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When The Entertainment Industry Can't Legally Shut Down A Site It Doesn't Like, Bogus Charges Can Do The Trick
from the industry-bullies dept
Back in 2009, we wrote about how anti-piracy organization FACT worked closely with UK law enforcement to have the guy who operated Filesoup arrested. At the time, we noted that it wasn't at all clear what he was doing that was illegal, as the site was merely a forum. Though some people did, in fact, use that forum for the sake of infringement, that shouldn't implicate the forum host. And, in fact, after about a year and a half, the courts dropped the case, realizing that the arguments the industry kept feeding law enforcement didn't add up to anything illegal. The court noted that the charges never should have been brought in the first place. Of course, that's small comfort to the folks who ran the site and had to go through this ordeal. The site has announced that it's shutting down, and the arrests and lawsuits were a big part of what killed it.
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Maybe it's just me
I'll leave it up to the TechDirt community to come up with the meaning of BOGUS.
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Not entirely true, there have been may occasions where the labels stole their own content and simply blamed someone else.
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Re: Maybe it's just me
Organization
Going
Ultra
Syncophantic
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Re: Maybe it's just me
Old-timers
Getting
Useless
Somehow
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Re: Maybe it's just me
Uut
Government
Using
Subterfuge
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FACT?
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Of course it's difficult for a rank and file guy - but it's the easiest way for a corporation of reasonable size.
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Grossly Regulated And Naturally Devious.
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FACETIOUS
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Fuckwads Association of Cock Twads !
Your whole Entertainment Industry is Censored from my Money for life.No Theater, No Netflix, No digital Services that allow MAFIAA to get my money, and will only purchase a sed product.
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Why these big industries are in shoot first, ask question later?
don't like competition? then you guys might not like thinking new ways on attracting customers to you group, and knocking other smaller competitors out...
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If a commoner were to levy bogus charges against some fatcat outfit there would be repercussions.
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FACTLESS
/works for me
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( I was awesome at acrophobia, back in the day )
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Idle question
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Idle question
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To initiate and win at a malicious prosecution suit they would have to prove that the charges were laid for malicious purposes, which is easier said than done. Since FACT would state (as the police would too) that they were basing their 'facts' on what they understood at the time and for no nefarious purposes. Though if you could prove it by evidential means (whistleblowing, emails, etc) then the case would be an interesting one.
They might be able to prove Tortuous Interference though for any of these there is one glaringly obvious and real stumbling block. MONEY! It costs money to take a civil case to court or even to put paperwork together, and this is something Filesoup and it's principals do not currently have, unless some nice person would like to foot the bill for solicitors and barristers which do not come cheap.
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There's already the court ruling that says the arrest and all that followed shouldn't have happened which sets something of a precedent itself. Something that backs that up would be helpful if not entirely necessary.
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ICE T
They must be infringing on something!
Of course,they do control the ICE Machine.
Where's Anonymous when u need them?
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That didn't seem to be enough for the court, now, did it?
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Which is why I buy non-major-produced content, for the most part.
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Could you offer a link or tweet or something to back that up?
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Most of the major file locker sites, besides being a great place to keep your pirated goods, are also great places to keep your child porn and abuse videos. It's a business model that invites abuse.
Forums generally are just front ends for the affiliate programs of these file locker sites. Rip a DVD, put it up, spam every pirate movie forum, and collect a pay check when people pay to get access to your file.
Understanding what they do and how they operate is key to understanding why, if it isn't illegal, it should be.
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Even more than that, they were great ways to get legal content and for the people who produced it to get some cash at the same time. Yet, you seem intent on ignoring the many legitimate uses and double down on your idiocy by building strawmen and other crap (has any child porn been found on MU or Filesoup, for example? Citation please).
"Forums generally are just front ends for the affiliate programs of these file locker sites. Rip a DVD, put it up, spam every pirate movie forum, and collect a pay check when people pay to get access to your file."
What you've just described is exactly how legal content was advertised as well. But, you ignore independent artists so long as your corporations can shut down competition, we know that.
"Understanding what they do and how they operate is key to understanding why, if it isn't illegal, it should be."
If it's not illegal, then they should not be shut down or prosecuted unless the law is changed to make them illegal. Not only do you reject the idea of innocent until proven guilty that Western justice is based upon, you also seem to want to make up laws that can be applied at a whim to people who don't know they exist (because they don't). As ever, reality is this way over here, join us...
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Emphasis mine. Funnily, if there were child porn and abuse videos on said file lockers, I think there's been enough attempts at enforcement to even get at Usenet/TOR groups so if you're going to insist that file lockers have child porn and abuse videos and are completely untouchable, go ahead and make citations. Unless you're speaking from experience?
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You guys are AWESOME!
Brain-dead Old Guys Uselessly Suing
Buying Officials and Guilds then Uselessly Suing
Bitchy Old Guru's Underestimating Society
Bribing Officials Gets U SOPA
Benign Organization Going Ultra Syncophantic
Good stuff. Remember that it's this type of group effort that got Rick Santorum the infamous meaning for his last name.
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Her only chance for dying with any dignity would be to refuse to dig her own grave before they shot her in the back of the head...
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You do need to see a doctor though, your pills have run out.
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-Troll face
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Where's the accountability?
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