MESSAGE
DATE | 2005-05-26 |
FROM | Ruben Safir
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SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Star Wars triggers P2P network crackdown
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Subject: Why then was I not protected by the FBI? By: Reader's Write 26 May, 2005 11:53 Several years ago I filed a complaint with the FBI after a New York based music publisher stole our songs, in the hundreds, in plain sight. The offending publisher went so far as registering many songs as their own at the Copyright Office, where the copyright registrations are ubchanged todat. The full story of the thoroughly documented theft can be found here: http://www.gvenegas.com .
The FBI told me they had no time for our case because they were too busy with terrorism. I went to the local Police and they also ignored us.
It is all now clear: The FBI and the courts only protect the copyright cartels and damm the artists and their decendants (Iam a decendant of a composer whose songs were stolen and infringed).
This very week American government officials have submitted requested written depositions in congress hearings ("Piracy of Intellectual Property" at "http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1514) about the alleged and partly real piracy problem in foreign countries and how little respect there is for copyrights abroad and about all the efforts being made to get these big piracy countries to enforce their own laws, which allegedly (and mostly really) are nothing more than uneforced paper laws written to satisfy foreing coubtries to avoid trade sanctions.
Americans just want their fuzzy laws enforced against those that cannot understand those laws, the common person, the university students, the downloaders, the digital copiers, the foreigners, but to ignore infringement and plain theft of rights when done on a big scale, in plain sight, by American music publishers and by record companies or by foreigners that come and go to the USA as they please.
This is hypocrisy at its peak.
We have sued Sony for making over 15 records with our music without a license. Where is the FBI here? Nowhere. Meanwhile the records continued to be distributed afyer our lawsuit was filed 4 years ago. The court has decided nothing yet about this case.
We have also sued Sonolux, a big record compny from Colombia (with a Florida operation that was shut down after our lawsuit) owned by Carlos Ardila Lülle and his privately owned company (Organización Ardila Lülle) for also making many records with our songs in the USA. We won the lawsuit on defaul (Sonolux did not answer the lawsuit) by but now Organización Ardila Lülle claims it has no money in the USA to pay the damages, after taking all their money back to Colombia. In Columbia they even own a bank, the main television stations and many other industries. Organización Ardila Lülle is huge. See their web site here: http://www.postobon.com/PostobonSA/organizacion/organizacion.asp
Organización Ardila Lülle earns about $250 million in profits per year.
Meanwhile, the owners, a billionaire familily that is among the wealthiest in South America travels to and from the USA freely, where they have residenses. Where is the FBI? Where is immigration? Why did the judge not refer the case to the FBI?
Of course, I got the message from the FBI and may not go back there. I, apparently, deserve no protection as is given to the copyright cartels.
It is all a sham, where the government acts and speaks differently, depending on the audience or the requesters. What a sham of democracy!
I wonder, maybe we have to acuse all these crooks of being involved with downloading, the current FBI obsession, for the FBI to take notice?
Rafael Venegas http://www.gvenegas.com
On Thu, 2005-05-26 at 12:03, Ruben Safir wrote: > > p2pnet.net News:- Homeland Security, the FBI's Cyber Division and US > Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “today the first criminal > enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright > infringement on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks using cutting edge > file-sharing technology known as BitTorrentâ€. > > > Acting as inspiration was the movie cartel’s MPAA (Motion Picture > Association of America). > > > “This morning, agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs > Enforcement (ICE) executed 10 search warrants across the United States > against leading members of a technologically sophisticated P2P network > known as Elite Torrents,†says a statement. > > > “Employing technology known as BitTorrent, the Elite Torrents network > attracted more than 133,000 members and, in the last four months, > allegedly facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 17,800 > titles - including movies and software - which were downloaded 2.1 > million times. > > > “In addition to executing 10 warrants, federal agents also took control > of the main server that coordinated all file-sharing activity on the > Elite Torrents network.†> > > Parroting the tired MPAA and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of > America) ‘hard-pressed workers’ line, "When thieves steal this data, > they are taking jobs away from hard workers in industry, which adversely > impacts the U.S. economy,†said the FBI's Louis M. Reigel. > > > Ironically, the statement specifically says the final entry in the Star > Wars series, Episode III -Revenge of the Sith, was, “available for > downloading on the network more than six hours before it was first shown > in theatres†and in the next 24 hours, “was downloaded more than 10,000 > timesâ€. > > > In fact, the file was a print copy available only to Hollywood insiders. > > > Nonetheless, "Federal authorities on Wednesday shut down an online > file-sharing network that had the new Stars War movie before it was > shown in theaters," says CNN, faithfully following Hollywood dictated > media doctine. > > Sith grossed $158.5 million from Thursday to Sunday and was as online > ticket seller Fandango Inc’s top movie for opening weekend sales. The > first two days of the movie's release, Thursday and Friday, were > Fandango's top selling 48 hours. > > “Operation D-Elite is being conducted jointly by ICE and the FBI as part > of the Computer And Technology Crime High Tech Response Team ("CATCH"), > a San Diego task force of specially trained prosecutors and law > enforcement officers who focus on high-tech crime. Federal and state > member agencies of CATCH include ICE, the FBI, the Department of > Justice, the San Diego District Attorney's Office, San Diego Police > Department, the San Diego Sheriff's Department, and San Diego County > Probation,†says the statement. > > > “Operation D-Elite was coordinated and will be prosecuted by the Justice > Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with the > assistance and support of Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property > (CHIP) coordinators in San Diego and U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Arizona, > Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. > > > “The Motion Picture Association of America provided valuable assistance > to the investigation.†> > > Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net > >
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