Gnook.org is an awesome place that offers free BSD shells, some web space, and a mail account. It’s headed by an attendee of the Ottawa 2600. Anyways, they are in search of a new logo. I decided to submit the following entry:
Author: Maëlys McArdle
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Tentative Piracy Film Outline
Introduction
Quick overview on the purpose and intent of this film. Specification of “Western” piracy over Asian piracy (downloading vs. selling goods in markets).Modern vs. Traditional Piracy Definitions
Will cover the use of the word “piracy” to mean copyright violations, and compare it to the traditional definition of shipboard theft. Will also cover how the modern definition does not hold true to its roots (how physical losses are non-existant).The Misinformation of Losses
Will detail the RIAA, MPAA, CRIA, BSA figures of losses, most of which is attributed to piracy. Will then dismantle these claims, and analyse them one by one. For instance; when the RIAA claims x million dollars in revenue loss, they fail to mention that that only reflects that of the CD media, and that the gains through other medias (DVD, Online) far outsurpass any losses.Industry Corruption
Will cover the corruption in the media industry. How the RIAA payed the senator in charge of American copyrights $180,000. How Sony/BMG bribes radio stations to play their music, as opposed to lesser known bands. How the RIAA artificially inflated prices on CDs.The Media Link
Will cover the role of the media in the piracy issue. Namely the lack of research on part of journalists. Will have actual media footage on the issue; screenshots of newspapers. Will compare examples of same events being covered very differently (read: skewed) by media entities.Transformation of IP Law
Will cover the history of copyright, and its recent changes that drastically alter the very purpose of IP law. For instance: How copyrights no longer benefit the public domain, due to constant extensions of the protection of properties.Collateral
This section will cover the “damages” caused by the media industries in the wake of this war on piracy. Will cover the sideeffects of the DMCA, and the lawsuits that have arisen as such. How the DMCA makes it illegal to watch legally purchased DVDs on a player you own. CSS. Frivolous lawsuits arisen as a consequence of the DMCA and WIPOs stance on TPMs. Will also cover the impact of DRM, and how it inhibits fair use of products.Fallout: The Lawsuits
Will cover the lawsuits by the RIAA on individuals; MPAA on certain domain owners. The dynamics of how no one is able to afford to battle them in court; and the little-published errors on the RIAAs part (individuals sued that did not possess computers). Will also cover the dirtier rulings in this area. Will attempt to gain interviews of those sued.The System is Broken
Will cover why people violate IP laws to begin with. Remixing. Overly-Expensive Software. Ripoff prices. Unavailability (radio monopoly, anime, abandonware). Impossibility to liscence. Many interviews with average street joes for this one.The Solutions
Will cover Magnatune; Creative Commons; other solutions. Will have an interview with the Canadian representative for the CC, and an artist that I consider to be succesful via the CC.The Future
The last section. Will cover recently enacted legislations; legistlations that are in the process of being; government rulings; and opinions from all the interviewees.Extra: Views
In this section, I wish to present the unadulterated views of various individuals on the issue of piracy. Interviews will range from average joes to those in the release groups. This part will not be played along with the other topics; but will rather be positionned to be a DVD extra.I will also attempt to have an interview with: Michael Geist (outspoken member on the whole IP issue); representatives for the CRIA; among others. If you can think of anything I should include, please do tell. This outline is by no means final.
This is not a war on the moralities of piracy. This is a PR war. Whoever has the strongest voice wins. Therefore, I will not look at the Grokster vs. MGM case that deals with morality, so much as the MGM stats that are used in its antipiracy PR campaign.
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Birthday 2005
It was my birthday on the 23rd of July. Here are some pictures.
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Jack Thompson Targets The Sims 2
Florida Attorney Jack Thompson, the same individual who claims that video games are murder training tools, has now shifted his focus onto EA and The Sims 2.
His allegations however are conflicting. He is blaming the mod community for a pre-existing in-game cheat in this very game that would allow for users to view nude Sims.
Thompson wrote: “The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called ‘the blur’ which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet.”
There are three things wrong with his allegations. First off: the mod community is not responsible for cheats that come included with a game. Second of all, that supposed cheat that would allow to see nude sims does not actually exist. Third of all, the texturing for the sims in the game does not include genetellia. That means if that anyone ever did manage to remove the blur, they would still not see any obscene body parts.
Clearly this is an example of just how ignorant Thompson is upon the issue. Unfortunately, the repercussions are dire. Thompson updated his letter, and stated “I urgently ask Electronic Arts to stop this modding activity by appropriate means, otherwise the “T” rating given the game by ESRB means, for all practical purposes, nothing and breaches trust with parents.”
First of all, it is simply ridiculous that a product be judged not on its own merit, but on the merits of what one user could unexpectidly modify that product to do. Anything can be made “obscene” by other individuals: think adding a “strip club” building to SimCity, or having planes with pornographic images painted on them in Flight Simulator 2004. As anything can be made obscene, does that mean that logically all games should be given an “AO” (Adults Only) ESRB rating off the bat? Even if the game is “Math Reader for Grade 1”?
Of course, it does not end there. Think of movies and shows: should we rate all movies “R”, even Bambi, because someone modified the DVD post-production to allow for obscene content to be included? Obviously, in any situation, the developper should not be responsible for the actions of others. It is common sense; something I find lacking in Jack Thompson.
Ultimately, the mod community is a great one. Selflessly giving away free content to users and allowing them to enjoy their video games further. Much of it appeases to all masses; only a small fraction of a fraction is obscene in nature. Furthermore, many mods go on to become full-fledged video games which bring in much revenue (Counter-Strike, Tactical Ops, Desert Combat [to BF2]). Having as a target this selflessly and well balanced community truly displays just how ignorant Jack Thompson is.
Jack Thompson stated in his letter that EA was “cooperating, gleefully, with the mod community to turn Sims 2 into a porn offering.”
There’s been other coverage on Jack Thompson before. GameRadio recently discussed letters that went back and forth between him and a non-anti-videogame advocate. Needless to say, Jack Thompson cares nothing about the games themselves, his accuracy, or creating any substantial argument to fuel his cause.
It will be interesting to see how the ESRB reacts to all of this.
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Piracy Movie.
Piracy Movie – Status:
Working on it.The expected release date has shifted. I don’t know if I can make it in time for October. We shall see. Mind you the editing process ought to be easier this time round: I will principally rely on Interviews for the brunt of this documentary, a la BBS Documentary. Interviews are significantly faster to edit together than making countless custom animations as I did with EYNTO.
That said, I’m still working through the Research Materials. Not yet into the script-building (though I have a rough outline) or shooting portion of the development. I’ll add another update with what I plan to include in the film soon.
Update: I’m also changing the title of the film. It will now be known as “The Corrupt War on Piracy”. Throughout all of this, it has been my focus to target not on the ethics of piracy itself; but the consequences of the war in terms of mass media misinformation and consumer impacts (DMCA, etc.) By avoiding the moral question of whether piracy is right or wrong and focusing on the hard issues surrounding intellectual properties, I will prevent the alienation certain key audiences.
After all, the goal of the movie remains the same: inform people as to make solid decisions reguarding the future of Intellectual Property; and not let governments be lead by the few [and naturally overly bias] media content industries.