Comments on: Do any real people support SOPA?

By: mike32547

mike32547 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:58:46 +0000

Just for a repost if anyone hasnt gotten it already :D
EC 17, 2011
10:33 PM EST
The media industry is acting like the internet is the problem. BWAHAHAHA. Seriously, what happened with vhs? Cassette? CD? DVD? Don’t need the internet to pirate.
VHS, record right off the tv or borrow a movie from a friend.
Cassette meets radio.
CD meet computer with burning software. (borrow musician’s hard work)
DVD meet computer with burning software. (borrow movie)
No internets or tubes needed to do the above.
See what I did there? Piracy doesn’t end with censoring the internet. It ends when the archaic format for distribution evolves to meet the consumer(The people you are trying to screw over.)
Sure, censor the net and you have all your profits back…(sarcasm) Good job big media!
Posted by Jimnay | Report as abusive

Jimnay whoever you are,
your a brilliant person. as he states clearly, its not about what the internet does or doesnt do,.. people will still find ways to pirate stuff. as for me i find means of finding ways either getting it for free or finding a alternative, for example… microsoft office, its pricy…. comparison? Openoffice.. same exact thing. just not so glamourous.. expensive high detailed 3d image maker…. close to $1000 right? comparison… blender3d…. warcraft 3…. comparison.. = glest!!!

By: Variations

Variations — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:52:08 +0000

A response to ArtistsForSOPA:

Are you serious? Have you just NOT seen the 5 comments prior to yours which were made by self-proclaimed creators (network admins notwithstanding) who oppose this bill? I am an unknown (save by friends and family) piano/orchestra composer, I use Cubase 4 (purchased in full for 800$) and a rinkydink piano to create music. I have built over 30 original works. All of which aren’t bad, just not industry standard materials.
I oppose SOPA. Don’t you get it? My opposition (and that of many on this Board) has nothing to do with copyrights! Cut the hand off of the thief! It has to do with balance of power! This nation’s Court system is based and built upon the “tried and true” approach of ‘so-and-so vs. Nebraska 19XX’. We as a country use cases tried earlier to strengthen our interpretations of “conduct”. If this bill passes, there will be hundreds or thousands of court cases which will be nominated the precedents for future cases. New ideas and interpretations of “conduct” will be open for debate, with the courts (remember the lady that got off scott free for killing her kids) and presidential/congressional contributors set as the interpreters.
THAT is the problem, and THAT is exactly what you and the rumored thousands like you don’t quite understand. You just get swept away by the idea of a one-hit-KO on piracy, but its just not that simple.
Instead of spending tens of millions of dollars trying to shortcut the internet, why not invest a few million in new forms of digital medium? or better copy-wright enforcement programs? It can be done, but no one does.
Think about it.

By: ArtistAntiSOPA

ArtistAntiSOPA — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:16:08 +0000

I am a composer, and I oppose SOPA.

Numerous studies have shown that piracy does not have a negative impact on sales.

Here’s one:
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/s ummary/11010021.html

The value of an artist is not in the works they create, but in their ability to generate said works. The consumer’s dollar is an investment in your next project. If you’re worried about someone stealing your ideas, keep them to yourself.

SOPA is an extreme and irresponsible response to what has been shown to be a minor problem.

By: ArtistAntiSOPA

ArtistAntiSOPA — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:16:04 +0000

I am a composer, and I oppose SOPA.

Numerous studies have shown that piracy does not have a negative impact on sales.

Here’s one:
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/s ummary/11010021.html

SOPA is an extreme and irresponsible response to what has been shown to be a minor problem.

By: CaliLiz

CaliLiz — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:26:51 +0000

I absolutely support SOPA and I am a real person. I have a relative who is a songwriter, and who is now going to abandon this profession. I know writers who have abandoned the idea of ever finishing that Great American Novel. What kind of world are we advocating when we don’t support our artists, our writers, our philosophers? Google and the other search engines are big bullies who are whining about creating methods that would protect piracy. It’s possible to do, but they would rather jump up and down and stomp their feet like toddlers. Sorry — doesn’t cut it with me. It’s time to protect our creative folks — not the big companies — the actual creators of the material: the songs, the books, the screen plays.

By: Tennie

Tennie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:24:35 +0000

Get it?

By: Tennie

Tennie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:24:09 +0000

Maybe if SOPA was explained in laymen terms I would no what the hell you all are talking about.

By: Tennie

Tennie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:23:37 +0000

Maybe if SOPA was explained in laymen terms I would no what the hell you all are talking about.

By: Tennie

Tennie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:23:26 +0000

Maybe if SOPA was explained in laymen terms I would no what the hell you all are talking about.

By: Mik88

Mik88 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:30:25 +0000

I must admit, as an artist who has seen his work reposted in the past by people claiming to be the original artist, I can understand why we need some form of copyright protection beyond the current laws in place. There’s no way the common artist could afford to pursue each issue of this happening, nor could anyone hope to stop pirating of their work once it’s begun.
Looking at SOPA though, I find myself thinking about how I got my start, by posting fan art of my favorite subjects on fansites, getting feedback from other artists and giving said feedback in turn. Yes, my work got posted beyond where I had originally intended, but in hindsight, I realize that the benefits I gained through my sense of community helped me to grow as an artist. Not only that, but the fansites I posted on exposed me to other series, artists, and so forth which I would never have seen or heard about otherwise. Many times, a good piece of fan art would lead to me purchasing the DVD set of a series, or the CDs of other musicians when I heard one of their works on a fansite.
Should SOPA go into effect, fan sites would be completely wiped off the face of the internet. Why? Because any artwork, images, music, scenes, quotes, or even the mere mention of the licensed work’s name would have the potential for the provider to consider it a violation of their copyright. It doesn’t stop there. Say you post a photo of your child on your Facebook page. No harm in that right? Wait, what’s on the child’s shirt? Is that a Disney character? Instant takedown and lock out of your Facebook account, and government agents will be there shortly to arrest you for copyright infringement because you forgot to pixel or airbrush out the picture of Mickey Mouse on you kid’s shirt. Also, you had a picture of yourself in Nike tennis shoes at a basketball game? Well, you can’t depict the Nike logo nor that official NBA basketball you all were playing with in your photos, so those two companies are now suing you for copyright infringement as well because you claimed your photographs were your own work and not givng them proper citation in your work. These seem like extreme cases, but why do you think that reality shows have to blur out commercial product logos on clothing and billboards in the background? Because these things are copyrighted, and the company could sue them for “representing their company in a way the company doesn’t wish to be represented.”
I wish I could talk more about the technical reasons why SOPA would be impossible to run without destroying the internet. My basic idea of how it would work would be to compare it to a search engine. Type in a work of a licensed item, such as “Wolverine.” This could refer to Wolverine boots, or it could refer to the character Wolverine from the X-Men published by Marvel Comics, or it could simply refer to the animal. Now, under SOPA, companies would have to do a general web search for that word. Do you think it would be feasible to send a “cease and desist” order to only those sites with images of the character or boot, and not the animal? Nope! Instead, any mention of the word “Wolverine” will lead to the instant take down of the offending website, barring legal action to prove the site did not have any copyright violation. This is essentially a case of “Guilty until proven innocent.” More so, you are responsible for any legal fees generated by the process of serving you with said notice, the legal fees of the potential copyright owner(s) you may have inconvenienced with the necessary investigation, and your own defense. Oh, and odds are you’ll be fined by the company hosting your site as well. (Which is probably why a certain webhost started out supporting it until it lost too many big name customers.) I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to pay Stephen King thousands of dollars and risk jail time for every time I use the word “It” in a sentence simply because it’s the copyrighted title of one of his book. (Used as an example due to the commonality of the word, not because I think Stephen King would sue everyone who ever used the word “It” in a sentence.) Keep in mind, this isn’t even getting into all the coding and programing that is in place with the internet, this is just the basic concept of how a search engine works to give an idea of the scope of the problem with SOPA.
Also keep in mind that many of the companies supporting this bill also have been trying to make it illegal to resell their product. Game companies have been putting in codes to prevent playing past certain levels or even preventing access to the game itself without connecting to the their server with the code tied to your account. Some music companies and motion pictures have codes to redeem to get access to special features. Now, if you were to post your used CD, DVD, or game up, they could claim it’s a violation of their copyright since they’re not getting paid from you reselling it, enabling them to force say, Amazon or Ebay’s service providers to shut the site down until they go through the legal litegation to prove that it’s a lawful transaction. How many times do you think these companies will go through the trouble of doing so before they simply shut their doors and lay off the thousands who work for them?
Lastly, the very products and brands that SOPA is trying to protect will be harmed because of these strict regulations. People won’t be willing to chat about their favorite things online for fear of legal action being taken against themselves. All those forums where people discuss films and music? Gone. All that free advertising and referrals? Also gone.
When you’re too afraid to say what you want to say because you know the Government and Big Business will ruin your life and possibly have you thrown in jail just for saying what you want to say, that is censorship. If this goes through, you won’t see me on the internet, as I’ll be too afraid of goosestepping brown shirted people coming to find me because I said I didn’t like a product or simply this act of denouncing SOPA before it goes into effect.

By: mrcoffee

mrcoffee — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:14:24 +0000

I Support SOPA
the entire thing just seems strange.
http://tagzme.com/blog/view/599/i-suppor t-the-move-for-sopa

By: michaelcrook

michaelcrook — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:09:24 +0000

I, blogger Michael Crook, support SOPA:

http://blog.michael-crook.com/2011/12/so pa-is-good-for-america.html

By: JWal9

JWal9 — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:25:31 +0000

I’m a “regular person” and I support SOPA.

What is entirely missing from the anti-SOPA crowd is an intelligent conversation, or even inkling regarding how completely useless copyright laws are. They simple cannot be used to defend a copyright holder’s rights. Sure you can point to this or that antiquated copyright law, and say you have some legal recourse, but the reality is that in the digital economy there is absolutely no way that a copyright holder can enforce their rights, even if they are willing to go bankrupt to do so.

I see SOPA as a reaction to the reality that copyright laws simply offer no real protection. I did not realize this until a friend; a small time artist found that her private, unreleased work had been pirated without her permission. She turned to me, an attorney for help, and although I was hesitant and had no experience dealing with such issues, I agreed to volunteer my time for her. What ensued was a nightmare.

In order to discover who it was that pirated her work, we had to contact dozens of web hosts, subpoena dozens of entities, contact law enforcement (which is not willing to assist in any civil matters, especially for individuals), attempt to file in several states, etc. The vast majority refused to cooperate. Then we discovered that her work was uploaded to dozens and dozens of pirate sites. I am not talking about sites which are simple forums for art work or discussion; I am talking about sites which exist solely to pirate digital files. We discovered that pirates were copying files, uploading them to web lockers, and getting PAID for the amount of downloads they got: a veritable underground black market where pirated goods were traded for profit.

What began as a search for one culprit ended up being a lesson in how she as a copyright holder, had no real rights at all. The actual cost for trying to file ONE suit against an individual is multiplied thousands and thousands of times over on the internet, to the point where a copyright holder has no real enforceable rights. Discovering that your work is now being pirated overseas, means that you can kiss your rights goodbye. After exhausting a chunk of money, and burning through some of my good will, my friend simply decided to stop.

Having seed how my friend’s work was pirated, how dozens of sites hosted her work, how such sites exist solely to pirate, and how pirates profit, I can see where the backers of SOPA are coming from. For my friend, this has meant the stuff she had been working on for years went down the drain, and such a sense of frustration that she has decided to call it quits. For small copyright holders, there is no day in court, no vindication of one’s rights, no holding anyone to account. Given that major companies, with millions in profits cannot even control their copyrights, what makes anyone think that the little guy has a chance of protecting their works?

This perspective, that of the copyright holder, and how utterly inadequate current laws are, is entirely missing from the anti-SOPA crowd.

By: astrojz

astrojz — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:22:42 +0000

The problem with SOPA deals with the fact that the ones who wrote the bill really do not know what they are talking about. This bill, if passed will censor US owned IP addresses, not just IP addresses owned in the US. This may seem like a small oversight, but in the layman’s terms this means that the censorship will also be put in place in Canada. The bill is full of oversights like this. I support copyrights, but this bill is not the way to protect them. Not by a long shot.

By: Danny_Black

Danny_Black — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:51:06 +0000

Barrymore, so just to translate your response “I have no idea but I will insist it is a non-trivial amount despite the fact that youtube hardly contributes to Google’s bottom line”. Weird how when pushed how little real data advocates have but how they are absolutely adamant that priracy – as opposed to a model solely designed to screw the customer and crappy content – is the real cause of the decline in earnings