As reported last Friday at the New York Times, News.com is carrying a reprint about how the Motion Picture Association of America is acting considerably more reasonably than the RIAA when it comes to file sharing. As has been widely covered, the RIAA has been employing the tactic of suing file-traders suspected of sharing copyrighted files. Unfortunately, the approach of the RIAA has been to sue first for the full damages allowable under copyright law (which are up to $150,000 per song), and then accept a settlement out of court. The RIAA certainly isn't out for the odd $10k from the settlements -- they are clearly trying to scare individuals into believing that trading music in any form is illegal.
Read on to see what the MPAA is doing right. And what they're not...
Fortunately, the MPAA is taking a more reasonable approach. If they find that someone is sharing a copyrighted movie online then they are simply sending them an email requesting that the trading stop, and informing the individual that they can be sued if they persist. Since the MPAA actually has the law on it's side here, and they probably should be defending their studio's copyrights, it's hard to argue against this approach. Amusingly, Jack Valenti, head of the MPAA says "I think we have learned from the music industry." It is a shame the RIAA hasn't.
But before you send Valenti a thank you card, you may want to read this post over on Slashdot from late November. Apparently, the MPAA has been pushing for a bill that actually "makes it illegal to make an AV-recording in any theater or retail store where a motion picture is being displayed." While their intention is to prevent the piracy of movies in the theater, the consequences of this law go far beyond that in some amusing ways. For example, the following things would now be illegal (as in felony) inside a Circuit City, or any place that a movie is being displayed in the background: as a customer, taking a video recording of your friends with your own cell phone. As a customer, trying out the video recording feature of a cell phone that you are interested in purchasing. As a customer, trying out the video recording capabilities of a camcorder or other dv device before purchasing. As a salesperson, demonstrating the video capabilities of cell phones or camcorders. As the store itself, recording images from their own security cameras.
Not only that, but news agencies would not be able to take footage anywhere a MPAA movie is playing -- even if the film itself wasn't recorded.
Now this is more of an issue with a legislature that almost entirely inept at actually thinking through the consequences of laws they enact at the request of their corporate sponsors. But it is certainly case in point about how deep congress is in the pockets of organizations like the MPAA and the RIAA.