Instead Of Hiring Film Crew To Make PSA About Out Of Work Film Crews, ICE Just Reruns Someone Else's Video

from the wow. dept

Wed, Apr 27th 2011 9:20am — Mike Masnick

Well, this is just bizarre. You may recall that late last year, NBC Universal worked with New York City to create a silly "anti-piracy" propaganda video that was not even close to accurate. It amusingly claimed that there is "no such thing as a free movie," while using YouTube, a free video platform... for free. We were left scratching our heads, a few weeks back, when pointing out that Homeland Security's ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) was now using the same video on its YouTube account -- stripped of all references to New York City.

Well, as part of World Intellectual Property Day, ICE has flat out lied and is pretending that this video is a "new" PSA that it's put together, and which it will now be placing on the domains it illegally forfeits, without any sort of adversarial hearing.

Shouldn't we be just a bit concerned that Homeland Security's ICE group is placing a video, financed by NBC Universal, which makes blatantly false statements concerning copyright law and the impact of copyright infringement, on domains that it has seized illegally? Even worse, the press, who should know better, are simply parroting the claims from ICE that this is a new PSA from ICE. It's not. It's from NY City at the urging of NBC Universal. It's also not accurate.

Of course, what would be funny, if it weren't so sad, is that ICE's John Morton thinks that this video will "educate the general public about the real consequence of IP theft." That's doubtful. As has been explained over and over again -- including in the recent SSRC report -- the issue is not education at all, but better business models. This kind of propaganda is simply laughable and its insulting that Morton thinks the American public is so stupid as to be fooled by false statements about intellectual property.

In the meantime, though, can we point out the serious irony here: ICE and the feds are apparently too freaking cheap to pay for the creation of their own anti-piracy PSA about putting video crew people out of work. Yes, ICE could have hired a nice film crew, like the one in the video that will be put out of work due to "piracy." But, instead, it just used a video that was already made... meaning it didn't actually help put anyone to work. The film crew that the Stop Piracy in NYC site originally highlighted as being at risk due to piracy... are they getting any money from ICE?

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Filed Under: ice, nyc, psa
Companies: nbc universal

19 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2011 @ 9:36am

It's worse!
They're linking to the PSA on domain names they've alleged were engaging in trademark infringement and counterfeiting like nfljerseysupply.com. And they don't just link there, they force your browser to play it after 10 seconds. This is meant to confuse the public even more and make them think that copyright laws and trademark laws are one in the same. What a joke!

ICE claims 65 domain names have been "administratively forfeited". Doesn't that mean they didn't have a warrant for them? I was wondering when the press would get copies of the warrants on a majority of the sites that were seized, but it's looking like ICE didn't even see a judge to seize several of them.
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Vlad (Small Business Blog), 27 Apr 2011 @ 9:37am

We need...
We need a new startup that will solve the problem of ineffective government and put it out of business. Sorta like Netflix did for Blockbuster.
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PrometheeFeu (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 9:46am

That PLA (Public Lying Announcement) is disgustingly good. I learned that rich white guys are assholes and young attractive black women are good people. Also, sound technician are old depressed women. I'm assuming their employers must be treating them poorly!

Somebody needs to re-dub the video with different dialog. I would do it but it's not my area of expertise.
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- NotMyRealName (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 3:28pm
  
  Re:
  does re-sub count? its quick and dirty, and it'll probably get pulled quick but whatever.
  enjoy
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE29EVGArs8
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2011 @ 9:49am

I like how ICE keeps toting the number of "hits" the seized domains have received since their seizure.

How many of the 45 million "hits" they claim do you think are from the extreme amount of press these illegal seizures have generated?

John Morton, you'll be out of a job soon. Eventually some of these cases will go to court and this new bizarre, illegal way of using tax payers money will be forced to stop.
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Squirrel Brains (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 9:56am

The government does not like your speech. To solve the problem, they will remove your speech and place their speech there. Thank you for your time.
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ArcticChill (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:09am

At what point....
...did the Journalistic crowd go from Government Watchdog to Government Shill? It was well before the War On Terror and WMD's.

Though now in the US you have the "If you don't agree with us you must be a terrorist" line to deal with.
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- weneedhelp (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:35am
  
  Re: At what point....
  Bushie made it quite clear:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-23kmhc3P8U
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:28am

Smells of copyright infringement by ICE
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anonymous, 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:28am

From what I read in the comments of the linked article,"parroting the claims", and based on the arguements of the pro-IP crowd, should ICE sieze HollywoodReporter.com?
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onyxmicro (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:53am

"The more you tighten your grip, Morton, the more pirates will slip through your fingers...."

(hey, this is derivative, I swear!....)
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- New Mexico Mark, 27 Apr 2011 @ 11:06am
  
  Re:
  "We have altered the video (and your site). Pray we do not alter it further."
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B's Opinion Only (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:56am

I work in the film business. It has been growing every year and continues to make record profits, just as is has since: people got televisions in their homes, got VCR's, got cable, got Video on Demand, and since they got the Internet.

I encourage everyone to go to the Youtube video in the link, and FLAG it as inappropriate. I chose "Inappropriate because it is mass advertising" but feel free to choose your own reason for Youtube to take it down.

It is a shame they have disabled comments for the video, because it could have become an interesting discussion of due process and freedom of speech.
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B's Opinion Only (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 10:57am

... and no, we don't get paid again when our work gets reused or re-branded.
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Rikuo (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 11:10am

The guy giving away DVDs should have been sued by the boom mike operator. He's threatening to fire her if a completely different person takes a free DVD he's blatantly giving away. Plus, why hasn't he been arrested for copyright infringement? He admits they're illegally downloaded!

(yes, I know its a PSA, I know not to take it literally...)
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ts, 27 Apr 2011 @ 11:16am

"its insulting that Morton thinks the American public is so stupid as to be fooled by false statements about intellectual property."

I think you're giving the American public too much credit. I would say 90% of the public doesn't care about IP law, so they'll believe anything they hear.. if they even pay enough attention to hear anything. The other 10% that cares are people that benefit from the current system... leaving a minority of the minority who actually get it. And 99% of them are frequent visitors to this site. =p
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- Atkray (profile), 27 Apr 2011 @ 1:24pm
  
  Re:
  Which is why the shills are always trying to shout down the dialog on this site.
  
  BTW your math made my head hurt....I need a lie down.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2011 @ 2:03pm

"The film crew that the Stop Piracy in NYC site originally highlighted as being at risk due to piracy... are they getting any money from ICE?"

No, they're now out of work because of PIRACY.

Duh.
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Chris, 28 Apr 2011 @ 4:34am

Welcome to our world!
Welcome to the world where government agencies spread lies and the mainstream media doesn't even point out the obvious lies!

This is what gun owners have been going through for decades, courtesy of the ATF and smaller agencies.

Government is not a smart animal. If, however, it is successful in a tactic against one group of citizens it will seek to employ the same tactic against another. Government successfully demonized law-abiding gun owners for decades, building restriction after restriction upon their rights. A right recognized, not granted, by the Second Ammendment.

To paraphrase: First they came for the gun owners, but I didn't speak out because I didn't own guns.

Now they are coming for you. Who is there to help YOU?
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