EBME Forums Forums Free discussion Out of Hours Latest News

Is this the beginning of "Big Business" stamping all over our internet?

My understanding (?) is that The Pirate Bay did (does) not host any copyright content, but they did (do) have links to TV, film and music files held on others' computers.

Be afraid ... very afraid!

But they are acting as a portal to illegal sites which in my opinion is just as bad.

To be honest, I haven't looked into it too closely. I don't download video or music myself, especially as I have enough racket to put up with blasting out from my [censored] neighbours (I love them, of course, as commanded).

But ... illegal? Are those sites illegal? Under whose jurisdiction?

Frankly, I wouldn't worry too much about the so-called media companies having to "struggle on" without gouging kids' pocket money!

Shouldn't the software "inventors" of Torrent being taken to court rather than the Pirate Bay founders who utilised their program?

Torrents are just file share protocols.
I suppose it would be similar to going after the knife manufacturer because someone was stabbed.

It was said they were out to line their own pockets.
Strange when their service was (is) free.

Here's another link (but not from Torrents)!

From CNN -

"The defendants are free without restrictions while they appeal the judgment."
"Friday's verdict did not include an order to shut down The Pirate Bay site."

Its a lower court decision, they'll appeal until it reaches the Supreme Court.
TPB is still online.
TPB is actually considered as a "kids" site, the real torrents are in private servers.

Google and others have links to copyrighted material / torrents, maybe they'll be sued next?

anyway, we'll see the final verdict after a couple of years.

I see a lot of semi-ancient stuff that remains copyrighted (I'm talking about technical information for kit made twenty or more years ago). The webmaster usually heads the thing up with a statement along the lines of:-

"This material is copyright. If the copyright owner wishes to have it removed (from the website) this will be done immediately."

I am also aware of cases where commercially produced (but old) software has been removed from download pages after objections from the copyright holder. That is, the company who brought the product to market when some of you guys were still in Primary School! In the case I have in mind, we are talking about a product in ROM for the famous BBC Micro. Why the developer should object after all this time is beyond me. After all, if he was still selling those ROMs as originals today, I'm sure that some people would be happy enough to pay for them even now. But he's not. So what's his problem? And didn't he make his money back then, in the 1980's?

I believe that, in these modern times, all copyright should have a limited tenure, depending perhaps on the nature of the work (art, novels, song lyrics, musical recordings, videos, movies, software, and all the rest).

Meanwhile, I once again assert copyright to all posts I have made on the ebme.co.uk website. However, these may be purchased for private use, study etc., upon application. Each time you click on one of my posts you are agreeing to make to me a Royalty Payment via PayPal. Such payments shall permit me to continue eating Baked Beans (copyright holder Heinz et al) for the rest of my days. Public bodies and government organisations can wait until I have finally expired, when all my miscellaneous mumblings shall be binned into the Public Domain.

It's not all bad news, then? I hear that GM (ailing, as ever ... but now apparently worse than ever) is planning to ditch Vauxhall.

Good! Now perhaps this once fine old English company (founded in 1857 in Vauxhall, "south of the river" in London, and which built its first car in 1903, before being bought out by GM in 1925) can return to English ownership, and (who knows) even prosper! If it can't do that, then let it go down the pan, like all the rest!

"Every cloud has a silver lining"!

Vauxhall "time line" .pdf (but no mention of the Bedford Rascal van)!