Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Another wiki trick. When you load the page keep hit the ESC key before the blackout page shows up. This way you can use the search bar and click on links.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876804][B]You know how they could do something about piracy? Make their product cheaper. When you overcharge for your product, people are going to steal it. Greedy ass movie companies should understand this. [/B]In fact, I find it one of the most ironic and hypocritical things ever for the movie industry to complain about theft and piracy yet it's entire foundation came from the theft of Louis Lumiere's invention.
[/quote]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]This kind of sounds like the argument that girls who dress provocatively deserve to get raped.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Since you understand market pricing more so then those in charge at greedy ass movie companies, what would you recommend to the industry? Do you think they should be without the right to make the amount of money they do without fighting for legislation to crack down on piracy? Do you think people who steal entertainment products are less greedy then those who create them, if those who create them are “rich”?[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Im all against SOPA, but it sounds like in addition to being against SOPA youre also against successful corporations?[/FONT][/COLOR]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=Dirtbag59;876808]Another wiki trick. When you load the page keep hit the ESC key before the blackout page shows up. This way you can use the search bar and click on links.[/quote]


SOPA and PIPA pages also work without problem.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876774][url]https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/[/url]

Sign the petition from google.[/quote]

Thanks for the link.

Signed and I hope everyone takes a second to do the same.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876804]Even now, the movie industry steals people's ideas and stories to cash in on them. They are no different than any other major corporation when it comes to squeezing the people for every cent they can while showing little to no morals in how they accomplish it.

[B][url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/man-dreamworks-stole-kung-fu-56811]Man Who Says DreamWorks Stole 'Kung Fu Panda' Wins Round in Court - THR, Esq.[/url][/B]

Seems hollywood had no problems stealing from this man and making billions of dollars off him either.[/quote]

And then the other shoe dropped .... [url=http://kungfupandalawsuit.com/]Kung Fu Panda Lawsuit[/url]
(A jury found for Dreamworks - i.e., the plaintiff had failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that DreamWorks used Mr. Dunne's "Zen Panda" idea in developing Kung-Fo Po. Although it may yet remanded for a new trial, a jury of LA City citizens - not the judge, not the big evil corporation, not the screaming mob - after reviewing the evidence said "Nope - DreamWorks didn't steal the idea".)

The point being that there [I]are[/I] laws to protect intellectual property. They are necessary and folks are able to avail themselves of it when they believe themselves wronged. Just b/c someone alleges an idea, however, was stolen doesn't make it so. It's that shocking "Rule of Law" thing again.

As for SOPA, I am in complete agreement with mlpertert.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=Mattyk;876847]Thanks for the link.

Signed and I hope everyone takes a second to do the same.[/quote]

Can't do it from work but will do so at home.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;876863]And then the other shoe dropped .... [url=http://kungfupandalawsuit.com/]Kung Fu Panda Lawsuit[/url]
(A jury found for Dreamworks - i.e., the plaintiff had failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that DreamWorks used Mr. Dunne's "Zen Panda" idea in developing Kung-Fo Po. Although it may yet remanded for a new trial, a jury of LA City citizens - not the judge, not the big evil corporation, not the screaming mob - after reviewing the evidence said "Nope - DreamWorks didn't steal the idea".)

[/quote]

Dear god did you even look at his work and the time line? He registered that back in the 90's man. Look at the characters he created and the ones that are in Kung Fu Panda. Of ****ing course they stole the guy's idea...lol Anybody in their right mind can see that and your notion that because some jury decided against him means they didn't steal it. Hey, they also thought OJ Simpson was not guilty of murder too!!! Really? That's your defense?...hahahaha

[IMG]http://kungfupandalawsuit.com/ZEB_BEAR_002.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Speaking of stealing technology and ideas. Do you know how much stuff that Apple stole from others yet have the audacity to sue others for the same thing? Give me a break.




Also.

[url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/jury-sides-dreamworks-animation-kung-215019]Jury Sides With DreamWorks Animation in 'Kung Fu Panda' Case (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter[/url]


[QUOTE]The jury took about three days to reach a verdict in favor of the studio. The jurors decided that DWA and its executives did enter into an implied-in-fact contract, but the panel found that the studio didn't use Dunn's ideas, so the question of damages was moot.[/QUOTE]

See, this is the biggest bullshit. They agreed the company entered into a verbal contract with the guy, but didn't use his ideas even though that's exactly what was pitched to them and was used? You shitting me? There is no justice in this country.





Different guy claiming they stole from him as well in regards to the same movie. Hell, he even has the rejection letter from them in 1999.

[url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/02/illustrator-sues-dreamworks-animation-over-fun-loving-panda-character.html]Illustrator sues DreamWorks Animation over fun-loving panda character - latimes.com[/url]


[QUOTE]Gordon featured some of the characters on clothing he sold in a Boston store called Animation Station and were part of a portfolio of work he sent to various publishers and studios, including DreamWorks, which sent him a letter of rejection in 1999, the lawsuit said.[/QUOTE]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/sopa-blackout-sopa-and-pipa-lose-three-co-sponsors-in-congress.html]SOPA blackout: Bills lose three co-sponsors amid protests - latimes.com[/url]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=mlmpetert;876792]Heard this on the radio this morning.

[url=http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2012/01/sopa-sponsor-lamar-smiths-campaign-website-violated-copyright-laws/]SOPA Sponsor Lamar Smith’s Campaign Website Violated Copyright Laws[/url]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I think rational people agree that something needs to be done to better enforce and control online piracy, however, the proposed law seems to give much more power then what’s actually needed. I don’t understand why people keep thinking giving more power to the federal govt is a good thing?[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I have a good friend from Thailand that was on a visa while in America. She moved back to Thailand about 8 months ago and hates it partly because of internet there. She doesn’t have American internet, its severely restricted. Restriction is a bad thing. [/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]
Because the law was written by Hollywood studios and various record labels and they certainly aren't particularly unbiased. If they could a law written that forced everyone to pay them whenever they even heard a song, or heck, even hummed one they probably would...it's good business. The problem is that our idiot law-makers don't know enough about any of this to understand what they're actually sponsoring.. or care enough to understand.

Imagine how little they understand when it comes to banking laws and things like that if they aren't intelligent or educated enough to comprehend the actual consequences of something like this that isn't rocket science.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876804]You know how they could do something about piracy? [B]Make their product cheaper.[/B] When you overcharge for your product, people are going to steal it. Greedy ass movie companies should understand this. In fact, I find it one of the most ironic and hypocritical things ever for the movie industry to complain about theft and piracy yet it's entire foundation came from the theft of Louis Lumiere's invention.


Even now, the movie industry steals people's ideas and stories to cash in on them. They are no different than any other major corporation when it comes to squeezing the people for every cent they can while showing little to no morals in how they accomplish it.

[url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/man-dreamworks-stole-kung-fu-56811]Man Who Says DreamWorks Stole 'Kung Fu Panda' Wins Round in Court - THR, Esq.[/url]

Seems hollywood had no problems stealing from this man and making billions of dollars off him either.



[url=http://torrentfreak.com/piracy-isnt-killing-the-movie-industry-greed-is-100222/]Piracy Isn’t Killing The Movie Industry, Greed Is | TorrentFreak[/url][/quote]

Free isn't cheap...it is a market-killer.

They long ago figured out that they charge "too much" but the question is when is "too much" not enough to get people to stop buying tickets. They haven't found the real spot where they are really charging "too much". Right now they are trying to legislate away the impending "too much" barrier that technology is quickly making a reality. Instead of reacting to a new market condition and figuring out how to change their business to continue to succeed they are trying to simply ignore the new condition and get it to go away. News flash...it isn't EVER GOING TO GO AWAY.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

███████ ███████. █████████████ █████ ████████████████ ████████████ :censored:

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=Mattyk;876847]Thanks for the link.

Signed and I hope everyone takes a second to do the same.[/quote]

Done and done. It's the minimum we can do.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

I'm curious, have you guys met anyone who actually supports this? Aside from the people pushing it through Congress, EVERYONE hates it.

I don't see how every single member of Congress wouldn't think, "Whelp. I better enjoy this term because I won't be elected to a second one."

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;876920]I'm curious, have you guys met anyone who actually supports this? Aside from the people pushing it through Congress, EVERYONE hates it.

I don't see how every single member of Congress wouldn't think, "Whelp. I better enjoy this term because I won't be elected to a second one."[/quote]

I asked the same question... Everyone that interacts on some type of forum or social network should be against this. Alas, I've got a buddy that supported SOPA on his FB (ironically). He's the VP of post at a major cable station, but I'm not sure if his position has changed since then.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=itvnetop;876926]I asked the same question... Everyone that interacts on some type of forum or social network should be against this. Alas, I've got a buddy that supported SOPA on his FB (ironically). He's the VP of post at a major cable station, but I'm not sure if his position has changed since then.[/quote]

The only people I can see supporting this are major recording and movie industries. How did he say this affects him? I have read a lot about this and I just don't see how directly cable companies are affected.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;876928]The only people I can see supporting this are major recording and movie industries. How did he say this affects him? I have read a lot about this and I just don't see how directly cable companies are affected.[/quote]

He's also in the music production biz, but I think he's always been the biggest opponent of piracy. Even though SOPA totally misses the forest from the trees regarding piracy, I think he believes making web site owners more responsible for content is a step in the "right" direction.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;876920]I'm curious, have you guys met anyone who actually supports this? Aside from the people pushing it through Congress, EVERYONE hates it.

I don't see how every single member of Congress wouldn't think, "Whelp. I better enjoy this term because I won't be elected to a second one."[/quote]


Because politicians don't give a shit about their constituents. They care about who's lining their pockets and handing them cash for their campaigns. Only when there is a huge outcry will politicians back down. Until that time, they can continue on with the status quo.


Hell, as shady as politicians are, I wouldn't surprise to see this type of stuff stuck into some other legislation they are trying to pass.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;876928]The only people I can see supporting this are major recording and movie industries. How did he say this affects him? I have read a lot about this and I just don't see how directly cable companies are affected.[/quote]

And the sad thing is record companies and movie studios have been screwing their talent out of royalties for years with one sided contracts and shady accounting. Then a bunch of college kids start downloading movies and music and they have the nerve to cry foul.

[quote=mlmpetert;876846]SOPA and PIPA pages also work without problem.[/quote]

Yeah I like how they did that.


[quote]southsouth South/South
When attempting to ban the VCR @MPAA compared it to the Boston strangler and the U.S. public as 'the woman home alone.' forbes.com/sites/joshbarr…
4 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
[/quote]

[quote]bengoldacre ben goldacre
Your 2am lolz: MPAA blows irony fuse, claims SOPA/PIPA blackouts are 'Abuse of Power' redd.it/omd1n via @reddit
2 hours ago Unfavorite Retweet Reply[/quote]

[quote]Denial: MPAA Pretends That No Big Sites Have Joined SOPA/PIPA Protests from the living-in-denial dept

Living in what can only be described as pure denial, the MPAA announced today that the SOPA/PIPA protests "failed to enlist big sites." Honestly, there's really not much more to say about that. Google. Wikipedia. Facebook. Amazon. Craigslist. All participating. Let's just stare in wonder at the MPAA's hubris and ability to deny reality.[/quote]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Some more stuff on Hollywood Accouting. Copy and pasted from an annonomoys user on TheRegister.co.uk. Keep in mind this is from the same guys that are pushing for SOPA and PIPA.

[url=http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2011/02/24/iinet_wins_appeal/]iiNet wins AFACT appeal • The Register Forums[/url]

Some Introductory Excerpts:
[url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100708/02510310122.shtml]'Hollywood Accounting' Losing In The Courts | Techdirt[/url]
[quote]If you follow the entertainment business at all, you're probably well aware of "Hollywood accounting," whereby very, very, very few entertainment products are technically "profitable," even as they earn studios millions of dollars. A couple months ago, the Planet Money folks did a great episode explaining how this works in very simple terms. The really, really, really simplified version is that Hollywood sets up a separate corporation for each movie with the intent that this corporation will take on losses. The studio then charges the "film corporation" a huge fee (which creates a large part of the "expense" that leads to the loss). The end result is that the studio still rakes in the cash, but for accounting purposes the film is a money "loser" -- which matters quite a bit for anyone who is supposed to get a cut of any profits.

For example, a bunch of you sent in the example of how Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, under "Hollywood accounting," ended up with a $167 million "loss," despite taking in $938 million in revenue.
Etc...[/quote]

[url]http://www.p2pnet.net/story/41701[/url]
[quote]We’re finally making progress on the real criminals of entertainment piracy. The MPAA ia losing court case after court case using their infamous ‘Hollywood Accounting‘, and losing consistently, primarily because jury members are finally realizing how sleazy these members of the MPAA really are.

Honestly, how does New Line Cinema think it can gross nine Billion, that’s Billion, on the Lord of the Rings Trilogy worldwide, and then try and weasel out of paying J.R. Tolkien estate for the idea, and Peter Jackson for directing the movie, claiming it ‘lost’ 120 Million? This is probably the reason behind the delay of creating ‘The Hobbit’ movie. If I were Peter, I wouldn’t direct any movie until I got paid for the previous one.

Hollywood Accounting is where the MPAA (insert big 6 assholes here) create a corporation for each movie, ie Lord of the Rings, LLC, and then purposely use that entity to numerically absorb money, and to reflect a loss by creatively making up numbers for advertisement, distribution, additional licensing and/or copyrights for the particular movie. They illegally and grossly bloat these numbers as ‘expenses’ for the Studio to allegedly ‘pay’ from the gross of the movie itself.

After ‘New Line Cinemas’ paid expenses to ‘Lord of the Rings, LLC’, there apparently just wasn’t enough money left to pay the director, or the estate of J.R. Tolkien, who owns the copyrights on the idea, and wrote the books. This ensures that stakeholders in the movie itself get the ’steak’ of the profits, whereas the entitled entities, like the writer, producer, rights holder, etc, are left with the ‘peas’, if that. Typically they only get to lick the plate after the fatcat assholes at the MPAA get their ill-gotten gains first.
[/quote]

[url=http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2008/02/end-of-hollywood-accounting.html]United Hollywood: The End of Hollywood Accounting?[/url]
[quote]The WGA, the Teamsters and California State Senator Sheila Kuehl have just announced the introduction of the "Fair Market Value Bill." The bill seeks to prevent studios from selling programming to sister companies for below market value. This particular strain of Hollywood accounting is designed to shift profits away from the studios (where they must be shared with talent and producers and serve as a basis for pension and health contributions) to networks, where they may be enjoyed without the pesky need to pay one's "partners."
Etc.[/quote]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Just one quick thing I want to add about SOPA and PIPA. These bills are so bad that they've actually gotten people on the internet to agree with each other.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876774][url]https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/[/url]

Sign the petition from google.[/quote]

I signed it but I used a fake name,I'm waiting to see how much spam starts showing up under that name.And yes I know Google says it wont be used but I dont trust them

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[IMG]http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/401410_344404288903889_114517875225866_1343216_2023846842_n.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=Dirtbag59;876954]Just one quick thing I want to add about SOPA and PIPA. These bills are so bad that they've actually gotten people on the internet to agree with each other.[/quote]

LOL ... Seriously. How often does that happen?

Does anyone know when they are coming up for votes?

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=NC_Skins;876985][IMG]http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/401410_344404288903889_114517875225866_1343216_2023846842_n.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

lol

you just have to laugh to keep from banging your head against the wall

sigh

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Just getting back to respond to some of this, and does anyone know how this is getting pushed through Congress considering there are some MAJOR opponents of it.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Geez, I went to [URL="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/all"]OpenCongress[/URL] to see about the status of SOPA, and saw that there are currently 3760+ bills in front of the House of Representatives, and 2020+ bills in front of the Senate. No, I didn't look at each one, or check them all, I took that site's count as valid, but those numbers just reinforce my belief that the government is too wild and out of control. There is no way 537 people are effectively judging those bills and forwarding only the "good" ones on. Further, even if they were, there is no way that the President can fully understand every paper that he is signing into law. maybe we could get an amendment to a bill snuck through that limits the number of bills per session, and the length of the text of any introduced bill (so people don't make neverending bills)

But back to SOPA, this [URL="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/money"]page[/URL] does a good job listing out money backers and supporters/opponents

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

There has to be a sarcastic comment that I can't come up with but one of the listed opponent organizations to the bill is: ICanHasCheezburger

we are doomed

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;876991]LOL ... Seriously. How often does that happen?

Does anyone know when they are coming up for votes?[/quote]

I read that voting will be on the 24th.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;877036]There has to be a sarcastic comment that I can't come up with but one of the listed opponent organizations to the bill is: ICanHasCheezburger

we are doomed[/quote]

SOPA controversy has Congress in a pickle?

Internet companies mustard up the courage to fight SOPA?

Can SOPA ketchup to online pirates?

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

as to the question of how is this bill still in consideration:
[QUOTE]Top recipients for ALL supporting interest groups
Name Amount Received
Rep. Eric Cantor [R, VA-7] $668,192
Rep. Howard Berman [D, CA-28] $590,398
Rep. Steny Hoyer [D, MD-5] $557,107
Rep. James Clyburn [D, SC-6] $486,927
Rep. Michael Capuano [D, MA-8] $465,500
Rep. Bruce Braley [D, IA-1] $438,839
Rep. Nancy Pelosi [D, CA-8] $416,100
Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13] $409,019
Rep. John Boehner [R, OH-8] $403,800
Rep. Gary Peters [D, MI-9] $395,798

Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] $3,502,624
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY] $2,648,770
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY] $2,080,651
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D, CA] $1,431,843
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA] $1,364,872
Sen. Robert Portman [R, OH] $1,363,009
Sen. Patrick Toomey [R, PA] $1,291,744
Sen. Michael Bennet [D, CO] $1,019,172
Sen. Mark Kirk [R, IL] $911,296
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT] $905,310[/QUOTE]

versus

[QUOTE]Top recipients for ALL opposing interest groups
Name Amount Received
Rep. William Owens [D, NY-23] $303,609
Rep. Chellie Pingree [D, ME-1] $204,200
Rep. Gary Peters [D, MI-9] $168,370
Rep. Niki Tsongas [D, MA-5] $153,550
Rep. Gerald Connolly [D, VA-11] $110,530
Rep. Kurt Schrader [D, OR-5] $108,550
Rep. Michael Capuano [D, MA-8] $100,050
Rep. James Moran [D, VA-8] $99,750
Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13] $97,300
Rep. James Himes [D, CT-4] $96,500

Sen. Michael Bennet [D, CO] $1,359,304
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D, CA] $388,914
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] $339,226
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY] $303,434
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY] $289,894
Sen. Patrick Toomey [R, PA] $281,655
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA] $280,072
Sen. Chris Coons [D, DE] $212,550
Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D, CT] $170,199
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA] $152,369[/QUOTE]

Money talks
and it clearly pays to be a Senator in favor of this bill

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=SmootSmack;877041]SOPA controversy has Congress in a pickle?

Internet companies mustard up the courage to fight SOPA?

Can SOPA ketchup to online pirates?[/quote]

LOL :)

also

ICanHasCheezburger but don't sell me no SOPA

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;877042]as to the question of how is this bill still in consideration:


versus



Money talks
and it clearly pays to be a Senator in favor of this bill[/quote]


How is Harry Reid on both lists? MFer is taking money from both people in favor of the bill and against it? Really?

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Keep in mind you have PIPA [I]and[/I] SOPA, one authored by the House and the other by the Senate. Both are becoming unpopular by the minute.

Harry Reid has said he won't whip Democratic votes, essentially releasing Dems who were on the fence, but didn't want to go public. So basically Reid has given them cover to vote against it -- or at least vote their conscience. I believe it goes up for a procedural test vote on Tuesday.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

You know people talk all the time about the ruling class and how the corporations try to buy politicians and how they mastermind how to drain money from the poor without anyone noticing but after seeing how poorly they wrote this bill, and the examples they used to support it (China made it work, why can't we), as well as calling the blackouts abuse of power, well suffice to say I have a hard time believing these people are really pulling the strings.

Sorry I know people want to believe in the Illuminati the free masons, secret societies, etc but in order to successfully pull something like that off you can't be borderline retarded. Which a lot of these senators and Hollywood executives happen to be when it comes to the internet.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[url=http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/205243-mcconnell-calls-for-senate-to-shelve-piracy-bill]GOP leader McConnell asks Senate Dems to shelve anti-piracy bill - The Hill's Hillicon Valley[/url]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6725665801_cf74c4831e.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Piratebay.org responds to SOPA. It's a good read, and a ironic one concerning the film industry.

[url]http://static.thepiratebay.org/legal/sopa.txt[/url]


[QUOTE]INTERNETS, 18th of January 2012.
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

Over a century ago Thomas Edison got the patent for a device which would "do for the eye what the phonograph does for
the ear". He called it the Kinetoscope. He was not only amongst the first to record video, he was also the first person
to own the copyright to a motion picture.

Because of Edisons patents for the motion pictures it was close to financially impossible to create motion pictures
in the North american east coast. The movie studios therefor relocated to California, and founded what we today call
Hollywood. The reason was mostly because there was no patent.
There was also no copyright to speak of, so the studios could copy old stories and make movies out of them - like
Fantasia, one of Disneys biggest hits ever.

So, the whole basis of this industry, that today is screaming about losing control over immaterial rights, is that they
circumvented immaterial rights. They copied (or put in their terminology: "stole") other peoples creative works,
without paying for it. They did it in order to make a huge profit. Today, they're all successful and most of the
studios are on the Fortune 500 list of the richest companies in the world. Congratulations - it's all based on being
able to re-use other peoples creative works. And today they hold the rights to what other people create.
If you want to get something released, you have to abide to their rules. The ones they created after circumventing
other peoples rules.

The reason they are always complainting about "pirates" today is simple. We've done what they did. We circumvented the
rules they created and created our own. We crushed their monopoly by giving people something more efficient. We allow
people to have direct communication between eachother, circumventing the profitable middle man, that in some cases take
over 107% of the profits (yes, you pay to work for them).
It's all based on the fact that we're competition.
We've proven that their existance in their current form is no longer needed. We're just better than they are.

And the funny part is that our rules are very similar to the founding ideas of the USA. We fight for freedom of speech.
We see all people as equal. We believe that the public, not the elite, should rule the nation. We believe that laws
should be created to serve the public, not the rich corporations.

The Pirate Bay is truly an international community. The team is spread all over the globe - but we've stayed out of the
USA. We have Swedish roots and a swedish friend said this:
The word SOPA means "trash" in Swedish. The word PIPA means "a pipe" in Swedish. This is of course not a coincidence.
They want to make the internet inte a one way pipe, with them at the top, shoving trash through the pipe down to the
rest of us obedient consumers.
The public opinion on this matter is clear. Ask anyone on the street and you'll learn that noone wants to be fed with
trash. Why the US government want the american people to be fed with trash is beyond our imagination but we hope that
you will stop them, before we all drown.

SOPA can't do anything to stop TPB. Worst case we'll change top level domain from our current .org to one of the
hundreds of other names that we already also use. In countries where TPB is blocked, China and Saudi Arabia springs to
mind, they block hundreds of our domain names. And did it work? Not really.
To fix the "problem of piracy" one should go to the source of the problem. The entertainment industry say they're
creating "culture" but what they really do is stuff like selling overpriced plushy dolls and making 11 year old girls
become anorexic. Either from working in the factories that creates the dolls for basically no salary or by watching
movies and tv shows that make them think that they're fat.

In the great Sid Meiers computer game Civilization you can build Wonders of the world. One of the most powerful ones
is Hollywood. With that you control all culture and media in the world. Rupert Murdoch was happy with MySpace and had
no problems with their own piracy until it failed. Now he's complainting that Google is the biggest source of piracy
in the world - because he's jealous. He wants to retain his mind control over people and clearly you'd get a more
honest view of things on Wikipedia and Google than on Fox News.

Some facts (years, dates) are probably wrong in this press release. The reason is that we can't access this information
when Wikipedia is blacked out. Because of pressure from our failing competitors. We're sorry for that.

THE PIRATE BAY, (K)2012[/QUOTE]

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

Good for the Pirate Bay. It's funny to think how much of a hypocrite everyone in this whole ordeal is. Murdoch speaks out against piracy yet was more then happy to phone hack the British Royal Family among countless others. Hollywood claims to be loosing money yet can still afford to pay actors like Johnny Depp $40 million to star in a movie.

It seems that no matter what outdated establishments will cry kicking and screaming anytime someone threatens them. Hollywood cried out against people bringing camcorders to movies yet some odd years later they publish articles teaching educators how to set up a camcorder in front of a flat screen to record shows for educational purposes.

The bottom line is this. People are still willing to pay. Itunes, Netflix, Hulu, CrunchyRoll are all examples. If you really are loosing money, which is doubtful, it's because you refuse to give up on your outdated business models in hopes of controlling that which you no longer have control over.

Re: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
 

^word

Adapt or die