MPAA Says No Proof Needed in P2P Copyright Infringement Lawsuits

[Omphfullas Zamboni]

The Motion Picture Association of America said Friday intellectual-property holders should have the right to collect damages, perhaps as much as $150,000 per copyright violation, without having to prove infringement.

"Mandating such proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances," MPAA attorney Marie L. van Uitert wrote Friday to the federal judge overseeing the Jammie Thomas trial.

"It is often very difficult, and in some cases, impossible, to provide such direct proof when confronting modern forms of copyright infringement, whether over P2P networks or otherwise; understandably, copyright infringers typically do not keep records of infringement," van Uitert wrote on behalf of the movie studios, a position shared with the Recording Industry Association of America, which sued Thomas, the single mother of two.
(Full Story (http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/mpaa-says-no-pr.html) from Wired Magazine)

[asgardshill]

RIAA is sucks.

No really, they could suck the Moon through 300 miles of carbon-fiber nanotube. They could suck-start the Space Shuttle. They could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. They could suck the ugly off of Helen Thomas.

[Omphfullas Zamboni]

Hello everyone,

I think sites such as Magnatune (http://www.magnatune.com/) are better answers to the music industry's woes. Magnatune is an online music service which offers several advantages when compared to the standard business models:

1. You can set your own price on albums, (as low as five dollars--though, oddly enough, the usual bid is around $9.50).
2. Half of the money you pay goes directly to the artist. In most cases, people want to be generous to the performer, not the record label. Therefore, as seen in point number one, people are actually willing to pay more than the minimum to the artist.

If the industry would set itself up in this manner, courting consumer generosity rather than making examples through filesharing witch hunts, I believe they would have less piracy, overall.

Thank you for reading. Have a great day.

Sincerely,
Omphfullas Zamboni

[Matt Collins]

Well... in case you are not aware, in a criminal case (you vs the gov) the standard the court must use is "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt". That is a much higher standard than in a civil case (you vs another party) which is "preponderance of the evidence".


This means that the court / jury must be persuaded that the facts are more likely one way than another.

[constituent]

riaa- what a load of shit.

it's like having a union for "musicians" or "artists" or "writers," total bunk.

[pcosmar]

riaa- what a load of shit.

it's like having a union for "musicians" or "artists" or "writers," total bunk.

Actually NOT. The RIAA is not protecting Artists, Writers or Musicians. It is protecting the Record Lables. Very little goes to those that created the content.
That is why we are seeing alternatives to those producers. There are many artists that are opposed to RIAA.

http://www.savethemusicfan.com/press.html
http://digitalmusic.weblogsinc.com/2006/12/06/riaa-moves-to-reduce-artist-royalty-payments/

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself if the RIAA could display more greed or avarice without actually hiring Satan as its general counsel. The Hypebot points to an article in Radio and Records which reads, "During the period when piracy was devastating the record industry, the RIAA argues, profits for publishers rose as revenue generated from ringtones and other innovative services grew. Record industry executives said there was nothing strange about seeking a rate change that would pay less to the people who write the music."

[satchelmcqueen]

this is getting way out of hand. The RIAA now claims and is making threats to online music tab sites claiming that just by posting "notes" for songs is infringment. and im not talking about photocopying music books. im talking..."hey i can play master of puppets...heres the notes that i figured out, good luck." according to the RIAA i cant even help people play a song without their permission. load of CRAP!

[RideTheDirt]

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