Australian ISP Refuses to Play Copyright Babysitter > Ridiculous...

Ridiculous...

reply to rradina

reply to rradina
UPS and Fedex are not required to do that. If a box breaks open and a bunch of grenades fall out then yes they will notify authorities(in part because such a shipment is against their own regs). However stuff with in the US if the box is not broken they will not just open it to take a peek.

Naturally sometimes boxes did break open but even then the people at the building did not care about the contents.(after all when you have 7 doors unloading full bore into the sort and you have to get the delivery trucks out by 8:30am you aint going to care about a few boxes of fake DVDs.)
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

reply to rradina
Not on movies etc files but the USPS has the power to open and inspect ANY piece of mail or package they carry so they can easily go the next step and actually review what is sent. FEDEX and UPS won't ship wine ands spirits and face massive fines and felony charges if they do. The United States is being crushed by Corporate interests. It's just a matter of time!

reply to bobjohnson
So they x-ray packages to discover illegally scanned copies of books, thumb-drives that contain an illegal copy of an MP3 library or an illegal copy of a DVD that someone just mailed to a dozen friends?

No, but they are obligated to report illegal shipments as you asked in your OP.

How do they determine "illegal" and how does that translate to what's being asked of ISPs?

reply to rradina
Eh, sorta. I think they might check for explosives and stuff, but not sure. As far as snooping in every package to check for copyrighted material, I doubt it.

reply to rradina

reply to bobjohnson
You misunderstand me. I agree with it being illegal but you didn't answer how the mail system, UPS or Fedex determines what's illegal and how ISPs should likewise police what they "ship".

I understand what you are saying but the two things aren't on the same level though... If you ship whatever has been determined illegal by laws that are already in place against possession of said items (bombs, drugs, moonshine, certain guns, etc.) through any of these services and you put a return address on them, expect a visit from your local federales. If you are sending stolen and or otherwise illegal stuff over the internet and your leaving your ip address all over it... Well, that's where it gets sketchy. They are just making up the rules as they go on this issue. Obviously the ISP shouldn't ignore any legitimate request for information and most of them already have a copyright office but are not using them against their own customers. But if people weren't violating copyright law the trolls wouldn't be on the fishing expedition in the first place.
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I have a feeling you have never worked in the business.

UPS has no way to know what is in a package outside of what they are told. They do not randomly open boxes that are not crossing national boarders. If you ship an AK-47(the fully auto and clearly illegal variety) from PA to FL and its packed properly? UPS will never know. Even if the box did break I can tell you that nobody at the sort would know an illegal one from a legal semi-auto replica.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

reply to bobjohnson