RE: [7.8.2002 44916] Notice of Copyright Infringement]

From: Jason Coombs (jasoncat_private)
Date: Fri Jul 12 2002 - 12:50:00 PDT

  • Next message: Golden_Eternity: "RE: [7.8.2002 44916] Notice of Copyright Infringement"

    Aloha, Ian.
    
    See: http://www.wipo.org
    
    The DMCA doesn't apply in the UK, but your government agreed to outlaw
    precisely the same activity using laws of local design. I don't know
    what the law is named in your country, but I bet if you look you'll
    find that it does exist. There was a deadline for passage of such
    legislation in order to comply with treaty.
    
    Your point is valid concerning the specific language of the threat
    letter your friend received, but that's little more than a typo.
    
    Sincerely,
    
    Jason Coombs
    jasoncat_private
    
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Kayne Ian (Softlab) [mailto:Ian.Kayneat_private]
    Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 10:28 PM
    To: Vuln-Dev
    Subject: RE: [7.8.2002 44916] Notice of Copyright Infringement]
    
    
    2 points about this thread.
    
    First, a lot of people have posted responses to the effect of "Unless xxx
    downloads the file that is supposedly breaching copyright, they can't tell
    if you *are* breaching copyright or not, thus breaching it themselves".
    Unfortunately this isn't true (at least for EDonkey). EDonkey creates a hash
    of the file on your hd, and compares it with the hashes on everyone elses
    hd. If you're in the middle of downloading the file, Edonkey can be sure
    it's resuming the same file from someone else (regardless of filename) by
    these hashes. Therefore to prove copyright infringment, all these companies
    need to do is to confirm your hashes are the same hashes as a "real" warezed
    version of whatever movie. Of course the movie house give the company legal
    permission to download etc the file, therefore they are not in contravention
    of copyright law. So all the company does is run a donkeybot or similar,
    scan the network and log all the people who are sharing a file with hashes
    that match a warezed ver of the movie. Until it becomes illegal to own a
    checksum of a file...
    
    As a side note, this hashing works against them too. They may have been
    flooding the p2p networks with "bad" versions of movies, but all any
    sensible person needs to do is to use a website (sharereactor.com, for
    example) and use the hash link off there. Providing the website is "true"
    (and there are enough of them), you'll always be garanteed to download the
    file you actually want.
    
    Secondly, companies & "entities" in the USA really need to get a damn grip
    of themselves. A friend of mine received an email from a company saying he
    was breaching the DCMA etc for exactly the same reason as Keith Tyler. The
    problem? He lives in the UK, just like me. Sorry to tell you, no matter how
    much you don't want to believe it (and how many times you put a Skylarov in
    jail) American law does NOT apply worldwide.
    
    All that said, piracy is of course a crime. Views are my own. Standard
    disclaimer applies etc etc.
    
    Ian Kayne
    Technical Specialist - IT Solutions
    Softlab Ltd - A BMW Company
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
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