Date: 03/27/2004 12:44 AM
Name: freak-on-a-stick (cass7@shaw.ca)
Subject: Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P
How is jail time going to compensate the copyright holder ("Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P," March 26, 2004)? All they will be doing is burdening the public via the taxes they pay for the prison system.
Considering some of the people who have already gone to court and settled,
they weren't the ones who infringed on copyright. Grandpa from Californiafor example -- his grandchildren did the file sharing. So does that meangrandpa goes to jail because of an act done by another party? That's justcompletely insane.
That's like trying to make a firearms manufacturer responsible for a crimecommitted with one of its handguns.
Are we going to start suing computer manufacturers, software vendors andISPs for their role in a file sharer's actions? Will Sony sue itself formanufacturing CD-Rs and CD burners because a file sharer used those products while they had a song that was copyrighted by Sony? Will they all go to jail for their part in providing the means to share music?
Where does it stop?
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Date: 03/27/2004 6:21 PM
Name: Tokyopete (petergbellamy@hotmail.com)
Subject: Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P
If the fine was 50 cents per song levied as payment to the artists whomade the music, then this would all make sense, perhaps ("Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P," March 26, 2004). Ditto for the condensed version of a movie. The actual amount of money that goes into the pockets of the artists is less than $1 per DVD or CD.
The other minor and deliberately ignored detail is that the RIAA and MPAA
already levy a copyright-in-advance fee on each and every CD-R and DVD-R blank disc that is sold. So they have received a royalty payment whether or not the CD or DVD disc is used to store music or movie files. On this basis there is no reason to complain or demand more money from P2P shared files. They cannot attack those who download porno files because they don'tnecessarily come under the intellectual-property laws in the firstplace. So their complaints are based on quicksand.
I also thought that government officials were not allowed to receive moneyor gifts from vested interests in any form. So why are these two senatorsreceiving money from the music and film industries to promote yet anotherlaw to protect a minor segment of the American business community?
It must be fairly obvious from the literally billions of P2P sharers thatthe RIAA and MPAA are fighting a losing battle against a new lifestylecentered around the computer. It would make much more sense to figure out how to capitalize on the potential market rather than totally alienate theircustomers. Perhaps Sens. Hatch and Leahy should take note that re-election time will come and they may well find themselves back home for good.
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Date: 03/29/2004 1:01 AM
Name: Dennis (pwrmacgod@excite.com)
Subject: Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P
Again, people who do not understand technology are trying to govern it ("Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P," March 26, 2004). The natural instinct in humans is that "if they don't understand it, they try to kill it." Just great. I guess no more sharing my kids' pictures with my mom over hotline, guess I cannot try a new application my buddy just wrote as his college project, or download a new alpha/beta test application from a small developer who wishes to keep his testing circle small, guess I would have to show proof that I "own" them. What a crock.
TechTV, is there anything you can help us, your viewers, do in combination with you to get our whole audience/community involved in stopping madness like this? How long are these technologically misinformed individuals going to be allowed to run rampant and make rules for things of which they have no understanding? Sometimes I am surprised that the individuals we the people vote into these positions of power can chew their own food. Please help.
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Date: 03/27/2004 12:08 PM
Name: Clive Mcgregor (cliveamcgregor@yahoo.com)
Subject: Probe Flotilla to Scour Planets
It is interesting to note the number of missions that will return samplesback to Earth ("Probe Flotilla to Scour Planets," March 26, 2004). My concern with this is that we may not be prepared to handle situations where the containers holding the samples might be breached, releasing whatever is brought back into the environment. This may result in biochemical reactions that could have a negative if not disastrous effect on the planet's ecosystem.
I might sound a bit paranoid here, and I am sure that the top scientists have taken this into consideration. However, how can they reassure us "earthlings" that we won't be accidentally "tera-formed" for the sake of science? My proposal is that such samples should be delivered to the space station, where they could be analyzed in an environment that is sterile and a "safe" distance from Mother Earth. If all hell breaks loose in the lab, then the contamination would be contained and the situation could be dealt with more quickly.
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