You're...doing...what?

[MystyGlyttyr]

I can't be too specific on this (though if I can possibly get away with being more so, I will), but, here's the gist of what my newsroom has been cackling about for the last half-hour.

Guy calls and says, and this is as close to a direct quote as I can get...

"Yeah, my 15-year-old brother was illegally downloading *movie* the other day, and *freaking huge company that owns movie* caught him, and they had his computer and router confiscated, and now my family is suing *freaking huge company* over it. Would ya'll be interested in the story?"

...so, you admit he was stealing, and someone (I would assume the local ISP or the POLICE but I don't know) confiscated the things he was using to COMMIT THE CRIME, annnnnnnd now you're SUING them for getting you in trouble for STEALING THEIR STUFF?

I sincerely hope we do put this in our paper because it's just too good. I probably couldn't post the link myself, but if we do run the story, and someone JUUUUST happened to get a link sent to them through PM, and THEY posted it...*shifty eyed*

I really, really REALLY hope we do run a story about this, or SOMEONE does, I hope I hope I hope I hope...

[Crazeyal]

Wooooow!!


I don't have much love for corporations, but sheesh.. PEPULS IZ SHTUPEEED!!

[Lil Bunny]

*snerk* The stupid is strong in them.

And uh, count me in as a wouldn't mind reading that one.

[digilight]

After second thought, this should be revised and not posted how I originally did. I don't want to post anything that may get this board in trouble due to copyright issues.

But yeah...he was stupid...and older brother was even stupider.

[LostMyMind]

Well, yeah the dude was an idiot to pirate. The brother isn't too bright either.

However, the company is not an government agency and the government should not be in the business of sieging "evidence" for a civil suit. ISP could siege the router (if it's their router), but not the computer. So that leaves the police.

So this leaves the question, why isn't the police sieging "evidence" every time apple/microsoft/oracle/ibm/etc..... blames the other for "stealing" their copyright/trademark information?

[Becks]

I'd love to see the story in print.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I don't know the whole story so far as what actually happened with the guy's computer and whatnot, because the editor hasn't been able to call the guy back without starting to laugh halfway through dialing. I suspect there's something he's not telling us (especially considering he won't tell us his name until we "promise" to do a story) but I'm bugging the editor to do something with it, if only for our personal amusement, heh.

[Kogarashi]

Another on the list of people who want to read this story when (if?) it goes to print. This sounds very juicy.

[ArcticChicken]

sieging "evidence" for a civil suit.

I think you want "seizing" here, 'cause now I have this mental image of a SWAT team rolling up with a trebuchet, and I can't stop giggling.

[cawaker]

theres gotta be A LOT more to this because the media companies dont go out of their way for one or 2 movies pirated. hundreds maybe, thousands yes.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I think you want "seizing" here, 'cause now I have this mental image of a SWAT team rolling up with a trebuchet, and I can't stop giggling.

Dammit, now you got ME giggling.

Count me in as another person who wants to see the hypothetical story.

[Rapscallion]

Posting a link of that nature would run the risk of people finding out where you work, and therefore people being able to contact you. The risk would be all yours, Mysty.

Rapscallion

[Hyndis]

theres gotta be A LOT more to this because the media companies dont go out of their way for one or 2 movies pirated. hundreds maybe, thousands yes.

Yup. They generally go after major distributors. If they were to go after people who occasionally pirated things, they'd be dragging half the nation into court. It just makes sense to go after the big guys, which is why even police often times cut deals for the little guys so they can get the big guys. Why spend all that time and money to get someone low on the totem pole when you can instead go after the big fish?

That said, I think the RIAA is extremely heavy-handed, prone to overreacting, and sometimes downright fascist in its attempts to go after consumers, but this caller was definitely not telling the whole story.

[BlackIronCrown]

However, the company is not an government agency and the government should not be in the business of sieging "evidence" for a civil suit. ISP could siege the router (if it's their router), but not the computer. So that leaves the police.

So this leaves the question, why isn't the police sieging "evidence" every time apple/microsoft/oracle/ibm/etc..... blames the other for "stealing" their copyright/trademark information?

First, violation of a trademark is mostly a civil issue, not a criminal one. Violation of a trademark "...involve sconsideration of whether the infringing conduct resulted in confusion in the marketplace. Confusion can be over origin (such as appropriating the name of a competitor) or misrepresentations regarding nature or quality (like claiming that orange juice is 'freshly squeezed'). To prevent dilution of famous marks, however, a suit need not involve confusion. Mere usage of a trademark may be a violation if unauthorized."

Copyright infringement, on the other hand, is a criminal matter, if a particularly light one. While police often take steps to shut it down, they usually don't prosecute on the matter - it's not worth the time and effort. They leave it to the corps to pursue it in civil court.

However, it may soon change for the worse. The PRO-IP Act at this time has passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate.

[MystyGlyttyr]

Posting a link of that nature would run the risk of people finding out where you work, and therefore people being able to contact you. The risk would be all yours, Mysty.

Rapscallion

Yeah, I know, that's why I'm still kind of debating it. My real hope is that some third-party site like Snopes or the AP wire would grab it so the link wouldn't lead right back to my paper. Though I'm starting to feel a bit sad because I don't think it will get a story, as much as I'm begging the editor to do one.

Maybe the guy will go to one of the other area papers that's not as picky as us...