Via p2pnet.net
Negativland, in collaboration with film-maker James Gladman, has released a p2p video response to the Grokster v MGM Supreme Court decision.

Called NO BUSINESS, it’s largely crafted from other people’s previous cultural creations, says the group, calling for “an increased concern for cultural philosophy in the Supreme Court, and more skepticism towards the presumptions of the cultural law makers of commerce”.

But “Hey!” – they say.
“They’re probably all too old to ever get to any point like this now.”

Go here to check it out.

When you arrive, just click NO BUSINESS.

Via zeropaid.com
ET Consumers Will Be Able to Legally Download Games and Earn Cash Back at the Same Time SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. and SAN FRANCISCO, July 7 /PRNewswire/ — Wurld Media and Trymedia Systems today announced an agreement to make legitimate downloadable video games available to try and buy over the legal peer-to-peer network, Peer Impact.
(more…)

Via zeropaid.com
ratDVD is a new method of compressing DVDs, using RatDVD you can compress an entire DVD movie to about 1-3 gigs. In most cases DVDs are around 8-9 gigs, including menus, bonus features, audio, subtitles and video Angles.

People using P2P networks can share or download these .ratDVD containers with ease.
(more…)

Via zeropaid.com
Intel and actor Morgan Freeman’s movie production company, Revelations Entertainment, said Wednesday that they have formed a new venture aimed at distributing first-run movies over the Internet.

The new company, called ClickStar, is taking on an unfamiliar and potentially controversial role in Hollywood circles that have viewed online distribution as a potentially destabilizing force on DVD sales. Most online movie ventures, such as Movielink and CinemaNow, are allowed to distribute films only after they have been in home video circulation for up to several months.

However, Intel and Revelations said that consumers have shown they want to download films earlier and that traditional DVD releases aren’t meeting that demand.

“Our view is that making content available on the Internet is not an option–it is an imperative for the industry, given piracy and consumer demands for flexibility,” said ClickStar’s new chief executive officer, Nizar Allibhoy, a former Sony Pictures executive. “Our motto is, ‘Anytime, anyplace, on any device.’”

Via p2pnet.net
The next rev pf Opera will be able to download BitTorrents, says Opera Watch.

“Multiple sources from within Opera have confirmed to me of a ‘big’ announcement related to Opera’s desktop browser,” says a post.

“An official announcement will come tomorrow from Opera.”

Via p2pnet.net
It’s getting harder and harder for students of any age to get an education in the US without being hammered by greedy corporate entities.

Senior US teaching institutions are relentlessly bombarded by the movie and music cartels which, under the pretext of saving students from lawsuits instigated by the cartels themselves, use school admin staffs to run PR campaigns and make sales pitches for commercial music ‘services’ such as Napster II which retail industry ‘product’.

Hollywood’s slick and venal Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities keeps things moving.

Now, Dell has talked the University of Washington into using Dell gear to save students from the Big Four record labels.

Starting this fall, “Dell will sell subscriptions to Napster’s digital music service to colleges and universities at a discounted academic rate through Dell account executives,” it says in a puff piece, which goes on.

“Colleges will be able to use Dell blade servers on campus to store music from Napster’s library locally, allowing network processing speed to remain fast while hundreds of students simultaneously download digital music.”

According to UW president Mark Emmert it’s, “important for universities to establish mechanisms that provide our students with high quality, legal access to the growing body of content available in digital repositories worldwide. This relationship with Dell and Napster will provide us with a state-of-the-art approach to downloading music.”

Incidentally, UW faculty, staff and students can also, “purchase discounted computer systems, electronics and DellTM DJ digital music players”.

Via p2pnet.net
p2pnet’s Alex H has mentioned Marc Freedman’s ‘TrustyFiles’ a couple of times, including posing a list of questions which Freedman answered, ducking and weaving frenetically as he went.
Like a bad penny, TrustFiles is back.
(more…)

Via p2pnet.net
“I just love it,” wrote a p2pnet reader in February on the news that Microsoft boss Bill Gates had, according to reports, threatened workers if the Danish government opposed the European Computer Implemented Inventions Directive.

“The US has the most corrupt implementation of Patenting and Copyright laws on earth, and instead of fixing them, (because government and large corporations are getting richer and richer from it) they are ramming it down every other country’s throat, and threatening those that refuse with sanctions, or trade barriers, or even disrupting their economies if they don’t follow suit,” the post went on..

But the poster should be feeling a lot happier with the news that, contrary to all expectations, the European Parliament voted 648 to 14 to throw the directive out.

“The assembly opposed U.S.-style limits on free software and ruled out a compromise with European Union governments, which endorsed the legislation in March,” says Bloomberg News.

“We buried a bad law and did so without flowers,” Eva Lichtenberger, an Austrian Green, is quoted as saying “The legislation would have hindered the development of small companies and helped big businesses because they are the only ones that can afford patent lawyers and litigation costs.”

But, the defeat is “a missed opportunity,” said Mark MacGann, director general of the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Association.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) described this decision as a “great victory for those who have campaigned to ensure that European innovation and competitiveness is protected from monopolisation of software functionalities and business methods,” says ZDNet UK, adding:

“While many SMEs, free software advocates and software developers have spoken out against the directive from the start, various large companies have lobbied for the directive, often via campaign groups such as the Business Software Alliance, EICTA, CompTIA and the Campaign for Creativity.”

Via p2pnet.net
Microsoft AntiSpyware now offers a ‘Recommended Action’ of ‘Ignore’ for Claria {read Gator], as we recently reported. That’s because Bill and the Boyz are after the company.

Gator was described as one of the two worst spyware applications but Claria says it’s now stopped bundling its “pop-up ad serving software with Sharman Networks’ Kazaa file-sharing software,“ says Adweek, going on:

“By simplifying its distribution channels, Claria would answer a long-standing complaint that its bundling relationships with services like Kazaa lead to consumers not knowingly consenting to installation.”

Claria is already installed on about 50 million desktops, “and in its April 2004 filing for an initial public offering, which was withdrawn last August, Claria said it expected to rely on Kazaa for a ’substantial portion’ of its distribution in the future,” says Adweek.

Claria has moved to “transform its business from pop-up ads to behavioral targeting and personalization services,” it says, quoting chief Claria chief marketeer Scott Eagle as saying that while it continues to operate its pop-up ad network, “ the focus of the company is on its BehaviorLink ad network, which uses its tracking technology to display targeted ads.

“Claria has a companion offering, PersonalWeb, which uses its tracking software collects information on users’ Web habits to compile customized content”

Via zeropaid.com
The music industry has been telling us for years that peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is a bad thing. But a New York company has decided the record labels had it wrong and that it merely needed to harness P2P’s power.
Wurld Media announced last week that Peer Impact, its P2P online digital download service, has now signed agreements with all four major labels: Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and most recently, EMI Music.

Instead of itself redistributing music, Wurld says that Peer Impact offers a viable peer-to-peer alternative to unauthorized services and allows members to act as “paid redistributors” of authorized music content. The company says that the Peer Impact service allows consumers to purchase music and then earn money by sharing their music with others.

Currently in beta testing, Peer Impact says it will launch with a large catalog of “pristine industry inventory, not filtered or commingled with unprotected content, spyware, viruses, or pornography.” Wurld adds that its recent agreement with EMI will make the music company’s repertoire of catalog and current artists’ music available for purchase through the Peer Impact service.

Peer Impact says it is also negotiating partnerships with independent music labels, video game publishers, and motion picture studios, with the goal of offering “the most complete and diverse catalog of content for its members.” Wurld’s Greg Kerber explains, “Peer Impact isn’t just a network where you spend money, it’s a network where you can earn cash to buy more music, and the catalog is growing daily.”

What remains to be seen is whether this type of distribution has the right incentives built in to allow it to thrive. Wurld says its approach is based on the idea that “consumers form the backbone of the fulfillment aspect of Peer Impact.” According to the company, members who leave their computers on, and become a source for fulfillment when others purchase a file, are given credit for the sale and can use their credits towards future purchases through Peer Impact.

EMI’s Ted Cohen adds that his company sees Peer Impact as “the first of what we hope will be many legitimized P2P services.”

July 5, 2005
Thomas Mennecke Via Slyck News
Slyck takes a parody view on a serious situation.

After a sluggish start to the second quarter of 2005, hackers world-wide were able to push themselves to meet their mid year quota. Verified by security firm Akonix, the number of P2P and IM attacks increased by 400% from the first quarter of 2005. “We’re completely thrilled to have reached our goal,” an anonymous hacker told Slyck.com. “A lot of new security features were placed on the more popular P2P and IM clients after the first quarter of 2005. It took our R&D team some time to crack these tough nuts, however we literally burned the midnight oil to not only meet, but exceed our fist quarter expectations.”

P2P and IM worm scripters remarked on some of their more notable achievements, such as the development of three new IM parent works, “Aimsend, Harwig and Pinkton.”
(more…)

July 5, 2005
Thomas Mennecke Via Slyck News

On June 27th, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a manufacturer of any device that intentionally infringes on intellectual property rights is liable for copyright infringement. The ruling was vague enough that everyone involved in the online copyright wars accepted it as a victory. From the RIAA/MPAA to StreamCast - all hailed the decision a win for their cause. Immediately after the ruling – and indeed before so – P2P developers began introducing “legal” versions of their software to comply with the ruling.

The more publicized software packages, such as iMesh, MashBoxx and PeerImpact purportedly reached licensing deals with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of American.) In theory as long as these software developers maintain this relationship with the industry, they should avoid any kind of legal trouble. This was one method in keeping the record companies at bay.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- Some US college officials don’t think the Supreme Court Grokster v MGM decision will have much impact either on colleges’ policies regarding music and movie downloading, or on whether they decide to sign deals with “legal” downloading services, says the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“But other officials say the court’s ruling could lead to an increase in such deals, through which colleges hope to lure students away from illegal file sharing,” it states.

The unimaginably rich entertainment and software industry cartels claim they’re being devastated by people who use p2p networks to upload, download and share files online.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- “Steve Beeks, president of Lions Gate Entertainment, discovered the power of the over-45 set with the drama Beyond the Sea, starring Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin,” says USA Today.

“It showed on just 383 screens (wide release is considered 500 or more) and earned just $6 million in theaters, but it sold about $17 million in DVDs.”

In other words, one of the reasons the studios are seeing declines in attendences is because mature adults are staying away from the movie houses, preferring to relax at home and watch the show in comfort.

“Older “adults are buying 10% more DVDs now than they were at the end of 2004, says the story, citing Karen Shinoda, 54, as a typical home viewer.

She says she missed Ray, “because of the cost of going to the theater, and I was unemployed at the time”.

But for $15, “she picked up a copy on DVD a few months after the film opened in theaters. That’s about half what she would have shelled out on a movie ticket, popcorn and drink, gas and parking.”

Don’t even mention the hoots and howls and sticky floors and big hair and all the other delights of going to the movies.

Most releases are available for about four months after opening in theaters, says the story.

Via p2pnet.net

p2pnet.net News:- Big Music’s BPI (British Phonographic Industry) is cynically using the Live 8 concerts to spout record label cartel propaganda.

DVD copies of the Live 8 “poverty awareness pop concerts” were showing up on eBay auctions within a day of the shows. But after complaints from “the record industry,” eBay took them down, says Reuters.

The concerts were staged to raise awareness of poverty in Africa and to force the heads of government attending the G8 conference in Scotland to do something about it.

“Some of the pirate recordings on the site early on Tuesday were on sale within 24 hours of Saturday’s concerts ending, and have been attracting bids of up to 16.99 pounds ($31) each,” says Reuters.

But while the concerts were free, “EMI paid millions of pounds for the rights to release the official DVD of the event,” says Reuters.

“There are too many people out there who believe music is for stealing, regardless of the wishes of artists and the people who invest in them,” it has BPI mouthpiece David Martin saying

“The BPI urged eBay to toughen its safeguards against piracy, noting a dramatic rise in illegal sales,” adds the story.

Via p2pnet.net

p2pnet.net News:- GEMA, the German rights organisation for composers, lyricist and publishers, has asked 42 access providers to poison their DNS servers to block sites that provide links to eDonkey files.

DNS poisoning obstructs the process of converting a URL to a numeric IP address and GEMA apparently expects the access providers to configure their DNS servers so that “inquiries by end-users are not passed to the correct server, but to an invalid or another pre-defined side.”

GEMA also demands that the providers sign a testimony in which they’ll commit themselves to ensuring full blockage under a contractual penalty of 100,000 euros (almost $120,000) if any of their customers are still able to reach the targeted site after July 25th.
(more…)

According to reports on online forums, a number of ‘launcher’ programs for Sony’s PlayStation Portable handheld have now been released via BitTorrent and other P2P networks, allowing users to run pirated versions of PSP games via the Memory Stick Pro Duo.

Unauthorized copies of the U.S. version of puzzle title Lumines are apparently already up and running on a v1.50 firmware PSP, albeit without sound (a significant omission in the case of the game). Additional launchers are already been reported, for games including Archer Maclean’s Mercury, Puzzle Bobble, and even Konami’s first person shoot ‘em-up Coded Arms – which is yet to be released outside of Japan.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- Expect to soon see the name Google appearing on MPAA sue ‘em documents.
How come?

Well, the world’s most popular search service recently launched a video service so Google users could watch movies.
They didn’t make it generally known the service was only good for videos hosted on Google servers. But not to worry. Jon Lech Johansen, the Bane of Hollywood, soon fixed that.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- Instead of winning new customers with the excellenece of their product, the eagerness with which they embrace new technologies and concepts, and the intelligence with which they formulate and implement new marketing strategies, the entertainment cartels, fronted by the MPAA and RIAA, literally try to sue ‘consumers’ into compliance with outmoded, outdated business concepts.

Alex Hanff, a UK citizen who’s being victimized at long distance by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and who was recently interviewed by England’s BBC national broadcast service, has consistently stood up to the Hollywood enforcement organization.

He’s just sent a letter to California governor Arnold Schwartzenneger.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- The Big Four music cartels are raking it in, reporting eye-popping revenues.
And yet they continue to pump out ‘press releases’ claiming file sharing is “devastating” their multi-multi-billion-dollar businesses and that p2p is subjecting their contracted performers and support workers to extreme financial and personal hardship.

If there’s any suffering it’s because the labels, with their enormous financial resources, still aren’t honouring their obligations to their staff and artists.
(more…)

Via zeropaid.com

Taiwan’s music industry suffered a setback yesterday when the Shihlin District Court found a local peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing operator not guilty of infringing intellectual property rights.

In the nation’s first ruling on file-sharing cases, the court found that Weber Wu (吳怡達), president of Ezpeer — which provides a for-fee platform for subscribers to swap files — did not engage in reproducing or publicly distributing works of copyright holders.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- RealNetworks is to launch a newspaper campaign using the Grokster v MGM case to play up its own “legitimate” music sharing service, Rhapsody 25, launched a few months ago, says Brandweek.com.

The implication is that Grokster is illegal.
It isn’t.

The US Supreme Court did, however, rule that the owners of p2p file-sharing applications such as Grokster can be held liable if users swap copyrighted material without permission.

“RealNetworks’ campaign, which featured full-page ads running in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and USA Today, will emphasize the fact that Rhapsody offers 25 free music files each month without the worry of infringing on anyone’s rights,” says the story, adding:

“RealNetworks will spend an undisclosed sum on the campaign, which was created by Publicis, Seattle, and targets music lovers.

“The company also plans to deploy an ‘aggressive’ search-term campaign that capitalizes on the ruling, which places the burden of copyright responsibility squarely on creators of music download tools …”

RealNetworks is distinguished by the frequency with which serious security flaws that open users to hack attacks are found in its software.

Via p2pnet.net

p2pnet.net News:- Operation Site Down it’s called. But the name is deceptive.
The raids weren’t specifically aimed at sites but at servers. The overall goal was: IP addresses. But one thing bothers me.
The Industry wants to identify and shutdown (file) sharers. But strangely enough in Holland, suspects were released soon after being arrested.
Does this bring back memories of “Raids on Ed2k and Bittorrent defined”?
At last check, those suspects still haven’t been charged or incarcerated.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News:- Marlon Brando’s personal copy of the screenplay for The Godfather set a new world record at yesterday’s auction of his personal effects at Christie’s in New York, says the Guardian Unlimited.
It went for $312,800 (£176,000) to an unnamed buyer.
(more…)

p2pnet.net News: “Free software is a matter of liberty, not price,” say the organizers of Copyright 2005, slated for July 3 in Montréal, Canada.

“To understand the concept, you should think of ‘free’ as in ‘free speech,’ not as in ‘free beer.’ Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software,” they say on the web site.

Copyright 2005 will be at the Université du Québec and will feature kiosks hosted by Free Culture enthusiasts such as Debian, FreeCulture, KDE, île sans fil, Savoir-faire Linux.
(more…)