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MPAA Tech Officer Paul Brigner Switches Sides In Internet Fight

67 points by rkudeshi 15y ago

yuhong 15y ago
I still remember reading about the Don Dodge/Microsoft/Google fiasco. Legacy PR based on top-down control of the message is fundamentally flawed.
mcbaby 15y ago
The ironic thing is, if any legislator who supported SOPA was exposed to the complexities and realities of copyright/IP legislation as this guy was, I'm sure SOPA would have never seen the light of day. Sadly, like most legislation that our elected officials pass through, their understanding of complex issues are never more than what their (unelected) staff has debriefed them on, and what (unelected) lobbying organizations pay them to believe. I'd love to read the internal MPAA memo concerning this.
vibrunazo 15y ago
From what I gathered from the article and the linked post on cnet. He was hired for side A and sided with A. Now he was hired for side B and sided with B. Am I missing something?
- waqf 15y ago
  No, although other things being equal it seems more likely that someone would switch in that direction if their current personal convictions were aligned with B. His posting to CNET is worth reading too: http://news.cnet.com/8618-31921_3-57404804.html?assetTypeId=12&messageId=12154966&tag=mncol;txt http://news.cnet.com/8618-31921_3-57404804.html?assetTypeId=...
- oacgnol 15y ago
  He was hired for side A, at first sided with A. Then over time he became more educated to the whole situation and became more sided with B, and thusly has switched to side B. In other words, he saw the bigger picture and (surprisingly!) realized that flawed legislation isn't the way to handle the situation as a whole.
denysonique 15y ago
Why does zoom not work on that site?
- RossP 15y ago
  It's a poorly designed "mobile" site - not needed since their site works perfectly in mobile browsers anyway. Try the "FULL SITE" link in the footer - takes you to a zoomable version.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
J3L2404 15y ago
"To be certain, copyright violations are a real problem, and on that I think we can all agree." Paul Brigner I am unsure if the majority of HN would concede that point. Many comments have stated that it is a victimless crime, or you should only use SaaS, or make money through kickstarter etc. Hell, Paul Graham has stated anything copyable deserves no copyright.

67 points by rkudeshi 15y ago

I still remember reading about the Don Dodge/Microsoft/Google fiasco. Legacy PR based on top-down control of the message is fundamentally flawed.

mcbaby 15y ago

The ironic thing is, if any legislator who supported SOPA was exposed to the complexities and realities of copyright/IP legislation as this guy was, I'm sure SOPA would have never seen the light of day. Sadly, like most legislation that our elected officials pass through, their understanding of complex issues are never more than what their (unelected) staff has debriefed them on, and what (unelected) lobbying organizations pay them to believe. I'd love to read the internal MPAA memo concerning this.

vibrunazo 15y ago

From what I gathered from the article and the linked post on cnet. He was hired for side A and sided with A. Now he was hired for side B and sided with B. Am I missing something?

waqf 15y ago
No, although other things being equal it seems more likely that someone would switch in that direction if their current personal convictions were aligned with B. His posting to CNET is worth reading too: http://news.cnet.com/8618-31921_3-57404804.html?assetTypeId=12&messageId=12154966&tag=mncol;txt http://news.cnet.com/8618-31921_3-57404804.html?assetTypeId=...
oacgnol 15y ago
He was hired for side A, at first sided with A. Then over time he became more educated to the whole situation and became more sided with B, and thusly has switched to side B. In other words, he saw the bigger picture and (surprisingly!) realized that flawed legislation isn't the way to handle the situation as a whole.

denysonique 15y ago

Why does zoom not work on that site?

RossP 15y ago
It's a poorly designed "mobile" site - not needed since their site works perfectly in mobile browsers anyway. Try the "FULL SITE" link in the footer - takes you to a zoomable version.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

J3L2404 15y ago

"To be certain, copyright violations are a real problem, and on that I think we can all agree." Paul Brigner I am unsure if the majority of HN would concede that point. Many comments have stated that it is a victimless crime, or you should only use SaaS, or make money through kickstarter etc. Hell, Paul Graham has stated anything copyable deserves no copyright.