Mike Masnick, TechDirt; As Hollywood Insists Canada Is A Den Of Copyright Thieves, Movie Business Is Thriving:
"For years, Hollywood has pushed a totally ridiculous claim that Canada is somehow a den of copyright thieves, and it needs to make its copyright laws much more strict. This fantasy has worked on journalists and politicians, who insist that the movie industry is dying in Canada due to rampant piracy. Except someone forgot to inform the real world. An anonymous reader sends over the news that the owners of Cineplex in Canada are reporting record box office sales and revenue, even with the current economic downturn."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091110/1202446880.shtml
Showing posts with label movie industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie industry. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
60 Minutes Puts Forth Laughable, Factually Incorrect MPAA Propaganda On Movie Piracy; TechDirt, 11/2/09
Mike Masnick, TechDirt; 60 Minutes Puts Forth Laughable, Factually Incorrect MPAA Propaganda On Movie Piracy:
"31 years ago, in 1978, the television program 60 Minutes put on an episode about the awful threat of "video piracy" to the movie industry. Featuring the MPAA's Jack Valenti, the episode focused on how the VCR was going to destroy the movie business because anyone could copy and watch a movie in the privacy of their own home. Of course, in retrospect, that episode is hilariously wrong. You would think that, given how wrong they got it thirty years ago on this particular subject, 60 Minutes would be a bit more careful taking on the same subject again.
No such luck.
CBS's 60 Minutes has made itself out to be more of a laughingstock than usual when it comes to "investigative reporting," putting on an episode about "video piracy" that is basically 100% MPAA propaganda, without any fact checking or any attempt to challenge the (all MPAA connected) speakers, or to include anyone (anyone!) who would present a counterpoint. The episode is funny in that it contradicts itself at times (with no one noticing it) and gets important (and easily checked) facts wrong. And, of course, it basically mimics that old episode that history has shown to have been totally (laughably) false."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091101/1818186751.shtml
"31 years ago, in 1978, the television program 60 Minutes put on an episode about the awful threat of "video piracy" to the movie industry. Featuring the MPAA's Jack Valenti, the episode focused on how the VCR was going to destroy the movie business because anyone could copy and watch a movie in the privacy of their own home. Of course, in retrospect, that episode is hilariously wrong. You would think that, given how wrong they got it thirty years ago on this particular subject, 60 Minutes would be a bit more careful taking on the same subject again.
No such luck.
CBS's 60 Minutes has made itself out to be more of a laughingstock than usual when it comes to "investigative reporting," putting on an episode about "video piracy" that is basically 100% MPAA propaganda, without any fact checking or any attempt to challenge the (all MPAA connected) speakers, or to include anyone (anyone!) who would present a counterpoint. The episode is funny in that it contradicts itself at times (with no one noticing it) and gets important (and easily checked) facts wrong. And, of course, it basically mimics that old episode that history has shown to have been totally (laughably) false."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091101/1818186751.shtml
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Internet Hating Sony Pictures CEO Insists Piracy Is Killing Movie Business; But Facts Show Otherwise; TechDirt, 10/28/09
Mike Masnick, TechDirt; Internet Hating Sony Pictures CEO Insists Piracy Is Killing Movie Business; But Facts Show Otherwise:
"Ah, remember Michael Lynton? The Sony Pictures CEO who earlier this year insisted that nothing good had come from the internet at all. When everyone started mocking him for this statement, rather than back off, he doubled down and insisted it was true, using examples that were easily debunked. Apparently, he hasn't learned his lesson. He's back at it, pushing for the UK (and others) to pass laws kicking people off the internet (so-called "three strikes" laws) while insisting that due to piracy there's less money to make movies and fewer movies being made. Of course, those are things that can be fact checked, and the folks over at TorrentFreak did exactly that, pointing out that more movies are coming out each year and more money is being made. Oops."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091027/1255556697.shtml
"Ah, remember Michael Lynton? The Sony Pictures CEO who earlier this year insisted that nothing good had come from the internet at all. When everyone started mocking him for this statement, rather than back off, he doubled down and insisted it was true, using examples that were easily debunked. Apparently, he hasn't learned his lesson. He's back at it, pushing for the UK (and others) to pass laws kicking people off the internet (so-called "three strikes" laws) while insisting that due to piracy there's less money to make movies and fewer movies being made. Of course, those are things that can be fact checked, and the folks over at TorrentFreak did exactly that, pointing out that more movies are coming out each year and more money is being made. Oops."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091027/1255556697.shtml
Friday, April 17, 2009
Court jails Pirate Bay founders; Via BBC News, 4/17/09
Via BBC News; Court jails Pirate Bay founders:
"Speaking on Swedish Radio, assistant judge Klarius explained how the court reached its findings.
The court first tried whether there was any question of breach of copyright by the file-sharing application and that has been proved, that the offence was committed.
"The court then moved on to look at those who acted as a team to operate the Pirate Bay file-sharing service, and the court found that they knew that material which was protected by copyright but continued to operate the service," he said."...
Rickard Falkvinge, leader of The Pirate Party - which is trying to reform laws around copyright and patents in the digital age - told the BBC that the verdict was "a gross injustice".
"This wasn't a criminal trial, it was a political trial. It is just gross beyond description that you can jail four people for providing infrastructure.
"There is a lot of anger in Sweden right now. File-sharing is an institution here and while I can't encourage people to break copyright law, I'm not following it and I don't agree with it.
"Today's events make file-sharing a hot political issue and we're going to take this to the European Parliament."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8003799.stm
"Speaking on Swedish Radio, assistant judge Klarius explained how the court reached its findings.
The court first tried whether there was any question of breach of copyright by the file-sharing application and that has been proved, that the offence was committed.
"The court then moved on to look at those who acted as a team to operate the Pirate Bay file-sharing service, and the court found that they knew that material which was protected by copyright but continued to operate the service," he said."...
Rickard Falkvinge, leader of The Pirate Party - which is trying to reform laws around copyright and patents in the digital age - told the BBC that the verdict was "a gross injustice".
"This wasn't a criminal trial, it was a political trial. It is just gross beyond description that you can jail four people for providing infrastructure.
"There is a lot of anger in Sweden right now. File-sharing is an institution here and while I can't encourage people to break copyright law, I'm not following it and I don't agree with it.
"Today's events make file-sharing a hot political issue and we're going to take this to the European Parliament."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8003799.stm
File-Sharing Site Violated Copyright, Court Says; The New York Times, 4/17/09
The New York Times; File-Sharing Site Violated Copyright, Court Says:
A court in Sweden on Friday convicted four men linked to the notorious Internet file-sharing service The Pirate Bay of violating copyright law, handing the music and movie industries a high-profile victory in their campaign to curb online piracy...
Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research, said the decision Friday would not result in a “meaningful” decrease in piracy. Internet users are turning to new ways to share music, including streaming and messaging services, which are harder for copyright owners and enforcement officials to detect than downloads.
But he said the ruling was “good p.r.” for the music and movie industries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/world/europe/18copy.html
A court in Sweden on Friday convicted four men linked to the notorious Internet file-sharing service The Pirate Bay of violating copyright law, handing the music and movie industries a high-profile victory in their campaign to curb online piracy...
Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research, said the decision Friday would not result in a “meaningful” decrease in piracy. Internet users are turning to new ways to share music, including streaming and messaging services, which are harder for copyright owners and enforcement officials to detect than downloads.
But he said the ruling was “good p.r.” for the music and movie industries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/world/europe/18copy.html
The Pirate Bay on the politics of copyright, Globe and Mail, 4/17/09
Via Globe and Mail; The Pirate Bay on the politics of copyright:
"Earlier Friday morning a Swedish judge found four men connected with the popular file sharing site The Pirate Bay guilty of contributing to copyright violations.
Already online observers are calling the decsision a monumental shift in the battle over copyright protection.
The landmark decision has each of the four men facing a year in jail and collective fines of $3.6-million (U.S.).
The Pirate Bay is a sort of underground Google for downloadable media files, where users can seach for and look up music, movies and tv shows to download using a file sharing technology known as BitTorrent. The music and movie industries say that most of the files the Pirate Bay links to infringe on copyrights and have made the site Enemy No. 1 in their fight against piracy.
Pirate Bay has more than 22 million users worldwide on an average day, its tracking system has been accessed more than 4 billion times and some experts believe that the site accounts for as much as two thirds of the world's torrent files. "
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090417.wgtpiratebaypodcast0417/BNStory/Technology/home
"Earlier Friday morning a Swedish judge found four men connected with the popular file sharing site The Pirate Bay guilty of contributing to copyright violations.
Already online observers are calling the decsision a monumental shift in the battle over copyright protection.
The landmark decision has each of the four men facing a year in jail and collective fines of $3.6-million (U.S.).
The Pirate Bay is a sort of underground Google for downloadable media files, where users can seach for and look up music, movies and tv shows to download using a file sharing technology known as BitTorrent. The music and movie industries say that most of the files the Pirate Bay links to infringe on copyrights and have made the site Enemy No. 1 in their fight against piracy.
Pirate Bay has more than 22 million users worldwide on an average day, its tracking system has been accessed more than 4 billion times and some experts believe that the site accounts for as much as two thirds of the world's torrent files. "
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090417.wgtpiratebaypodcast0417/BNStory/Technology/home
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