[Cialug] RIAA hits Iowa

[Tom Poe]

ajensen at uni.edu wrote:
> Being a student, I find it quite interesting that this is the first step taken to inform students about the notices that they might receive, no matter how questionable the material was.  From my experience I know of hardly anyone that has received a notice at UNI although it is a completely different story for those I know at ISU.  Many of the students can't even count the number of notices they've received this semester on one hand, and it seems to be humorous to most of the student body.  I sat down for lunch with a friend this week who asked me "so how many of those movie/music downloading notices have you gotten?  I managed to get three this semester!"
>
> I definitely agree that it is time for the Universities to step up and not only make the student body aware of its stance on the issue but to provide clear understandable material regarding what the "mafIAA" policies are.
>
> One question I have is whether or not I am taking any liability for having my name on the bill to the ISP which three others are currently using in our apartment?  Do I have any responsibility for the actions they perform?
>
> Thanks,
> Aaron
>
> Jeff Chapin wrote:
>   
>> It seems to me that Steve Moon is, deliberately or not, passing biased information to the student body. It is this sort of thinking that powers the mafIAA to extort people the way they are.
>>
>> Jeff Chapin
>>
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>>
>>     
> I doubt sincerely that Steve Moon is deliberately doing anything beyond
> what he's told to do. On the other hand, if the school delegates
> responsibility, it expects Steve Moon to carry out those
> responsibilities, including informing the administration when the job
> description changes as a result of external activities in our court
> system. It won't be too long, until we'll refer to Steve Moon as Poor
> Steve. :)
>
> Ray Beckerman, over at
> http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/
> follows the legal activities around the world on a daily basis. Steve
> Moon should already be tracking what is happening through one of the
> country's most authoritative lawyers on the RIAA's litigation tactics.
> In fact, his web site should be the first stop for every student that
> received a notice from Steve Moon, or any other school's
> administration. If, after visiting the site, and becoming informed, a
> student chooses to ignore the facts, and rely on the school notice for
> their decisions, so-be-it. :)
> Tom
>
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>   
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/#5184941785800131272
Work through this article, follow the links, and discuss, discuss, 
discuss.  Remember, the RIAA is pursuing tactics that assume everyone is 
guilty of theft of copyright.  Of course, there is no such thing as 
theft of copyright, but, when you have unscrupulous lawyers that are 
willing to break the law to make a buck, and their victims are those who 
are least able to fight back, it is easy. 

Students are the most vulnerable.  It's common knowledge that there are 
many files that are out on the Internet that are being shared among 
friends and relatives.  The RIAA has gone to great lengths to lay claim 
to all music, freely available or copyrighted.  They say downloads must 
be paid for, each time someone listens to a song off the Internet.  They 
say the student has the burden to sort out which songs are ok to listen 
to, and which must be paid for.  It's all ludicrous propositions meant 
to destroy the internet as we know it, and turn it into just another 
distribution medium for them to control.  They try to stigmatize users 
as criminals.  Their tactics are illegal, and the courts have said so.  
They can't send out the letters, and the court has ordered them to shut 
down the practice.  The lawyers that convinced the Iowa schools to send 
the letters are breaking the law, and the schools are complicit. 

Unless the RIAA can identify specific songs, and identify specific 
individuals, which is impossible, they can bring allegations, and the 
court will sort it out as to whether theft of copyright has taken 
place.  But, since there is no such thing as theft of copyright, the 
only way to be found guilty, is to be in front of a judge that rules 
there is such a thing as theft of copyright.  In other words, the judge 
will have to ignore reality.

Want music??  Don't want to deal with the RIAA?  Move to music 
aggregators that do all the sorting out for you.
www.getdemocracy.org is one place to start. 
http://penguintv.sourceforge.net/
http://gpodder.berlios.de
http://www.jamendo.com/en/

There's a ton of stuff out there.  www.archive.org is a perfect 
repository of music for those who want to discover independent artists.  
Find a song you like, add it to your own rss feed, and spread it around 
the world.  The artist will thank you, and the RIAA will die a slow death.
Tom

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