----- Original Message -----
From: goobster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 1999 4:46 AM
Subject: Re: MD: MD Trading
> Let's look at reality: please cite a single case
> (documented, so we can all look it up) when law
> enforcement could prove copyright violation without
> defining it as an intent of making of profit from
> copying a work of art (CD, etc), be my guest.
I have not looked for them yet, but I know there are a number of cases
involving just this, most noticeably the recent cases where Fox proceeded to
have numerous internet sites shut down, despite the fact they were
non-commercial fan sites, relating to it's TV series X-Files. Fox went as
far as to threaten court action in these cases, and I'm sure I remember a
case where Fox prosecuted somebody for distributing free copies of the
X-Files theme music which had been recorded from one of it's videos. I am
not sure where I can get copies of these cases, as I have yet to find them
on the net (other than the individuals concerned own accounts on web sites)
and I do not have direct access to various establishments in the US which
would allow me to gain access to this information. As I was one of the
people whom Fox contacted relating to the closure of an X-Files fan site I
had, I may still have the letter they sent, in which case I could scan this
and upload it - assuming I can find it in the attic.
If the laws in this country did not prohibit me from doing so, I would also
post the minutes of a court case I was involved in where I sued somebody for
swapping copies of a recording of my band in exchange for "rare recordings
of popular artists". Whilst the distribution of these discs may have been
beneficial to the band for getting them well known, I resented the action
because the person concerned was getting a lot of recordings which I would
have liked myself, was making a recording freely available which my band had
just paid £500 to have duplicated from our master copy with the intention of
selling them, and was also passing our band off as something we are not (he
claimed we were a "rare band of international acclaim"). What I hated most
of all was that I had been the one working my guts off on stage to make this
recording a really good one, and then we would not make a penny from it
because this "person" had dished copies out. At the moment we are now a
non-performing band because the money we wasted on CDs resulted in us not
having the funds to replace the damaged P.A. equipment which has now given
up on us and is uneconomical to repair. Almost all the people who were going
to buy the CD have got a copy "from a friend". Maybe that is why I resent
piracy so much, but even so, it is still illegal. My personal feelings make
me think that I would like to see the so-called "people" who claim copying
CDs doesn't hurt anyone lined up on death-row, but that would go against my
beliefs.
Magic
--
"Creativity is more a birthright than an acquisition, and the power of sound
is wisdom and understanding applied to the power of vibration."
Location : Portsmouth, England, UK
Homepage : http://www.mattnet.freeserve.co.uk
EMail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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