bog_tom
26th November 2004, 07:26
Movie industry combatting internet piracy
Hollywood is taking steps aimed at stopping online movie piracy, hoping for better results than their peers in the music business. Major labels in the music industry squabbled over how best to combat internet piracy and failed to develop consumer-friendly ways to buy music online. The movie industry, on the other hand, is waging a coordinated offensive to thwart the free downloading of films before it spins out of control, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Security guards, often outfitted with night vision goggles, have been posted at movie premieres to look for banned video recorders. A nationwide piracy awareness campaign is under way in theaters and on television, further electronic tracking substances are being used on movie prints and the industry plans to begin promoting a stealing is bad message in schools. While some industry leaders are optimistic, many in Hollywood fear that online movie sharing could be the most serious menace to profits so far.
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MPAA tool will finger stolen films
THE MOTION Picture Association of America is to offer a tool to help users locate illegally downloaded files on their system, the organisation said today. The software will be able to scan the system and find all sorts of music and movie titles stored on a computer, along with illegal peer-to-peer software, according to a report in PCWorld. Once found, the programme can remove the files if the user would like. The tool is aimed at parents who want to keep their kids out of trouble, since the MPAA concurrently launched a new wave of lawsuits against movie sharers.
Quite how the programme will distinguish between illegal and legal MP3s is unclear at the moment. Plenty of legal MP3 download sites are around that simply download the file to your hard drive much as with peer-to-peer schemes. It is also clear that peer-to-peer can be used to download legal material, so the deleting of these programmes by this tool is pretty questionable.
The MPAA has set up a new website to spread its message, which you can find at respectcopyright.org . Apparently, though, you're only entitled to respect copyright if you have Macromedia Flash .
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RIAA sues more students
THE RECORDING INDUSTRY Association of America (RIAA), a trade body, has sued over 750 people, mostly students, as part of its legal campaign against Internet music piracy in America. The RIAA targeted students at 12 universities across the country in this latest round of lawsuits, including students at James Madison University in Harrisonburg and the American University. American University administrators have given the names of these two students to the RIAA. If they survive the fine the University may force them to attend an educational workshop on file sharing, lose their Internet service or expel them.
The association has sued almost 7,000 people since it began its campaign in September 2003. Other suits targeted students at schools in Massachusetts, including Amherst College, Boston College, Boston University, Emerson College and the University of Massachusetts. The RIAA can seek up to $150,000 in damages for each song illegally traded online. Most of the 1,300 defendants who have settled RIAA charges during the past year have paid an average of $3,000. College students have been prime targets of music industry lawyers because they are among the most prolific music downloaders and they are really easy to catch. Commercial pirates however have not been targeted by the RIAA and still cheerfully navigate the waters of the Pira Sea.
Hollywood is taking steps aimed at stopping online movie piracy, hoping for better results than their peers in the music business. Major labels in the music industry squabbled over how best to combat internet piracy and failed to develop consumer-friendly ways to buy music online. The movie industry, on the other hand, is waging a coordinated offensive to thwart the free downloading of films before it spins out of control, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Security guards, often outfitted with night vision goggles, have been posted at movie premieres to look for banned video recorders. A nationwide piracy awareness campaign is under way in theaters and on television, further electronic tracking substances are being used on movie prints and the industry plans to begin promoting a stealing is bad message in schools. While some industry leaders are optimistic, many in Hollywood fear that online movie sharing could be the most serious menace to profits so far.
-------------------------------------------------------------
MPAA tool will finger stolen films
THE MOTION Picture Association of America is to offer a tool to help users locate illegally downloaded files on their system, the organisation said today. The software will be able to scan the system and find all sorts of music and movie titles stored on a computer, along with illegal peer-to-peer software, according to a report in PCWorld. Once found, the programme can remove the files if the user would like. The tool is aimed at parents who want to keep their kids out of trouble, since the MPAA concurrently launched a new wave of lawsuits against movie sharers.
Quite how the programme will distinguish between illegal and legal MP3s is unclear at the moment. Plenty of legal MP3 download sites are around that simply download the file to your hard drive much as with peer-to-peer schemes. It is also clear that peer-to-peer can be used to download legal material, so the deleting of these programmes by this tool is pretty questionable.
The MPAA has set up a new website to spread its message, which you can find at respectcopyright.org . Apparently, though, you're only entitled to respect copyright if you have Macromedia Flash .
-------------------------------------------------------------
RIAA sues more students
THE RECORDING INDUSTRY Association of America (RIAA), a trade body, has sued over 750 people, mostly students, as part of its legal campaign against Internet music piracy in America. The RIAA targeted students at 12 universities across the country in this latest round of lawsuits, including students at James Madison University in Harrisonburg and the American University. American University administrators have given the names of these two students to the RIAA. If they survive the fine the University may force them to attend an educational workshop on file sharing, lose their Internet service or expel them.
The association has sued almost 7,000 people since it began its campaign in September 2003. Other suits targeted students at schools in Massachusetts, including Amherst College, Boston College, Boston University, Emerson College and the University of Massachusetts. The RIAA can seek up to $150,000 in damages for each song illegally traded online. Most of the 1,300 defendants who have settled RIAA charges during the past year have paid an average of $3,000. College students have been prime targets of music industry lawyers because they are among the most prolific music downloaders and they are really easy to catch. Commercial pirates however have not been targeted by the RIAA and still cheerfully navigate the waters of the Pira Sea.