Japanese Law Enforcement Uses New Copyright Law To Arrest 27 File Sharers
from the lock-'em-up dept
Last year, we noted that Japan had put in place ridiculously draconian copyright laws that criminalized unauthorized downloads, DVD backups and even watching infringing YouTube videos in some cases. And, of course, what good is a law if it's not used? So, Japanese law enforcement apparently went on a big raid, searching 124 locations and arresting 27 people. Those arrested may face between two and ten years in jail, because that's a reasonable punishment for sharing something. I don't see how this makes anyone respect copyright any more, or gives anyone any additional incentive to support the legacy players who are using this system to put fans in jail.
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Filed Under: arrests, criminal copyright, file sharing, japan, law enforcement
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Obviously...
If more people get arrested, then there's less competition from amateur sources of entertainment.
After all, they have a hard time competing. If they didn't, they wouldn't ask the government to step in and help them.
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Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
) Creators inherently have SOLE RIGHT TO COPY their work.
) Creating is and has always been more difficult than copying.
) The special provisions in law for copyright stem from the above 2 facts. It's specific setting out of "intellectual property" rights for creating works given the relative ease of copying.
) Copyright specifies WHO can gain money from the works, AND that no one else is to gain money from them. (For a limited time, but after in public domain, it's still unethical to grift on the work of others; ONLY the cost of reproduction should be charged.)
) Copyright law is indeed exactly to prevent copiers and the general public from copying works (during the limited time). The societal agreement is that only creators can attempt to gain from it during that (limited) period.
) There are NO rights whatsoever granted to or held by copiers. No one's "right to copy" is at any time removed or diminished because it never exists prior to the creation of a work.
) Machines doing the labor of copying doesn't confer any new right to do so.
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Re: Re: Re: @ ootb the obstinate little idiot
Calm down there, skippy.
Who says that it didn't belong to them?
Who says that they didn't legally purchase it and share with others?
Wouldn't you say that it was theirs then?
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Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
Except that copyright is no longer "limited". And before you spout off about how it is still limited, list all the works by Disney that are now public domain.
Copyright was supposed to be a balance between creators and the public. Since copyright no longer respects the public, why should the public respect copyright?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
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Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
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Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
2) Difficulty of creation has no relevance to a creator's rights, it doesn't now, and never has. This is completely off-topic.
3) Law for copyright exists to grant creators a limited exclusive right to a new idea before it is added to the public domain for the improvement of society. This is to incentivise creation.
4) Wrong. Copyright specifies who can distribute original copies. Other individuals can profit besides the original owner. This is painfully obvious if you think about the concept of, I don't know, every store in existence.
5) Technically true. Life + 70 years (or 120+ in the case of corporations) is not effectively limited. Anything that is limited for two lifetimes may as well be unlimited for all practical purposes.
6) There may not be a right to copy, but there is freedom of speech and the freedom to do what I want with things I have. Copyright prevents me from doing something I could otherwise do, therefore it is removing a right by definition. We, as a society, accept this in a limited degree in order to incentivise creation. Since the limitation is gone, and my rights are being ignored, I see no reason why I should respect the rights I am granting another person if they refuse to respect mine.
7) The method of copying is irrelevant, both in reality and in copyright law.
Your all-caps opening is wrong, too. If I buy something, it's mine. I can give it to whoever I want. Copyright is removing that right.
You can copy and paste as many times as you want but it will never be true.
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Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
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Re: Re: Re: Re: @ Rikuo the obstinate little pirate:
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I've decided I have the natural right to repeatedly kick you in the balls. My notion carries precisely the same weight as your declarations about art and copyright.
So, with that decided, it's now time for you stand still and wait while I put these steel-toed boots on...
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That's like saying I have the right to beat babies up because someone can borrow 30 bucks from me.
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Humans copied each others works for tens of thousands of years, until the relatively recent introduction of copyright tried to stamp that out. So history completely supports copying being a natural right.
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For sharing? Sure, call it anything that makes you feel justified in having those people arrested. But the punishment is so far beyond reasonable and worthwhile that it ... It defeats the purpose behind punishments given in a court of law. This is how respect for copyright is eroded.
Any reasonable person can see that as far as these punishments go, this is abusive.
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I pointed out that the punishment is far beyond what is reasonable for this type of offense.
Are you saying that Years of jail time and Thousands of yen are reasonable? What do you think would be a more fitting punishment?
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Thousands of yen? Isn't that like $1.25? ;)
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1000 yen gets to be over 10 dollars, 10000 yen is over 100 dollars and 100,000 yen is over 1000 dollars.
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The Yen doesn't use fractions.
1 dollar = 100 yens.
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Any reasonable person can see that years in jail is a completely disproportionate punishment for infringing other people's copyright.
You need to stop mentioning "people's rights" as if copyright is anywhere near as important as real human rights. It ain't, not even close.
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In the end, those sharing the files look to be raped by the Japanese justice system. Far more violated than the rights holders will ever be harmed.
This is inhumane and is not in line with what a civilized society does to those that break this type of law.
In the end, I can see this having far more of a detrimental affect to copyright than any file sharers do.
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Overall strategy
The death sentence will be imposed for merely being suspected of file sharing, no costly trial or other attempt at justice will be necessary.
Not to worry though. The copyright industry will assure us their word can be trusted and that an unbiased third party (which used to work for them) will oversee all executions.
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Re: Overall strategy
Yes i am the owner but..
(Recording industry's wettest dream)
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"respect copyright"?
Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny. -- Edmund Burke
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Re: "respect copyright"?
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Re: Re: "respect copyright"?
They couldn't care more or less about protecting the US entertainment industry.
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Re: "respect copyright"?
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What is the Japanese Word for Irony?
Then their economy crashed and now, apparently in an attempt to make sure that it stays crashed, the police are arresting people for using all of the awesome electronics they build.
Brilliant!
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Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
That's not the intent. Stopping copyright infringement is the intent.
"Those arrested may face between two and ten years in jail, because that's a reasonable punishment for sharing something." -- Sarcasm? On so serious a topic? Out of place.
Anyway, WISH were some serious consideration given by fanboys to just how much they're willing to risk to download some mere entertainment. -- I mean the kind which its owner intends to be paid for. -- Because any state, especially the US, will be happy to go as draconian as they can get away with.
Whole area needs fought by other means. I'd suggest first of all to have an economist who's studied this area for a decade or so come up with some viable plan that will both reduce piracy and protect rights of owners. ... Now that's sarcasm, done right.
Take a loopy tour of Techdirt.com! You always end up at same place!
http://techdirt.com/
All Techdirt logo T-shirts are hand-made. ... By laborers, a class of people whom Mike never even mentions, let alone favorably.
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Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
Then they came for those that created new things from copyright works, but I'm not creative enough for that so I said nothing.
Then they came for contrarians assholes posting on internet blog like me, and there was no one left to stop them.....
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Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
>>> First they came for those who downloaded copyrighted works, but I did not speak up since I did not download copyrighted works.
No, FIRST they come for those who are actually GUILTY. I prefer efforts be directed to mega-grifters like Kim Dotcom, who's now a multi-millionaire after diverting an income stream from the creators of works. Throwing him in jail won't bother ME a bit.
>>> Then they came for those that created new things from copyright works, but I'm not creative enough for that so I said nothing.
AT THIS TIME, you're advocating that those creators don't get rewarded, so you're starving them.
>>> Then they came for contrarians assholes posting on internet blog like me, and there was no one left to stop them.....
Are you committed to MY free speech? I'll thank you (after the fact) for stopping bullets for me, then, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SHUT ME UP HERE AND NOW.
What an unwittingly perverse idiot.
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Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
That comment coming from someone who sure writes like one now that is priceless lol
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Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
You are after all a unpleasant little prick that provides no useful dialog in how to make the system of copyright work for all of society.
I would rather have a tough as nails pro-copyright commenter here that took the time to provide useful dialog. At least with that person, some consensus would be found.
Far as I can tell, you are just here to make noise and ensure everyone here understands how horrifically the entertainment industry hates the rest of the world.
Frankly, I think your boss will one day wake up to the fact that people like you are hurting the public image of what the entertainment industry is. I can only hope you at least get fired and at best, are found of violating a few federal laws.
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Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
And, you know this... How?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
Hang on...I thought that the time when police are first involved, investigating, arresting etc...no-one is actually legally considered guilty? At worst, they're considered suspects.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
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Re: Re: Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
The RIAA's bastard cousins around the globe have always had a miserable accuracy rate, but that's never bothered you, you little RIAA-branded cocksucker.
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Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
With the punishments the Japaneses are willing to hand out, they might as well be a death sentence in many cases. Years of jail time for a movie is so far beyond having any useful value.
If you are such an outspoken critic, why don't you participate in making sure the time fits the crime?
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Re: Miss-the-obvious Mike strikes again.
So if your intent is to stop the tide from coming in, do we just threaten it with huge fines and jail time? It's working for infringement, right?
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That is not to say either law is not ridiculous, but in this case it does not seem like this was a result of the new law, but rather a continuation of arrests of uploaders which could have happened with or without the new law that deals with downloaders.
Also of note, the manga creator Hitode Jinbo was one of the ones arrested for uploading certain anime and games on share.
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http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-05-09/3-arrested-in-japan-for-spreading-anime-v ia-share-program
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After all - borrowing a DVD from a friend is also experiencing creativity without paying.
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After all - borrowing a DVD from a friend is also experiencing creativity without paying.
Actually, if I remember correctly, there was a proposal a few years ago for a new format, where all the media you buy would be tied to one machine forever. Like how downloaded games on a console are forever tied to that console (unless you go through the PITA process of transferring them).
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Nope Micro$oft just launched Office with those same restrictions, the app will scan your machine, build a fingerprint and if it changes it refuses to run.
Of course their idea is to make it unpalatable for customers forcing them to upgrade to the Office 360 in the cloud which doesn't have those things and the most important part, Microsoft doesn't have a granted monopoly, it may have a virtual monopoly(aka natural monopoly), but it doesn't have an artificial monopoly that would force everybody to buy Office this is why they don't do it, but of course the MAFIAA people don't have that problem, after all they were granted the right to a monopoly and so they can do whatever they want to do for life + 75 years or more, frak me.
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It is based on a cultural problem, where seniority is too important(in every aspect of society), where respect is simply "given" instead of having to be earned. Given this, it makes it even tougher for young bright minds to change society in the way we see in the west. Japan with its aging population, simply doesn't adapt well to changes, even if their future depended on it.
Then there is the fact it is a culture very much based on "the nail that stands up will be hammered down".
Japan's hope is that the west could put some pressure for it to change, but seen as we can't even win this issue here, things in Japan will only continue to get worst.
It is unfortunate but Japan and I don't see it changing unless we have western pressure.
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Damn you Mom!!!
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"Fans" who rip you off aren't worth having. They're not fans, they're freeloaders and parasites.
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And when buying a new video game, you don't ever play a demo of it.
Or go to a book store and read a book to see if you'd like it...
And I'm sure you've NEVER loaned a game, book, movie, song, etc to your roommates or friends, right?
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They are in no position to talk about how pirates "free-ride" at all.
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Their population can't replace itself, their economy is in the fucking shitter, but somehow just like Greece and Italy they'd rather find more ways to demand money off people who can't afford to buy content en masse.
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Love from pirate.
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OP goofed!
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correction
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