RIAA resorts to vigilanteeism

[Night Stalker]

Source.

I can apprecitate them protecting their copyrights. But, their pursuit of $$$ had led the industry to abuse customers of their fair use rights part of the copywrite compromise, loby Congress to criminalize citizens for a relatively minor infraction, and seek litigeous, and legislative solutions to a technical and buisness problem.

[Larry_OHF]

I can't wait to see our side start fighting back.

[Timber Loftis]

I've posted about this before. Basically, what RIAA does is put people on the streets who find folks selling bootlegs, and they grab a cop to charge them with copyright violations. When the case comes to misdemeanor court, a RIAA lawyer confers with prosecutors (my wife) about the case.

To the extent they do their "policing" differently elsewhere, including having RIAA personnel issue pink-slip "violation" papers, if that occurred it would basically be a ruse to scare the people into compliance.

Because bootlegging is an obvious copyright infringement, I don't oppose RIAA trying to police it. However, something inside me is bothered by having RIAA attorneys go confer with prosecutors regarding the case. In essence, our tax dollars are funding the prosecution of these cases on behalf of RIAA in those instances. When the victim of the crime is a beat-up citizen, it doesn't bother me that our tax dollars fund the state's correcting of the wrong. But, when multi-million dollar corps. are doing it, I wish they'd at least fund the prosecution, so our tax dollars aren't helping their profit margins.

Otherwise, I don't really have a problem with it. Bootlegging CDs is illegal, and a bit detestable.

[Skunk]

I'm not sure about that. Since bootlegging *is* theft, then the costs involved ought to be borne by the state as everyone should expect to have free redress to criminal acts.

Rich or poor, the level of access to justice should be the same. I would no more expect a music company to have to pay for the proescution of someone accused of stealing its property then I would expect to fund the costs of someone accused of stealing my car.

And in a way, one might even argue that the RIAA *are* alreadly helping to pay for law-enforcement costs by paying for private dectectives to look for the bootleggers - rather than demanding that the police do it on their behalf.

[Timber Loftis]

Well, Skunk, that's the fair point my prosecutor wife makes when rebutting my concern. I don't really have a good answer to it, but I'm working on it over time.

[Night Stalker]

The problem I have with is the pseudo impersonation of police like agencies and then intimidating the vendors into signing a consent form for the confiscation of property.

I am not saying that the bootleggers are right. I am saying that this is OTT and wrong. It they discover a bootlegger, they have every right to file a police complaint.

I would like to find a tech solution that helps protect IP rights but also supports fair use for customers. That way legitimate owners can do what they want (for the most part) with things they own and content creators still have say over disrtobution.

[Timber Loftis]

Well, NS, keep working to come up with it.

You see!? This is what I'm talking about! People, pick up your torches, pitchforks, flamethrows, and rocket launchers and let's go after these money-grubbing punks! [img]graemlins/braveheart.gif[/img]

[img]graemlins/barbarian.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/warrior1.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/knight.gif[/img]