Things dont look good for piratebay

[motorollin]

stefcep2 wrote:
C'mon guys we ALL know what that site is ALL about.  

And if they provide the hardware and advertise openly about it then they are actively facilitating the crime being executed.  Its got nothing to do with combating exploitation of the poor and civil freedoms being suppressed (or the freedom of the artists to keep the rewards of their music)

QFT.

It really irritates me when people drag up Orwell and start whinging about civil liberties when the individuals in questions were arrested for something WHICH IS ILLEGAL. If you actually read Orwell (and really read it properly), you will find that the society he described is not about prosecuting the guilty, it is about controlling the innocent. That's completely different to what's happening here.

Ok, nobody likes big record or film companies making millions, and nobody likes the fact that these industries are so commercialised that it's practically impossible for indies to be successful. But that doesn't change the fact that copyright theft is illegal.

Also, I fail to see how piracy helps artists to get a larger cut of CD sales, so don't really know why the big chunk taken by the label is used as justification for illegally distributing others' work.

--
moto

[motorollin]

Methuselas wrote:
*I* brought it up.

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.

Methuselas wrote:
Consequently, from a legal standpoint, they did nothing wrong. At most, they should have been issued a cease-and-desist from the parent companies.

ISTR seeing an interview with the founders of TPB in which they stated that they have ignored requests to cease and desist.

Methuselas wrote:
If the RIAA is going to sue them for millions, they'd better go after a) every ISP that's connected globally and b)CERN for creating the World Wide Web. After all, if they hadn't created it, in the first place, there would have been no Napster, WinMX, Limewire, PirateBay, and so many others.

Yeah, and lets sue the people who build roads because they are responsible for people speeding :roll:

Methuselas wrote:
Actually, what's happening here is a perfect example of absolute power and control.

... over their property. I don't see why people have such a problem with that.

Methuselas wrote:
The record companies would spend in excess of what they were "awarded" just to achieve "victory".

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.

Methuselas wrote:
No one has also tried to stop them. I work in the film/game industry. I've also worked in the music industry. Trust me, those execs are more concerned about their posh houses and having five cars in the driveway, etc., than "promoting" art.

Again, I don't see what relevance this has to the legality of TPB.

Methuselas wrote:
Indies *ARE* becoming successful, albeit slowly, 'cos bands are tired of dealing with record companies.

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.

But that doesn't change the fact that copyright theft is illegal.

So are Monopolies, but Microsoft is still around.[/quote]
Yes, sometimes illegal activity goes unpunished.

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moto