While we're on the topic of movie piracy today, I'd like to chime in on the MPAA "policy" advertisements that have been airing since August on movie screens prior to major feature films. This ridiculous campaign is certainly rubbing me the wrong way and I don't think I'm the only …

Roger Ebert has a good article about the new move by the MPAA to ban the sending of DVDs prior to this year's Oscars and its likely chilling effect on independent films. At issue is a decree made last month by Jack Valenti (head of the MPAA) in an effort …

An article from BBC News discloses that 52 of the 251 people recently sued by the RIAA for file swapping have settled out of court for amounts ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 and that 832 people have voluntarily signed up for the so-called "amnesty" program that the RIAA …

In the gathering storm against SCO's attempt to gather licensing revenues from Linux, IBM has upped the ante once again, filing an amended complaint against SCO asking for, among other things, a declaratory judgment that would explicitly prohibit SCO from imposing additional restrictions on software that it had released under …

In what appears not to be the only case of its kind, the RIAA has withdrawn a suit against a Macintosh user who they claimed was using the Kazaa file sharing service to share 2,000 songs. The problem? Kazaa doesn't run on the Mac. According to an article in …

According to an article from the New York Times, SBC (a regional Bell derivative serving mostly the western states) continues to hold out against subpoenas from the RIAA. With the Federal District Court in Washington expected to hear oral arguments today in Verizon's continuing effort to get the subpoenas struck …

An interesting article from Tech Central Station describes an interesting interpretation of Canadian copyright law that may well make it completely legal to copy CDs that you don't own and to swap music via the Internet. At issue is the 1998 revision of the Canadian Copyright Act which, according to …

An article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution contains a variety of quotes from musicians as diverse as the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, David Draiman of Disturbed, and rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy indicating that the efforts being made "on their behalf" by the RIAA are not being appreciated by …

An article from the New York Times is reporting that a recent study by AT&T shows that almost 80% of the 285 high-quality pirated copies of movies that have been found on the internet actually came from Hollywood insiders, and not the "little guy," as the MPAA and their …

Days after the announcement of the RIAA's Clean Slate program for "amnesty," the RIAA is under fire for creating a misleading program which (at least from cursory examination by lawyers) doesn't provide protection from lawsuits. According to an article on CNet, one California resident has filed suit against the organization …

IDG News Service reports (courtesy of MacCentral) that Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee) raised questions yesterday about the DMCA's subpoena provisions. Unfortunately, he is still taking the RIAA side in the intellectual property vs. privacy debate. Although he indicated that the DMCA is "not perfect," he …

An article on Wired this morning indicates that the RIAA has settled a lawsuit with one of the newly sued people. This one is a 12-year old and they are letting her off with a fine of $2,000. Fortunately, this move has sparked some new resistance to the DMCA's …

For those interested in the logistics of an RIAA lawsuit and how they seek out and find file swappers, there is an article from CNet that does a good job of covering the basics without oversimplifying or going so deep that they get facts wrong.

According to an article from Wired, the RIAA (the recording industry's "enforcement arm") is preparing an amnesty program for music pirates. If you have downloaded music and have not already had your information subpoenaed by the RIAA, you can sign an agreement saying that you have deleted your illegal booty …

For those of you wondering about the effects of the DMCA on the availability of information on the Internet, consider the page from Chilling Effects about requests to remove content from Google. For those unfamiliar with Chilling Effects, it is a site dedicated to watching the DMCA and other mechanisms …

According to an article from CNet this morning that Minnesota Republican, Norm Coleman has sent a letter to the RIAA asking for specifics about their subpoena operation. The lawmaker has said that he is concerned that the industry is using a "shotgun" approach that could harm innocent people. For their …

Well, hold on to your hats, folks. According to an article from CNet, Mitch Bainwol, former chief of staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, will replace Hillary Rosen as the head of the RIAA (one of our favorite organizations. With strong political ties and comments such as …

Have you ever wondered if you or your family is in the cross-hairs of the RIAA? Well, this article from BBC News describes how you can find out using a new database from the EFF. If you are on one or more of the file sharing services, you can check …

It's not aimed at stopping you from traveling, or keeping you from getting an abortion, but the legal tactics being employed by the RIAA (as described in an article from the Associated Press) certainly seem to qualify as using fear to coerce behavioral change, thanks to our duly elected representatives …

In a move that appears specifically targeted at Lexmark and their chip-enabled anti-refill technology, the North Carolina Senate has approved a law that would allow everyone in the state to refill any printer cartridge, regardless of any agreement to the contrary in the purchase agreement. An article from the Herald …