Justice Department Wants $5 Million To Bolster Its Efforts As Hollywood's Private Police Force

from the regulatory-capture dept

Wed, Feb 15th 2012 11:00am — Mike Masnick

While the proposed Obama 2013 budget for the federal government is supposed to be about cutting extraneous expenditures, one area where it's seeking more money is to expand the Justice Department's copyright enforcement efforts. You see, this is what happens when you hand the Justice Department over to the RIAA and MPAA. DOJ is seeking an extra $5 million to focus on these kinds of efforts, to hire 14 new employees, including nine lawyers, claiming that it's "had an increase in the number of cases that we're dealing with in IP." Oh really? You mean like the case of Dajaz1? The site that the DOJ illegally held and censored for over a year? Perhaps if they had a few more lawyers on staff, someone would have taken the time to realize that they were supposed to give the domain back within a specified time frame. Or perhaps they could have used those people to realize that the site was posting music sent by the copyright holders. Of course, that's not what would happen. Instead, they'd just focus on seizing more sites and creating more collateral damage. The real question, of course, should be why are we allowing the government to be Hollywood's private police force?

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Filed Under: budget, copyright, doj, justice department, regulatory capture
Companies: mpaa, riaa

108 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:07am

Oh, crap.

Despite it being an election year, we're losing aren't we? :(

With the blackout only a month ago, the stories that we've been hearing so far sounds like steam for the internet is dwindling.

At this rate, I'm losing hope again...
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:09am

Hollywood Cops have style?
So, the Nazi uniforms had a really glamorous "Hollywood" style... perhaps they'll have DOJ agents adopt something with a similar look.

;-P
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:19am

Hey, Obama...
This is NOT the way you convince young people that you're a good President.

Keep this up and the Democrats are going to lose in November.

Even tho Lamar Smith is the jackwagon who started SOPA and a Republican, most of the support for SOPA, PIPA and other bills have come from Democrats...
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Rich Kulawiec, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am

Priorities, DoJ, priorities
There have been, since 1980, about 186,000 unsolved murders in the United States -- about 6000/year.

If the DoJ would actually like to, you know, maybe kinda consider doing something for the cause of justice, then perhaps it could at least pretend to prioritize finding the killers responsible for these before worrying about bits flying around the Intertubes.

Oh, I know: it's hard work pursuing these cases, some of which lack substantial evidence. It's grueling, it's unglamorous, it doesn't result in headlines, it can be mind-numbing, depressing, frustrating. It's much easier to seize a website selling fake NFL t-shirts and hold a press conference.

But those of us who PAY for the DoJ would prefer that it spend its resources pursuing murderers rather than acting as the lapdog of the few dying companies that nobody needs, nobody wants, and nobody will miss when they're gone.
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ken (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am

No more public dole for copyright holders.
Why do copyright holders get a free ride? In order to get copyright or patent protection you should have to pay BIG TIME and also pay BIG TIME every 10 years to maintain it. Enough putting copyright holders on the public dole.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:24am

Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
If they create a rape task force, are you going to argue that the DOJ is acting as a private police force for women? Are you going to say that the cops out arresting car thieves are a private police force for car owners?

The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of taxes in this country, much more than the folks like Kim Dotcom that you idolize. At the end of the day, the folks in government are going to side with the folks who pay taxes and act like good citizens. If they need some help policing, that's what the taxes are for.

Plus, I seem to remember that you squawked and squawked when SOPA gave the content creators the ability to shut down web sites on their own. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to insist that the content owners pay for their own policing, you're going to have to give them the power to do it. Otherwise you'll need to support the DOJ doing it.

Oh wait. I'm sure you'll find some way to be against any and all punishment for infringers-- while still maintaining that you're theoretically in support of copyright. Sheesh.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:29am

Mike Masnick really hates it that the law is going to be enforced.
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Machin Shin (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:30am

Re: Hollywood Cops have style?
If so I might have to sign up for DOJ job. The Nazis were wrong about a lot of things and did a lot of evil things but you have to admit they had damn nice uniforms.
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Machin Shin (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

Re: Re: Hollywood Cops have style?
I need to jump back in at this point to say I would have to promptly quit again after getting uniform.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
This is the best fake trolling ever.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

I'm all for punishiment of infringers. Lets say a fine of 10 X the value of the proven downloads. And look, i'm even giving in to the false assumption that all downloads are lost sales. What more could you RIAA/MPAA employee/trolls ask for?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:35am

Re:
Anonymous cowards really hate it that the law is going to be ignored.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:38am

Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
But didn't you hear? Piracy and counterfeiting is akin to terrorism. That's worse than murder, because it terrorizes and kills. Won't you think of the children?
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Gwiz (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:39am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
You comment might have had a wee bit relevance, but only if you ignore the fact that copyright enforcement has traditionally (at least prior to the last couple of decades or so) been civil actions between two private parties and had nothing whatsoever to do with law enforcement or the DOJ.
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jupiterkansas (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:41am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
A rape task force benefits the entire public. Arresting car thieves benefits the entire public. Pursuing copyright infringement only benefits a handful of very wealthy companies (who could easily pay the $5 million themselves without blinking).

But I don't mind the government going after real copyright infringement. I have a problem with them taking orders from the big wealthy companies, and I don't think we'll ever see them asking for more reasonable and enforceable copyright laws that don't make every single citizen in the country a criminal, including the trolls here.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:42am

Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
Would you download a child?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:45am

Re: Re:
They'll always be morons who ignore the law.
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Mesonoxian Eve (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:46am

The $5 Million is for the settlement payout to Dajaz1.

Next up: iTunes and Netflix prices soar.

Again.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:47am

Re: No more public dole for copyright holders.
^this, with the proviso it kicks in only upon first tranference, fees double upon subsequent tranference, and failure to pay dumps the property directly to public domain.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:51am

Silly Mike, don't you know that subsidizing the poor is EVIL and BAD but subsidizing the rich and powerful is a vital necessity for society! Just ask the big banks that got a bailout!
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Loki, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:51am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
As usual, your arguments are weak.

Creating a task force or arresting car thieves is not a problem, if they are doing the job they are assigned. If they are just picking up or stopping people they don't like, without reason or just cause, as they are doing with "IP enforcement" then yeah, I'm going to have a problem with that.

Secondly, comparing Dotcom to the average content creator is not relevant comparison as far as I am concerned. Let's see what he paid compared to Chris Dodd or Cary Sherman. I can assure you that the average person who pays for their content (and is treated like criminals anyways) pays at least as much as most "content creators".

As for copyright, given its current incarnation, I no more support the people who abuse it as a welfare system than I do the drunk on the corner who blows his whole check on booze every weeks.
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Frank, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:52am

Priorities...
Times like this, the Coca-Cola quote from Strangelove keeps going through my head.
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:53am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
I don't support the THEFT of stuff, like stealing an artist's music and deleting all other copies of it.

However... Copying is NOT stealing.

Ugh.

At the end of the day, the government should side with the people who voted them in, not the small minorities of people with money.

But, they won't, thus people have almost NO regard for copyright these days.

"Plus, I seem to remember that you squawked and squawked when SOPA gave the content creators the ability to shut down web sites on their own. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to insist that the content owners pay for their own policing, you're going to have to give them the power to do it. Otherwise you'll need to support the DOJ doing it."

You're right, we don't want it both ways...

How about this?

The DOJ AND the MPAA/RIAA go away and stop infringing on OUR rights?!

The REAL rights.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:54am

Re:
Mike Mansick relally hates it that the Law is going to be Enforced.

Sheesh. Learn how to troll, ya fuckin' n00b.
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Donnicton, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:54am

Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
You wouldn't steal our troops, would you?
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:55am

Re: Re: Re:
Stupid laws get ignored, as I've said before.

IP and copyright laws are stupid.

Until they're not stupid, they shall be ignored.
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:56am

Meh
The banks should have been allowed to fail.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:57am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
I totally would!!

Kinda always wanted my own private army...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:58am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Yes, the DOJ SHOULD be a police force for women, and yes, the DOJ SHOULD be a police force for car owners because they are the citizenry of the country. And the industries that you're trying to stand up for don't pay a lot in taxes because they use every loophole imaginable to make sure they don't.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:58am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of taxes in this country,
They also receive a lot of tax money in return. Google "movie studio tax" to find out how much money they get from governments almost everywhere.

At the end of the day, the folks in government are going to side with the folks who pay taxes
Then why are they giving tax subsidies to movie studios?

and act like good citizens.
Like Interscope records and their whole drug trafficking thing?
for.

They have the power to do it with the DMCA. Even without the DMCA, if someone is breaking the law, they have the power to sue that person. They've done it before, they can still do it. SOPA/PIPA weren't needed for them to do it.
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MrWilson, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:58am

Re: Hey, Obama...
I don't think the Democrats are going to lose in November regardless, but really, this is a lesser of four evils choice right now.

Obama - DOJ is the enforcement wing of the Entertainment Industry Party, NDAA indefinite detention, etc

Romney - out of touch plutocrat who will say anything to get into office

Gingrich - out of touch megalomaniac who thinks he's Reagan but makes up his own version of history to justify whatever racist or bigoted ideas spew out of his mouth

Santorum - misogynist who wants to institute religious-based totalitarian policies in the bedroom and the clinic by outlawing abortion and contraception, thinks gay marriage leads to zoophilia and birth control to STDs
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:00pm

Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
You left out Ron Paul--don't feel bad though, there's a concerted effort in the media to leave out Ron Paul.
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weneedhelp (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:01pm

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Too easy:
"If they create a rape task force, are you going to argue that the DOJ is acting as a private police force for women?"
Why yes, the police force IS for women citizens.

"Are you going to say that the cops out arresting car thieves are a private police force for car owners?"
Yes again, car owners are citizens, so yes again.

"The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of taxes in this country"
But much less than citizenry in it total, so FAIL.

"At the end of the day, the folks in government are going to side with the folks who pay taxes and act like good citizens." - What a bunch of horseshit. Folks in government realized with the public outcry against SOPA, exactly who has the power when provoked. No amount of "Taxes" and bribes, could match the threat of being voted out.

"the folks who pay taxes and act like good citizens."
Just goes to show your sad, sour point of view about life. We ARE good citizens.

"Plus, I seem to remember that you squawked and squawked when SOPA gave the content creators the ability to shut down web sites on their own. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to insist that the content owners pay for their own policing, you're going to have to give them the power to do it. Otherwise you'll need to support the DOJ doing it."
Your memory is crap. What has been "squawked" about is ANY private/government entity being able to shut down a site/payment processing on just an accusation.

Its akin to me accusing you of being a terrorist, and the US just whisks you away to a private jail and tortures you. (Oh wait that's right simulated drowning is not torture.)

I know, I know, silly us for wanting due process, and expecting our own government to follow the law. - Its pie-rate talk.
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Richard (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:02pm

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of taxes in this country,
The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of campaign contributions in this country,

FTFY

(Hollywood accounting means that they pay very little tax - and copyrights seem to be exempt from inheritance taxes too)
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Adam J, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:03pm

Omfg are you kidding me? With budget cuts all across the board RIMDOJ (RIAA\ICE\MPAA\DOJ), as they are all pretty much the same entity in regards to copyright and censorship, is asking for more money? My mom is a teacher and the school district she works for cannot even afford to hire a teacher's aid to help her with all her students but we can spare 5 million for some bullshit? If Obama approves this BS then he better promptly take his ass back to Africa, IMO. JP, that was rude. :D
On a side note, notice how the acronym RIMDOJ sounds a lot like the word rimjob? Fitting, as the people that head these agencies clearly like to lick ass. Ewwww!
Cheers!
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:05pm

OT: JotForm Suspended
http://www.jotform.pro/blog/45-JotForm-com-Suspended

Jotform, a popular form service has had their .com domain suspended by GoDaddy at request of "a US government agency"
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weneedhelp (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:07pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
"there's a concerted effort in the media to leave out Ron Paul."
At least until the "election" is over, then he is on every finance based show on TV, and they fawn over him being right about the economy.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:09pm

Re: Hey, Obama...
I didn't see any of this in the Blue Print for Change.
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Jay (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:10pm

Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
No... bob's pretty serious. That's what makes it even funnier.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:12pm

What you don't seem to get Mike, is that it doesn't matter. You can expose their corruption and sheer idiocy all you want, it doesn't matter. It has never mattered. It will never matter.

Proof? What's going on with dajaz1? What about with Roja? Lest we forget the mega mega conspiracy mega. The US are in full totalitarian force, of "Corporate America" and no one will stop them. Why? They are the money.

All the efforts against SOPA/PIPA? Stopped dead in its tracks by the mega fail of the US gov. They have shown, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they will abuse any power they have to protect dead legacy businesses.

I wouldn't say it's pointless to try, but based on all your efforts and the response from your irresponsible government show it's wasted efforts and they're here to keep pushing more ridiculous laws to take away all your rights and freedoms, at the benefits of corporations that cannot adapt, but still have more than enough money to call the shots, and buy corrupted government agencies.
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:17pm

Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
I was talking about in the House and Senate.
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:17pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
First the troops...

THEN the bitches.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:19pm

Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
I would if i could.
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silverscarcat (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:20pm

Re:
Some people like their asses getting licked.
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Richard (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:20pm

Re: OT: JotForm Suspended
More collateral damage - when will they learn?
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Berenerd (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:22pm

And the big labels say we are losing jobs because of the freetards...HAH! I bet this will shut them up.../sarc
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:24pm

Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
That's 'cause it was in the Blue Print for Large Bills.

Non-consecutively numbered 20's, in a brown-paper sack.
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Edward Teach, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:24pm

Serious ... Or Trolling?
How can we tell?

Trolling, it seems to me, is a form of sarcasm. That is, ironic humor by emphasis. Irony is itself humor by presenting opposites.

Each of these indirections (humor -> irony -> sarcasm) introduces a large fraction of noise into the mix, lowering the proportion of signal.

At some point, you just can't tell. I think "bob" here has crossed the line from seriousness into trolling.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:27pm

So you oppose both private right of action and increased enforcement by the government. Interesting.
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Adam J, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:29pm

Re: Re:
@Silverscarcat: Touche`
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:33pm

When you look at the current field of Republican candidates it should be impossible for Obama to lose. It's like he really wants to give losing his best shot though.
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gorehound (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:34pm

I may hate the GOP and I did Vote for Obama..............but after seeing how we just keep losing more and more of our lives to control i am giving a serious thought to Voting for Ron Paul just to "shake things up".
Frak You Obama !!! So much for spending money and putting us into more debt.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:35pm

Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
...a lesser of four evils...

It occurs to you that you're getting played?
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Adam J, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:35pm

Re:
I think what Mike doesn't like is judicial/regulatory capture.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:37pm

"Justice Department Wants $5 Million To Bolster Its Efforts As Hollywood's Private Police Force"

Not biased at all, are you Mike?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:37pm

"The real question, of course, should be why are we allowing the government to be Hollywood's private police force?"

Because hollywood paid good money for those politicians and YOU did didn't?
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The eejit (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:46pm

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Hang on. Do you mean content creators like Eminem, who had to sue to get his contractual reiduals from his label?

Do you mean like Gary Friedrich, the co-creator of the modern Ghost Rider franchise, who isn't legally allowed to tell people he's the co-creator of said Ghost Rider, due to an IP lawsuit brought by Marvel?

Or do you mean like "Fox" and "Universal", who merely pay for content to be created?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:47pm

Re:
I did Vote for Obama....oopsy (snicker)

i am giving a serious thought to Voting for Ron Paul just to "shake things up".

Strike 2 because he will never win...they won't let him (yes this is choreographed to give us the illusion of control).
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The eejit (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:50pm

Re: Re: Re:
The law like the one recently passed in Virginia, stating that life starts at conception?

Or the ones that allowed people to literally own other people?

Or ones that prevented people with a different shade of skin colour to get married?

Or ones that made you tip your hats to any passing cows?

Or the ones that legally permitted you to shoot someone, provided that it was from 12 yards away, with a longbow, on the battlements of the castle?

Those laws?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:51pm

Re: Re: Re:
They'll always be morons who ignore the law.

You spelled freedom fighters wrong.
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TDR, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:51pm

I think it's time that the DoJ itself was investigated and purged of all MAFIAA personnel and influence for all time.
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The eejit (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:53pm

Re:
Then perhaps it's time for more...severe action. Like excising the cancer at the heart of America completely and utterly. By any means necessary.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:54pm

Re:
" that they will abuse any power they have to do their masters bidding."
There fixed it for you.
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The eejit (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:56pm

Re:
I think that the cancers at the heart of America (and that's what they are) should be excised with lasers.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:59pm

Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
Pedobear always think of the children.
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Hephaestus (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:01pm

Re:
He trolled you pretty well now didn't he?
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:43pm

Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Traditionally, yes, but that's because we haven't seen infringement practiced on such a large scale.

But it matters little if it's civil or criminal. If someone is able to file a complaint against someone offering a copy for free on the Internet, that person is going either (1) need to call a cop or (2) be able to get at the private information of the infringer. Oh wait, there's a third option that's popular around here: give up altogether because bringing the infringer to court might hurt their feelings or force them to hire a lawyer or actually maybe make them feel bad.

You can't have it both ways. Either the copyright holders get to pry into the private information of everyone on the Internet and-- with proof-- kick them off the web, or you get the cops to do it.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:44pm

Re: Re:
Can't have it both ways. Pick one. Or reveal your true agenda, gutting enforcement of existing law entirely.... which is precisely the Masnick agenda.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:45pm

Re: Re:
Can't have it both ways. Pick one. Or reveal your true agenda, gutting enforcement of existing law entirely.... which is precisely the Masnick agenda.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:46pm

Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
No. A car task force only benefits car owners. If you live in the city, there aren't that many of them and they tend to be 1%ers. The same goes for cops pursuing jewelry theft and yacht theft. Are you suggesting that we give up on them too?

I think you should try to imagine yourself in the content creator's shoes. You work really hard on a project. The film costs $200 million to create. You've paid union wages and health insurance for everyone on the set. Yet some lazy jerk online wants to give it all away for free.

The cops aren't just working for the big corporation but also everyone who works for that corporation. Because if the movie theater doesn't sell those tickets and pop corn, no one is going to plop down $200 million to pay for a crew. Corporations are made of people.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:15pm

Re: Re: Re:
Actually, as a corporation is a legal entity created by government fiat which only governs based on the will of enough citizens.

With the US population at ~300 million and the Bureau of Labor Statics showing the "entertainment industry" employing ~2 million I'm not sure you'll be forcing us to pick anything...
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Gwiz (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:29pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
You can't have it both ways. Either the copyright holders get to pry into the private information of everyone on the Internet and-- with proof-- kick them off the web, or you get the cops to do it.

Copyright holders do that now bob - with due process and under the guidance and direction of a court of law. What's exactly wrong with that? Why should the taxpayers foot the bill for that? Look, if you want to spend you money on playing wac-a-mole with infringers, go for it, knock yourself out - just leave my money out of the equation, ok?
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:30pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
If you live in the city, there aren't that many of them and they tend to be 1%ers.

I thought the life of 1%ers was more glamorous than owning a car in the city.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:41pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
I lol'd in my drink on that one.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:48pm

Re: Re: Re:
Let's split the baby and gut the law entirely instead, since that's the seed of all the problems apparently.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:49pm

Re:
Prove him wrong.
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Khaim (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:53pm

Make up your mind
"Perhaps if they had a few more lawyers on staff, someone would have taken the time to realize that they were supposed to give the domain back within a specified time frame."

Isn't that an argument for adding more lawyers to the IP division?
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lolzzzz, 15 Feb 2012 @ 2:54pm

COPYRIGHT = TAX
no longer aids artists
no longer stimulates invention
no longer protects the rights of the people to have public domain works so they can become part of the process
no longer is about fairness
no longer is about justice

IT IS about money and money only and in this case extreme utter sickening greed.
90% of your losses to civil liberties can be atributed to this crap
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Newest shill lie: only 1% of people have cars.
Coming up next: 99% of people have record labels and need copyright enforcement.
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FuzzyDuck, 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:40pm

Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
Ron Paul?
Gary Johnson?
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FuzzyDuck, 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:45pm

Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
I did upload half of the code to build one into nature's very own 3D printing machine.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:53pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
If only it were that easy. I know quite a few men who don't want to spend more money on enforcing rape laws. But we have a democracy and if we pass the laws, we should pay to enforce them.

Despite what the folks around here think, copyright has a very broad level of support throughout society. Did someone take a digital picture from your Facebook page and use it in their advertisement? Copyright is there to help. 100% of the people created something copyrightable and I'm sure that most can imagine some case where they would want to stop someone from reproducing that work.

I don't know what folks keep saying that weakening copyright to make life easier for Big Search's bottom line is the side of the general public. Big Search is another order of magnitude larger than Big Content.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:56pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
I bet that 100% of the population created something copyrightable today. The percentage that drove a car is markedly smaller and in cities, it's a tiny minority dominated by the 1%. Go to NYC. Probably more than 95% of the residents don't own cars. It might even by 99%.

Yet somehow you think that enforcing the theft of cars from the 1% is a perfectly okay use of police resources but protecting the copyright isn't. Go figure.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 3:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Think of it this way. Let's say a company comes along and grabs a picture from someone's Facebook page and uses it in an ad without paying the person. I bet everyone here would be happy to see the copyright law enforced against the company-- even if that company were Big Search.

I contend that more people create digital photos each day than own a car. Soon there will be more cell phone handsets in the world than people. So it's getting quite close to 99% that will soon have recording equipment.
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:01pm

Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
Actually, murder is usually pursued by the local police, not the DOJ which in this case probably means the FBI. But trust me, they're devoting significantly more resources to terrorism and murder and everything in between. They've got room for copyright. Or are you arguing that the police should drop EVERYTHING and just pursue murder cases?
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bob, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:04pm

Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Where have you been? Fighting car theft has many collateral damages. Cops are accused of racial profiling all the time-- and I'm sure some of the accusations have merit. It's much less precise than tracing an IP address and going after an address.
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MrWilson, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, Obama...
Although I agree with about half of the ideas that Ron Paul espouses, he doesn't have a chance in hell in winning the Republican candidacy, much less the presidency.

Since I hadn't even heard of Gary Johnson, I'm guessing he doesn't have a chance in hell either.
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jupiterkansas (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:21pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
I'm just going to ignore the stupid only 1% have cars. I think it's closer to 67%

But if my car is stolen, I'm out thousands of dollars to replace the new car.

If my photo is infringed, I have not lost any money at all. It's simply that someone else has made money off with my work. Chances are they're not going to make enough off of it for me to drag them to court, but if they did that's exactly why we have copyright law. The police are not involved at all.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Any law that keeps me from getting stuff for free is stupid".

LOL
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Me too. "Freedom fighters". Too funny.
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jupiterkansas (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:30pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
But Bob, my movie is going to cost $600 million to create. Please enact laws to ensure my movie turns a profit. The future of art depends on it.

It's entirely possible that Hollywood could make cheaper films (and 99% of them are much less than $100 million.) Countries around the world routinely make films on much smaller budgets than Hollywood. Hollywood is a black hole money pit from hell and legislation is their last hope of maintaining their bloated budgets and 1% lifestyles (you know, owning cars and all that).

Of course, you don't know how much the average movie costs because they don't tell us anymore. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/01/business/fi-cotown-mpaa1

What the police should be doing is investigating their shady and probably criminal accounting practices.
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jupiterkansas (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:31pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
I'll bet that 100% of the population infringed on copyright today too, including you.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 4:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
No but I would download a replacement platoon in a second....

or an entire Army for that matter...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 6:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
WTF is big search?

are you mentally deficient?
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jupiterkansas (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 6:46pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Please explain again what a Big Search is?
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RadialSkid (profile), 15 Feb 2012 @ 7:44pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Until Creative Commons is outlawed, no such law will exist. Eat it.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
Funny, I live in a city, and I can tell you that the mass transit system, such as it is, is underutilized... because MOST people have cars. So, try again? Maybe actually cite something to back it up?

But let us go back to copyright infringement. The DOJ has no business, whatsoever, involving itself in civil disputes. Neither do the FBI, the Federal Marshals, the state, county or local police. You call a cop about a civil matter, they'll tell you to file in court, they cannot help you. So while you stand there, steadfast in the belief that the DOJ should be helping private industry, reality is telling you to shut the hell up.
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LC (profile), 16 Feb 2012 @ 1:51am

Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
"If they create a rape task force, are you going to argue that the DOJ is acting as a private police force for women? Are you going to say that the cops out arresting car thieves are a private police force for car owners?"

Seeing as rape and car theft are both criminal offenses, and that women and car owners are both citizens, that's reasonable. It's nothing like what's happening here: having law enforcement enforce civil law. And cut your "1% own cars" bullshit, please. Where I live, 70% of people drive cars as a matter of course in their day-to-day lives, and close to 99% own one.

"The fact is that the content creators pay a huge amount of taxes in this country"

They'd be paying a lot more tax if Congress closed the many, many loopholes they use to pay as little tax as possible. And with their failure to pass the draconian SOPA/PIPA bills, I can't see Congress and the President doing that and pissing of their Hollywood paymasters more.

"At the end of the day, the folks in government are going to side with the folks who pay taxes and act like good citizens."

Above point aside, the Government did it's job properly when the majority of the people who contacted them about SOPA/PIPA were NOT in favor. After all, this is a democratic nation, correct? It's only sad that the threat of losing votes was required to make them stop, rather then them simply stopping it because it's appalling public policy. And the people would still pay more tax than Hollywood even if they were being 100% honest with their taxes.

The biggest complaint people had in relation to SOPA was how it could have sites shut down or their finances cut off on a mere accusation. Would you like it if SOPA/PIPA gave corporations the ability to declare you are a terrorist and whisk you off to a secret prison indefinitely without trial to be tortured (oh wait, the government already has the power to do this under the PATRIOT act).

Next shill post...
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 5:12am

Re: Re:
Do you think there should be santorum leaking out, or no?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 6:27am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
But let us go back to copyright infringement. The DOJ has no business, whatsoever, involving itself in civil disputes. Neither do the FBI, the Federal Marshals, the state, county or local police. You call a cop about a civil matter, they'll tell you to file in court, they cannot help you. So while you stand there, steadfast in the belief that the DOJ should be helping private industry, reality is telling you to shut the hell up.

If you look around, it seems like the DoJ is focused on criminal infringement like TVShack, Ninjavideo, Megaupload, etc. You're OK with that, right?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 7:50am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
City=New York

LA is not a city because it has no decent mass transit system and everyone drives cars. Update: LA is now a rural living area!
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 7:52am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
What the police should be doing is investigating their shady and probably criminal accounting practices.

Yes, please. If they're going to ask for more of my tax dollars to do something, I'd like it to be something worthwhile and long overdue and actually FOR the artists these corps keep holding up as poster children.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 7:52am

Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
No just that they shouldn't turn a civil issue into a criminal one because **AA cried really hard about how they can't enforce their own copyright. But if Disney rips off my work its me vs their 1000000000000000000 lawyers.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 7:53am

Re: Serious ... Or Trolling?
Is he the Colbert of trolling?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2012 @ 7:55am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey, everyone is entitled to policing.
It when he tries to find his penis hidden under his fat folds.
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techflaws.org (profile), 16 Feb 2012 @ 9:26am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
Start a large rightsholder corporation and the DOJ will gladly be you private police force.
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jupiterkansas (profile), 16 Feb 2012 @ 10:05am

Re: Re: Serious ... Or Trolling?
I'm pretty sure he's paid by Mike to stir up trouble here so the discussion stays lively. Good job, Bob.
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CTU, 17 Feb 2012 @ 8:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Priorities, DoJ, priorities
but I don't want one
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