MPAA, RIAA Create Yet ANOTHER Lobbying Group; Push For Stronger Laws
from the no,-seriously? dept
At some point, you have to just wonder if the folks running the MPAA and the RIAA are just collectively pulling everyone's leg. If it wasn't such a huge waste of taxpayer money while also limiting the economic possibilities of this country, it would almost be funny. Remember just last month that the RIAA and MPAA were leading the charge with yet another new lobbying organization called the Copyright Alliance? That was amusing enough, since the RIAA and MPAA already had plenty of clout -- and their main purpose was lobbying anyway. However, apparently they still don't think it's enough. There's now another new organization called the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy. Of course, it's being headed up by the RIAA and the MPAA, along with the National Assn. of Manufacturers and the pharmaceuticals industry -- two other groups that apparently don't already have enough lobbying clout. This new group is pushing for an intellectual property czar, who will work directly from the White House to crack down on IP violations. As Boing Boing points out, this new group certainly isn't going to shy away from ridiculous and totally unsupportable statements about why it needs stronger copyright laws. They had NBC/Universal's general counsel Rick Cotton state this outright fabrication:"Our law enforcement resources are seriously misaligned. If you add up all the various kinds of property crimes in this country, everything from theft, to fraud, to burglary, bank-robbing, all of it, it costs the country $16 billion a year. But intellectual property crime runs to hundreds of billions [of dollars] a year."First of all, even in the most ridiculously biased studies that have been put out by the industry itself have we seen any one that has said that losses total hundreds of billions of dollars. Second of all, each of these industry sponsored reports are easy to prove incorrect. They tend to count every copied content as a lost sale. They tend to double, triple and quadruple count, by including ripple effects that count the same "lost dollar" many times over. They never, ever account for the promotional value of the content and how those ripple effects actually can (and often do) increase market sizes and help companies sell more. Unfortunately, the press and politicians don't bother to report any of this. They'll just take Cotton's completely unsupportable statement as fact.
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Poker player.
Protect us from what? The free market?
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So, IP is more important than PP (Physical Propert
So, my computer and HDTV are less important than something that you can't physically hold?! When did that happen?
I don't know about you, but I would rather have law enforcement working on finding the stuff that was stolen from my house than going after something that costs very little to make, and is abundant online for cheap/free.
Somehow I get the feeling that the RIAA/MPAA wants more SWAT stings at the homes of copyright violators. I for one, want my SWAT team to stay ready in-case some crazy person holds someone hostage...
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16 billion year? how about all those billions you make ina year from big hit movies and dvd sales? oh no, they forget to mention that doesn't fit there mission.. mpaa and riaa could suck my dick..
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IP PP. heehehee.
That's just it, the **AA says when someone downloads a song that is a lost sale.. when they copy it-- oops, another lost sale, again and again. If a HDTV is stolen Sony doesn't give a shit because someone bought it already-- they got their money. Not to mention, if someone steals the TV from the thief, no one would even pretend to say "Oops, another lost sale!"
Their numbers are full of misleading data-- if they really wanted to back up their claims, they'd have an outside organization do the research.
If I download something, find out I don't like it and delete it-- is *that* a lost sale? If so, why should I have to pay to find out if I like it? If it's not a lost sale, then what if I download it, find out I don't like it, but don't delete it.. is it still a lost sale because I let it sit unused on my hard drive?
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It must have got to the point where the economics is driving money and business to those who don't sign up to US style copyright enforcement, and every time they broaden the gap, they make it more profitable for the guys they want out of business.
These guys really don't understand that if your product is digital there is one global market, and you can't enforce strongly differentiated regional pricing.
I've noticed a trend also for people to just buy big cheap usb hard drives and dump pretty much their entire media collections for swapping with friends - how will they detect that?
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Just another tactic in the RIAA/MPAA 'War on the Consumer'
I agree with Nick too - the corporate d1ck heads touted this 'global economy' and pushed and shoved for it. Now they got it....
They should have listened to the proverb: "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it".
The 'Global Market' to them - was just a place with more consumers to shaft - now the competition is more than they can handle. So 'mommy' government has to bail their sorry asses out - and they will, since politicians don't want to loose their kickbacks or watch their stock portfolios plummet in value.
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CONTENTED PIRATE
I think the single greatest stroke of iTunes' genius is that it allows people to buy singles again, instead of entire albums, and without the need to find yet more space for yet another jewel case you'll never look at again and will break in pretty short order.
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Yes... the old business model would have generated a fair number of instances just like that.
ANYONE who's bought Albums, 8 Tracks, cassettes, or CD's over the years has NO DOUBT bought at least one they wish they wouldn't have bought. I know that's happened to me on more than one occasion.
But no more - I know there's a better avenue for the consumer to buy music through - if the **AA's want to use the old dirt roads, that's fine - but to hell with them. There's more to life than Overpriced Music and Watching the Tube all day.
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Do a little research...
The CACP is an organization underneath the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It has been in exsistence for a couple of years.
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Too Much
Just goes to show that they charge too much for stuff.
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Property crimes, what about trespassing?
I'd bet 12 million illegal aliens are responsible for a significant portion of the "theft" of the "lost billions?" no?
...100% are already law-breakers...
Maybe the RIAA/MPAA can lobby the gov't to levy an IP tax on "Enrico Suave" for his "future" boom box/dvd player...
friggin' insanity
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Yeah right...
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Re: Do a little research...
The article clearly states: "the newly formed Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy."
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Losing money paying lobbyists?
Sadly, politicians seem really gullible, that they fall this crap. (oh and take money from those lobbyists)
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CA
RIAA
M PAA
CACP
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Conflation
The CACP was actually formed in 2005, as shown by this press release on the US Chamber web site:
http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2007/january/07-11.htm
But the initiative appears to be new. I won't hazard a guess as to how the writer got the information about the CACP wrong.
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Re:
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Well...
"Our law enforcement resources are seriously misaligned. If you add up all the various kinds of property crimes in this country, everything from theft, to fraud, to burglary, bank-robbing, all of it, it costs the country $16 billion a year. But intellectual property crime runs to hundreds of billions [of dollars] a year."
Considering that that $16 billion can actually be accounted for and proven vs. the "hundreds of billions" that the entertainment industry seems to not be able to prove...
I put those entertainment industry execs in the same category as atheletes that say they need to be paid more. And the would be the "Shut the Frack Up!" category. Those industry guys already make millions a year for no real work and then have the nerve to clame hundreds of billions more. It would be one thing if they oh I don't know...acutally proved the numbers they whine about. But no they keep their data collection processes a tightly guarded and won't let any outsiders verify their numbers and then go crying to the politicians to make the customers pay even more money for less useful and frankly crappier media.
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Re: IP PP. heehehee.
*Please not the sarcasm
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Re: Re:
I can tell you that everyone I know in the military (and I know a few) would not stand for that. People in the military do have morals...
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Re:
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Re: Too Much
I fail to see how you lose money on something that costs no money to make (By saying that I mean that they have the file, all the have to do is have people download it, no CD's, nothing like that. I know it costs money to record and such)
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Re: Well...
I don't know whether to feel sick, or get in on the game...
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Let Me Get This Straight
1. If you don't agree with the law you should just break it
2. If you don't like someone or a company then you can do what you what with their property
Think carefully about if those are the rules you would want enforced against you if someone doesn't like you.
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Re: Let Me Get This Straight
It's getting more tiresome responding to you insisting we're saying stuff we're not, and ignoring it each time we point out that what you think we're saying is not what we're saying.
1. If you don't agree with the law you should just break it
I've never said that. Not once. In fact I've said exactly the opposite. Please do not make up things that I have not said.
2. If you don't like someone or a company then you can do what you what with their property
Again, I have never said that. Not once. In fact I've said exactly the opposite. Please do not make up things that I have not said.
Think carefully about if those are the rules you would want enforced against you if someone doesn't like you.
Actually, why don't you think carefully about what we're actually saying, and respond to the actual points before acting like you know what we've said.
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Re: Re: Let Me Get This Straight
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Re: Let Me Get This Straight
2. No. If we don't like someone or a company we try to find a way to let that someone or that company know that we are displeased with them and try to resolve the conflict. Which exactly what a lot of the people her try to do.
Think carefully about those reasons if you still think that consensus here is to justify doing what we want with anyone's property. Yeah lots of people (including myself) think there is a middle ground between the content owners and the consumers. And with the way things are now the content owners trying to lump legit customers in with the freeloading criminals and I for one don't like it.
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Re: Let Me Get This Straight
Sir/Ma'am, please use at least an eighth of the brain that God gave you to comprehend what we are saying and writing. We don't think it's right to break the law, but we don't think the laws are right. We have never said anything along the line of "If you don't agree with the law you should just break it", my personal thinking is if you don't agree with the law change it.
Also, on your second point "If you don't like someone or a company then you can do what you what with their property". This is also not true. I may not like Microsoft, but I still buy their product and license it legally (even when I know of flaws in their licensing verification program) because it is "their property".
Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot though. I doubt that you use less than an eighth of your brain. So, how about you actually read through what we say before you open you mouth (or in this case, use your hands to type) and say something.
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prove it
?
I want to see them prove that statement
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Re: Re:
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Re: Let Me Get This Straight
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The RIAA and MPAA have hit rock bottom - instead of focusing on improving the experience they want to shift scarce law enforcement resources to protect their bottom line. Absolutely sad.
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Re: prove it
Wait, let me correct my position: copyright infringement does cost the companies - money spent on useless copy-protection schemes, money spent on useless lawsuits on music sharers, money spent on PR campaigns, and so on.
Some companies and artists get it. I recently bought the new Rush CD 'Far Cry' for $11.99 Canadian. No copy protection. CD plays in my car and computer. The week the album came out, it was the second most purchased CD on Amazon. So much for the while "we need to copy protect CDs/DVDs to sell them" argument. The MPAA and RIAA are idiots. Plain and simple.
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Re: So, IP is more important than PP (Physical Pro
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Re:
I don't remember that one, although if I have come up with something work leveling an IP tax on remind me and we'll go halfies ;0)
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Re: Re: Re:
I'm not sure how to take that.
The US does have to most powerful military on Earth, however our government is what controls it. A strong military doesn't mean success.
The problem with the military in Iraq is we have idiots who want to pull them out before their job is done. Let our boys and girls do what they were trained to do.
War isn't a pretty thing! Some of our finest people will die, some civilians will die, but all the enemy will die.
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Re: Re: prove it
Wait, let me correct my position: copyright infringement does cost the companies - money spent on useless copy-protection schemes, money spent on useless lawsuits on music sharers, money spent on PR campaigns, and so on.
Well, the *AA's are counting any download of a song/movie as lost profit. So in essence they are syaing that since you downloaded White and Nerdy off Limewire, Weird Al isn't going to get paid for that.
However, the flaw is they have no way of knowing if you went out and bought the CD after listening to the downloaded song. So while it really wasn't lost profit (they actually made money because they didn't pay a thing to put the song on limewire, but it made you buy the CD) but it is still counted as lost profit.
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