said by MyDogHsFleas :

Seems like faulty logic to me.

"Sir, we are going to let the guy go who ransacked your house and stole all your stuff, because you didn't lock your back window. This is definitely your fault. Why did you even threaten him with prosecution? You have no right. In fact, we are going to release the information about your back window on the Internet, and make sarcastic remarks about how stupid you are."

said by RayW :

Actually, your logic is more faulty. It is more like you left your full size, floor to ceiling, wall to wall picture window drapes open and then got upset because everyone standing on the street or side walk (and not on your lawn) saw you undressed doing actions of dubious morality with another guy for a blue film and they are not buying your film.

In your example you have nothing left, in the other you still have what you started with and the option to close the drapes and continue on with your business.

If you chose not to shut the drapes but instead to sue all the onlookers for staring at you from the public access areas, then I wonder how far you would get?

said by MyDogHsFleas :

I'd say your analogy could stand a little tweaking. What it's really like is if I had the big drapes closed, but around the side of the house, there was an unmarked button. If you tried pushing the button, you'd find it opened the drapes and you could see what was going on. Then I came out and yelled at you for opening the drapes. Your defense is, "But the button is right over there! All I have to do is push it! If you didn't want your drapes open, you should have protected your button!" And then you wrote a story for the local paper telling people where the button is and how to press it.

But I really don't, because you've copied my blue film and posted it on the Internet. Where is my business now?

The thing you and others are missing is that the video streams are not really on public display. If someone goes through the front door of the mobitv site, there is no link that says "Hey! Click here and get it for free!" Instead, there's a signup process by which you are given access.

To bypass it, you have to know (a) the URL of a file and (b) how to download that file, save it, examine its contents, and copy/paste the imbedded URLs into a Web browser. We, as techno-elite people, know how to do those steps easily. I guarantee you that at least half of the people on the Internet would, given the URL, fail to download the file, examine it, and then view the videos. Additionally, the URL to the file is not obvious by any means. Someone figured it out and posted it.

said by jgilm :

I think all of the analogies have gotten way out of hand. The concept is rather simple.

Try to prosecuting HoFo for free speech is the issue. HoFo did not steal or infringe copyright on anything. The unprotected URL is a fact, which cannot be copyrighted.

I cannot copyright the fact that I place a spare key to my house under the big rock by the door. Neither can I expect to win at law against a person if they place signs around my neighborhood that tells where I put a spare key.

Regardless of the type of protection, it is not illegal to tell people a fact about the protection

It is illegal to do with someone elses "property" that which they do not want to have happen. HoFo did not do anything with anyone's property, just as the person that tells others where I put my spare key. If a person uses my spare key to enter my house, then they would be violating the law, just as if someone used the link to view TV streams that were not free.

Going after HoFo is stupid just for this reason alone. They cannot possibly win at law.

said by MyDogHsFleas :

I'd say your analogy could stand a little tweaking. What it's really like is if I had the big drapes closed, but around the side of the house, there was an unmarked button. If you tried pushing the button, you'd find it opened the drapes and you could see what was going on. Then I came out and yelled at you for opening the drapes. Your defense is, "But the button is right over there! All I have to do is push it! If you didn't want your drapes open, you should have protected your button!" And then you wrote a story for the local paper telling people where the button is and how to press it.