In what might be the next step in the copyright wars, the MPAA reportedly tracked down an individual p2p trader at his school, then asked him to stop doing it:
If verified, this case represents part of a larger campaign against p2p trading at American colleges.
In a lawyerly mood, the MPAA also sued a DVD dealer for illicit trading.
(thanks to The Hacktivist and 2600) :: posted by Bryan, 1:53 PM |
Ben Albert, a freshman at the university, downloaded "Austin Powers 3: Goldmember" from the KaZaA file-sharing service late last month, and was contacted only days later by the administration. The MPAA had demanded that the university take administrative action against Albert, and the school gave in. Albert told 2600.com that he was not allowed to discuss the situation until now.
The young biology student seems perplexed as to why the MPAA would target small-time P2P users like himself. He suggests that the motion picture industry might cut off the movies at their source - the users who initially encode the works and place them on the network. However, in a telephone interview with 2600.com, Albert offered that the MPAA could do better, creating its own competitive P2P network. "I would pay a few dollars to download that movie," Albert mused. And in what might come as the biggest surprise to industry insiders, he did not hesitate to say he would consider buying the DVD.
Remaining unclear is how the MPAA discovered the copyright violation in the first place. Was the copy of "Austin Powers" a trap set by the industry's goon squad? Was Ben Albert's computer, or the University of Georgia network, somehow monitored? Unfortunately, none of these important questions were asked by the school.
If verified, this case represents part of a larger campaign against p2p trading at American colleges.
In a lawyerly mood, the MPAA also sued a DVD dealer for illicit trading.
(thanks to The Hacktivist and 2600) :: posted by Bryan, 1:53 PM |
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