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| 7:16pm EDT, Thu Sep 2 |
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Music Exec Takes Shots at Pirate Bay
By:
The Online Reporter
Publish Date: February 27, 2009
Complete articles are posted three weeks after they have been sent to subscribers. To request a copy of the current edition, e-mail paperboy@riderresearch.com .
| - IFPI Hacked as Pirate Bay Trial Continues
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has
begun making its case in its lawsuit against The Pirate Bay (TPB),
focusing mainly on whether the file-sharing site encouraged users to
make more purchases or deterred them from making any.
Both sides found studies to support their positions, with TPB saying
that sharing music illegally encourages music lovers, while the IFPI
was adamant that it cuts into legal music sales.
John Kennedy, head of the IFPI, pointed to five studies that showed a
correlation between falling sales and unauthorized file-sharing,
while also mentioning one that went against this analysis. Kennedy
went through some of the main complaints about file-sharing in
general, but pointed the blame pretty directly at TPB.
Kennedy said the music industry has lost more than 30% of sales since
2001, when illegal downloading took off, and said that TPB was the
number-one source of illegal music after the legal action against
Kazaa and Grokster. According to Kennedy, illegal Internet downloads
caused industry sales to fall from $27 billion in 2001 to $18 billion
in 2008.
“Over a period of time, piracy has done immense damage to the music
industry,” The Times quoted Kennedy as saying. “It is common sense,
if they couldn’t get it for free they would buy it and when we ask
them, they confirm that.”
Problems So Far
The lack of hard facts about TPB Web site has been the biggest hurdle
for the prosecution so far. It has already dropped half the charges,
and even Kennedy admitted to not fully understanding the technology
involved in the site.
There has yet to be a significant explanation of how the site works
and how it infringes on copyright laws. TPB says it does not violate
laws since the site doesn’t host content; it merely points users to
other users who do the actual hosting.
Kennedy told the Associated Press that the defendants were “hiding”
behind the torrent technology and that the site still contributes to
making the content available to others.
“I want Pirate Bay to close down,” he said. “I want some compensation
and I want it to be clear people cannot steal other people’s property
without there being consequences.”
The Web site for record label group IFPI was hacked last week with
the hackers leaving a message on the site that condemned the IFPI’s
involvement in the case against the file-sharing site The Pirate Bay
.
“The ruthless hunt conducted by the IFPI, Anti-Piracy Office, Warner
Bros., and all the other companies with a pawn in the game now
resulted in a trial in which four innocent men are accused of
copyright infringement. This is a declaration of war against anti-
piracy outfits and the industry players behind them,” read the note
left by hackers, according to Billboard.
The IFPI has confirmed an attack but has denied being hacked.
The Pirate Bay’s Peter Sunde urged supporters not to do anything like
this again, saying that “If anyone involved in the acts going on is
reading this — please stop, for our sake.”
“We do not need that kind of support,” said Sunde. “The hacking can
only reflect badly on us and if you want to help us, please stop with
the attacks.”
The attack came on the fourth day of the proceedings. Issues raised
on that day involved operators and their ties with outside operators
and how they dealt with some specific inappropriate content if found
on the network.
The four defendants in the case face up to two years in prison and a
fine if convicted, as well as claims of compensation and damages of
around $14.3 million from the music and film industries. Plaintiffs
in this case include Warner Bros., MGM, 20th Century Fox Films, Sony
Music, EMI and Universal.
New Zealand Delays Controversial Copyright Law
The New Zealand government has announced it will delay implementation
of a divisive new copyright law that was supposed to go into effect
this week.
Prime Minister John Key told a press conference that the
implementation date of the law would be pushed back to March 27 in
hopes that the industry can develop a workable set of rules for
practice and standards.
“If one could not be agreed then the section in question would be
suspended,” Key said.
The Copyright Amendment Act, specifically Section 92A, requires ISPs
to disconnect users who are accused of illegally downloading
copyrighted content. Protesters are saying this would remove the
access of users and cause the removal of Web sites that are only
accused — not convicted — of committing copyright violations.
Last week the government received a petition signed online by more
than 10,000 people against Section 92A, delivered by about 200
protesters at the Parliament building. This was followed by an
Internet blackout last Monday as a protest by the online community.
Thousands of sites ranging from blogs to news organizations took part
in the blackout.
Commerce Minister Simon Power has responded to the backlash by saying
a code of practice is being developed by the Internet community to
address how to appropriately implement the law.
There has been no word yet of how the code is coming but it could
swing either way. Some countries are implementing a “three-strikes”
policy while others are shying away from cutting off Internet access.
The world is taking a variety of approaches to this complex issue,
and it will be a while before any nation knows how well its system is
working to curb piracy and help the affected industries.
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