Billionaire backs P2P v. Hollywood

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The Register wrote:Billionaire backs P2P firm's battle with Hollywood
By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Published Monday 28th March 2005 17:47 GMT


Technology entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner, billionaire, blogger and sometime blowhard Mark Cuban has pledged to finance P2P software maker Grokster's legal war with the major record labels and movie studios.

The Supreme Court tomorrow will hear arguments surrounding Grokster and StreamCast's dispute with the media companies. Hollywood is hoping the high court will overturn two lower court decisions that said makers of decentralized P2P software cannot be held liable for users who trade copyrighted files. Cuban, who owns movie theaters and the rights to numerous TV shows and movies, has gone against his peers by saying P2P software should have a chance to thrive.

"We are a digital company that is platform agnostic," Cuban wrote on his blog. "Bits are bits. We dont care how they are distributed, just that they are. We want our content to get to the customer in the way the customer wants to receive it, when they want to receive it, at a price that is of value to them. Simple business.

"Unless Grokster loses to MGM in front of the Supreme Court. If Grokster loses, technological innovation might not die, but it will have such a significant price tag associated with it, it will be the domain of the big corporations only."

Hollywood is not only trying to shut down P2P software makers, but it's also trying to overturn an old Supreme Court decision that made VCRs and the like legal. It's this particular threat against devices that could potentially lead to the infringement of content copyrights that has many technology advocates up in arms.

"It will be a sad day when American corporations start to hold their US digital innovations and inventions overseas to protect them from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), moving important jobs overseas with them," Cuban wrote. "Thats what happens if the RIAA is able to convince the Supreme Court of the USA that rather than the truth, which is, Software doesnt steal content, people steal content, they convince them that if it can impact the music business, it should be outlawed because somehow it will.'

With that in mind, Cuban vowed to fund the EFF's (Electronic Frontier Foundation) defense of Grokster.

As always, Cuban was modest about his gesture and hatred of punctuation.

"This is the big content companies, against me. Mark Cuban and my little content company."

It's not entirely clear what Cuban will be paying for, since his grand move came just two days before the oral arguments - at publicity's height. Perhaps he'll be covering the Tuesday morning coffee and lunch of the EFF staffers involved. Here's hoping the funds are actually more substantial and cover some back costs.

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How could they even begin to control all of the devices out there capable of infringing copyright laws? It seems a tad over the top.

With companies like iTunes doing business, and sucessfully might I add, recording artists are getting paid. The less tech savvy (and majority) of the population is finding it harder and harder to find all of their movies and music for free.

Changes definitely need to be made, but not in that direction.
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kiara wrote:With companies like iTunes doing business, and sucessfully might I add, recording artists are getting paid.
Recording artists make equal amounts of money whether through iTMS sales or regular CD sales. Perhaps even less, in fact, since the prices tend to be lower.
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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What I meant was they're making money rather than losing it to the masses who steal songs and movies.
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kiara wrote:What I meant was they're making money rather than losing it to the masses who steal songs and movies.
Yeah, but I don't buy that argument for a second. Some people pay for music; other people steal. And they aren't going to change camps just because it gets marginally harder to pirate stuff, or because prices are a bit cheaper. Pirates are pirates, thieves are thieves; the RIAA's tactics and iTMS's appearance aren't about to convert the throngs. They'll just find another way to get their shitty quality MP3s for free, while I continue to buy my music.
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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You will agree, however, that it IS very easy to steal files right now. You and I have both done it (I've seen it happen). It is becoming harder to do so, with many programs opting for monthly fees or pay as you download options. It's true, some people will always be pirates, but if they can control the P2P software it shouldn't be such a big issue. Controlling devices within our own homes is a little extreme though.
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I strip the DRM (digital rights management) from my iTunes downloads and share them on a private DC++ hub. Like I said, pirates will be pirates.

The further they prosecute file sharing, the further they'll just push it below ground. It's like the war on drugs, only significantly more pointless.
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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Aaron wrote:The further they prosecute file sharing, the further they'll just push it below ground. It's like the war on drugs, only significantly more pointless.
Agreed!
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