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The Internet

Submission + - P2P file sharing saves US $58 billion! (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "Two ploys used by vested-interest entertainment cartels to dominate the Net and turn it into an exclusive corporate pipeline are: P2P file sharing is responsible for "massive devastation" to the multi-billion-dollar movie and recording industries; and, P2P file sharing is a major contributor to organised crime. But maybe it's the other way around, suggests Australian economist Tom Koltai. P2P file sharing might, in fact, have lowered the crime rate, also saving the US an eye-popping $58,151,289,000."
Media

Submission + - Scientologists wearing yellow WWII Stars of David? (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "Scientology leader David Miscavige says he's "outraged". "Any and all CoS IP addresses are effectively banned on the Wikipedia, which in turn spells the end of the cult's use of it as a configurable propaganda and indoctrination engine," said p2pnet yesterday. Now, in the cult's Rant & Rave, Miscavige calls the ban a "despicable hate crime," and asks, "What's next, will Scientologists have to wear yellow, six-pointed stars on our clothing?" During World War II, Hitler forced Jewish men, women and children to wear a a yellow cloth star bearing the word Jude to brand them in the streets of Europe, and in the Nazi death camps."
Movies

Submission + - RIAA MediaSentry dead in US: alive in Australia (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "Disgraced and discredited 'private investigator' MediaSentry, fired by former patrons Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music and their RIAA, may be dead and buried in America, but it's alive and well, resurfacing in Australia where it's once again plying its trade, probably under new management. "I currently (but not for long) reside at a student dormitory ... in Brisbane, Australia, says a p2pnet reader, going on: Yesterday I got called into the Managers office because the network manager had been contacted by Mediasentry and emailed one of the generic copyright infringement emails as a result of me downloading Angels and Demons. Now instead of studying for my exams and working on my final assignments I must take time to find a place to live before the 29th of May (2009).""
Music

Submission + - RIAA victim Jammie Thomas gets a new lawyer! (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "Only days after learning Brian Toder, her previous legal representative, had decided discretion was the better part of valour, leaving her fend for herself against the RIAA, Jammie Thomas says another lawyer has come forward with an offer of pro bono help. He's K.A.D. Camara from Camara & Sibley in Houston, Texas, says Jammie. And, "He's the youngest person in history to graduate from Harvard Law school with honors," she points out. Nor will her trial — or, rather, her retrial — be delayed, as was expected. It'll now go forward in June 15, as slated. "I'm so happy !" — Jammie said. That didn't take long. :)"
Government

Submission + - Obama DoJ gets another RIAA lawyer (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "With RIAA enthusiast Joe Biden as vice president, the Obama administration has appointed yet another RIAA lawyer to the Department of Justice. The Legal Times blog says,"Jenner & Block partner Ian Gershengorn has been named deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division "with oversight of the Federal Programs Branch." At Jenner, Gershengorn worked with RIAA lawyers Donald Verrilli Jr and Thomas Perrelli, who are now at the DoJ. "As far as I know, Perrelli did not invent the RIAA's painfully wrongheaded approach of suing its own customers because it was conceived before he assumed his representation of the member companies in these cases," a senior copyright lawyer told p2pnet. "Instead, he stood forward as willing to commit the full resources of his law firm to implement that tactic — one that failed miserably in achieving its stated goals and that caused serious harm to many regular folks. The personal impact on the defendants of those attacks were predictable and intentional. It was an ugly business. Lawyers of his stature and skill know exactly what they are doing. These were not unintended consequences.Verrelli seriously mis-stated the RIAA and member company positions with respect to the duplication of masters for use on an iPOD in the Grokster argument and the court ultimately rejected his attempt to reshape and overturn the Sony decision.""
Music

Submission + - MediaDefender buys $20M MidiaSentry for $136,000 (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "SafeNet paid $20 million for MediaSentry in 2005, but has just sold it to rival MediaDefender for a paltry $136,000, with a promise of more later. MediaSentry's new owner says the combinbation will allow it to, "dramatically expand its effectiveness". Is it time for an official government inquiry into MediaSentry and the RIAA? A Chicago student said she was planning on killing herself because the RIAA promising her she'd land in court unless she paid almost $10,000 to 'settle' an alleged copyright infringement. She, "couldn't sleep, couldn't study, couldn't live a normal life because of the worry". The RIAA 'evidence' came from MediaSentry, accused of operating illegally."
Social Networks

Submission + - Facebook and The Pirate Bay: win-win for everyone? (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "The Pirate Bay now has a new feature — share with Facebook. Recording Industry vs The People fears this may ultimately unleash a new wave of RIAA lawsuits. Wired says the move could have "the possibly unintended side effect of increasing legitimate use of The Pirate Bay and the bit torrent protocol". p2pnet wonders if this could in fact represent a catalyst which could result in a win-win situation for everyone, Big 4 labels, social networking sites and music lovers alike?"
Security

Submission + - Pay us what you owe! - p2pnet tells McAfee: (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "'Security' company McAfee owes p2pnet a pile of money for using it to advertise SiteAdvisor without permission, and without paying for the privilege, says owner Jon Newton. And now it's had the further effrontery to hijack p2pnet to help promote the 'McAfee SECURE shopping' service which is "no more than a tacky come-on for shopping sites," he says. McAfee advisor/reviewer Dean states unequivocally: "This is no way that I can, in good conscience, recommend SiteAdvisor. Lately, the proliferation of green ratings for sites that distribute well-documented rogue software or obvious scams leave me no choice. It is downright dangerous to depend on SiteAdvisor's ratings.""
Music

Submission + - TechDirt's Masnick to Jim Griffin on WMG's Choruss (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "TechDirt's Mike Masnick writes the Warner Music Choruss licensing scheme amounts to a Bait-And-Switch operation. Not so, says Jim Griffin, the man charged to put it together. Masnick's story is "factually incorrect in every respect," he states. But, Griffin, "refused to name a single factual mistake," Masnick says, noting, "He fails to address the key problems that we outlined: 1. Why is this program even needed when plenty of musicians are coming up with business models that work today and don't need a new mandatory license (er... 'covenant not to sue') plan? 2. Why do we need a new bureaucracy and won't that divert funds? 3. Will the industry continue to try to shut down file sharing sites? 4. Will the industry continue to push a 3 strikes plan?"
Music

Submission + - RIAA victim's father on RIAA 'extortion' (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "Randy Kruger's 18-year-old daughter, Brittany, a junior at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, is an RIAA victim. Yesterday, "the RIAA's extortionate demand to settle a file-sharing threat for $7500.00 + or be sued in Federal Court in the Western District of Michigan," ran out, he writes in p2pnet. "I've heard that if you put a frog into a pan of boiling water, it will jump out immediately, but if you put the frog in and turn up the heat a little at a time, the frog will cook," he says. "I guess our politicians must like frog soup, because we are being served up (30,000 + servings at last count, and counting). Big Brother now has a role model.""
Music

Submission + - Will new RIAA tactic boost P2P file sharing? (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "The RIAA claim that it'll stop suing people may have serious consequences. For the RIAA. When it dropped its attack on seven University of Michigan students, Recording Industry vs The People wondered if the move was linked to three investigations, with MediaSentry as the target, before Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Now, "LSA sophomore Erin Breisacher said she stopped downloading music illegally after hearing about the possibility of receiving a lawsuit, but now that the RIAA has stopped pursuing lawsuits she 'might start downloading again'," says the Michigan Daily, going on to quote LSA senior Chad Nihranz, as saying,"I figure, if there aren't as many lawsuits they will come out with more software to allow students to download more.""
Music

Submission + - W Street Journal confirms RIAA fired MediaSentry (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "The Wall Street Journal has confirmed p2pnet's report that the RIAA has fired MediaSentry. MediaSentry has been, "invading the privacy of people," says Recording Industry vs The People's Ray Beckerman in the WSJ, and, "They've been doing very sloppy work". He cites MediaSentry's practice of, "looking for available songs in people's filesharing folders, uploading them, and using those uploads in court as evidence of copyright violations." MediaSentry, "couldn't prove defendants had shared their files with anyone other than MediaSentry investigators.""
Music

Submission + - P2P music downloads exceed paid ones by 10 to 1 (p2pnet.net)

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: ""The recession is not driving music lovers to piracy. Just away from their CD players," says Silicon Alley Insider, quoting the NPD Group. "The volume of legal music downloaded in Q3 increased 29% over the same period a year ago," it says, going on, "That beats the growth in illegal music downloads over peer-to-peer networks, which rose 23% y/y." However, "The <I>rate</I> of growth paid downloads is down dramatically from previous years, as one would expect," Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, told p2pnet, continuing, "Because the rate of growth is not really an instructive measure here. When paid downloads increase from ten songs sold to fifty, that's a 500% increase, but only 40 songs sold. Yet an increase from selling ten million songs to fifteen million songs is only a 50% increase — but five MILLION in new sales. Put another way, it is the volume of activity that makes for a real comparison, and in our estimation the volume of P2P music downloads exceeds the paid downloads more than ten to one. On the other hand, though, NPD's assessment of the growth rate in P2P far outpaces our own. We do not observe a 23% increase in P2P music downloads y-o-y. On the contrary, while there is significant growth in film, TV and elsewhere, music is relatively flat. Note the the growth rate of iTunes et al has slowed considerably and is expected to continue to do so.""

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