The RIAA and the MPAA

Icalasari

And here is their latest attempt to combat piracy

 

When will these two groups just die off?

Alkthash

When they stop turning a profit.

 

One wonders how these measures will work. One suspects that they will only really be looking for American movies and TV shows and music because really those are the only things the MPAA and RIAA give a damn about. So presumably torrenting foreign stuff should be fine provided no US company has rights to it in some way.

Icalasari

^ So they won't die in our lifetimes =/

Alkthash

That's not true. Somebody just needs to come up with a better business model and not get killed off by them or they need to do something spectacularly stupid it alienates both the consumers and other businesses(these guys are the key really. Piss off the people they work with and they can't get anything done anymore).

glennmagusharvey

They are industry associations, and such groups will continue to exist as long as the respective industries exist.

This article is annoyingly light on actual details of implementation.  Here's the most they had:

The program, commonly referred to as "graduated response," requires that ISPs send out one or two educational notices to those customers who are accused of downloading copyrighted content illegally. If the customer doesn't stop, the ISP is then asked to send out "confirmation notices" asking that they confirm they have received notice.

At that time, the accused customers will also be informed of the risks they incur if they don't stop pirating material. If the customer is flagged for pirating again, the ISP can then ratchet up the pressure. Participating ISPs can choose from a list of penalties, or what the RIAA calls "mitigation measures," which include throttling down the customer's connection speed and suspending Web access until the subscriber agrees to stop pirating.

The ISPs can waive the mitigation measure if they choose and not one of the service providers has agreed to permanently terminate service.

I guess it's in one of the related stories or something.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20073522-261/exclusive-top-isps-poised-to-adopt-graduated-response-to-piracy/ This article says this:

Under the proposed plan, participating bandwidth providers would adopt a "graduated response" to subscribers who repeatedly infringe copyrights. ISPs would first issue written warnings, called Copyright Alerts, to customers accused by content creators of downloading materials illegally via peer-to-peer sites, the sources said. Should a subscriber fail to heed the warning, an ISP could choose to send numerous follow-up notices. The plan, however, requires ISPs to eventually take more serious action.

Participating ISPs are given plenty of choices on how to respond to the toughest cases. They can select from a "menu" of responses outlined in the plan, such as throttling down an accused customer's bandwidth speed or limit their access to the Web. For example, a suspected pirate may be allowed to visit only the top 200 Web sites until the illegal file sharing stops. The subscriber may also be required to participate in a program that educates them on copyright law and the rights of content creators. In the past, a graduated response was also supposed to lead to a complete termination of service for chronic file sharers. Kicking someone off a network is not required under the proposed agreement, the sources said. As for who pays for all this, the ISPs and copyright owners will share the costs of operating the program, sources said.

customers accused by content creators of downloading materials illegally

Well, here's the rub.

First, you have to be accused.  That means that people who know how to fly under the radar will continue to fly under the radar, while the accusations are going to hit random other people in the face.

Second, they're not content creators, they're content publishers.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20077659-261/should-you-fear-new-isp-copyright-enforcers/ From this older article we have:

The respective trade groups for the top music and film companies, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America, naturally wanted the toughest penalties they could get. Originally they had asked that the ISPs adopt a "three-strikes" plan, which would would mean a user received three warnings from a bandwidth provider before service was suspended or terminated. The ISPs said no way.

In the end, the ISPs held their noses and began looking for ways to cover themselves against PR hits. Instead of three strikes, the ISPs opted for six strikes. They also padded the program with so-called educational aspects, likely tossed in to help distract from the more controversial issues, such as suspending someone's Internet access. Still, there's no way to cover up the fact that participating ISPs have agreed to punish customers on behalf of content creators.

Those ISPs that have partnered with the music and film sectors have the option of issuing six warnings to a subscriber before moving to the "mitigation" stage. Way down in the press release announcing the agreement is the bit about how the ISPs will hobble the connection speeds of those accused of multiple offenses or completely cut off their Web connection until they stop infringing intellectual property.

The ISPs dread spooking subscribers, or to appear to be spying on them. It's possible the agreement would have never been completed had U.S. President Barack Obama and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who got involved in the negotiations as early as 2007, not pressured both sides to cut a deal.

1. It seems the ISPs know who's their boss.  That is, their customers.

2. Oh, it's Andrew Cuomo.