RIAA To Stop Prosecuting Individual File Sharers 619
debatem1 writes "According to the Wall Street Journal, the RIAA has decided to abandon its current tactic of suing individuals for sharing copyrighted music. Ongoing lawsuits will be pursued to completion, but no new ones will be filed. The RIAA is going to try working with the ISPs to limit file-sharing services and cut off repeated users. This very surprising development apparently comes as a result of public distaste for the campaign." An RIAA spokesman is quoted as saying that the litigation campaign has been "successful in raising the public's awareness that file-sharing is illegal."
Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Sir,
We are a group of UK film and TV producers, directors and writers. We are concerned that the successes of the creative industries in the UK are being undermined by the illegal online file-sharing [today.com] of film and TV.
We are asking the Government to show its support by ensuring that internet service providers play their part in tackling this huge problem by giving us money. Lots of money. Just keep piling it in, we'll tell you when it's enough.
In 2007, up to (well, it could be) 25 per cent of all online TV piracy took place in the UK. Popular shows are downloaded illegally hundreds of thousands of times per episode, and some of them might even be ours rather than something American made with an actual budget.
It is true that in 2008, UK commercial TV broadcasters enjoyed the highest viewing figures in five years, that total TV viewing was up 10% year-on-year, and the valuable yet hard-to-reach 16 to 24-year-old demographic (the typical file-sharer) watched 4.9% more commercial TV and saw 12% more ads. But it's the principle of the thing: someone is getting money from something that touches something one of us once touched, therefore the money belongs to us. This is the style of corporate thinking that brought Britain its great economic gains from 1997 to 2007, after all.At a time when so many jobs are being lost in the wider economy, it is especially important that our gravy train be maintained.
Internet service providers have the ability to change the behaviour of those customers who illegally distribute content online. They have the power to make significant change and to prevent their infrastructure from being used on a wholesale scale for illegal activity. They have the power to stop people looking at the cover of Virgin Killer. They have a secret magic wand that will fix everything wrong with the media industry's income streams and they are refusing, with malice aforethought, to use it. If they are not prepared to give us all the free money we ask for and a bit more besides, they should be compelled to do so.
It raised awareness alright (Score:2, Funny)
An RIAA spokesman is quoted as saying that the litigation campaign has been "successful in raising the public's awareness that file-sharing is illegal."
The spokesman went on to say that the campaign will be stopped after it became apparent that "it was also successful in raising the public's awareness that the RIAA are douches."
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:3, Funny)
Unfair! Unfair! (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, wait a minute! French fries allegedly come from Belgium [wikipedia.org]. Both the French and the Belgians consider the term "French fries" to be grossly unfair: the Belgians feel they deserve the credit, and the French feel they don't deserve the blame.
Of course, there is the possibility that the first prototype fries were planted in Belgium by French agents provocateurs.
Re:File sharing isn't illegal. (Score:3, Funny)
No, like a spoon, it's DULL...it'd hurt more.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:File sharing isn't illegal. (Score:5, Funny)
Should be interesting to see how they handle that whole FTP and HTTP stuff next. After all, it's not like anything illegal hasn't ever been transferred this way as well.
After that, maybe they can start suing carrier pigeons. You know you can't trust *those* little bastards... just look at New York!
Re:Unfair! Unfair! (Score:5, Funny)
It isn't like the rest of French cuisine is Richard-Simmons-Approved when eaten in the kind of quantities Americans typically eat things, so I don't see why they'd care about fries in particular.
I liked that period of time where we were supposed to call them "Freedom Fries". It made it easier to spot imbeciles.
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:4, Funny)
Re:3-Strike Law coming soon... (Score:5, Funny)
You are applying logic to RIAA's fanaticism? How amusing. ;-)
Re:Did they finally get some legal advice? (Score:1, Funny)
FTSummary: An RIAA spokesman is quoted as saying that the litigation campaign has been "successful in raising the public's awareness that file-sharing is illegal."
Success, my ass -- this justification is the same as saying, "We did it because, 'Nyah, nyah, made you look!'"
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:3, Funny)
English of course. It's the international language of the internet, and everyone understands it. (Or soon will.)
In that case Chinese probably would make more sense in the long term...
Re:File sharing isn't illegal. (Score:5, Funny)
What about if 99.9% of all butter knives are used to kill someone... does that slightly change things?
No, because you cannot download a butter knife.
Um, wait, what was your point again ?
Re:Unfair! Unfair! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:3, Funny)
What, the 50th season of ER doesn't excite you? "Doctor Green returns... again! And now, he's really, really, old."
Re:Yep (Score:5, Funny)
Any plan that requires the participation of good lawyers needs a really good plan B.
Re:File sharing isn't illegal. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:3-Strike Law coming soon... (Score:5, Funny)
You fool, people are downloading movies, music, unlicensed compilers, and EVEN ENTIRE BOOKS! All this content is slowing it down for the rest of us. The internet isn't a big truck you can just keep dumping things on, it's a series of tubes.
How else can we make way for legitimate, low-bandwidth services like Comcast OnDemand if we keep allowing this onslaught of unapproved content?
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:1, Funny)
I can see it now ... a European version of the NBC hit show "The Office". That would be great.
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:2, Funny)
your going to Chinese site for pirate stuff has nothing to do with Chinese language. are you implying that Chinese language is inherently pirate talkish?
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:1, Funny)
How do you say "fuck you" in Luxemburgish?
Victory (Score:5, Funny)
Did the spokesman make this statement in front of a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner?
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:3, Funny)
Look, as a good American I can assure you - everyone can understand English as long as you yell loud enough....
Re:Film and TV producers also call for action (Score:4, Funny)