Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

[Joey D]

Lobbying by Disney is the reason for it.

When you invent something in the US, you file a patent application with the USPTO and after arguing with them for a while you may eventually get issued a patent. Your patent expires 20 years after the date you applied (which may be years before the patent actually issues). So you can expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 16-17 years of protection for your patent. After that, your invention belongs to the public.

If someone violates your patent, it's your responsibility to find them, notify them, come to an agreement, or sue (you gather all evidence and pay all legal fees). The government doesn't even get involved unless you take them to court over it. If you take them to court, a jury may award you monetary damages for their infringement of your patent. That's it, nobody goes to jail, you get handed money (if they don't file for bankruptcy).

Copyright on the otherhand....

Is something you have inherently. No need to file it with the government (though you can register it with them for extra visibility). I have a copyright on this post... I don't necessarily even need to say so. Your copyright lasts 70 years beyond the life of the author. A typical copyright will last well over 100 years. You pay no registration fees, there is no application process.

If someone violates your copyright, the FBI can prosecute the case with your even being aware. Sentences for copyright infringement include jail time as well as financial damages paid to the copyright holder and the government.

Now tell me.... why should copyright and patent be different at all?

Bravo sir! You make an excellent point and show the major flaw with copyrighted material in respect to law enforcement.

Unless I'm mistaken, some musicians flat out encourage piracy.

Many just offer their albums for free on their website and expect that people will like their music and attend their concerts, buy their merchandise or whatever else. It's worked for Radiohead and KoRn and I assume many others.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Many just offer their albums for free on their website and expect that people will like their music and attend their concerts, buy their merchandise or whatever else. It's worked for Radiohead and KoRn and I assume many others.

Although Chevelle doesn't do that specifically, they don't really care about how their albums sell. They just want people to come to their shows. If they have a full house every time, they're happy.

 

[shmogt]

Artist don't care about copyright they would prefer everyone heard their music so they can get more people to come to their concerts and buy their clothes etc. The big companies who own these artist are losing money. They make the most money and hate seeing people get the music for free. They still make money from the concerts an all the other stuff too so they can't complain too much since more people are hearing the music and going to the concerts etc. They are just pissed because now a days they can't light their Cuban cigars with $100 bills and can't screw people for every little dime. Like other people said they are still millionaires more rich than you could ever imagine and should just take the lose and get over it. If you want more people to buy things think of something creative in which you can sell. It's an impossible battle to fight the Internet.

 

[Joey D]

Although Chevelle doesn't do that specifically, they don't really care about how their albums sell. They just want people to come to their shows. If they have a full house every time, they're happy.

Honestly I'd be more willing to give an artist a chance if they didn't care how people got their music. And if I enjoyed them I'd be way more willing to shell out the price for a ticket.

Artist don't care about copyright they would prefer everyone heard their music so they can get more people to come to their concerts and buy their clothes etc. The big companies who own these artist are losing money. They make the most money and hate seeing people get the music for free. They still make money from the concerts an all the other stuff too so they can't complain too much since more people are hearing the music and going to the concerts etc. They are just pissed because now a days they can't light their Cuban cigars with $100 bills and can't screw people for every little dime. Like other people said they are still millionaires more rich than you could ever imagine and should just take the lose and get over it. If you want more people to buy things think of something creative in which you can sell. It's an impossible battle to fight the Internet.

Furthering my belief the only way piracy can truly be reduced is for the media industry to change their business model. Obviously what they are doing no longer works. Sure there is blame to be placed on pirates, but people pirate for a reason. Give them a better, safer alternative and you'll see a large majority of people shift to that. It won't get rid of all the pirates, I don't believe you can ever stop them, but if you 80% of piraters to switch, you've scored a pretty big win.

***Waits for someone to accuse me of supporting thievery***

 

[terminator363]

I don't think I've ever used "Megaupload" for anything (the only thing I know them for is the "Megaupload Song"), but anonymous have got back at the US government.

 

[Wardez]

I urge every one to read this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/..._back_it_has_not_been_shelved_and_its/c3i9fqe

Also, with the National Defense Authorization Act being the wave it will ride on in, so to speak, we still have a very persistently real and major threat to our way of life. Like they say in the first link, non of these corporations care if SOPA dropped, they know what their best solution is, and even though it seems like a contingency, or back up plan, it's really not considering the first push was just something for us to go crazy over, blacking out websites, protesting, etc. Then once every one feels the job's "done" in a word then they'll casually sneak this under our noses, piggy backing through on H.R.1981.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alton-lu/the-national-defense-auth_b_1180869.html

And now there's the whole thing with Megaupload and Anonymous taking down tons of government websites and regulators... it's just crazy.

This is how it's always been done. Let as MANY people you know possible about this.

I'm so glad the designers of the internet made it so de-centralized or else we'd have no chance.

 

[JohnBM01]

Not to go off-topic, but I thought about various websites (like rFactor Central) which host file uploads of mods and stuff. Some of the downloadable material is on sites like... Megaupload. So having something like Megaupload shut down by SOPA hurts a number of different sites and services. I think this is even more reason to hope both SOPA and PIPA have wooden stakes driven through their hearts. Either that, or Holy Water poured on them.

Most of you know I'm in blogging and in YouTube. Both of these bills surely impact me in all of my work. I really think SOPA and PIPA would so screw me and others as a whole. So I made sure to sign that Google petition last night.

 

[Northstar]

but anonymous have got back at the US government.

I wouldn't call stoking a dying fire getting back. All Anon is doing is showing the old geezers in D.C. that they need to censor the web after all since frankly people can't manage it themselves. SOPIPA will pass, the Internet will be like pay tv and I will blame Anon because they don't know when to stop.

If people really wanted SOPIPA to die they would stop doing obviously illegal things like downloading music to show that government intervention isn't needed. Don't get me wrong, I'm against SOPIPA, but people/groups like Anon are what is going to end the Internet's freedom, not the big bad corporations. Kind of ironic, isn't it, the ones who are supposedly "fighting to keep the internet free" are going to be the ones to put the final nail in the coffin and allow SOPIPA to pass. Maybe the people joking that Anon is actually a government organisation were on to something.

/rant, raise flame shield.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

If people really wanted SOPIPA to die they would stop doing obviously illegal things like downloading music to show that government intervention isn't needed.

I think the problem is that people didn't really understand what SOPA and PIPA were trying to do in the first place. They saw that SOPA and PIPA would stop them downloading music and films - stop them from doing what they wanted to do - and so that was bad. And now that SOPA and PIPA have been stood down (for now), they've interpreted that as a licence to keep doing what they were already doing.

But the issue with SOPA and PIPA was not what they were trying to do, but how they were trying to do it. They were really targeting a symptom, rather than treating the disease. The whole thing felt like it was written by people who didn't understand what the real issue was, but because it was an issue and it needed to be stopped, they were suddenly experts on it. Looking at Lamar Smith's Wikipedia article, I can't see anything to suggest that he is remotely qualified to pass judgement on online piracy, so I have this vision in my mind's eye of him standing on a soap box calling out "This hurts America and Americans! It needs to be stopped! Somebody help me out here!". I also notice that he's ultra-conservative, and while I'm not American, I'm also not stupid enough to trust someone who tends to bring religion into politics.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Unless I'm mistaken, some musicians flat out encourage piracy.

Yeah, I think Mars Volta and more of the indie labels as well as underground groups do. Volta says that it was the only way they could get their hands on good music at times when they were young as well as being able to listen to up and coming or underground bands that weren't being labeled by big companies.

If people really wanted SOPIPA to die they would stop doing obviously illegal things like downloading music to show that government intervention isn't needed. Don't get me wrong, I'm against SOPIPA, but people/groups like Anon are what is going to end the Internet's freedom, not the big bad corporations. Kind of ironic, isn't it, the ones who are supposedly "fighting to keep the internet free" are going to be the ones to put the final nail in the coffin and allow SOPIPA to pass. Maybe the people joking that Anon is actually a government organisation were on to something.

/rant, raise flame shield.

Here's the problem with you assessment, they see a system, which you should to due to the way these bills are written. With a government that wants to micromanage everything, NDAA proved this and these follow ups (SOPA & PIPA) to it seems to be on purpose. Lulzsac and Anon will still strive even if we're put under by the Government and censored. They are skilled with technology and for now the U.S. Government is a machine ill equipped at the moment. IF the U.S. did succeed in this, Anon day after day would fight back with a smile and their philosophy to me is that by doing this the Government will say "fine will give you back what you want, no more". They're tired of the corrupt ways and time and time again they're made to look childish when really they're fed up and trying to fight back the best way they know how.


The better way to look at it is, does the government deserve what Anon is doing to them? I think yes, do I think that Anon may hurt everyone else in the process like you suggest? In a cosmic sort of way, yes. The way I think this their way of doing civil disobedience.

I urge every one to read this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/..._back_it_has_not_been_shelved_and_its/c3i9fqe

Also, with the National Defense Authorization Act being the wave it will ride on in, so to speak, we still have a very persistently real and major threat to our way of life. Like they say in the first link, non of these corporations care if SOPA dropped, they know what their best solution is, and even though it seems like a contingency, or back up plan, it's really not considering the first push was just something for us to go crazy over, blacking out websites, protesting, etc. Then once every one feels the job's "done" in a word then they'll casually sneak this under our noses, piggy backing through on H.R.1981.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alton-lu/the-national-defense-auth_b_1180869.html

And now there's the whole thing with Megaupload and Anonymous taking down tons of government websites and regulators... it's just crazy.

This is how it's always been done. Let as MANY people you know possible about this.

I'm so glad the designers of the internet made it so de-centralized or else we'd have no chance.

Nothing to add to this, I agree with you

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

delete

 

[shmogt]

Honestly I'd be more willing to give an artist a chance if they didn't care how people got their music. And if I enjoyed them I'd be way more willing to shell out the price for a ticket.

Furthering my belief the only way piracy can truly be reduced is for the media industry to change their business model. Obviously what they are doing no longer works. Sure there is blame to be placed on pirates, but people pirate for a reason. Give them a better, safer alternative and you'll see a large majority of people shift to that. It won't get rid of all the pirates, I don't believe you can ever stop them, but if you 80% of piraters to switch, you've scored a pretty big win.

***Waits for someone to accuse me of supporting thievery***

So right. The way their business model was written is for tv and radio. They need to update their ****. I live in Canada and we are not allowed sites like Hulu and amazon etc for video services. We have Netflix and it sucks ass since the shows are all old as hell. The reason for this is simply because our laws are outdated so bad and the copyrighting doesn't apply to the Internet so they just say no instead of making new laws to work with it. We are losing out on being able to pay for good quality sites and are forced to stream illegally. Guess what if I want to watch the newest episode of "the office" but I missed it when it aired. I'm going to stream it off of a illegal site because it is my only option. There is no way I am just going to miss the ep for that week and just continue with it next week because I will have missed so much. All these ludicrous bills and laws are only backing people into a corner and forcing them to do illegal things. Just to do something so basic like listen to a song or watch a tv show! What is next everyone has to wear ear plugs when outside incase someone drives by with music blasting and you happen to overhear it. You don't legally own the song you heard so is that illegal now? It's starting to get ridiculous.

The governments need to address their own laws and update their own stuff. They need to make it easier for people to access their stuff not harder. How is sending a 14yr old kid to jail for pirating a bunch of songs helping anything. It's literally like no one is even trying to do this they are just working with what they have and not even remotely attempting to change anything.

They can't win even if SOPA passed the people of the world are smarter and will just create something to get around that law. That is the whole point of anonymous. Stop taking away our freedom to make yourself money and work with us as people. You want to make money and we want to give you that money. Just give us fair prices and ways to easily obtain your services. Simple.

There is always another way around something that works for everyone you just need to sit down and think of it. All the pirating people are thinking of new ways to outsmart the current system everyday. Just recently all torrent sites hosted a torrent file which technically leaves them open to be shut down since they are hosting something that may contain illegal stuff. Did they just sit there and take being shut down, of course not. They actually used their brains and made magnetic links which are just a link to up loaders all around the world. No files actually being hosted or downloaded by anyone through their site. Soon magnetic links will be the only way to get torrents and it will completely screw the current way the FBI shuts down sites.

If I was the government and in charge of making new laws and creating new ways of getting media out I would of hired every mediauploading person and made them get to work. They are clearly great at what they do why not get them to work on the good side. Like the old saying goes "if you can't beat them, join them".

 

[Carbonox]

I would really love to know who are the 3 people who voted for SOPA to be a good thing. I guess they have been sarcastic though.

 

[RACECAR]

Language Warning:

[YOUTUBEHD]-tD1yaE0GfQ&feature=g-logo&context=G20a855aFOAAAAAAAAAA[/YOUTUBEHD]

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Yeah, I think Mars Volta and more of the indie labels as well as underground groups do. Volta says that it was the only way they could get their hands on good music at times when they were young as well as being able to listen to up and coming or underground bands that weren't being labeled by big companies.



Here's the problem with you assessment, they see a system, which you should to due to the way these bills are written. With a government that wants to micromanage everything, NDAA proved this and these follow ups (SOPA & PIPA) to it seems to be on purpose. Lulzsac and Anon will still strive even if we're put under by the Government and censored. They are skilled with technology and for now the U.S. Government is a machine ill equipped at the moment. IF the U.S. did succeed in this, Anon day after day would fight back with a smile and their philosophy to me is that by doing this the Government will say "fine will give you back what you want, no more". They're tired of the corrupt ways and time and time again they're made to look childish when really they're fed up and trying to fight back the best way they know how.


The better way to look at it is, does the government deserve what Anon is doing to them? I think yes, do I think that Anon may hurt everyone else in the process like you suggest? In a cosmic sort of way, yes. The way I think this their way of doing civil disobedience.



Nothing to add to this, I agree with you

See here's the flaw in that reasoning; they're fed up with the U.S. federal government. What does going after Capital One Bank have to do with it? You'd think that the Bush Administration is calling the shots over there. After these disruptions, everything goes back to normal, and everyone forgets WHY they did it. Most times nobody even notices. So you're not really having any affect, and only creating more charges against yourself in the process.

I know that they like the anonymity of lurking in the shadows. However there's a bigger picture to consider. Why not come forward and testify before Congress on the condition that they be granted immunity, and explain why this is bad piece of legislation? Or is it more fun to be outlaws and "stick it to the man"?

 

[Northstar]

Lulzsac and Anon will still strive even if we're put under by the Government and censored.

No, they won't, because the internet will turn into the same thing as pay tv, a set of websites that vary from provider to provider. There will be no more open internet.

They are skilled with technology and for now the U.S. Government is a machine ill equipped at the moment.

They are better equipped than you may think, it's the people making the laws that don't have a clue. Which is why this latest Anon incident will be what keeps SOPIPA alive, congress will view it as an attack on the US.

IF the U.S. did succeed in this, Anon day after day would fight back with a smile and their philosophy to me is that by doing this the Government will say "fine will give you back what you want, no more".

Or the government would tighten their grip even more. The government can't back down on a subject like this, despite what people may want, they do need to fight theft(just not with SOPIPA)

They're tired of the corrupt ways and time and time again they're made to look childish when really they're fed up and trying to fight back the best way they know how.

Someone should tell them that sometimes you say the most by saying nothing at all. Or maybe use their skills to try and get non-corrupt people into office.💡

The better way to look at it is, does the government deserve what Anon is doing to them? I think yes

Can I ask why? From what I have heard this is all over a bill that didn't pass and an FBI takedown of a known pirating site the legal way.

 

[Matty]

Language Warning:

[YOUTUBEHD]-tD1yaE0GfQ&feature=g-logo&context=G20a855aFOAAAAAAAAAA[/YOUTUBEHD]

Anyone one wanna lend me 100 million? *sigh*

 

[CodeRedR51]

Honestly I'd be more willing to give an artist a chance if they didn't care how people got their music. And if I enjoyed them I'd be way more willing to shell out the price for a ticket.

As a matter of fact, this was posted yesterday.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Anyone one wanna lend me 100 million? *sigh*

Hey, we're ALL screwed in that case. I want to see what happens when the son or daughter of some well meaning Representative or Senator gets caught in the dragnet. Because you know they will.

 

[RACECAR]

Anyone one wanna lend me 100 million? *sigh*

Sucks because not everybody was uploading or downloading copyrighted content. As mentioned before, file sharing sites like that are used alot for PC sim things like templates, Patches and mods and those people will be in trouble just because they used it.

 

[Crispy]

Not to mention that's where I got a good bit of mods for all my games. That's where I shared a calendar for a race series on Forza. As the comments said, I don't think the US can afford to pursue all these people. It's a quarter of the internet were talking about.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Not to mention that's where I got a good bit of mods for all my games. That's where I shared a calendar for a race series on Forza. As the comments said, I don't think the US can afford to pursue all these people. It's a quarter of the internet were talking about.

The pattern is that they make token examples out of some, and then hope to "deter" others.

 

[gt5 fan]

I have just 3 things to say.
• It is VERRY UNLIKELY SOPA will take over.

• Vote is on the 24th (in 3 days time).

• it is a public vote

 

[RACECAR]

Not to mention that's where I got a good bit of mods for all my games. That's where I shared a calendar for a race series on Forza. As the comments said, I don't think the US can afford to pursue all these people. It's a quarter of the internet were talking about.

Same applies to all the other file sharing sites as well. In fact, seems like the Modding community for the most part relies alot on File sharing sites.

 

[Matty]

I have just 3 things to say.

• It is VERRY UNLIKELY SOPA will take over.
  
• Vote is on the 24th (in 3 days time).
  
• it is a public vote

Fixed your post a bit I think as that's what I think you meant.

and i feel alot safer now that it's a public vote..

 

[Dennisch]

Not to mention that's where I got a good bit of mods for all my games. That's where I shared a calendar for a race series on Forza. As the comments said, I don't think the US can afford to pursue all these people. It's a quarter of the internet were talking about.

Why is your avatar CESORED?

 

[slims]

Starting to make sense why they went after megaupload in particular.

As part of Megaupload’s Dec. 9 relaunch, the site was planning a new music venture called Musicbox that would allow artists to sell music directly to consumers, intended to shelve traditional labels.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/20/megauploads-takedown-how-is-swizz-beatz-involved/

 

[Terronium-12]

Hopefully this hasn't been posted.



I find the one-dimensional argument intriguing: "We want free 🤬!"

Really? And I really dislike people who keep butting in just to sprinkle their own ignorance on the matter.

 

[Matty]

Hopefully this hasn't been posted.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7bIDBD6eus">YouTube Link</a>

I find the one-dimensional argument intriguing: "We want free 🤬!"

Really? And I really dislike people who keep butting in just to sprinkle their own ignorance on the matter.

Agreed

And agreed.. They were quite ignorant..

 

[Terronium-12]

I was mostly referring to Maher.

The three on the panel knew what they were talking about. Although I didn't really get what the woman said because of the audience.