Biden Convenes 'Piracy Summit' That Appears To Be Entirely One-Sided
from the of-course dept
Vice President Joe Biden has long been known to be a supporter of Hollywood when it comes to making copyright laws more draconian (and, not surprisingly, Hollywood has been a strong monetary supporter of Biden campaigns). He doesn't even try to hide that he's willing to do Hollywood's bidding on copyright law. And, I don't believe I've ever heard Biden ever publicly recognize concepts like fair use or the rights of individuals. Unfortunately, it looks like the Obama White House has given Biden control over IP issues, which is why a bunch of former "anti-piracy" lawyers -- including a former Biden staffer -- are now in the Justice Department. So, I guess it should come as no surprise that Biden is convening a "piracy summit" at the White House (via Michael Geist) and the guest list appears to be entirely one-sided:Among those expected are Sony's Michael Lynton, Warner Bros.' Barry Meyer, Viacom's Philippe Dauman, NBC Universal's Jeffrey Zucker, Warner Music Group's Edgar Bronfman, Harper Collins CEO Brian Murray, Universal Music Group's Zachary Horowitz, the MPAA's Dan Glickman, the RIAA's Mitch Bainwol, IATSE's international president Matthew Leob, AFTRA'S Kim Roberts Hedgepeth, DGA president Taylor Hackford, DGA exec director Jay Roth and SAG's David White.Notice that there aren't any consumer rights representatives. No one from technology companies. No one representing a viewpoint from outside of these industries of how they might be abusing claims of "piracy" to prop up obsolete business models. Instead, it's just the echo chamber. The same folks who have been misleading politicians for ages. And, of course, whenever you get a summit like this, expect some sort of misguided "action" to follow. Update: Public Knowledge has put out a statement, noting how one-sided this gathering is, and questioning why politicians are attending what appears to be an industry gathering on how to prop up a business model. Update 2: In the press release (pdf) about this, Biden's office has the gall to claim this "will bring together all of the stakeholders." Ha! It's 100% entertainment industry interests. No tech. No consumer advocates. No ISPs. This is a complete joke. Update 3: This just gets more and more ridiculous. Reporter Ryan Reilly was covering the "summit," posting the seating chart and quoting Biden as saying that "piracy" is "flat unadulterated theft" but it looks like Reilly has now been kicked out of the summit. Openness and transparency apparently doesn't apply when it involves propping up one small industry's obsolete business model.
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Filed Under: copyright, entertainment industry, joseph biden, piracy, summit
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misguided actions ....
hmmm .... wondering what it could be .... here are some of my guesses ...
-Searching peoples iPods and cell phones at airports
-Educating our children on the horrors of piracy in school
-Criminal penalties for copyright infringement (jail time)
-Criminalizing P2P software
-A Federal Fee added to your cable bill
-Forcing ISP's to police their networks looking for piracy, with little or no compensation from the Labels for this service
-Implementation of a Three Strikes Policy
-A government bailout of the industry
-An increase in the size of Joe Bidens presidential election fund
-Further Violations of the Constitution
That sounds alot like ACTA
Anyone have any others???
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Pure Corruption
This is the change we voted for.
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Blind to consumers at their own peril
Media companies have been blind to consumer desires for a long time. The industry has been fighting basic economics for decades and winning. They have been able to do it because they have controlled the legal system and the distribution system. That type of regime can only be propped up artificially. Eventually, attempting to hold back economic forces always fails. The Internet and home computers create many more chinks than the industry. This generation's music habits are different than their parents, and I don't think the industry has even noticed because they are trying so hard to cling to the past.
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Re: Pure Corruption
Corporate interests is what directs our Government now and it's what dictates policy.
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Re: Pure Corruption
You have a mouse in your pocket?
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Why invite the 'pirates'?
A better term really is 'digital rights management,' but recognizing that under the law citizens, not just media companies, have rights. And like it or not, the internet and digitization has crumbled outdated distribution models. However, if this same brain trust was willing to listen, they'd be able understand the myriad of ways technology has opened up new markets and possibilities.
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If you/we want to have any influence at all, you/we have GOT to get some asses into seats in the government.
Except that with New Zealand's pirate party having a grand total of four members after a month (me, two friends and some other ) I am starting to think that most of the population are a bunch of apathetic who deserve everything coming to them.
You don't agree with me? Have YOU done anything other than bitch and moan on techdirt?
And no, bitching and moaning on twitter doesn't really count either.
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Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
"Eventually, attempting to hold back economic forces always fails."
You are correct about that, they will fail, the damage they inflict to our civil liberties, privacy, and society is what frightens me. We have politically connected corporations that are on the verge of failing, the laws they lobby for in a desperate attempt to fight the tide are going to be detrimental to society as a whole. These new laws and regulations will most certainly cost consumers and tax payers many multiples of what the record labels stand to loose.
I really have to do something about this ...
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Hummmmm
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My view on what Hephaestus says
--Possibly, broad powers at airports
-Educating our children on the horrors of piracy in school
--Could do that
-Criminal penalties for copyright infringement (jail time)
--Possibly (would prompt outcry, I imagine)
-Criminalizing P2P software
--Very unlikely, it would fall under free speech, might take the form of reverse engineering
-A Federal Fee added to your cable bill
--Possibly, maybe likely?
-Forcing ISP's to police their networks looking for piracy, with little or no compensation from the Labels for this service
--Maybe
-Implementation of a Three Strikes Policy
--Unlikely... outcry, also could run into rights issues
-A government bailout of the industry
--Maybe
-An increase in the size of Joe Bidens presidential election fund
--Definitely :)
-Further Violations of the Constitution
--No... because the constitution has fewer protections than most people pretend... and everyone pretends that the constitution is on their side. Most things are decided by law and allowed by the constitution. We should learn to deal with it not being unconstitutional.
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the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out
of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts
are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future,
even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary to public interest.
This strange doctrine is not supported by statute nor common law.
Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court
and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back."
o Life Line, 1939 - Robert Heinlein
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Re: misguided actions ....
Anyone have any others???
secret tribunals to try accused pirates without all that commie 5th amendment BS.
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Re: Re: Pure Corruption
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Re: Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
the point to emphasize is that these laws will continue past the death of the industries they were enacted to protect.
hollywood profits are not eternal, our civil liberties should be.
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The rise and fall of ...
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Re: Re: misguided actions ....
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Frightening concept
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Oh, the irony...
> was covering the "summit," posting the seating chart and
> quoting Biden as saying that "piracy" is "flat unadulterated theft"
Behold the irony, considering Biden had to drop out of a previous presidential campaign because of a huge controversy when he got caught plagiarizing other peoples' speeches.
I guess like most politicians, it's only "flat unadulterated theft" when someone else does it. When he does it, it's okay.
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hmmm
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Though Entertainment Mass Media is a Commerce Product...
YOU STILL FAIL TO MAKE CLEAR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE CONSTRAINTS, CHOOSING TO SUPPORT ORGANIZED CRIME OVER THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLDS' POPULATION.
I strongly suggest you fix your policy and approach immediately, this is not the first time I've had to call you directly.
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Re: Though Entertainment Mass Media is a Commerce Product...
though good use of CAP's Lock...
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Re: Though Entertainment Mass Media is a Commerce Product...
If given the chance to vote on the subject I bet the majority of the population would eliminate intellectual property altogether. The biggest reason intellectual property exists is to serve the rich and the powerful and to enable them to exploit the public.
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Re:
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Re:
Two questions, that I would appreciate serious answers to:
1. Why?
2. How?
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Re: Why invite the 'pirates'?
It's still back to 'rights', and you aren't the one to dictate the terms.
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Re: Re: Why invite the 'pirates'?
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Slavery
Stupid human race.
We should be colonising Mars now, but actually we're watching X Factor celebrity, get me out of here faux reality shows and pirating a remix of a song / film / idea that was probably original 1000 years ago.
When a child is allowed to shoot someone in the head thru' a computer game, but is not allowed to see the beauty of a naked human body, it tells me there is something intrinsically wrong with the human race.
What has this to do with copyright, mafiaa and ip? everything.
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Re: misguided actions ....
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Re: Re: misguided actions ....
Senator Bayh Responds on ACTA
Senators Sanders and Brown ask White House to make ACTA text public
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Letter to the President
Center for Democracy & Technology Letter on ACTA (pdf)
EFF search on ACTA Documents
Public Knowledge Search On ACTA
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Re: misguided actions ....
HOWEVER...
the airports: if you are coming through customs, everything you bring through is subject to inspection, including inspections for smuggled or illegal content on your computer and other electronic devices. This is not new.
I think there is a very strong potential that laws will be passed for "grand theft of IP" or something similar, where an individual in possession of a significant amount of pirated material would be subject not only to civil penalties (lawsuits) but criminal actions (essentially making "infringing" into theft, as it should be).
You cannot criminalize P2P software, as it does have legitimate uses. However, I could see moves made to again criminalize operating a tracker for illegal materials, or operating a "pirate" site. Essentially, I could see ignoring DMCAs (ala pirate bay) turned into a criminal offense, not just a civil concept.
I think in many ways this war is already being won. In Sweden, the IPRED laws and similar have made a major shift in how people are getting their music and such, and I could see other countries following down the same lines. I think that the grand time of internet anonymity is quickly coming to a close. I wouldn't be shocked to see ISPs required to keep much more accurate records of who is on which IP at what time, and perhaps a fast track for indentifying users from the IP address. IPv6 is likely to be a big government push in the next little while, and ISPs would likely be the first ones forced into action.
You want net neutrality? Fine - but that would include not being able to hide.
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Re: Re: Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
Why should we worry about that it’s just a new tool for government to use for surveillance, oppression, and control. We know how the government always looks out best interests. After all its all for our own good and our childrens safety.
/ sarcasm
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
i hate the police state as much as any good anarchist, in this case, we probably shouldn't attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
i don't think that any individual deliberately intends to create a police state or a nanny state, but those same individuals are easily bribed into making decisions that are not well thought out from a constitutional standpoint.
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Re: Re: Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
I always talk about unintended consequences, and that’s the really big one. Once laws are put in place they are extremely difficult to get removed. The laws in the US build on the previous Laws, they are extended, reinterpreted, and used for things they were never designed for. If you push this out to the most extreme and most oppressive level it could lead to the banning of books deemed hazardous to society, censorship based on the current political parties agenda, corporations using it to suppress unwanted criticism. Most of this has already been seen in limited ways as a result of the DMCA.
Now let’s add some new things into the mix. The removal of due process, if you are "ACCUSED" a crime, not found guilty you can have penalties accessed against you. Criminal instead of civil penalties, forget the fines, you go to jail for having $80,000 (one un-licensed song) on your iPod. Having all your communications monitored, with the ISP's doing deep packet inspection on behalf of the entertainment industry. Of course the deep packet inspection and monitoring will be abused by the government with how lax law enforcement oversight has become.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Blind to consumers at their own peril
IMHO, you are right ... There will be no great leader pushing for a 1984 type police state. There will be a slow steady level of greed, laws created in panic, and stupidity that lead to the erosion of civil liberties. With small changes over time, people grow accustomed to the way things work and dont notice how bad things have become. Thats the way to a police state ....
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Re: My view on what Hephaestus says
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Re: My view on what Hephaestus says
next time try "reply to this comment" ... just a helpful hint :)
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Re: Re: misguided actions ....
all IPRED in sweden did was create a market for anonymous VPN services. you thought selling ads on a tracker raked in the bucks? think about how much money could be made for selling subscription services for $15 a month.
that's a strange definition of victory: not stopping piracy, AND making your enemies richer by creating a market for new services.
the pirate bay is still up and still serving up torrents AND has paying subscribers to its IPREDator beta. great job guys! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
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Re:
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Re: Re: misguided actions ....
The only one that violates privacy rights is "-Forcing ISP's to police their networks looking for piracy, with little or no compensation from the Labels for this service". The searching digital devices at airports was implemented on the grounds that it would help prevent terrorism, not to search for infringing content. When that rule-laws creation had input from the media industry everyone knew what it was actually for.
"I think there is a very strong potential that laws will be passed for "grand theft of IP" or something similar, where an individual in possession of a significant amount of pirated material would be subject not only to civil penalties (lawsuits) but criminal actions (essentially making "infringing" into theft, as it should be)."
Here are the problems and questions with any "grand theft IP" law. What do you consider illegal content? Is it a format shifted content that someone legally purchased, after all we do have the ability to make copies of CD's, DVD's, and Blu Ray's. Is it a video the someone DVR'd off the TV and then moved to a moble device? Is it a computer full of DVR'd TV shows? What about digitally recording the radio and putting that to your iPod, computer, or mobile device? Each and every digital copy in each of these cases would have its own unique CRC checksum as even a one bit difference changes the checksum.
Where does the burden of proof lie? with the content owner who would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the content is pirated. Or does the person being accused need to prove a negative? Accusation: this content is Illegal, Prove to me its not or I will arrest you. In this case proving a negative is Impossible the person will always be arrested.
"You cannot criminalize P2P software" On that I do agree with you, there are legitimate uses.
"I could see moves made to again criminalize operating a tracker for illegal materials, or operating a "pirate" site. Essentially, I could see ignoring DMCAs (ala pirate bay) turned into a criminal offense, not just a civil concept."
I can already tell you that it just doesn’t matter that it’s made illegal. As Mike Masnick has pointed out it’s a game of whak-a-mole. Pirate bay has pretty much shut down it operations because of Bit torrents DHT protocol which is a decentralized tracking system.
"I think in many ways this war is already being won. In Sweden, the IPRED laws and similar have made a major shift in how people are getting their music and such, and I could see other countries following down the same lines."
The shift in music being consumed differently was due mainly to more spending on advertising rather than a shift from pirated music to purchased. "The law certainly seems to be having one effect, albeit not one that helps its aims: demand for anonym zing proxy services, which mask the IP address of users, is reportedly heavily increased this week with some providers struggling to cope."
More reference material for you read the "undetectable" section
"I think that the grand time of internet anonymity is quickly coming to a close. I wouldn't be shocked to see ISPs required to keep much more accurate records of who is on which IP at what time, and perhaps a fast track for indentifying users from the IP address. IPv6 is likely to be a big government push in the next little while, and ISPs would likely be the first ones forced into action."
This is why people are developing software for anonymity that uses IP forwarding, encryption, proxy servers, and VPN, this "meta" internet will make tracking people almost impossible.
"You want net neutrality? Fine - but that would include not being able to hide."
See the above response ..... because it make the net neutrality rules all but obsolete. If your service provider can’t tell what you are transferring data wise because it’s all encrypted then throttling of a specific protocol is impossible.
"Hephaestus's Ugly Rug" - You should read this techdirt article.
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Re: Re: Re: misguided actions ....
"Live From Under a Bridge"
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This isn't the "hope & change" we asked for. :(
Hollywood has been pouring tons of money into the D party, and the obvious bias is more present now than ever.
That was one thing about the Bush Administration - they didn't seem all that concerned about Hollywood.
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downloading 'illegal' movies
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It's up to us
It doesn't take a super person to create something interesting. With modest determination and collaboration much can be achieved even with modest "talent".
The industry still has the ability to tap into expensive productions and marketing, but the little person is getting close because of the low costs of the Internet, of free open source software, and of sophisticated cheaper hardware.
It's also important that people creating also include the source material to the works and not just the finished product. This way value can be added throughout the various parts of the production by different contributors with different talents.. and so that the secrets get spread faster.
People, if you don't want to share your secrets with the public (the "public" will include like-minded peers you never knew existed), then you won't learn the benefits of leverage.
In short, to humble the large industry players down, we need to create more things through inexpensive tools and through collaboration and through share-alike licenses (see Creative Commons share-alike licenses and GPL license). Also, we should try to rely 100% on legally licensed material in order to really gain the leverage we want. Today, people adding value frequently are starting off with material already copyrighted and owned by these titans.
Also, the open source software movement will have to reach out because most artists don't know how to create their own tools and many (inexpensive) tools today are digital tools that can or have been created using open source and would be /are available for $0.
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Police state
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I really liked it
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