SOPA & PIPA
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:14 pm
On 20/12/2012 from 00:00 GMT/UTC, UltimateRhoads shut its doors for 12 hours in protest of SOPA and PIPA.
Having seen no threads on UltimateRhoads or RandyRhoads.tk discussing the impact of these two bills, Trigger and I came to the conclusion that shutting off the site for a predetermined period of time would raise awareness. Originally, we decided 24 hours, however after careful consideration and taking note of the huge influence sites like Wikipedia had just 48 hours ago, I felt 12 was more appropriate. Enough to remind you that these two bills are there and you must not ignore them. The furor might have died down, but they haven't gone away. It's more important than ever that you keep track of their progress.
It is vital these bills do not pass. Their primary aim is to deal with foreign websites infringing on trademarks but they will also pave way for American websites to fall under the same totalitarianism. Currently, to shut a US based website down (according to the DMCA), there has to be reasonable evidence to suggest that some infringement has taken place. One that intentionally violates the intellectual property of another thus financially harming a product or service. Despite the foreign-site targeting, SOPA and PIPA could eventually turn into a huge nightmare for many US-based sites, especially those with an audience extending beyond the borders. Since the definition for what’s considered a “foreign site” is vague within SOPA/PIPA, there is potential for some copyright holders to mount convincing legal attacks against some US websites that operate internationally or allow foreign users to contribute. That ambiguity alone has many large Internet companies concerned.
Part of the problem is outside the US, people do not realize how serious an impact these bills could have. In the UK, despite media reports stating giant websites such as Wikipedia were shut for the day, rarely was there an explanation why. In fact, I saw a short article that actually talked about the inconvenience rather than the actual reason why. Perhaps people in the UK don't realize how damaging SOPA and PIPA will be if they pass.
The climate will shift. The weight will be on the side of the big companies. They will always have the upper hand if this passes. A streamlined method of effectively extinguishing websites/companies that they feel are competitors. It removes your freedom. It gives the government and large corporations the ability to suffocate websites (American, British, Iraqi doesn't matter) of Internet based resources to the point they would close. It doesn't attack the website at the source, it attacks and crumbles the infrastructure surrounding the website, starting with most obvious... No US citizen would be allowed to access it. It wouldn't just end there. The result would be an increasingly balkanized internet policed by insanity rather than fact. Colonies of websites acting as mirrors to the 'global' Internet would appear bringing a whole new type of security threat and dangerously fragmenting what is already a fairly unstable network. As UK based Internet users, there isn't much we can do but raise awareness, but US based Internet users must write to their representatives, join protests and demand this bill is thrown right out the window.
Why?
Although UR and TK are non profit websites, images, videos (hotlinked or not) and audio can be considered trademark infringement.
Currently, UR would be dealt with under the DMCA. However:-
From 2006 to 2007, UltimateRhoads was hosted in Germany.
From 2007 to 2008, UltimateRhoads was hosted in U.K.
From 2008 to present, UltimateRhoads has been hosted in the U.S.A.
If these bills passed 20 years ago, from 2006 to 2008, UltimateRhoads could (and most probably would) have been blocked in the USA.
Reasonable assumptions if these bills pass:
UR will have to remove all audio including bootlegs, sound clips, fade outs (with the volume modified) and covers by guitarists who actively use this board.
UR will have to verify every photograph uploaded and get express consent from the author. If we can't, the photo will have to be removed.
UR will have to verify every video uploaded and get express consent from the author. If we can't, the video will have to be removed.
UR will have to change it's logo to not include any trademarked content. I would guess that includes the Jackson guitar, the Sandoval guitar, the Polka dot colour scheme and the RR logo.
UR will have to verify that written content hasn't been taken from elsewhere. The Day the Music Died section would have to be closed until we could verify all imagery, factual content and details.
UR will have to remove all hotlinks to websites that violate any of those mentioned above.
It is vital that you do your part to make sure this bill doesn't pass. Sign petitions, contact your representatives, make sure your voice is heard... before it's too late.
Having seen no threads on UltimateRhoads or RandyRhoads.tk discussing the impact of these two bills, Trigger and I came to the conclusion that shutting off the site for a predetermined period of time would raise awareness. Originally, we decided 24 hours, however after careful consideration and taking note of the huge influence sites like Wikipedia had just 48 hours ago, I felt 12 was more appropriate. Enough to remind you that these two bills are there and you must not ignore them. The furor might have died down, but they haven't gone away. It's more important than ever that you keep track of their progress.
It is vital these bills do not pass. Their primary aim is to deal with foreign websites infringing on trademarks but they will also pave way for American websites to fall under the same totalitarianism. Currently, to shut a US based website down (according to the DMCA), there has to be reasonable evidence to suggest that some infringement has taken place. One that intentionally violates the intellectual property of another thus financially harming a product or service. Despite the foreign-site targeting, SOPA and PIPA could eventually turn into a huge nightmare for many US-based sites, especially those with an audience extending beyond the borders. Since the definition for what’s considered a “foreign site” is vague within SOPA/PIPA, there is potential for some copyright holders to mount convincing legal attacks against some US websites that operate internationally or allow foreign users to contribute. That ambiguity alone has many large Internet companies concerned.
Part of the problem is outside the US, people do not realize how serious an impact these bills could have. In the UK, despite media reports stating giant websites such as Wikipedia were shut for the day, rarely was there an explanation why. In fact, I saw a short article that actually talked about the inconvenience rather than the actual reason why. Perhaps people in the UK don't realize how damaging SOPA and PIPA will be if they pass.
The climate will shift. The weight will be on the side of the big companies. They will always have the upper hand if this passes. A streamlined method of effectively extinguishing websites/companies that they feel are competitors. It removes your freedom. It gives the government and large corporations the ability to suffocate websites (American, British, Iraqi doesn't matter) of Internet based resources to the point they would close. It doesn't attack the website at the source, it attacks and crumbles the infrastructure surrounding the website, starting with most obvious... No US citizen would be allowed to access it. It wouldn't just end there. The result would be an increasingly balkanized internet policed by insanity rather than fact. Colonies of websites acting as mirrors to the 'global' Internet would appear bringing a whole new type of security threat and dangerously fragmenting what is already a fairly unstable network. As UK based Internet users, there isn't much we can do but raise awareness, but US based Internet users must write to their representatives, join protests and demand this bill is thrown right out the window.
Why?
Although UR and TK are non profit websites, images, videos (hotlinked or not) and audio can be considered trademark infringement.
Currently, UR would be dealt with under the DMCA. However:-
From 2006 to 2007, UltimateRhoads was hosted in Germany.
From 2007 to 2008, UltimateRhoads was hosted in U.K.
From 2008 to present, UltimateRhoads has been hosted in the U.S.A.
If these bills passed 20 years ago, from 2006 to 2008, UltimateRhoads could (and most probably would) have been blocked in the USA.
Reasonable assumptions if these bills pass:
UR will have to remove all audio including bootlegs, sound clips, fade outs (with the volume modified) and covers by guitarists who actively use this board.
UR will have to verify every photograph uploaded and get express consent from the author. If we can't, the photo will have to be removed.
UR will have to verify every video uploaded and get express consent from the author. If we can't, the video will have to be removed.
UR will have to change it's logo to not include any trademarked content. I would guess that includes the Jackson guitar, the Sandoval guitar, the Polka dot colour scheme and the RR logo.
UR will have to verify that written content hasn't been taken from elsewhere. The Day the Music Died section would have to be closed until we could verify all imagery, factual content and details.
UR will have to remove all hotlinks to websites that violate any of those mentioned above.
It is vital that you do your part to make sure this bill doesn't pass. Sign petitions, contact your representatives, make sure your voice is heard... before it's too late.