NBC to Offer Free Downloads of some Primetime Shows

The article i read this week comes from the BNA Internet Law News article talking about the recent idea for the NBC network. The popular television network NBC is going to start offering limited free downloads of some certain prime time shows such as "Heroes" and "The Office". They say it will help "expand the digital distribution of their programs" and they also think it will help compete with Apple's iTunes store. They say that this service will be available to anyone using Microsoft Windows software. This program for downloading prime time shows will be available for a week after the show is aired on television, but then the digital file will expire. NBC, like many other networks, already has many of their shows available for purchase permanently and has streams of some of their shows free on their website. But with new technology and new business models NBC is trying to give viewers more options for watching these shows.

I think in general this is a good idea. Then I was thinking, isn't this one of the reasons that there is this writers strike which is taking place now. All of the writers for these big networks such as NBC are all on strike and no new shows are being wrote. One of the reasons these writers are on strike is because the writers don't receive any of the money for shows downloaded over the Internet. This is exactly what NBC is trying to do. That's why in general I think it is a good idea to try to expand viewers options for watching some of these shows but at the same time I feel that this will further extend the writers strike that is currently taking place.

Targeted e-mail attacks spoof DOJ, business group

This article from the November 21st issue of the BNA Internet Law News talks about how two e-mail attacks were launched 2 weeks ago targeting different corporations. The first attack was sent to about 400 people in different institutions and seemed as though it was a complaint from the U.S. Department of Justice sent specifically to that individual. A second attack just a few hours later was similar but claimed to the coming from the Better Business Bureau. The attachments in these e-mails would send out a Trojan virus and take over their system. A security analyst claims that once these were installed that they could use that machine for basically anything. These e-mails are very hard to detect because they seem to be coming from legitimate sources. One big issue with these are the number of attacks has increased drastically in the past few years.

I feel like this is a big issue. If these are hard to detect and hard to trace back to the source that they came from, how do we know that people aren't extracting valuable resources that they can actually hurt out country. For instance if a terrorist group sends out on of these attacks and is able to take over some of our systems, how do we know that they won't receive valuable information that is supposed to be confidential. This case may be a little extreme, but in these attacks people's identities may also be taken which is a serious issue. I feel the United States need to come up with another smart system that will be able to detect and track any of these viruses.

Internet Gambling Disbute could Cost U.S. Billions

This article from the November 21st issue of the BNA Internet Law Highlights talks about how two little Carribean nations of Antigua and Barbuda are trying to sanction the United States for Billions of dollars because the United States are trying to withdraw for a World Trade Union accord recognizing the legality of Internet gambling. Antigua is seeking sanctions of about $3.4 billion and possibly may they may claim more by becoming a harbor of for pirated material as well, for such things such as pirated music and musical recordings. If this were the case they would try to sanction the United States for almost $100 billion. The United States argues that this would not happen.

I find this outrageous. I think it is crazy that a small nation would try to sanction the United States for this much money just for withdrawing from a World Trade Union. The reason the United States is withdrawing is to try to prevent Internet gambling which is seen as a serious issue in our country. I feel that unless the United States has some sort of contract with this union, (which it doesn't say in the article) that they should be able to withdraw whenever they feel. The United States are doing it to protect our country in certain ways and I feel we shouldn't be penalized for it.

Radio host tried to lure girl for sex

The article I read was about a sexual predator on the Internet. The article told the story of a radio personality who tried to lure a 14 year old girl into having sex. Little did he know, the 14 year old girl he was talking to in the chat room was really an undercover detective. Apparently they talked for two days, then they decided to meet up. Mr Fox, the radio station personality showed up at the place they decided to meet at 9:30pm with a box of condoms, beer, and quilts covering his floor in his SUV. He was arrested on the spot and Mr. Fox didn't argue at all.

This story completely disgusted me. I suppose i hear it a bunch how there are a ton of sexual predators all around the Internet, including myspace and websites such as those. But after reading that article its disgusting, the man knew she was 14 years old. That's awful! Parents should be keeping a closer eye on who their children are talking to on the Internet. Also, I think that is good that there are a lot of detectives online to try and trap these sexual predators because clearly it is an issue and it needs to be prevented as much as possible.

UK Court Orders Disclosure of Blog Poster Identities

I read an article from the BNA Internet Law news about how people have been keeping their identities hidden on the Internet. The article talks about how people have been posting inappropriate things on the Internet but making them anonymous. Someone can create a website or a blog and keep it anonymous from others finding out who created it. This has been a problem as of late because people have been pushing the limit on what they are actually saying. For example the article talks about some "disgruntled fans from Sheffield vented their dissatisfaction with the football clubs bigwigs in anonymous Internet postings. What was posted what completely inappropriate and the owner of the site was forced to reveal their identity and will now face expensive libel claims.

In my opinion, this is a problem that needs to be fixed. It worked out in this case because because the owner of the website was forced to reveal his identity, but that may not be true in all cases. There could be more serious things that people may post or say on the Internet that should be regulated. If someone posts something that poses any type of threat or about an issue that is completely inappropriate, there should be consequences. Just because people can stay anonymous doesn't give people the right to pose threats to others just because they don't think people will find out who they really are. Hopefully this problem can be resolved in the near future.

Candian Copyright Reform Likely to Follow U.S. Model

Earlier this month Canada suggested that they should adopt a new U.S. style amendment to improve their copyright law. People are arguing that this will improve the "protection of culture and intellectual rights in Canada," while others argue that it will harm some consumers if stricter laws are enforced. There are critics in Canada that are also arguing that the copyright laws that Canada have in place now do not protect certain peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa and Bittorrent from circumventing their copyrighted files to different users illegally. People are not sure if this will be passed because recently, in 2005, Canada tried passing a copyright bill which was rejected.

As the article advances it basically just gives many different opinions of many different critics whether this law will be affective or if it will be worth passing. In my opinion I feel that the law should be passed because the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials is a big problem and should be stopped. There are many record companies and many movie distributers that are being hurt because the copyright laws are not strict enough. Some people in the article argue that it isn't the case that the law in place now isn't harsh enough, but it is that it isn't enforced enough. If this is the case then Canada really has to do a better job enforcing the law because this is a serious issue.

Major Pirate Website Shut Down

www.tv-links.co.uk was a website which was one the most used pirated movie websites. The website featured many TV shows such as 24 that people could watch online for no cost. After the investigation of the site, there were raids and arrests of the operators of the site for copyright infringement. Visitors of the site could also view movies that were hand recorded in cinemas and put online. People were able to access these movies online days after they were put in theaters. This was the first major target in a campaign to crack down on web piracy.

In my opinion this is a good step to take towards cracking down on web piracy. There are an websites on the Internet today that are breaking copyright laws. It is good that a campaign has begun to crack down on this. From my experience, I know about 4 websites where I can watch nearly unlimited TV shows and multiple movies for free. I know these sites are most likely not legitimate websites, but they are still in existence. With all of these websites still in existence it is hurting the television industry along with the movie industry because people are a lot less likely to go out and buy a movie if they already have access to it at any time.

Record Companies Win Music Sharing Trial

In the October 5th issue of the BNA Internet law news, there was a story about how record companies won a big trial against a 30 year old lady named Jammie Thomas. The record companies claimed that Thomas has been illegally sharing copyrights music through her Kazaa account. The record companies settled the case, making the final decision that Thomas is going to have to pay back $222,000. The record companies are also hoping this will send a message to others who share copyrighted material over the Internet. Record companies say that since 2003 file sharing of illegal copyrighted material has increased and it has had a negative impact on record companies sales because people are just downloading it for free instead of buying the CD's in stores.

I found this to be a very interesting story. Attending Umass, I know a lot about illegal downloading and illegal file sharing of copyrighted material because that is something that is common at Umass. Every year there has been a lot of people just at Umass that get in trouble for this, and record companies are not taking this issue easily. I feel that since this is the first case that actually made it to trial, that record companies were making a point also. They were very harsh in their demands so it will hopefully send a message to all of the people who do share and download illegal material. This is clearly a big issue in our society so record companies are not taking this lightly and are doing everything in their power to prevent this from happening more in the future.

With Video, Music Piracy on the Rise, NBC Chief Calls For Tougher Penalties

Recently Jeff Zucker took over one of the chief executive positions at NBC Universal, and his job is to get better ratings for the company and also to fight piracy. Piracy is defined as: The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material. Zucker spoke with the Us Chamber of Commerce to ask lawmakers to make harsher laws regarding piracy. Although the music industries method "sue and shut down" of illegal sharing websites and illegal DVD websites has been successful to a point, piracy is still on the rise. There are just too many sites that have been created that people can get copyrighted material for free. One of their arguments is saying that the once soaring DVD sales and CD sales have both plummeted in the past few years, and they say the reason for this is people are just pirating music and DVDs now. Zucker also released a study on the estimated economic impact of intellectual property piracy to the U.S. economy. "The study estimates that intellectual property piracy -- theft of music, movies, video games and software -- costs the U.S. economy $58 billion per year and s 350,000 lost jobs in the entertainment industry and its supplying industries".

Piracy is clearly an issue in today's society. Most of the pirated material comes from people between the ages of 18-24 years old. Umass is a prime example where piracy is an issue. There have been a high number of students who have been accused of illegally downloading music and videos illegally from websites such as Limewire and Bearshare. I feel that is there are much harsher laws regarding piracy that this problem will diminish. Also, I feel that people don't know what the piracy laws actually are, if harsher laws are enforced they should be publicized so everyone will know the extent of what could happen. Clearly something has to be done because many music company's and movie company's are being affected in a negative way so something has to be done to resolve this problem.

German Court Overturns eBay shopper's conviction

Two years ago a man was found guilty in Germany for purchasing a stolen object from eBay. Last Friday a German Court overturned this decision on the basis that the man did not know the item was stolen. The man was 47 years old and was purchasing a navigation system for about 1/3 of the actual price. The navigation system was posted as "brand new" although it was a fraction of the price. This is what triggered the German Police to investigate and accuse this man of buying the "stolen" object. The man was accused 2 years ago and the case was just overturned last friday.

I feel this is a very difficult situation to prove, whether a person knew or didn't know an item they were buying was stolen. How can you prove someone just didn't assume they are getting it for a bargain? People often buy items off eBay and many similar sites because of how low the prices actually are. I just think it would be real hard to prove that someone actually knew the item was stolen. Although there may be many fences who sell stolen items on these types of websites, they are hard to track. In my opinion, eBay and many sites that are similar should have more harsh rules guiding the objects that are being sold on their sites. Although i don't know the numbers, I'm sure there have to be a good amount of stolen objects being sold for cheap prices, and this is a problem.

Anger at YouTube Stammer Clips

In the September 27th issue of the BNA Internet Law News e-mail was a story about how the British Stammering Association has been protesting against YouTube. Stammering, as defined by Websters Dictionary states stammering is a speech disorder involving hesitations and involuntary repetitions of certain sounds, also known as stuttering. The reason the the British Stammering Association is protesting against YouTube is because YouTube has classified people who are having trouble speaking in the category of "comedy". When using YouTube, you can search certain topics such as comedy, music, sports, people, and many more.
The British Stammering Association is very upset because they think that stammering is a serious issue and is not something that should be laughed at. They are also questioning YouTube whether they are encouraging their users to laugh at deaf or blind people as well, whether those videos should also be categorized as "comedy". YouTube replied to this remark by saying the none of the videos that they are upset about violate the terms of use. One of the associations supporters argues that stammering shouldn't be a joke but those people should receive help and not criticism.
In my opinion, The British Stammering Association does have a good point, but since those videos do not violate the terms of use, then there is not much they can do. Stammering is a problem in our society for many people, and those people should receive help, but as for YouTube they don't have to change anything. It is sad that people find stammering comedic, but people do and if that's how they characterize it, then that's how they characterize it.

BNA Internet Law News.

The Name of the article I found interesting in the BNA Internet Law News is titled "Prince Lashes Out at YouTube, eBay, and the Pirate Bay. The article talks about how Prince, a famous musician, is filing a lawsuit against these three websites. One of Prince's representatives informed him that these websites are not abiding by correct copyright laws. Prince is upset because those websites are wrongfully making profits off of his music. Prince hired a British based company to track down all the content that is shared illegally. This company claims that in the last week they have taken over 2000 infringing clips of Prince off of YouTube, but by the next day there are already another 100-200 clips available.
The article later goes on talking about how this may be a hard case for Prince to win. All of the websites argue that they are not breaking any of the copyright laws. A lot of Prince's fans may become angry with him because they may think he is doing this out of greed. Also, a lot of people are taking the side of the websites, because all of those sites have so many users and none of the want to see these sites get shut down. In my opinion I can understand why Prince wants to file a lawsuit and I feel he may win this suit. I feel this way because if he has proof that they are allegedly breaking copyright laws, then he is all set. These websites work in the way that other people add the clips and movies to the site and they can be viewed by others thereafter. Since this is the case, the owners, or employees of the sites should view all of these clips before adding them just to make sure they abide by all of the standards. If this were the case then this wouldn't be an issue.

Mijovi

In regard to the e-mail you sent about the energy drink Mijovi and the rock star Bon Jovi, i think Mr. Carrington will win the case. I don't think Bon Jovi will be successful in proving that the energy drink represents him and not Mr. Carringtons companion. The only thing that i could think of is if Mr. Carrington would have to change his slogan of "itsmilife". I feel this way because that is very similar to one of Bon Jovi's songs. Overall i don't think the energy drink itself will be affected in any way.

Article about Facebook.com

After reading the article relating to Facebook.com it is clear that there are issues with facebook that relate to law. One of the issues that was mentioned is cyberstalking. When students create a facebook account, they create a profile about themselves involving personal information and also with pictures. Often times people browse around facebook and look at their friends profiles, but there are other times where people will stalk other people. For it to be considered cyberstalking, it usually involves one person harassing or for the person to be threatening. If a person is harassing someone or posing a threat to someone they can report their "stalker" to facebook and depending on the severity of the situation, facebook will do whatever is necessary.
Often times there are privacy issues with facebook as well. There are some people who will browse facebook and get other people's information, which could be information that the particular person wouldn't want that person to have. Facebook does allow you to put certain privacy settings on your profile so you can prevent this, but there are instances where this can happen. This issue can lead to more severe things, if a person gets someone's address or phone number, there is potential for that person to stalk or harass the person. Before people create a facebook account, these are some of the issues that people should be aware of.

Just testing