I know, my comments weren't directed at stefcep2. They weren't even fully directed at you. I was trying to make a more general comment about the current trend in describing our society as "Orwellian" when really I don't feel it is anything of the sort.
I never said they were. However, it's quite obvious that American is slowly becoming more and more like Oceania.
ISTR seeing an interview with the founders of TPB in which they stated that they have ignored requests to cease and desist.
And they were duly sued under the context of the laws. I never said that TPB was *RIGHT* in what they were doing. I was merely pointing out that record companies are purporting unjust actions, when they themselves are notorious for price gouging, putting bands in debt to the company, etc.
It goes both ways, Moto. That was my whole point. Two wrongs, don't make a right.
Yeah, and lets sue the people who build roads because they are responsible for people speeding :roll:
It was obvious my sarcasm was missed on you.
... over their property. I don't see why people have such a problem with that.
They typically do not *OWN* the songs, ie their "property". In fact, most record companies only have a *LICENSE* to resell and distribute. Most bands nowadays are smart enough to hold on to ownership of said songs. Some, however, such as the Beatles were not so lucky.....
How they spend their money is their business. The amount it costs compared to the amount they are awarded bears no relevance to the legality of TPB.
I never said it did. What I was saying is that record compaines are businesses in the business to make money. Plain and simple. If a band doesn't make money, they're dropped. Bands make money off of touring and merchandise sales, almost *NEVER* off of record sales. Note, few bands are raising an uproar over pirated music.
Record companies knew they would win, not because they were "right" (nor am I saying they were "wrong", either), but because they knew their pockets were deeper than the "forces" of TPB. Even if they lost, they have 28 appeals (something which is, in reality, atrocious that in of itself) to try again. They could spend millions or billions, if they chose. They don't care if it's tied up in litigation for years, 'cos they can just keep jacking up the prices to offset the lost. It's called commercialism.
Fine, and that's their decision. But for the ones who chose to sign a contract with a label, presumably they knew the cut they would get when they agreed to the contract, and they know the degree of ownership the label would have of the material. If they sign the rights over to the label, then the label is justified in seeking justice if the material is distributed illegally.
It's not that cut and dry, Moto. There's a lot of tricks that companies can pull in contracts to lessen the "cut" of the other party. They can claim that due to "gas prices increasing", a substantial amount of capital was lost in the manufacturing of CDs for the mass market, which drops the "cut" of the band, for example.
And they don't even have to give proof, as to "why"....
Yes, sometimes illegal activity goes unpunished.
Which, once again, returns to my point about how if you have money, you win court cases. If I'm suing you over something and I have a 100 million to spend and you have 10$, who do you think is going to win? Seriously.....
Or legal systems are no longer about blind justice. It's about who has the most money and who's hands are in who's pockets. If you've got the money, you can tie up litigation for years, until you find a judge who's sympathetic to your case, who will in turn, judge in favor of you. That's how the system works now.
I never said that TPB was right. My whole point was how frivilous the lawsuit was. These record companies will never get the money from the makers of TPB, 'cos they don't have it and quite frankly, will refuse to pay it. I don't agree with that, but at the same time, it doesn't matter if they do and the RIAA does, indeed, get TPB close, 'cos half a dozen other sites just like it will pop up.
Lastly, to all you ********who gave me *NEGATIVE* rep for and I'm quoting one of you, verbatim in toto:
" Rationalizing why it is okay to steal from some people does not make theft any less immoral."
I never *SAID* it was okay to steal from some people, *******! I was merely pointing out that this was just another example of corporations using money to exploit the legal system. The closest thing I even said to such a thing was relaying that Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails told his fans to pirate *HIS* music, feeling *THEY* were getting taken advantage of by the record companies. Never once in my posts did I ever say that it was "okay to use TPB to illegally download music you didn't pay for (sic)".
I know you're all thinking you're holier than thou, but you're not. Not a single person on this forum can say they haven't at least once pirated a game, software, music or anything for *ANY* type of computer system, console, etc and not be a hypocritical ******** and a liar.....
