Major Labels, RIAA, Homeland Security All Spotted 'Pirating' Works

from the telling dept

Tue, Dec 20th 2011 1:02pm — Mike Masnick

Early last week we noted that, using the tool, YouHaveDownloaded, some folks in the Netherlands noticed that the local music collection society appeared to be engaging in infringement. You knew that wasn't where things would end. Soon after that, people spotted infringement emanating from NBC Universal, Sony Pictures and Fox Entertainment -- three of the biggest supporters of ever more draconian copyright law. And, of course, that was just the beginning. The RIAA and Homeland Security have now also been identified. And, no, in most of these cases, it's clearly not just for research purposes or to find infringers. The RIAA, for example, could probably get away with downloading music... but the first five seasons of the TV show, Dexter? That's tougher to believe. The folks at Gizmodo have calculated just how much the RIAA's likely infringement here should cost, using the RIAA's own metric of the maximum statutory rates of $150,000 per infringement... and figured the RIAA owes about $9 million. Somehow I doubt we'll see the RIAA pay up any time soon.

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Filed Under: copyright, dhs, infringement, pipa, protect ip, sopa, you have downloaded
Companies: fox entertainment, nbc universal, riaa, sony pictures

33 Comments

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Jeff (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:12pm

to funny! I say make them pay up! Those freetarded pirating scums need to quit taking everything for free and get a job! And die in a fire!!!1!

/amidoingitrite
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Steve R. (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:15pm

Only if you have $$$ will you be innocent
Broad sweeping general laws, such as those related to so-called "Intellectual Property" mean that any who has the finger of blame pointed at them will clearly be guilty in one innovative way or another. Kiss due process away. Only those with gobs of $$$ will be able to eventually "buy" none guilt.
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Machin Shin, 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:27pm

They were... uh... testing?
You know they had to make sure the torrents really were the infringing content they claimed to be. It had to have been a tough job sitting and watching all those episodes but by golly somebody has got to do it!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:31pm

RIAA Real Ignorant Asshats of America
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W Klink (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:35pm

They'll pay it...
...to themselves.

And then file a claim against their insurance.
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Rikuo (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:38pm

Re: They were... uh... testing?
Wait wait wait wait...are you saying they did some actual investigating? But I coulda sworn that modus operandi was to pay some other company to print off a list of IP addresses that are downloading a certain torrent and use that, and that alone, as the only piece of evidence.
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clarion cx 501, 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:38pm

Cmon really?
I find this truly ironic that the RIAA owes money. So much for the standards they are so into lording over us. They are an anachronism any way. happy downloading everyone
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:39pm

its like christmas came early
a feeling of goodwill and happiness.
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PaulT (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:44pm

Re: They were... uh... testing?
Ah, the Townsend defence...

Hmmm, 5 posts already and no attempt to white knight the industry against the very attacks they inflict on innocent civilians? Must be lunchtime over there.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:51pm

I still think that the site is some sort of joke or scam. But I guess that makes it about as accurate as any evidence of "piracy" the *AAs can pin on individuals.
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Kevin H (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 1:55pm

Re: They'll pay it...
Must have been an R&D expenditure.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:03pm

:)
"Hi. We have no records on you."

Oh yea, tolja so...industry shills.
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Grey Ferret, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:06pm

This doesn't prove anything. An IP address doesn't identify an.... um... (lawyers whispering in background). I mean, this was obviously an isolated act by one of our scapegoats... what? (more whispering) I mean, a rogue employee who was induced into infringement by these horrible rogue web... (whisper)... um... grifting ("grifting" that's the term we're using now? really?) Um, grifting sites dedicated to infring... (whisper) I mean, theft of US property. SOPA must be passed to prevent this from happening in the future. (right?) Right!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:07pm

How much do you want to bet that the trolls are searching through the site as hard as they can for anything they can pin on Techdirt and Mike (or any similar site and people)?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:12pm

cut off their internet
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:16pm

Re:
it appears to be neither a scam or a joke. It is what it says it is, a very incomplete list of IPs linked to torrents. It doesn't list time of connection but according to their facebook they have that logged. Most people think its fake because they don't understand dynamic ips.
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weneedhelp (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:22pm

Re:
cut off their heads.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:22pm

Re: Re: They were... uh... testing?
Christmas week. They already took off....
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The eejit (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:43pm

Re: Re:
Cut off their genitalia! Prevention is better than cure.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:51pm

Re: Re: They were... uh... testing?
Sometimes you people really do a terrible job detecting sarcasm (btw, I'm not the author of the post you're responding to, but it's obviously sarcastic).

Then again, I have failed to detect sarcasm before, mostly because the true trolls are often indistinguishable from the parodies.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:56pm

Re:
Are you kidding? They're to lazy to do any of that, it requires too much work! You must be new here or something.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:56pm

Re: Re:
too *
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:57pm

Re: Re: Re:
An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.
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Andrew (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 3:33pm

Dammit
I really really really wish I'd written the AVS Audio Converter or Tag & Rename software. That lawsuit would be delicious.
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Josef Anvil (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 4:49pm

They don't owe $9million
They infringed and are dedicated to the theft of American IP, so they should have their domain names seized and all financial institutions should freeze their funding until the court case is over ( in a year or so).
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Anonymous Anoymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 5:55pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'll take a pint.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:50pm

That's not the only thing the fine folks at Homeland Security have been caught downloading...if ya know what I mean.
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Pixelation, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:58pm

Let's hope someone sues the RIAAsshats. Think of the lost sales from their piracy!
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vegetaman (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 7:37pm

Re:
Trolls need not bother to look for information when they can just wave their hand and make up their own "facts".
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Quartz, 21 Dec 2011 @ 12:48am

Shame on these organisations who deem to lord over all netizens but cannot keep their own hands out of the cookie jar.
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Ed C., 21 Dec 2011 @ 10:39am

Re: They don't owe $9million
Considering how much they stole from artist and the public at large, I'd say that $75 trillion would only cover the interest--at least going by their figures anyway.
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tsavory (profile), 22 Dec 2011 @ 12:10am

I love it
I love this story and wait they have an excuse.
here it is
http://torrentfreak.com/riaa-someone-else-is-pirating-through-out-ip-addresses-111221/
Biggest joke I seen in a long time sure glad no third parties can ever get our IP addresses they would not be able to sue us any more. I mean come on Joe blow down the road would never hack my WiFi.
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Bailey, 27 Mar 2012 @ 10:54am

wow
i got a letter from the riaa then i bought an ip scrambler, these jokes think they can be the most eltist hypocritical asshats ever, if i ever get taken to court im bringing up that if i have to pay, so does the rest of the companies stealing, especially the ones that are caught red handed, retarded as shit -_-
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