Steal This Film August 29, 2006
In 2006, a group of friends decided to make a film about file sharing that they would recognize, and they did just that! In part 1 of this series Stockholm, Summer 2006 (link to torrent) the film documents the raid on the popular torrent sharing web site Pirate Bay. The MPAA somehow got the US to pressure the Swedish government with trade sanctions if the Swedes didn’t break their own laws in the process of taking the site down (BB post with more).
From the site,
“We wanted to make a film that would explore this huge popular movement in a way that excited us, engaged us, and most importantly, focused on what we know to be the positive and optimistic vision many file sharers and artists (they are often one) have for the future of creativity”
One of my favorite parts of the video is a clip with actor Richard Dreyfuss who says (time index ~23:25)
“I think that the laws going to be re-writen as the technology insists that it is. It’s not a question of right or wrong anymore. People will do what they want to do in order to get what they want….whats the line about.. ‘behind every great fortune lies a great crime’. So, the guy’s who started this business cheated somebody to get there and so now they are being cheated perhaps.“
This really is a fantastic documentary and a slice of our digital culture. Go steal it and see for your self!
Free Download 8, Don’t Download This Song! August 22, 2006
Weird Al has released a song about file sharing entitled “Don’t Download this song” (thanks BoingBoing!). You can download it from his MySpace page or from www.dontdownloadthissong.comtracks/DDTS.mp3 when the server recovers from the millions of pirates trying to download it.
The lyrics are a hoot,
“You don’t want to mess with the RI-double-A
They’ll sue you if you burn that CDR
It doesn’t matter if you’re a grandma
Or a seven year old girl
They’ll treat you like
the evil hard-bitten criminal you are…”
and
“…don’t download this song
or you’ll burn in hell
(and you deserve it)…”
It’s good to see artist’s standing up for what they believe in.
The Contrarians, Should copyright be abolished? August 13, 2006
Michael Geist was one of the people interviewed on this cool CBC Radio show, The Contrarians (link to mp3).
from the CBC website
“The Contrarians is a radio show about unpopular ideas that just might be right. Each week, host Jesse Brown invites listeners to step outside of their intellectual comfort zones and try an unorthodox opinion on for size. You may be surprised by what starts making sense.”
Jesse Brown explores problems with current copyright law through examples and insightful interviews. I love the quote below (from time 22:05), but it occurred to me that this wonderful utopian library of the future already exists for millions of people (more…)
RIAA gives children of dead defendant 60 days to grieve August 12, 2006
One of the many thousands of people being sued by the RIAA, Larry Scantlebury, passed away before the case was resolved. So the RIAA is graciously giving the family 60 days to grieve before they depose Mr. Scantlebury’s children. From the Warner Bros. v. Scantlebury motion filed August 8 in Michigan
“3. Plaintiffs do not believe it appropriate to discuss a resolution of the case with the family so close to Mr. Scantlebury’s passing. Plaintiffs therefore request a stay of 60 days to allow the family additional time to grieve.”
Thanks to Recording Industry vs The People for reporting this story.
Update:
The RIAA has dropped the suit out of “an abundance of sensitivity“. Isn’t that special.
