ZeroPaid.com » spain

Police Raid Spanish Performing Rights Organization Headquarters – Assets Seized

Drew Wilson — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 18:53:48 +0000

News is circulating that the Spanish anti-corruption police have raided the SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores) headquarters recently, seizing computers, company laptops and other pieces of property on the premises. Amid the allegations are embezzlement of royalties that were suppose to go to performers.

One of the media outlets reporting on the news is Thereader.es which has in-depth coverage. The head of the organization has insisted that no arrests have been made, though police have sealed off the building to the public while they investigate, posting two officers at the buildings entrance. From the report:

Early in the morning, officers sealed the building to the public. At 12 o'clock, they permitted some workers to leave the building to go home. For now, the Civil Guard has seized all computers and company owed mobile phones in the building, and issued instructions to workers to hand over their company laptops. According to sources, the investigation is looking into how the SGAE was raising money by way of copyright among those artists residing outside of Spain. These artists did not receive their fair share of the money, and it is alleged that those involved were diverting the money to personal accounts in Switzerland.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor has filed in the High Court a complaint directed against the SGAE for alleged misappropriation of funds in their activities, according to Europa Press legal sources. The brief of the Public Ministry, which was presented a few weeks ago to Dean of the High Court, requested the opening of a preliminary investigation by the department following a complaint filed in November 2007 by the Association of Internet Users, the Spanish Association of Small Business Computing and New Technologies (APEMIT) and the Spanish Association of Innkeepers Victims of the Canon (VACHE). The complaint, which was seen by Europa Press, was based on the appearance in various media of several "alleged illegalities committed in the economic management of the resources of the SGAE."

This is far from the first time large organizations related to the entertainment industry have been in legal hot water. It was only yesterday that the IFPI boss and a CEO in Germany was accused of tax evasion. In 2009, the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) was sued got $6 billion for commercial music piracy (some considered that as potentially the biggest copyright infringement lawsuit in Canadian history) to which CRIA was forced to settle for $45 million in 2011. Also in 2009, Sony was accused of music piracy, having assets seized by police in Mexico. In 2008, Sony BMG was sued for software piracy in France - assets were seized by bailiffs. Also in France, HADOPI (effectively, France's law that enforces their three strikes law there) was busted for copyright infringement in 2010. In 2006, the MPAA was busted for making pirate copies of "This Film is Not Yet Rated". In 2007, BASCAP, an anti-piracy organization, was accused of piracy in 2007. In 2004, the music industry was forced to settle a case when they were accused of price fixing. What this appears to be is just another story in a saga of entertainment industry organizations not having a picture perfect record with the law. This might very well be just another black eye that the entertainment industry has to deal with for the time being. [Hat Tip] Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Feds Ignore Spanish Sovereignty, Seize Legal Streaming Site

Jared Moya — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:23:59 +0000

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement seizes Spain-based stream linking site even though courts in that country have repeatedly ruled the site is legal in that country.

The US' Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is proving that everybody's fears could come true if the controversial Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) is passed into law. The downsides of the measure, which would give the Department of Justice an “expedited process” for seizing sites in order to “prevent the importation into the United States of goods and services offered by an Internet site dedicated to infringing activities," is already on full display with news that ICE has seized a foreign site with no US ties, and that has already been ruled legal by courts in that country. Rojadirecta.org, a popular site (ranked #70 in the world) hosting links to streams of a variety of sporting events, was seized by ICE earlier today as part of its ongoing "Operation In our Sites" which it has previously said is necessary to get rid of sites that "threaten economic opportunities and financial stability" and "suppress innovation and destroy jobs." The only problem this time around is that Spanish courts have already ruled on more than one occasion that the site is abiding by Spanish law. "A very long judicial process (more than 3 years) where have worked the Spanish police, the Spanish Attorney General's Office and the Spanish justice, ALL of them defending or deciding the legality of the site," reads a message greeting visitors on a redirected Rojadirecta.com. "By closing rojadirecta.org this way, the domain dot org number 70 more visited in the world, show to any country in the World the lack of control over the generic domain names (.com, .org, .net, etc.) which are controlled by American companies and which the US authorities are censoring from the last months as they want without a legal process with the chance to defense yourself," it continues. "Obviously we are already seeking legal advice and we will do the same in the US at the beginning of the day." Rojadirecta appears to have regained control over the homepage of the .org version of the site, but site content and streaming link pages have now been switched over to Rojadirecta.com, Rojadirecta.me, Rojadirecta.es, and Rojadirecta.in. Now ICE might think it's doing the right thing by seizing sites it's convinced are harming copyright holders, but what does it think would happen if foreign countries began seizing the domain names of legal US-based sites? Take, for example, if Tunisia had tried to seize Twitter for "inciting revolution" or Thailand had tried to seize YouTube for hosting videos that insult the King? This news ought to be a wake up call for anybody that hasn't yet heard about the COICA. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com

Spanish Web Censorship Supporter Calls Opponents Dictators, Cowards and Likens Them to Terrorists

Drew Wilson — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:55:07 +0000

There are very few times we see someone who supports restricting copyright laws that are so direct, but Alejandro Sanz probably should win an award for most direct and honest opinion (and maybe rather asinine as well) of those who don't agree with his point of view on matters. Still, it appears to be quite a good indicator of just how tense the debate over Spanish web censorship has become. Maybe the defeat of the web censorship bill has only served to infuriate foreign interests as well as those who side with them.

The Sinde Law, a law that would allow the Spanish government to censor any website they deem to contain pirated material, was defeated in a government vote shortly after Wikileaks revealed that such laws were brought forth due to, what some would argue, foreign (US) interference. In spite of the law being defeated once it was brought to a vote, the minister responsible for the law vowed to pass the law anyway, regardless of any difficulty she may have passing it after it was defeated once already. Supporters of web censorship were apparently furious about the defeat of the legislation. One supporter, Alejandro Sanz in particular, took his comments quite far by likening some of the opponents to the Taliban, calling some opponents to web censorship dictators and even calling politicians who voted against the legislation coward. From the posting in question (Google Translation):

When I learned that he had rejected the law Sinde wrote in my Twitter about this, and this time, some politicians had acted cowardly and hypocritical, I keep it. I think many of them, knowing that it was a just law, voted against it because of convenience or cowardice. Either reason is unfortunate but apart from this, which of course is my opinion, the worst part is that I immediately started to receive via Twitter all kinds of insults and abuse. Some even dared to say that I do not pay taxes, others I just blurted out that Curran, in order to bully the typical arguments of zebra crossing. These misplaced are those who believe that my work and that of all workers in the music industry more and theirs are not supporting the others, who are the worst. I mean the Internet Taliban, they are glad that a hacker sites close to anyone who is in favor of this bill or against anything they think ie, is the new fascism, new dictatorship of the Lords of the Red and many politicians have joined them. This protects the pirate, the procurer of stolen songs (is white, black, eighth notes and sixteenth note), here yesterday and voted to protect the right to pirate music to keep her brothel opened and voted against the artist. ... and our rights ... Do you know how many jobs have been lost in the music because of the Taliban and their cronies, with the complicity of much of our society including many of our politicians? ... Look, this is very simple: music, culture, our cultural future depends on what we protect, we care, I feel like all of us and we demand our leaders to protect him, if not, get used to the deteriorating cultural, social impoverishment , and the Taliban. ... Because they never let them play their feuds, their parallel world where anything goes, where there are no laws ... your world ... and will lead to perverse anarchy. You will see what they want for their future generations. Turn and repeat, political masters in Spain, with respect to the music industry you have behaved like cowards and hypocrites and have done a disservice to the culture of our country. I hope you reconsider and become part of the solution. There is still time. ...If not prepare to be hostage to the Lords of the network to the rest of their lives, and oh, time ... puts everything in place.

Apparently, some supporters of Spanish web censorship really enjoy their ellipses. In all seriousness, what I find ironic here is the fact that those who chose to dislike the idea of the government saying what is or isn't right for public are the very people this person is calling the dictators here. I think there is a point that one could cross where such extreme support for restricting copyright can be an impediment to the very cause they are fighting for simply because, at least, in this case, it doesn't sound like they are able to handle defeat in a mature manner. Going so far as to insinuate that the Taliban are against web censorship is certainly a bit extreme to put it mildly. Even calling those who have the power to pass such legislation in the first place names certainly isn't very helpful. One can really only hope that Sanz isn't really representative of the businesses, including foreign ones, point of view. The group Sanz targeted in particular, the Asociación de Internautas (Association of Internet Users), issued a response (Google Translation may contain NSFW language) to this colorful opinion: Víctor Domingo already replied to Miami from the website of the most active association in defense of the network that have Spanish Internet users, members or nonmembers. We are facing a campaign contemptible about Lords of Industry to those who never needed a speaker, a forum, a radio, a newspaper or a television for personal insult and promote their work outside the free market. Issuers of government grant, do not forget that there is a big key to the multinational network (Spanish version): FM and a select few. But more serious, more serious is that the culture minister has said that you liked the article the singer Alejandro Sanz. Of course, in that same interview shows his respect for Fernando Trueba and his announcement of fiscal disobedience. What all of this will do for the debate of web censorship is unclear. What we do know is that tempers are really flaring over this. Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Report: Spanish Minister Vows to Pass Site Blocking Anyway

Drew Wilson — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:24:40 +0000

A few days ago, we reported on the defeat of web censorship in Spain where ISPs would be mandated to block websites if the government ordered them to block them over copyright infringement. The law was brought forth due to US industry threats, lobbying and pressure. Now, news is surfacing that the defeat won't be enough to deter site blocking in Spain.

There was no shortage of Spanish celebration when site blocking was defeated. Spanish copyright observers noted the celebrations on Spanish sites that a law the Spanish people fought so hard to defeat was finally shot down. For many Spanish, the Sinde Bill represented one of the very symbols of foreign industry intervention on the domestic marketplace and the very country itself. It's no surprise many in Spain were happy to see foreign interference defeated by a vote. So, does that mean that the war is finally over to stop US pressure? Apparently not. Reports are surfacing (Google Translate) that the government is vowing to force the issue and pass the legislation anyway. From an additional report (Google translated):

In this sense, she stated that there is a parliamentary majority that believes in the basic content of this law and recognized that the PSOE presented to the Popular Party "generous offers" to take forward the text of the second final provision, but "there was no way ". "But no matter how we try again because it is very important," insisted Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba. "The Government's position has significant support even in all media, I am convinced that we will get rebuild that consensus, and we'll try it. And from there, see what is the legal instrument but we will try, "Rubalcaba stressed to the many questions from journalists on this issue. Rubalcaba said the Sinde Act is "balanced" and "guarantor" when compared to the French or British law. "It's very friendly, not at criminalize those who drop an album or a movie at all. What it does is preventing people from pirating. Is that the very term 'hack' is illegal by its very nature" concluded Rubalcaba.

So, apparently, what the Spanish people say and how the government votes is not enough to stop the passage of an unpopular law as far as the government is concerned. There's a term for that, "Dictatorship". The Spanish government did say that it would be difficult to pass the law, but they feel that they can be successful anyway after this defeat. This sort of behavior will only serve to polarize the debate on whether or not the government is able to block whatever they feel is unworthy of public consumption - be it copyright infringing or politically embarrassing like Wikileaks. Here's hoping the representatives in government reminds the governing party that this sort of law was already defeated by defeating this additional attempt to get this unpopular bill passed - US industry interests come second to the will of the people. After all, Spain is a democracy, right? Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

US Pressure Backfires as Site Blocking is Voted Down in Spain

Drew Wilson — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:44:50 +0000

There's been a major development in Spain recently. The Ley de Economia Sostenible (Sustainable Economy Act) in Spain now no longer has the highly controversial provision of mandating ISPs to block websites suspected of facilitating copyright infringing activities. While the war is not over yet over the so-called "Sinde Act", it seems to be a victory for civil rights groups.

We recently reported on the exposure of international pressure from the United States to push through a highly controversial law in Spain thanks to the Wikileaks Cablegate story. The cable showed that the United States industry representatives threatened to put Spain on a priority watch-list if their demands were not met on the copyright front - one of those demands being a highly controversial three strikes law modeled after France's infamous HADOPI law. Now, it seems, the pressure from the US may have backfired somewhat because the provision in the Sustainable Economy Act that would mandate ISPs to block websites should they get a call from the Culture Ministry has been voted down (Google Translation). The Sustainable Economy Act became nicknamed the Sinde Act by some Spanish observers after Filmmaker Ángeles González-Sinde, the culture minister of Spain. Her appointment was controversial because some suggest that she has a conflict of interest due to her past life as a filmmaker. Still, the war over the Sinde Act is not over. As we reported last year, there are other controversial aspects of the law including mandating ISPs to divulge customer information without a court order among other things. What remains in the bill after the removal of the site blocking provision is now moving to the Senate and will be debated on next year. The Asociación de Internautas (Association of Internet users), a vocal critic of the Sinde Law, commented on the latest event (Google translation), "The will of the people have finished the pressures imposed on lobbyists, embassies and foreign governments on our representatives." The Association of Internet Users viewed the Sinde law as an "invasion" on to Spanish democracy and, more recently, a direct and open attack on Spanish citizens from foreign interests. They described the moment this part of the law was struck down as a celebration with virtual fireworks while Twitter "exploded" with the news of the "happy ending". Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Wikileaks: US Threatened Spain to Implement Three Strikes Law

Drew Wilson — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:22:42 +0000

Earlier, we reported that the MPAA, RIAA and the BSA had influenced the push for HADOPI in France according to the Wikileaks ever-present cablegate story. It now turns out that US influence has also been directed at Spain as well. The threat? Implement a three strikes law or be put on the watch list.

It has been said by the major corporate entities - namely the RIAA and the MPAA to name two - that a three strikes law is now becoming an international standard in fighting copyright infringement online. It's becoming quite apparent that this "standard" is being pushed on to countries with the proverbial pitchfork as motivation as well. According to one diplomatic cable [reference ID 08MADRID211 ], the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and the BSA (Business Software Allience - American) had a roll in pressuring Spain to implement some very tough anti-piracy laws:

Embassy requests Washington agencies to consider an out-of-cycle review for Spain in October 2008. On March 9, parliamentary elections will be held in Spain and a new government will assume office in April. Even if the ruling PSOE is re-elected, we expect significant changes among officials responsible for IPR policy. We propose to tell the new government that Spain will appear on the Watch List if it does not do three things by October 2008. First, issue a GOS announcement stating that internet piracy is illegal, and that the copyright levy system does not compensate creators for copyrighted material acquired through peer-to-peer file sharing. Second, amend the 2006 "Circular" that is widely interpreted in Spain as saying that peer-to-peer file sharing is legal. Third, announce that the GOS will adopt measures along the lines of the French and/or UK proposals aimed at curbing internet piracy by the summer of 2009. As this message documents, the Embassy recognizes that the lack of sufficient Spanish progress during the past year could justify Spanish placement on the Watch List. Our out-of-cycle request is made with the view that proceeding in this way be more likely to result in constructive action by the new government.

In short, the Spanish government was demanded to:

Say internet piracy was illegal and say that the levy didn't cover file-sharing
Amend any laws that suggested that file-sharing was legal (ala 2006 "Circular)
Implement a three strikes law as seen in Franc

If these demands weren't met, the trade groups said that they would get Washington to put Spain on the Special 301 priority watch list. What's interesting is that this cable was sent at the end of 2009. Just seven months earlier, serious questions about the validity of the report were already being raised. By May of this year, many were dismissing the credibility of the USTR Special 301 report and by the end of July, governments, namely the Canadian government, dismissed the 301 report:

“Canada does not recognize the validity of the Special 301 process, which relies on industry allegations rather than empirical evidence and analysis,” a spokeswoman for Industry Canada, an agency comparable to the U.S. Department of Commerce, said via e-mail to Law.com.

Still, even if all this pressure amounted to little more than idle threats in the end, I think it's very distasteful for American industry to go around to other countries and threatening to send Washington after them if said country doesn't legislate in a very specific way - especially if they throw around phony numbers like the numbers Industry Canada saw through. This is the international stage, not a school yard. Let's hope Spain legislates with empirical evidence, not industry allegations. Further Reading: EFFs Take on This Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Spanish Judges Compare P2P to “Ancient Practice of Loaning Books”

Jared Moya — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:33:58 +0000

Three-judge panel clears website of hosting links to copyrighted material, concluding that "since ancient times there has been the loan or sale of books, movies, music and more," and that the only difference now is that "everything is in a digital format."

Spain continues to be at the forefront of countries pushing back at excessive copyright industry demands. A three-judge panel at the Madrid provincial court recently cleared a website accused of copyright infringement for simply hosting links to third party sites where copyrighted material could be found. "Since ancient times there has been the loan or sale of books, movies, music and more," reads the ruling. "The difference now is mainly on the medium used - previously it was paper or analog media and now everything is in a digital format which allows a much faster exchange of a higher quality and also with global reach through the Internet." After considering evidence that the site does not contain the actual copyrighted files and only mere links to where it can be found, the court determined there was no profit being made from the material. The presence of ads on the pages with links was not considered an offense. "With this there are eight final judicial decisions that support the legality of this site," said lawyer Carlos Sanchez Almeida, whose office was to defend the case. "The judges have taken a stand for freedom on the Internet," he later added. For years now a succession of the country's judges have ruled that file-sharing is legal so long as there is “no talk of money or any other compensation beyond the sharing of material available among various users.” In other words, noncommercial P2P is legal. Its for these reasons that the US Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus regularly places Spain on its annual list of "Top Priority Countries," aka “Piracy Watch List,” countries it claims have lax intellectual property enforcement. Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, even lamented a few months ago that piracy is so rampant in Spain that Hollywood studios are considering discontinuing the sale of DVDs there altogether. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com

Hollywood May Quit Selling DVDs in Spain

Jared Moya — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:25:48 +0000

Sony boss Michael Lynton complains that rampant piracy and legal commercial P2P has put the country on the verge of "no longer being a viable home entertainment market."

According to Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, piracy is so rampant in Spain that Hollywood studios are considering discontinuing the sale of DVDs there altogether. "People are downloading movies in such large quantities that Spain is on the brink of no longer being a viable home entertainment market for us," he told the LA Times. In the last few years illegal movie downloads have soared from 132 million to 350 million while DVD sales have declined by some 30%. This means Hollywood could soon find itself in a situation like South Korea where they simply gave up and left. "It is very sad and very shameful for Spain that we should reach the stage where companies are thinking of leaving," said Octavio Dapena of the Spanish film rights association Egeda. "I hope it doesn't happen and that Spain reacts in time." Spain faces the rare juxtaposition where the courts there have ruled on numerous occasions that individual file-sharing is legal so long as there is “no talk of money or any other compensation beyond the sharing of material available among various users.” To do what it can to prevent people from profiting from copyright infringement the govt recently passed legislation that will allow a judge with the National Audience, the country’s federal court, to close or block websites accused of facilitating copyright infringement within 4 days as compared to the current year-long process. The real problem in all of this is that studios bosses like Lynton don't seem capable of monetizing the future of content distribution. Lynton, if you recall, is the same person who said last year that he "doesn’t see anything good having come from the Internet" so it's not surprising that he hasn't developed a way to formulate an effective online distribution model to compete with illegal alternatives like file-sharing and streaming. In fact, he said he's "worried" about the spread of faster broadband connections, even in the US. The only words of wisdom seem to come from an unlikely source, Bob Pisano, the MPAA's interim chief executive. "We need to get a handle on it (piracy) if we don't want to end up like the music industry, where their business model didn't keep pace with the realities of the new marketplace," he said. Retooling the business model is the key to competing in Spain. All businesses that don't heed the marketplace will fail unless artificially supported by govt intervention. If Hollywood wants to maintain a viable home entertainment market in the country then it ought to focus on giving consumers what they want, which seems to be online content distribution. Delivering a digital product is far cheaper than producing and a physical one, and so it could even afford to drop the price dramatically and make the product more enticing. Spaniards may not be willing to pay $10 for a physical DVD, but surely they're willing to pay $1 to stream or $2-3 to download it at home or on the go. I'm no fancy movie boss, but even I could figure this one out. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com

Spanish Judge Reaffirms P2P STILL Legal

Jared Moya — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:48:34 +0000

Court system continues to defy copyright holders, ruling once again that noncommercial file-sharing in the country is legal, and also that links to infringing material is as well.

For some time now Spanish judges have consistently ruled in favor of file-sharers, finding over and over that noncommercial P2P - file-sharing without motivation of profit - is legal in that country. As far back as 2006, Spanish judges have ruled that since the there is "no talk of money or any other compensation beyond the sharing of material available among various users" that "no offense meriting penal sanction has been committed.” Raul N. Orejuda Garcia, Magistrate Court judge of Mercantile number 7, then ruled last year that P2P transfers are not one of the "clear and specific behaviors that the law forbids, in particular reproduction, distribution and public communication without authorization." Fast forward to a few days ago and the same judge, Raul N. Orejuda Garcia, Magistrate Court judge of Mercantile number 7, reaffirmed his earlier ruling. The case case was part of a suit brought by a local music industry group, SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores) against eD2K website elrincondejesus for alleged copyright infringement on the site. The owner of the site, Jesus Guerra Calderon, rightly pointed out that it only provided links to content much like Google or any of the other search engines out there. “As you know Elrincondejesus.com never had advertising (or has now)," he said at the time. "I’m innocent and the only thing that I have done is provided links to other sites, like thousands of search engines in the world.” Judge Garcia once again agrees. "The system of links constitutes the very basis of the Internet and a multitude of sites and search facilities (such as Google), allowing the technical possibility of doing precisely what this procedure is trying to prohibit, which is linking P2P networks," he said in his ruling. He added that the owner "does not receive any money directly or indirectly related to the service offered" because the website was open to all, free and no advertising. Judge Garcia determined that the country's Copyright Act ultimately discusses the legality of the source not the access "so that most users of these P2P networks acted legally because they have concluded a lawful and valid contract for a fee to a service provider network." In the long run it may not matter, at least for file-sharing-related websites like Calderon's. The govt approved new anti-piracy legislation back in January that will allow a judge with the National Audience, the country’s federal court, to close or block websites accused of facilitating copyright infringement within 4 days as compared to the current year-long process. However, the law is still still dramatically different from other countries like France and South Korea in that it targets P2P sites and not users. In fact, Joan Navarro, head of the Coalition of Industries and Creators of Content, previously referred to this effort as a "positive step." “They are going after the producers of the piracy, those who spread works without permission from the authors," she said at the time. "Not the users, which is the case in France and the UK” So all in all Spanish file-sharers are still in quite an enviable position. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com [Hat Tip]

Spanish Record Labels to Sue for Govt’s Failure to Stop P2P

Jared Moya — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:11:17 +0000

Says govt has been "negligent," demands compensation for years of "massive free downloading," as well as immediate "effective measures... to protect the rights and interests of the record industry."

A number of Spanish indie record labels seem to be suffering from a serious case of delusion, blaming everybody but itself for the music industry's woes. For a group of them have decided to focus their legal sights on the govt itself for failing to properly protect it from illegal file-sharing. They accuse it of "negligence" and demand compensation for the years of "massive free downloading" that they've had to endure. Judges in Spain have ruled on numerous occasions that individual file-sharing is legal so long as there is “no talk of money or any other compensation beyond the sharing of material available among various users," so this past January the govt tried a different approach by targeting the operators of sites that facilitate copyright infringement. The govt has replied to the suit by pointing to that new legislation as an example of its efforts to fight online piracy, but the record labels rightly know the law will have little effect on the problem. "The proposal is insufficient - they could close a Web site one day, and 500 new ones could open the next day in the Ukraine, for example," says Gerardo Carton, a spokesman for labels involved. "The measure would not resolve the most relevant problem, which is the actual impossibility of us taking civil action against those final users who appropriate music without paying, and systematically violate intellectual property rights." Eureka. That's precisely why the record labels have to focus on giving the consumer what they want, where, and how they want it. The sooner they realize that the better, but sadly we all know they never will. "We think the Administration is responsible for our plight," adds Carton, as though the govt was to blame for the industry's mismanagement. "We demand that the government take effective measures imminently to protect the rights and interests of the record industry, as well as the intellectual property rights of the agents that intervene in the creative musical process within Internet." This is where it gets really sad. The record labels are basically asking the govt to figure out a way to presumably filter and "manage" the Internet to ensure that it is able to earn every euro it feels owed. There are no "effective measures" when it comes to fighting online piracy short of draconian steps like DPI. Is that what the record labels are asking for? It's pretty frightening to think that groups - especially indie groups - who are so dependent on a culture of free thought and expression to create music in the first place would demand that everybody else surrender those very same rights simply so that it can more from them. It's an odd juxtaposition, and summarizes just why the public is growing so weary with record labels and they're increasingly irrational excuses for their actions. Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com [Hat Tip] Stay tuned. jared@zeropaid.com