Eight charged with copyright infringement in the U.S.

I think FBI is plain wrong because the real source of those pirated copies is from industry insiders.

Yup. That Star Wars workprint didn't come from any camcorder or telecine machine.

"According to the Justice Department, as soon as games, software, movies etc… are released, a group makes digital pirate copies which spread to servers around the world in very little time. This is where most of the material on P2P networks originates." Yes...true...did you guys know that almost all piracy around the world originates from basically 8 guys? Yes..indeed...you stop one of these crews and you're piracy problem is solved...case closed. These same 8 guys are also the only ones in the world who have the ability and technical know-how to rip cd's and dvd's. Yes this is very incredible...I am worried now because if they caught all 8 of them then that means that there will be no more stuff available for download on the internet. Stock up while you can...cause it's all over.

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Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Clifford. "Those committing the cyber crimes can be identified and located anywhere in the world," he said.

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Have they tried that online auction site with the pretty colors in the logo? lmao

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These same 8 guys are also the only ones in the world who have the ability and technical know-how to rip cd's and dvd's. Yes this is very incredible...I am worried now because if they caught all 8 of them then that means that there will be no more stuff available for download on the internet. Stock up while you can...cause it's all over.

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rubbish. theres loadsa software availabe in which people can put new released stuff on p2p & torrents. this is a notorious group. yes. but there are hundreds of individuals who can do this with simple software.

I wonder how much money was spent for this investigation. Catching the desperado 8, is equivelant to stopping a flood with one sandbag.

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rubbish. theres loadsa software availabe in which people can put new released stuff on p2p & torrents. this is a notorious group. yes. but there are hundreds of individuals who can do this with simple software.

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Stop me if I'm wrong - but I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic. Maybe you are being sarcastic about his sarcasm too? Ouch, I just hurt my head.

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"The charges strike at the top of the copyright piracy supply chain", said Acting Assistant Attorney General John C Richter. "Cases like these are part of the Justice Department's coordinated strategy to protect copyright owners from the online thieves who steal and then sell the products they work so hard to produce."

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line of crap if ya ask me!!... they needa get these fu**in old people who dont know squat about what's goin on... out of these powerful "gov" positions.. sickens me.. think i'm bout to puke

They will problably get sentenced to 800 years of prison or death :D well they new the risks involved being in the "warez scene" but im also sure they will regret it for the rest of their lifes..Going the jail for what? Warez? In the end what does this change? Nothing, new groups and people will come and replace the old ones. Maybe the "scene" will be more closed since people have been too careless. Btw: English isnt my native language so sorry if there are any typeos

there will always be p2p networks, there will always be someone distrubuting illegal actions, this kinda thing will never stop, yeah, the gov. might crack down more, but the people will just make more, it's plain to see

Good luck in their efforts and I know as well as others that this kind of issue will always be an issue. This gives others that much more ambition to get their job done. There not trying to climb a hill that's 8 feet but a mountain thats a tens of thousands of feet high. Again I wish them luck! LOL

Must make all those US citizens feel so much safer now that the FBI is cracking down so hard on these downloaders. I guess they have to have some success somewhere considering that they have very little when it comes to REAL crime such as terrorism. More taxpayers $$$$$s using government resources for what is plainly a civil matter.

All I can say is I hope they can catch and waste more time on this since the movie Industry people can't put food on the table because of this. Those poor guys I mean they can't afford Gas for there Hummers now! And to think that this could have been more Agents looking for Bin Laden? Awe crap he only killed thousands of Americans why waste time on him when they can catch people playing on the Computer and try and stop people from smoking in there cars in Jersey!

It has never ceased to amaze me that the people running the recording industry have failed to use technology to thier advantage instead of spending millions trying to fight it, which will continue to be a losing battle. -George-

amatures.......... you think they are the only people in the world who can rip cd's and dvd's?.........give me a break.2 years ago i did'nt know anything about computers and now i can crack,hack,destroy and do just about anything i want to with yahoo....even look at web cams when i'm denied.but all that got old quick.if i want something....I BUY IT.you ask why buy it when you can get it for free? well i have to say i don't want them knocking on my door with a warrent because it will happen someday if you keep it up.if you doubt it just ask the people that have been charged so far.i almost forgot.....I CAN RIP TOO.

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Must make all those US citizens feel so much safer now that the FBI is cracking down so hard on these downloaders. I guess they have to have some success somewhere considering that they have very little when it comes to REAL crime such as terrorism. More taxpayers $$$$$s using government resources for what is plainly a civil matter.

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Ahaha. Now i feel I can leave my home or walk on the streets at night now that these notorious downloaders are in prison. Phew! And I thought terrorists were a threat...!

Yes, yes, peace at last! I was having horrible nightmares about evil geniuses in capes downloading every song on the internet and taking over the planet! Now that they've caught a couple of them I can sleep soundly at night and dream about something relaxing, like getting chased by murderers in hockey masks or something.

good one nonoitall. @:)

The waste of time and energy is mind boggling. The US government has their priorities so screwed up it is truly frightening. Stopping these 8 is nothing, and you know they spent millions in payroll and 'expenses!' to arrest these poor schmucks. There is nothing that can be published that cannot be duplicated. The dumb butts don't get it. As long as there are people out there that cannot afford to buy, they will figure out how to rip it. More power to them I say. Now if they would just put the same coordinated effort into stopping al-qaida. It's ok to colaborate multiple countries to stop 8 movie rippoffs, but they can't agree to work together to save thousands of lives. IDIOTS!!!

They don't care about anyone's lives accept their own. When it comes to other people's lives vs. money it's no contest - money always comes out on top. Terrorists don't infringe on copyright laws, so they are a low priority and not important enough to worry about. ;)

The FBI can find one idiot sitting in a theater with a web cam but cannot find Osama Bin Laden & his gang of murderers or their stores of explosives, I really feel safe now, especially since that poor asshole probably don't have a dime to his name OR any explosives anyway!

AHOY MATEYS! This all started around 1998 - 1999,and they have made a boatload of threats and made tons of bogus claims that the days of P2P are numbered.It has all wieghed in as false.Everyday 35000 more p2p'ers propagate.Its' a lota 'em

@ VetteZr nice one why the@#$# are they persuing all this it just blows my mind that they can catch people downloading whatever but they can't even catch someone who is threating our EXISTANCE !?!?!?! ROTFL

More rubbish from the corporate heads who have made bad decisions on content over the past 10 years and need someone to blame. I don't go to the movies because 95% of films are crap. I don't buy music for the same reason. Now I am 59 years old but believe that both the music and movie industry belongs to the young. About time these cobwebbed corporate bean counters retired to some old B&W island and leave the industies to those who are creative and inovative. It is also about time the FBI and other agencies concentrated on the real problems in this world and not go for the easy choices. The law is about one thing these days. 100% for the corporate world, 0% for the people.

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The day has finally come; the day we get someone from the other side post in here! 1. Don't triple post, it's against forum rules

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As a Person who has been fighting piracy for the past 10 years and saving the consumers well over 1 Billion dollars,

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Saving the consumer what? The price of a new album is between £10-£15; and for what, a whole 3 or 4 songs that we actually want to listen to? I certainly don't feel like i'm saving. Bet Bit torrent & P2P users do though ;-)

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Unfortunately if no one does anything to stop this blatent piracy, software and movie prices will go through the roof, and drive software prices up beyond the price that anyone can afford!

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They already are for a lot of people..

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I cannot understand anyone that doesn't understand the simple principle of get them before they get us JUST DOESN'T GET IT!!!! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE PEOPLE!!!!

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I cannot understand how you cannot grasp the concept that people don't want to be restricted with their media content and distribution. It's not that they don't understand it, they just don't care. And why should they? There is no totally 'legal' site that offers a large enough range of music. It's all just mainstream stuff, plus it is encoded at crap bitrates and full of DRM. I'll pass. Good luck with scaring everybody though.

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THEFT MEANS HIGHER PRICES FOR ALL OF USE AND THE FBI IS DOING US A HUGE FAVOR BY CATCHING THESE PEOPLE AND HELP US YES US THE CONSUMER KEEP MOVIE AND SOFTWARE PRICES DOWN!!!!

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2. Do not post in all caps, it is against the rules. Did you read them before joining? You won't stop internet piracy. Instead of a laughable 'sue 'em all' tactic, or trying to scare people, has anyone over at your planet tried working with it? Heres a final 'food for thought' for you. Create something like AllOfMP3, but with a larger selection. Try looking at it from another point of view - all the music you could want, at the bitrates you prefer, and FREE, -or- A DRM riddled music selection barely surpassing 1million songs (if that), encoded @128kbps, and COSTING MONEY! Latstly, Whilst you are here, you could maybe feast your eyes on my torrent creating guide ;-) Cheers.

@mattmin: They didn't "save consumers well over 1 billion dollars". They helped the entertainment industry suck another billion out of people who want to sample video and music before they pay for it, but now can't. You talk like these eight people would have destroyed the country if they had been allowed to keep sharing low-quality video. I'd much rather see the FBI capture eight terrorists, but apparently their time is being waisted on being the entertainment industry's puppets. You also don't seem to understand the difference between piracy, copyright infringement and file-sharing. Only the first one is stealing, and these eight people were not guilty of it (at least the article never mentions that they were). Movie prices are already 'through the roof' and they have been for a long time - and "blatant piracy" is not to blame; greed is. Do you realize how much money actors make for doing a job that requires no more skill than the high-school dropout's job over at McDonnald's? There is no evidence at all that file-sharing of copyrighted material leads to a loss of sales. Studies have actually shown that the recording industry's "losses" (allegedly caused by file-sharing) have been dwarfed by a boost in the economy caused by this sharing. Looks to me like the consumers are actually benefiting from this... The entertainment industry is the only one complaining - it wants to keep sucking money out of artists and consumers and get rich at everyone else's expense. They are the ones who cost billions of dollars. Now maybe you understand our comments a bit better?

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to the triple posting newbie--- If "your" software is good it will sell no matter who copies it. Its us against them. Define them. The rise in internet media and innovations in the audio area has been a direct result of "us" and "us" frankly resents your attitude. If you wish to stifle new ideas and free thinking Adolf, let's take more of our individual freedoms away and when you come up with a really good idea there won't be anyone to tell it to. Thank heaven for rebels or we wouldn't be here today.

I would still rather see more money and more time spent where it's needed. WE JUST HAD 2 HURRICANES !!! There are still many people who dont have homes from these last summer storms. But dont worry we put 8 people in jail because they copied software and media. So I guess everything else just gets a back seat. Mattmin when you say that by stopping people like this that it will keep costs down. Well I work in healthcare and no one can copy that and it's never been more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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but remember God knows the truth about all that we do that is wrong. He is the final judge Not me. Touche'!

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Trying to put the fear of God in people? Man, you have run out of ideas - that is a new low..

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As far as DRM and lousy bitrates and no selection all I can say is Yahoo and Napster and Rhapsody have very good quality songs for very little money, and to date with all three programs I have not stumped any of these services in finding new, old and vintage recordings.

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Good quality? That's a laugh. Don't insult my intellegence by saying DRM locked 128kbps music is good!

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maybe it will never be stopped, but I hope and pray each day that more people are prosecuted.

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The fair use agreement is abused and many people and it is unfortunate that many people think they can get away with it

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Many people know they can get away with it... More people are joining p2p in a week than those who are being sued or moving to legal alternatives. -so, what's next in the battleplan? ;-)

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the way i see it is p2p and bt is fine. its just like listning to the radio. the only difference is u get to select what u want to hear, when u want to hear it. now if someone is burning and selling for profit then thats not right. besides if u like it u will buy it so u can have a goood copy anyway. i know i do. it doesnt make any sense to have a $3,000 entertainment system and play sub par media on it.one day they will get smart and figure this out--if the cable & satallite companies would offer a service where people could select what they listned to or watched anytime they wanted, and record and play as they liked, it would put an end to all of this. if they charged a low fee like $20-50 a month with no restictions. there would be sooo many people who would suscribe, that the sheer magnitude of poeple paying this small amount, there would be enough money for everyone. and the consumer would be happy too. the only exception would be new music releases. give them a few months to re-coup some money. movies would re-coup at the theater, then be offered. could u imagine over a billion+ people paying $35 a month, thats alot of cash. the only part of this that may be false is when i said one day they would get smart. this is my opinion on the subject. maybe one day ill run for president. naaa i dont think so, i would have to strangle too many people.

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Reverse ISP and email lookups

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*cough* privacy laws *cough*...

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When you play a pirated file your info will be shipped to the RIAA and you will be prosecuted simple as that

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How will that work? How can the RIAA get to my iPod, or my archos PMP, or my psp, or my phone?? Just disconnect from the internet! LOL

Some good points at least that is a step in the right direction. Thanks for your post gamename!

Pleasure's all mine :-)

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I cannot divulge in this forum HOW they will do it. The most important thing to realize is that they can and will do it to prosecute anyone who is blatently harvesting illegal files.

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Of course you cannot say it - there is nothing to say! Come on now, If there was some sort of new plot, we would know. And a new law will have to be passed first for you to be able to invade people's privacy like looking at email and spying on people's activities. Those types of laws will never be passed - can you imagine the outrage if people like yourselves were allowed to look at people's emails? Let's start talking some sense here.....

the spying thing wont work. someone will come out with software to defeat it. the only way to do it is to offer a cheap way to have ur music and movies. if the price is right , the quality is good, and there are no restrictions, it will work.

I agree witcha, gamename. But at the moment, that service is not available. So maybe our friend here from the RIAA may want to take that into consideration..

@lethal..ur right and it probably will never happen. i wish i had the cash to start something like that, i would have more money than bill gates, in no time at all.

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The only reason I decided to comment on this matter is because I feel that people should have a choice.

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Is sharing (or stealing, as you call it) music and movies not a choice? Lots of people who download music for free do so because they simply can't afford to pay $20 for a piece of round plastic with one good song on it. I honestly can't find the music I like on the 'legit' sites, and even if I could, I wouldn't want a file infected with DRM on my computer. It seems to me you should be complaining to the recording industry - they're the ones limiting people's choices; copyright infringers, and even pirates have nothing to do with this narrow-sightedness.

It's good that even though we have a gross clash in opinions, we can still agree to disagree. Good luck in trying to stop piracy (I mean that genuinely, not sarcastically) - even though I don't believe in what you are doing =) [edit] Great comment, nonoitall. I feel what you are saying 100%

Well, IF choice is the problem then maybe we all should complain to the recording industry and have them put higher quality and better selections of music and movies available as their top priority. Maybe then we could all agree on this.

<i>Unfortunately if no one does anything to stop this blatent piracy, software and movie prices will go through the roof, and drive software prices up beyond the price that anyone can afford! </i> most economists who study this say the opposite.

Unfortunately, I don't think software piracy can be stopped. But all I know is that if I was offered my type of music at a flat (monthly) rate, with no restrictions and encoded using the LAME encoder, i'm sold. @ S2K - wrong coding. [ i ]S2K[ / i ] but without the gaps, so you get S2K

WOW! thats got to be a first, comparing file sharing to drugs and terrorism.

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Well, IF choice is the problem then maybe we all should complain to the recording industry and have them put higher quality and better selections of music and movies available as their top priority. Maybe then we could all agree on this.

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Absolutely :) - and have them get rid of DRM while they're at it.

I Agree that DRM is a violation of a person's rights and liberties to be able to legitimately hear the music they want before they decide if they wish to purchase it. Read on: DRM (synonyms: Digital Rights Management) DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and it is now (spring 2002) the hot topic among content owners and technology companies alike. DRM doesn't mean just basic copy-protection of digital content (like ebooks, MP3s or DivX videos), but it basically means full protection for digital content, ranging from delivery to end user's ways to use the content. If we speak about music DRM, companies wish to develop a product which would allow record labels to sell copy-protected audio tracks over the Internet, so that only the buyer could be allowed to listen the tracks. This is technically difficult, because traditionally, national laws require content owners like record labels, to grant "fair use" rights for products consumers buy. This means that user has to be allowed to make personal copies of the purchased music, in order to use the music in car, in portable digital audio player, in his/her laptop computer, etc. So, somehow DRM system needs to know when the copying is allowed and when not -- users also have rights to make copies to their closest relatives, etc. So, normally this has been solved by allowing "hops" -- original file can be copied, but the copy of the original file cannot be copied any further. Obviously this also causes problems, if user accidentally deletes the original file, but still has the legal copy of the file :-)

All companies think the same about lawsuits, filesharing, and theft. They complain to the government about their profit margin being lower than what it was the year before. With there strong financial backing they have control of what is done in the country. The world eventually will be run by corporatations with the most cashflow to control the office of the government. Theft of some sort will continue forever given the fact that the rich get richer while the middle and lower class grow every year due to less income. I always have this thought that eventually the world will become semi communist and all citizens will have to live by extreme limitations.

thats terrible. but ur probably right. ive seen things going in that direction myself. less pay and new laws, seems to be the way of the future. hopefully ill be dead and gone before it happens. lets face it, there are alot of people that wouldnt have access to music or movies if it wasnt for the internet. they just cant afford to buy cds and dvds. it takes everything they make to pay the bills. and there numbers grow every day.

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I cannot divulge in this forum HOW they will do it. The most important thing to realize is that they can and will do it to prosecute anyone who is blatently harvesting illegal files.

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there is where anyone in the know would laugh. There is no technical issue to finding out persons harvesting "illegal files." 99% of the persons who have ever used the internet have most likly "harvested "illegal files" if by that you mean copyright material they have no rights to. My guess is if you have been ion the internet a couple of years, Matt, you yourself have "blatetlny harvested" thousands of illegal files. Ive seen studies indicating that 75% of websites with ten pages or more contain copyright material without securing proper rigths, this includes fortune 500 companies and RIAA and MPAA members! Everyone visiting is hrvesting illegal files. Wow!! Hey I have had people send me emails, people I know adn spammer with material that is often under copyright. I hav FTP'd what should be legitimate files which required in-depth investigation to find out turned out to be copyright. POP3, HTTP, FTP, NNTP and P2P invariably all result in material getting onto your machine which may not have the proper rights. The legal requirement would be a statement of volition and intent by the person being prosecuted or sued. That is why even with rock solid proof a person has downloaded a file (it is actually very easy to dprove this) no one has ever been prosecuted. It is NOT a technical issue, it is a legal issue; where prosecution relies on the person admitting theydid so with intent and foreknowledge that that file was under copyright.

Ah, but there is a way to find this information. I cannot devulge it because I am aware of it even though I do not work for any organization. I appreciate your post. It is the next generation of prosecution for those that are doing wrong. I am not on this forum for any reason but to inform people about what my opinion of an issue is. As far as copywritten materials go the copyright act of 1977 had a clause in it regarding "fair use" and it applies to those individual who use copywritten materials with permissions and use the materials for educational purposes, and other reasons (See link below) and do not wish to share them. Am I going to prosecute you cause your VCR was on all night and made a copy of a copywritten movie? NO. It is ok to copy a copy of a movie or even a DVD, as you are allowed 1 copy as a bkup. The problem lies if you copy that movie and package it and sell 2 or more copies on Ebay, that is blatant copyright infringement and making a profit from something that you clearly do not own. Please read the law before you accuse me or anyone of things. Here is the present laws on copyright fair use: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm Play fair now! :) Keep Smilin.

Ok I am going to give out all of my sympathy to those poor unfortunate folk who run both the movie and music industry. It must be stressfull and heartbreaking knowing that your days are numbered. Music is at the beginning of a new era that will exclude selling it on bits of plastic controlled by a handful of companies. I see the day when music will no longer be the cash cow it has been for the past 100 years. It will return to the hands of the true artists who will be more concerned in having their work heard and appreciated than making the big bucks. Those artists that have been locked out of the loop have a new tool. It is called the Net. As for movies and probably TV new ideas are extremely rare. There is no need for millions of dollars of equipement to make a decent movie so the innovative movie maker will be able to bypass the studios altogether and in the near future show his product on the net. Both musicians and movie makers along with a small and acceptable level of advertising will be able to cover the cost and provide a reasonable return. This is the biggest fear the existing industry has. A Loosing control. All the suing, laws and protection will not halt the inevitable. I just hoe I live long enough to see the day when WB, Sony studios are covered in cobwebs.

You are correct, it is unfortunate that the industry wants to get involved in such tactics of suing and other things. In the early days when high tech means didn't exist I am sure many people were doing the same thing, stealing and not getting caught. I doubt if you will ever see the day where cobwebs cover the music industry.... As a musician 40 years and a composer of over 850 songs I have gotten upset that some of my songs were stolen and unfortunately for me I didn't have the money to fight it in court, I could not afford a decent atty. so I lost many a good tune. Food for thought. Thanks for you post. Copyrightless in OH

The problem lies if you copy that movie and package it and sell 2 or more copies on Ebay, Yes that is distribution, not downloading. The problem with prosecuting and sueing for downloading is NOT technical, it never has been. OPf the millions of persons who download material they have no rights to, or the uploader or publisher should not have uploaded, no downloader has been prosecuted or sued. No one has been sued for downloading not becasue it is hard to find someone doig it, but because of issues with intent that are not going to change no matter what anyone does. Frankly, I don't think Mattmin understand the law at all. Almost all of his statmeents show a lack of knowledge of the legal issues. Specifically he seems to be unfamiliar with case law in this field. I love this statement of his: It is ok to copy a copy of a movie or even a DVD, as you are allowed 1 copy as a bkup. sorry Matt if you are in Ohio and doing this you are committing a federal crime acccording to the sources and groups whose ositions he supports. Matt why are you recommending a federal crime?

:)