p2pnet - rss feed: Big Music Korean balls-up
p2p news / p2pnet: Big Four record label cartel plans to stomp file sharing and file sharers in Korea are back-firing in a big way.
"The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office says it’ll, "press charges against persons who downloaded music for resale, but not against those who copied it for their personal use," states the JoongAng Daily, going on to quote an SCDPO official as saying:
"We would have to investigate more than 10,000 people, and if prosecutors start investigating Internet users nationwide, it may start controversies about infringements of human rights."
That wasn’t quite what Nofree, "a music industry organization," had in mind when it officially complained to the prosecutors’ office, "about 13,000 persons and two Internet sites," says the story.
Nofree spokesman Kim Young-ki said the Big Four unit wanted to, "make the illegal downloading of music a social issue here," not, "put those 13,000 people in jail.
"We were hoping that prosecutors would impose some strong measures so that people would see the consequences of getting caught distributing illegal music files, but now they’ve announced that it’s permissible to download music for private listening.
"People who didn’t even think of doing so may start."
Also See:
JoongAng Daily - Anti-piracy body looks in horror at a plan gone awry, January 19, 2006
January 18th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
hahahhahnhhhahahhahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahah
I go home smiling today.
January 18th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
Hmmmmm….. I think it is time to move *shouts down the hall* “hunny pack up the kids things were moveing to korea
January 18th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
That is a warm fuzzy tale.
The quotes are sooo great.
“…now they’ve announced that it’s permissible to download music for private listening.”
“People who didn’t even think of doing so may start.” (can u say “napster case”?)
“…if prosecutors start investigating Internet users nationwide, it may start controversies about infringements of human rights.”
A heartfelt thank you to The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
“…controversies about infringements of human rights.”
Oh thats just great!
Another country more progressive than the U.S.
January 19th, 2006 at 3:16 am
Maybe I’m wrong, but I call that a precedent.
January 19th, 2006 at 5:44 am
Don’t you just love this? It is almost a foregone conclusion that every time the RIAA or one of its equavalent’s in another country press for harsher and more stringent penalties of infringement, they refer to some other progressive countries that have already done so. It will now be possible for those of opposite opinion to also display already commited actions just to the opposite and with good reason.
I also believe that this will drive those lobbyists that seek the tightening of laws to push for ever more secretive ways of achieving influance and getting those laws passed in what ever country they attempt to influance as a result of these statements. We have already seen just such tactics used, passing the law under very limited time frames and doing so at holiday sessions where most of the majority aren’t there to vote on any sort of approval or denying of those same votes. Here also it has been demonstrated that the reverse can be done with France seeing the vote of making the mp3 a legal file to share, copyrighted or no. Whiile it is likely at this point it will not stand up to review, it has once again paved the way to show how such underhanded tactics by the cartels can have the ground cut out from under it.
January 19th, 2006 at 8:50 am
Newsflash, as far as first world countries go, we, America, rank at the bottom of the list of “progressive” societies…last I checked we’re still the only western nation still using the death penalty and don’t forget our dear G-Dub’s illegal wiretaps… I just hope we stay “progressive” enough to keep our p2p legal and free.
January 19th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
…and there’s nothing wrong with stating your position on an issue like the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office did - they’re not going to press charges against people who download for personal use.
Now everybody knows where they stand…well, except for the Korean RIAA, who don’t have a leg to stand on.
har har.
January 19th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Although we are one of the only first world countries that still has the death penalty, we are not the only one that has popular support from it’s citizens for it. Support in Britain especially has always been high, and the most recent poll I could find still indicates that there is more support then opposition for the dp. The facts are similar in many of the “progressive” society’s of Europe. Morality by gunpoint I guess.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/03/ndeath03.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/03/ixnewstop.html