without the government thoughtfully doing their bidding. RIAA/Wall St/other evil corporations: "Hey, could you fuck people over to improve our bottom line? Please?" Joe Biden/Orrin Hatch: "Done. Anything else you want?" The politicians pushing the RIAA's agenda are more or less the same people pushing things like the Patriot Act (Joe Biden, Orrin Hatch, etc). To me, they all look like different symptoms of the same problem.
- MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
  The true pushers of the PATRIOT Act were the guys in the DoJ who wrote the thing; it was all written up and prepared far in advance of an anticipated wartime condition which would allow them to get it passed without trouble.
  - yummyfajitas 15y ago
    Yes, the patriot act was being kicked around in some form since at least 1995. "When I was chairman in '94 I introduced a major antiterrorism bill--back then,...I drafted a terrorism bill after the Oklahoma City bombing. And the bill John Ashcroft sent up [the PATRIOT act] was my bill." - Joe Biden http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/rhetorical-question http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/rhetorical-question

rmc 15y ago

They never learn. Technology has been winning the arms race with them for years now. Every time they try some new law, tech works around it. Can't stop the signal.

beagle3 15y ago
> Every time they try some new law, tech works around it. > Can't stop the signal. No, they can't. But they can make life worse for the vast majority of the population, possibly with a minor profit, at little or no cost to them. So they do.