Unearthed Arcana 3.5....where besides Kazaa?

[BryonD]

Henry, the actual crime of downloading on Kazaa is not theft. It is copyright infringement. There is a big difference, and it is very important. The laws work completely, totally, different. Even morally the implications are very different (by which I don't mean to say that copyright infringement is ok by any means).

These terms have become quite tangled recently, much to the detriment of working through the new legal issues that the information age has ushered in. Essentially we are now at a revolution at least of the scale of the first printing press, for which current day copyright was invented in the first place. Before this there was no such thing as a crime of copyright infringement, but there was still theft, obviously. See this difference? These concepts will now possibly require another re-ordering of similar magnitude, so I feel that it's important to keep the terms clear.

Anyways, what does this have to do with re-distributing legally licensed open game content?

That is a good point.

I retract my prior use of the term "theft".

 

[Ranger REG]

Reg, you've said this a few times, but I'm still not sure that I understand what you mean. Are you saying that Wizards would stop releasing OGL content if someone copies it in a way that breaks their rules? Cause they'd just do a cease and desist, easy enough. You break the license and you have to stop doing what you're doing.

Cease & Desist will only work if the violators comply with it, and only if Wizards caught wind of the violation before it can be damaging. I honestly don't think they assign one person to monitor Kazaa, 24/7.

And I don't know, but such file-swapping (or should I use the term "file-sharing"?) networks are begging for trouble. How do they regulate and enforce themselves from ensuring that one user do not intentionally or unintentionally download copyrighted material without permission.

And I'm not just talking about one violator, although it usually start with one, but some anarchists will think this C&D and the law is wrong so they'll do it anyway.

I know there are good uses of the internet and file-sharing but it can be easily abused.

Bah, I'm just entertaining my paranoid thoughts...

 

[LightPhoenix]

Cease & Desist will only work if the violators comply with it, and only if Wizards caught wind of the violation before it can be damaging. I honestly don't think they assign one person to monitor Kazaa, 24/7.

Well, after C&D comes criminal charges and lawsuits. People are generally less willing to risk those.

And I don't know, but such file-swapping (or should I use the term "file-sharing"?) networks are begging for trouble. How do they regulate and enforce themselves from ensuring that one user do not intentionally or unintentionally download copyrighted material without permission.

They don't, because they're not responsible for what users do with their protocols. At least legally, otherwise such peer-to-peer networks would have been shut down long ago. However, courts have ruled in favor of Kazaa and other de-centralized networks.

Not to say they're not morally responsible, because they are and they're being terribly irresponsible by turning a blind eye to the criminal activities perpetrated using their software.

 

[Visceris]

Actually I find PDF versions of the books much more handy than the hardcopy. Mind you I buy the hardcopy first then get the PDF version. The PDF version is a lot more handy when going to a gaming session than carting 20 books.

I do keep it legal for I do buy the book in question. I just want to make that clear.

 

[Ranger REG]

Actually I find PDF versions of the books much more handy than the hardcopy. Mind you I buy the hardcopy first then get the PDF version. The PDF version is a lot more handy when going to a gaming session than carting 20 books.

I do keep it legal for I do buy the book in question. I just want to make that clear.

If you want a more clearer conscience, you scan your own copy for your own personal use, the old way when you buy a computer game on [mini] floppy disks and make backups.

IOW, don't be lazy. And if you cannot afford the scanning/OCR software application, well, tough noogie.

Otherwise, buy the e-Book version put out by the publishers themselves or sold at authorized internet mail-order businesses.

 

[SSquirrel]

Downloading something you already own is still criminal. Fair use only applies if you've physically made copies yourself of property you own. Fair use does not apply in the instance you've stated, since you didn't make the copy yourself from your own property.

It's also nothing like radio, since radio stations have to pay a (fairly hefty) royalty to record labels for playing their songs on the air, even though it's more beneficial for the artist/producer/label than the station. That's why all the internet radio stations were forced to pay money to the record industry. It's also part of the reason MTV and VH1 (US music television stations, for those not in the US) hardly ever play videos any more.

Not from every explanation I've ever heard. besides, how the hell would it be proved that you did not make the copy yourself if you have an EXACT filecopy on the shelf? Example, I own Nirvana's Nevermind. One day I decide I need a copy of Come As You Are but I can't find my copy. I download one from Kazaa. Later I find my copy of Nevermind. Then the RIAA busts in and questions me about my mp3s. If the EXACT same track is on the shelf in a purchased format, how am I incorrect?

You're right its nothing like radio. However, I actually own said track and thus who gives a damn?

Ranger REG>WOTC doesn't spend all day watching Kazaa, they do (I believe) have someone who monitors websites looking for things like that.

Hagen

 

[JoeBlank]

Not from every explanation I've ever heard. besides, how the hell would it be proved that you did not make the copy yourself if you have an EXACT filecopy on the shelf?

(emphasis added)

You are incorrect. The fact that it can not easily be proven that you obtained the copy illegally does not make the act itself legal. If you own a product, fair use allows you to make a copy for your own convenience, but it does not allow you to obtain copies in other formats illegally.

 

[Ranger REG]

Ranger REG>WOTC doesn't spend all day watching Kazaa, they do (I believe) have someone who monitors websites looking for things like that.

Would you volunteer to snitch for Wizards?

I could but I don't go to Kazaa. It is best for me to avoid the temptation completely.

 

[Campbell]

Re: The Kazaa Issue

It seems like a lot of blanket statements are being made about the legalities of digital formats in this thread. As far as I'm aware there are no real laws to define the use of files that are not considered Software. We can go off of judicial precedents, but confusing precedents with laws is a disservice to our legal system. Precedents are largely applied on a case by case basis, according to the judicial discretion of the case's Judge. Laws however must be applied to any case of relevence. IANAL. I'm just speaking from my experience as Political Science major.

 

[Ranger REG]

Do you think our government or any government are slow to act? Or is the DCMA good enough to protect authors of their works?