Citizens, not babies

Ron Duplantis calls opponents of Berman's P2P bill: "A bunch of crybabies!"
I'd like one of the cry babies who responded here to answer a
couple of questions for me:

1. Do they think that "sharing" copyrighted materials without compensating
the authors -- as defined under all laws including fair use ones -- should
be illegal? Don't play word games, you know what I mean: if under present
law, a copyright holder wishes to be compensated for each copy of his work,
should the "sharing" of such a work with someone who does not compensate
the author constitute an illegal act by BOTH the sharer and the sharee? Put
even another way, if a rock group releases a new CD, you alone buy it, and
you "share" it with the world (without compensating the rock group), should
any of those actions be considered illegal? If the answer is no, ignore
question #2 and feel free to continue to believe in an anarchical world
that will never exist.

Yes, this not only should be illegal, it is. However, rather than try to prosecute those doing this under extant law, (no cases have been brought that I am aware of - correct me if I'm wrong) the publishers' lobby is trying to pass a new law to give them a way round due process and the presumption of innocence. The RIAA/Verizon case is another example of trying to avoid the trouble of preparing a case and convincing a judge by going after the ISP.

That a Bill should need an FAQ many times longer than the original describing its intentions is a pretty good indication that the original is poorly drafted.

2. Technologically-speaking, how would you suggest that those copyright
holders stop the illegal "sharing" of their work? As the saying goes, "It's
always easier to be an editor than a writer." If you don't like the
side-effects of Berman's bill, propose something yourself.


I would suggest they prosecute individuals whom they can prove to a court are causing significant losses - settling these kinds of things is what courts are for.

I would also suggest that instead of trying to disinvent the open internet, they adopt a model that gives a financial incentive for people who promote sales of their works via internet sharing - it would be significantly cheaper to do this than the sums they sink into semi-legal payola for radio airplay.

Details at mediAgora