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26 Jan 2006
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has been accused of breaking its own rules and making illegal copies of a film.
The claims, which came to light at the Sundance Film Festival, centre on a movie called This Film Is Not Yet Rated.
The film examines the role of the MPAA in deciding classifications for films containing scenes of sex and violence, and investigates whether it treats independent films unfairly.
Kirby Dick, the film's maker, submitted the film in November and said that the MPAA's lawyer admitted to copying the DVD. He has now filed a suit to recover all copies of the film and to determine who ordered the illegal actions.
Kori Bernards, the MPAA's vice president for corporate communications, told the Los Angeles Times: "We made a copy of Kirby's movie because it had implications for our employees."
Bernards also claimed that Dick spied on members of the MPAA's Classification and Rating Administration, including going through their dustbins and following them as they drove their children to school.
"We were concerned about the raters and their families," she said, adding that the MPAA's copy of This Film Is Not Yet Rated is "locked away" and is not being copied or distributed.
But this action appears to run against the official line on the organisation's website which states: "Piracy is a serious federal offence. There are several forms of piracy including internet piracy, DVD copying, illegal sales and theatrical camcording. All forms of piracy are illegal and carry serious legal consequences."
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Do you agree?
the reason why the mpaa and riaa will fail.
the mpaa is actually going to try and sue and stop every file server you have ever been on unless we act upon this read this please. "In addition to shutting down tracker sites, The mppa sued to obtain the server records of the sites they shut down. One site, LokiTorrent was forced by a Dallas court to turn over its logs, which could be used to single out individuals sharing copyrighted materials" this was taken from a info site and means to us that they are trying to stop the ppl from sharing media of any type, movies and music. now I'm not shure about some, but the minority is not downloading and buying files from stores to make any more money for the motion picture co's but we are rather downloading things and not even buying anything anymore, cause well it's free media, and the information protection act is our reason for freedom, if they have indeed been prosecuting over 81 millions individuals for illegal download and distribution, then that translates to over half the country sharing files that they borrowed from a friend or downloaded off a server, this is to you, that they are trying very hard to shut down servers and have shut down torrent servers that send the files out to you, or rather locate the files on a given network. hopefully those with the power and ability will see how they are trying to gain control over the internet and those prosecuted are losing their rights all because they clicked on a movie they wanted to watch that they probably had bought anyway but lost or gave away, this is a huge problem. if they take away our files, then search engions will probably be next, hence why i posted to this tread. i hope the mpaa and riaa are not trying to cause anything this magnitude, but it would seem like theirs alot of ppl who will not take this laying down, i rely on free media to know how to handle problems and also help others. and this media is going to be blocked soon, very soon, isp's are being forced to hand over log files of all traffic on each users they have an account with so they can trace the file servers to you, and arrest you, this goes without saying, a major problem for our future. so what do you tell the people who download files and copy things so they don't lose the original ones? and the ppl who like to borrow and copy friends things cause they bought other movies and see no reason so support such a sh**y film in the first place. theirs reason for everything.and if we allow the mpaa and others to ban digital media then they are pretty much able to control the web, already claims of over 81 million ppl are either arrested or fined for their files, and this is so much more then wrong, they are a rating system nothing more, heck most of us never pay any attention to them other then adult of child content. they are against programmers and against the gnu and other co's who feel the web is a free community of information and is justified by the payment of your monthly service fee to your isp. the information act support us at this time, but mpaa and others are trying to get new federal laws passed so it dose indeed become a serious crime to copy or download files off the web or physically. (prey they do not win) or the internet will start to be come censored and controlled and this is not the way it should or will be, imagine the ethical hackers, programmers, engineers and system developers who work hard to make your systems work for all kinds of media free media, and they wanna take it away from you. if the whole world said we are sick of worrying about the riaa and the mpaa then we would be able to just ignore them and they would never ne able to even arrest the world nor the 35billion who ignore their existence at all, so you continue to share and help others who need it and they will help you, if you like a movie or software please do buy it if it;s what you want, but do don;lt buy a car use it hate it and say i want to end my contract lol, so why buy anything without a trial period anymore anyways the web is a free world, get anything off it and use it but always buy when you feel it is good or the programmers and developers will not be able to make anything without a little money :P thats my take thanks for listening to my post.
Posted by: laseramp 21 Jan 2007
mmm... how ironic
made me laugh, nice one
Posted by: cez 19 Apr 2006
Irritating DVD Piracy Message Drives Consumers to Bootleg Market
It's all getting very confusing... who are actually the pirates here? At the Irony Party of Australia's electronic pamphlet, there's an article on the effect of DVD warnings against piracy from the entertainment multinationals ... Irritating DVD Piracy Message Drives Consumers to Bootleg Market at http://www.ironyparty.org/newsfeed.htm#103906
Posted by: david 06 Apr 2006
meh
Alas, the lawyer that made the copy did not own the movie hence he can not make a backup of the movie, so what he did is illegal, the theft of intellectual ideas, which is not covered in the law.... so again since the lawyer did not own it, which neither does MPAA they cannot make copies of it, it would be the same as going to Blockbuster, renting a movie and copying it, except you actually paid to view it at blockbuster.
Posted by: theYeLloWcLoCk 04 Feb 2006
ATTN MR. F**kmEiN@$$H0L?
You are a moron. Thank you for reading.
Posted by: Yeah. 04 Feb 2006
Because this is what America worries about
In response to "WTF".. It wasn't their movie to copy now was it? They distributed that copy to themselves. Nothing of it was owned by them and the owner didn't even consent, not that that matters. If they set guidelines for us, they might as well set the example. I completely agree with Daniel. Maybe if there were better movies out there, people would buy them. And those that don't buy any movies whatsoever don't even count. What does it matter if they copy the movie if they had no intention of buying it? Same goes with music. Many will NOT buy cds, even if they like the artist. But could it not be a form of publicity if those who pirate share the music to others who may not have known it had the other shown it to them? And who's to say that the newly introduced person wouldnt go out and buy the CD? I'm not trying to justify it, some people are just plain cheap or poor, but there are much better things to be worrying about than pirating. All in all though, I think they have a right to be sued and pay the fines for which they threaten us with.
Posted by: Amber 04 Feb 2006
gooooo Dick!!
I hope all people sued in feature use the MPAAs excuse.
Posted by: goodbyemrsaddam 03 Feb 2006
I guess its okay
Well then, it's settled. It is okay to make 1 copy for personal and private use. As long as it's "locked away."
Posted by: Sliccie 03 Feb 2006
Weak
The reason WHY they broke the law by making illegal copies of the DVD has no relevance. What's worse is the part where they say that they did something illegal because they were "concerned" about their employees being *legally* followed around. Claiming that they were "spying" on the employees (and implying that it justifies illegal actions) clearly denotes a lack of legal understanding. They need to get Stallone to be their spokesperson and just tell the press constantly in Judge Dredd style: "I am the law." In fact, he can just represent the MPAA, RIAA, and FCC.
Posted by: Jay Mezz 02 Feb 2006
The opposite side...
I for one would prefer that the MPAA does not go to jail or have to pay any fines under their statement about if it is in a person or company's best interest to make a single copy for personal/private use. The reason being is because if they can say that and get out of jail time and/or fines, than using that court case as a reference, we, the public, would also no longer have to worry about fines and jail time for doing the same thing.
Posted by: Just someone 02 Feb 2006
WTF?!!
thats F**kin retarded that they are being sued for that! its not like they were passing out copies of the movie! P.S. for stupid people out there in case u did not know this, COPYING MOVIES/MUSIC IS NOT ILLEGAL IF ITS FOR BACKING UP YOUR COPY OF IT FOR PERSONAL USE, DOES NOT INCLUDE DISTRIBUTION...NOW THAT IS ILLEGAL! that statement was meant for justifying anything, i just felt like saying it. to inform uneducated people.
Posted by: F**kmEiN@$$H0L? 02 Feb 2006
HYPOCRITES!
I applaud Dick, even though the claims of stalking are kinda creepy. But at least now the light has been shed! http://afterthought.cjb.cc
Posted by: nigel 02 Feb 2006
Fix the spelling teabag
MPAA is an American organization and therefore you mispelt their quote. It's spelt 'Offense' you freakin' limeys.
Posted by: JohnnyT 01 Feb 2006
serves them right?
i think it's funny and they should get what's coming to them, but i wouldn't go as far as to say "serves them right". the law is there to protect copyright and the industry, not to piss people off.
Posted by: jake 01 Feb 2006
Serious Consequences...
Yeah, I'm thinking the main people involved need to face jail time! Or an enormous fine that they can spend money in court to have lowered. When will they (both the music,film, and software industries) wake up and realize that they are fighting their own customers...the very ones who allow them to have jobs! What a bunch of crooks. I have seen so few good movies, and heard so few good cd's...I'm not going to buy crap. I've bought every movie and every album that I thought worthy. Stop putting out crap. And for software companies: Your software is outrageously expensive. Most people would never buy half of those programs anyway, so you lose absolutely nothing. Besides, if you are so worried, tie your products to hardware models like digidesign. There's no point in pirating pro tools because you still need to buy very expensive gear.
Posted by: Daniel 01 Feb 2006
Do as I say...
Do as I say, not as I do... screw them....
Posted by: Just A Guy 01 Feb 2006
It does serve them right
Just because something is "the law" does not mean it's justified. In America, some laws are there for a reason, others have been purchased. It would serve them right if he sued them and won.
Posted by: "http://*:*@www" 01 Feb 2006
Yes!
MPAA got owned. Serves them right.
Posted by: T.J. Wolfe 31 Jan 2006
Burn baby burn...
Can't wait to see where this goes.
Posted by: aa 30 Jan 2006
self-pwnage
what a bunch of noobs. reminds me of a time when some guy in CS chucked a HE-grenade, it bounced off a wall, back into his face and he died. GG Motion Picture Association
Posted by: y2jeff 30 Jan 2006
MPAA
I hope the MPAA gets a taste of their own medicine on this one!
Posted by: A.J. 30 Jan 2006
What goes around comes around...
Boo hoo...wonder if what's good for the goose is good for the gander?
Posted by: Scorched Earth 30 Jan 2006
what a bunch of tools the MPAA is...
HAHAHAHAHAHA I hope they get nailed to the wall.....FUMPAA!
Posted by: XipeTotec 28 Jan 2006
can't follow their own rules
If they can't follow their own rules why should anyone else?
Posted by: anon 27 Jan 2006
Hmm, I wonder...
...if the RIAA also got a copy of the film?
Posted by: bertfw 27 Jan 2006
haha
I think their own lawyers should represent the plaintiff in this case. After all they have the most experience in this sort of thing.
Posted by: Sideshow Bob 27 Jan 2006
MPAA DUMB
my guess is that this isn't limited to just this one movie. My guess is this is a standard practice for all movies submitted to the MPAA. Why not sue the MPAA for illegal copying of every movie submitted to them? I think that would make them the worst copyright thief possible by their own standards.
Posted by: austin 27 Jan 2006
In Answer to MPAA comments...
So What? You only pirated a little bit --- is that your argument --- does that mean it dosen't count? Dick's tactics bother you? Who cares by your own definition it's still illegal...and you broke the law...go to jail
Posted by: TR 26 Jan 2006
Whats good for the goose..........
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. I guess they view themselves as above the law
Posted by: Jeremy Myers 26 Jan 2006