Obama joins forces with MPAA and RIAA

[Lotaw]

Download albums
Pay tickets for concert

=

no money for the record companies
big money for the artist

 

[turbocross]

Just like all other information on my harddrive that I copy onto it, it belongs to me since it's physically my harddrive, my property that I've purchased.

Though one might question why would I store images, motion pictures, on my harddrive?

That's just my own interest and if it shows you telling untruths, and being big and bad with the slutty females, then more evidence stored.

 

[peakaboo]

If they crack down hard because of the silly extortionate prices, people will simply do without.They wont make any more sales.

 

[Zher0]

Yeah i already have been caught downloading movies from demonoids lol.

 

[Mordd]

Along these lines is the Glider Lawsuit in which Blizzard is claiming we mearly "Rent" the game. So when you spend 80 bucks for a full LK account it is simpy the "Account setup fee"

I have netflix and I rent alot of movies. If there is a movie I really like (The Dark Knight) I will actually buy it. If the movie sucks, well I wont buy it. So I seldom actually download a pirated movie.

As far as games, I have a hacked xbox 360, PSP, WII, and DS . For all of those systems I have bought only the games I really appriciate. A part of me just doesnt want to pay 60 bucks for a game when it comes out. A part of me never even finishes most of the games anyway. A part of me says that most of the cost of the game goes to the publisher and not to the developer. Any way you look at it I am 100 percent a thief. I have always ripped games starting from the Sega CD and I do not plan on stopping.

Also PC games. I dont get alot of time to play them because of developing but when a good game does come out I will download it. If its really good, I will buy it.

So those big companies hate me and they have every right too. I am stealing games and have no shame about it. Does this make me a bad person? To some yes, to others no. Thats what being human is all about.

 

[Tag]

Get a job and pay for your own shit.

That's my opinion.

 

[dj_hype]

I think the government should stay the heck out of commercial business issues. I understand that pirating may be a form of stealing however the system that is setup now is also a form of stealing. (example) if goto a movie that was not worth (IMO) the 15$ i pay to watch it. Who do I talk to about a refund? If you buy a game that is horrible or totally lack the luster the box says it has. Who do i talk to? The way the system that is setup now is they offer you something and till you spend the money on it you don't know you if you bought shit or gold.

The problem with your statement is that art (which is what movies used to be) is subjective. While you're pissed that you spent $15 to see a movie you didn't like, there's someone who is glad they spent $15.

I think the issue here is the fact that these websites have replaced the alleyway hustlers of the late 80's/early 90's selling bootleg tapes and VHS movies. At least, that's how law enforcement see them. While some of us actually own the content we're downloading, many do not. It isn't illegal (not yet at least) to make a back-up copy of a CD or DVD for PERSONAL use. You can make a hundred if you like, just as long as you don't give one of those copies to someone else. A big argument to this is "I bought the CD, I can do what I want with it!" And that's true, you did buy the CD. But what you didn't buy is a license to reproduce or use (in your own work) the content that is ON the CD. The big problem is that the copyright laws that are in place were originally designed before digital media. The DMCA was the first attempt to handle this, but our government was shortsighted and didn't think it would ever become what it has today. So, instead of listening to the people who purchase music and movies, they listened to the RIAA/MPAA.

I'm for copyright laws, because they protect my content that I, as a creator, make. I also believe that once content enters the public domain, it should be freely available to the masses after 10 years. Artists (and the companies that produce their work) have a right to profit off of their work, but not indefinitely. Art is created as an expression of one's inner self, and it is displayed and admired for and by the enjoyment of the masses. An artists true goal shouldn't necessarily be to make the most money, but to have an impact on the lives of others.

Back to the topic at hand. The government is stepping in to enforce the laws that they created, however shortsighted they may be. Are they within their right to do so? Yes. Are they within their right to pursue individuals in other countries? Depends on the treaties and agreements in place. Are they going about this the completely wrong way? Yes.

 

[richarddoran]

What seems so stupid to me, is that they claim that sales are down due to piracy, but I don't think that piracy is as detrimental to sales as they make it out to be. I havent downloaded much recently, but I used to get all my music from usenet, but I didnt listen to all of it, it was more of a hobby to download stuff I liked and archive it. 99% of it I would never have bought anyway, so in a sense, I didn't take any profit away from the record companies. I think they are simply trying to make money off of the lawsuits and settlements themselves, rather than get revenue from actual sales. Many artists are supporting downloading of their music, as a way to spread its popularity. Heck, many current label musicians were discovered on the internet, only after they gave away their music for free. I really hate greedy corporations. Why can't they simply show some more restraint in what they release, and cut spending that way, rather than continually releasing shit that nobody wants to listen to. It's no big secret that the reason artists dont get much money from album sales is that the label has to recoup funds from all the artists that fail to make a profit.

It will be very interesting to see the outcome of this, nonetheless.

 

[likwid818]

As far as games, I have a hacked xbox 360, PSP, WII, and DS . For all of those systems I have bought only the games I really appriciate. A part of me just doesnt want to pay 60 bucks for a game when it comes out. A part of me never even finishes most of the games anyway. A part of me says that most of the cost of the game goes to the publisher and not to the developer. Any way you look at it I am 100 percent a thief. I have always ripped games starting from the Sega CD and I do not plan on stopping.

Also PC games. I dont get alot of time to play them because of developing but when a good game does come out I will download it. If its really good, I will buy it.

So those big companies hate me and they have every right too. I am stealing games and have no shame about it. Does this make me a bad person? To some yes, to others no. Thats what being human is all about.

Quoted for truth. I have been pirating games ever since you could go buy them on a 3.5 floppy, install them and take them back to the store without any worry of "copy protection". I download every new game that comes out, and archive them onto DVDs, so if one day I feel like playing a new game .. well I just look through my collection and find something that looks/sounds fun.

If I should come across something I really like, or something that I want to play online (CoD, MW2, Red Dead Redemption, etc) then I will actually go out and purchase the game. Thing is, if I hadn't downloaded the game for free to try it out, I would never have known that I liked it - and therefore would never had spent the money to buy the game later.

They say piracy hurts the economy. I have to disagree. I'm willing to bet that without piracy, many new artists (including film writers, producers, directors, musicians, etc) would never have been as successful as they are today.

Just my 2 copper.

 

[Bleinenweber]

Seriously not excited about this. Also in the works is the internet "kill switch" bill which would give Obama the authority to shut down the entire internet should he decide it is necessary for national security. Obama has done nothing in office except protect big banks that were poorly structured from failing and continues to shell out money to AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Yet if I decide to open a restaurant up tomorrow and it fails in a few months I don't get bailed out? So much for equal rights....

 

[Mordd]

Seriously not excited about this. Also in the works is the internet "kill switch" bill which would give Obama the authority to shut down the entire internet should he decide it is necessary for national security. Obama has done nothing in office except protect big banks that were poorly structured from failing and continues to shell out money to AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Yet if I decide to open a restaurant up tomorrow and it fails in a few months I don't get bailed out? So much for equal rights....

Not to go off topic but this kill switch does worry me. We are starting to dip into a pure dictatorship. A true democracy and the purpose of the government is to protect itself and its citizens from harm. In America its called freedom. However as the years go by we lose a little bit of that freedom. Im all for small and efficient government. We pay our taxes to fund our government. But as of late we dont even have control over our own government.

Im all for laws that protect the safety of the people, but laws that step in and say what we can and can not do on the internet is just wrong. And for one man to have the power to unplug america is also just wrong.

Well thats just my opinion.

 

[Funtimes]

Seriously not excited about this. Also in the works is the internet "kill switch" bill which would give Obama the authority to shut down the entire internet should he decide it is necessary for national security. Obama has done nothing in office except protect big banks that were poorly structured from failing and continues to shell out money to AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Yet if I decide to open a restaurant up tomorrow and it fails in a few months I don't get bailed out? So much for equal rights....

Do you have any proof of this bill, like a number? Has it been to any floor discussion, ie: Senate, House, Congress, Representatives, or are you just speaking out of your ass about it? I find it pretty hard to believe that the top internet companies in the world, would bend over to shut down the net. The military is already on its own intranet, so there really should be no national security issue to really talk about.

The problem with your statement is that art (which is what movies used to be) is subjective. While you're pissed that you spent $15 to see a movie you didn't like, there's someone who is glad they spent $15.

It isn't illegal (not yet at least) to make a back-up copy of a CD or DVD for PERSONAL use. You can make a hundred if you like, just as long as you don't give one of those copies to someone else. A big argument to this is "I bought the CD, I can do what I want with it!"

Its Illegal (Civilly) to break the protections placed on the DVD or CD, that protect the content. Your circumventing their technological measures, which protect access to the copyrighted works. For this reason companies, like 3. 2. 1. Studios who produced DVD X Copy, were forced out of the United States.

 

[greaterdeath]

Seriously not excited about this. Also in the works is the internet "kill switch" bill which would give Obama the authority to shut down the entire internet should he decide it is necessary for national security. Obama has done nothing in office except protect big banks that were poorly structured from failing and continues to shell out money to AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Yet if I decide to open a restaurant up tomorrow and it fails in a few months I don't get bailed out? So much for equal rights....

He is just speaking shit. An internet "kill switch" is literally impossible since anyone trying to make it would have to have permission from every person with a computer. Anybody with a computer can re-create the internet. You are talking like the internet is one gigantic computer in a room somewhere.
@turbocross check ur sig.

 

[Sidalol]

Piracy is highly exagerated within governments due to one major flaw. If 10 million people download a movie, they claim that they've lost 10 million x 1 cinema ticket/dvd price and come up with huge numbers. It's total crap to assume everyone that downloads a movie would have gone to the cinema or brought it on dvd if they couldn't download it. I know 90% of the movies I've watched I never would have watched if I couldn't download them and the majority of downloaders are the same.

 

[Megser]

Lol, there has been no good presidents since Kennedy died. All the stuff they promise is pure bullshit. And for the people saying the government isn't corrupted, I suggest you backup your statement with something, there's a lot of things backing up that the government IS CORRUPTED. This pure shit Obama has dragged out is just to get something else on peoples minds, he hasn't really fulfilled any of his other commitments, doesn't tell me he will with this. It's just a fucking distraction.

 

[Mixu]

HAHA! Death to the piratebay? NEVER! Best site on teh internetz

 

[tehehe83]

I live in France. I am blessed with free healthcare. What is not free about healthcare in france for example? If you believe that taxing everyone so that EVERYONE gets good healthcare is socialism then we don't agree.

Yeah thats not socialism. Thats pure thievery because noone can opt out. If he will try he will get inprisoned or worse.

 

[tehehe83]

What you say is stupidity, law is law, and it is your duty and obligation to accept that. The government is corrupt? what qualifies you to make such a bold statement? You have no evidence to back it up... So stop blabering on about conspiracy rubbish. If you think piracy is ok then you think anything illegal is ok. I might aswell go rob a bank if I live in your world.
Strange arguments that people give... I really don't understand what you are trying to say...Honestly

Law is law is not an argument. Why I have duty to accept it, because you and politicians say so? I never signed a contract that obliges me to do that. Piracy is bad name. It is just copying. Property rights have no sense in a world where there is no scarcity. There is no scarcity in virtual goods. They can be copied indefinetly at no cost. No one can win with piracy with current business model. As I said before - don't confuse morality with legality. Although I don't care about law I'm pretty decent human being - I don't steal, don't kill etc. It's the same argument religious people bring up - you don't believe then you are not moral (which of course is bullshit). Private business buying up politicians is no secret and no conspiracy. You have to be extremly naive to believe they are angels and your saviors

 

[Sidalol]

HAHA! Death to the piratebay? NEVER! Best site on teh internetz

Piratebay has been attacked several times, including being completely raided by the police and all servers taken away. They were all returned the next day untouched as the laws at the location of their servers are totally different and they're not doing anything illegal in that country. In fact, multiple torrent sites that got shutdown sent everything over to piratebay before being closed so the content could stay online.

 

[mindtrapper]

I'm pretty decent human being

But you don't believe in health care for all? Hm...