RIAA, MPAA Pushing Two New Controversial Bills > Ain't any different from any government form of protection.

said by Metatron2008:

Why are you so scared of the government stepping in to stop thieves? This happens for just about anything.

This is the governments job, and it was never you right to steal from people.

said by Metatron2008:

Why are you so scared of the government stepping in to stop thieves? This happens for just about anything.

This is the governments job, and it was never you right to steal from people.

said by ReVeLaTeD:

I disagree with TRUE piracy: Mass copying a CD and selling it out of your trunk, basically somehow making a profit off of work not your own. That, I believe should be punishable.

HOWEVER...

This is a civil matter. The real problem is the presumed loss of profit. That's civil. There should be NO criminal penalties to this, and the government should have nothing to do with it.

It's really not hard:

- Force the RIAA/MPAA to follow procedure. They must have a warrant to do any searching. They must subpoena records. They must have 100% incontrovertible proof that the person they say infringed, did.

- Clearly define the law. Downloading stuff that's available should not be punishable; I don't know it's pirated or not, it's just flotsam out in cyberspace. Uploading stuff should only be punishable based on the above: 100% incontrovertible proof that the items uploaded were infringed, and not backed up under fair use law. Additionally, they have to make sure that the item is what it's named to be. I could name something "Dark Knight 1080p.wmv" but in reality it's a news article about Hurricane Ike (which is protected under fair use). If they can't prove the claimed item is what it says it is, they can't pursue anything.

- Hold the RIAA/MPAA accountable for the same standards they would try to employ. If they have to download "infringing" things to prove guilt, that means they are also guilty of the same crime, and it should be thrown out and sanctioned.

- When a solid case is presented and validated by a judge, make the punishment fit the crime. No jail time. No exorbitant amounts. $1/song is all they get, because that's what the standard rate is per song. You can't say "well 10,000 people downloaded it!!" because out of that 10,000, 9,999 might have actually bought the CD, nullifying the piracy. Of course RIAA wouldn't know that, therefore the only money they can reasonably ask for is that which they logically lost; the $1 that the sharer didn't pay. I'd even be fine with maybe a $500-$1,000 penalty to the state for breaking the law.

- Sanction the RIAA/MPAA if and when they bring frivolous suits in front of a judge. Things like dead people, grandmas, and wrong address. They should be heavily sanctioned for those to force them to follow the letter of the law.

- Disallow any government, telco, or state level official from involving themselves in these matters. It's a RIAA/MPAA civil suit, that's all. None of this "telco will report you" crap. That's not their job; their job is to provide a service. It's the user's responsibility to follow the law and not the telco's responsibility to enforce it. Like on Law and Order, you can't go after gun manufacturers just because someone modifies a gun to kill 15 people. Go after the killer, not the gun maker.