Interesting article:

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020919.html

Key quotes:

"'We have 100 percent coverage of peer-to-peer file sharing,' Ishikawa claims. 'If you are illegally sharing copyrighted materials, we know who you are.'"

"'There are people on the Net offering 50,000 to 60,000 files at a time for sharing. These people will get busted for sure.'"

"According to Ishikawa, we'll see major arrests in October of people who have been illegally (and flagrantly) sharing movies. With the evidence already gathered, the game is afoot, meaning this week is too late to stop sharing those movies and expect to get away with it. This might be a good time to get a lawyer."


...

This is the most ludicrous thing. You can rent pristene quality DVDs from Blockbuster for $3.50!! For some reason they are cracking down on predominantly cruddy-quality, or gigantic files that are extremely difficult to transfer. Are they going to come after me for taping movies off HBO next? Network TV? What if I leave the adds in?

Are they really losing money off "Attack of the Clones," "Lord of the Rings," "American Pie 2," and "Coyote Ugly" due to filesharing? What's more, are filesharers making money from sharing? GIVE ME A BREAK.

Until consumers have 30 foot screens in their homes, what is the problem??

Despite "letter of the law" issues, the reality is these are multi-million dollar PROFIT movies (well, except for Coyote Ugly perhaps), and the studios want more. They are, in effect, shaking down their customers for quarters.

Here's another quote:

"BayTSP is paid anywhere from $200 to $50,000 per month by owners of intellectual property -- primarily software companies, movie studios, and record companies -- to find who is illegally copying, distributing, or helping to distribute without permission their intellectual property."

Which industries are paying that $50,000 per month do you think?

Music sharing may be another issue, but SHUT UP HOLLYWOOD!


I say, boycott the next horrible, hyped up blockbuster. Seriously.

Gratis