FedEx just lost my business
Ok, the NSA can't catalog (not even tap, mind you, catalog) phone calls from outside the country in pursuit of terrorism, but this is allowed?
Our government isn't allowed to pursue terrorists who get in our press and threaten to kill us on the front page*, but FedEx can save me from pirated DVDs? (I'm expecting DVDs from The Netherlands this week. Is this why they're taking so long?) And the MPAA (what's that last A stand for?) is piloting this in the UK? (Coallition of the bribed!)
Why aren't the free-speech-for-anyone-that-likes-me stop-the-war-cause-its-all-about-oil save-the-whale-of-a-tail-I-tell-ya-lads types going CRAZY over this? I mean, this is not one BIG CORPORATION, but TWO! This is all the stuff they HATE, right? This is coporate greed, government conspiracy, and invasion of piracy in one big dual layer region 1 AND 2 package!
Gotta remember - no FedEx. Seriously. (Some one will tell me if I'm over-reacting, right? Or at least when I have to boycott UPS and DHL?)
* Why would they want to kill you on the front page?
I think he meant that they threaten, on the front page, to kill us.
Oh.
9 comments:
Deep breath there TG, deep breath.
(Some one will tell me if I'm over-reacting, right? Or at least when I have to boycott UPS and DHL?)
Honestly?
Yeah, I think you are being a tad over the top here.
While this doesn't have the weight of importance as other issues, intellectual property rights are still important.
So long as this doesn't take away from anti-terrorism efforts, I have no problem with it at all.
Why SHOULDN'T a business do all it can to protect it's intellectual property? If they take draconian measures (ala Sony), I have the choice to NOT buy their product!
These dogs are being trained to detect DVDs. Not pirated DVDs. Just... DVDs. If I burn photos to DVD and send them to whoever, I expect them to be searched? Because of what elected official? None. Because of Jack Valenti (or whoever his replacement is). If my hypothetical photo DVDs are confiscated because they look "dangerous" what is my recourse? These are private companies.
What SHOULD a business be able to do? Where do we get to tell a business that it's gone too far? And again, who tells them? This isn't some nebulous "information stream" thing. This is a privately held compant opening my stuff cause they feel like it.
Besides, I'm not saying blow up theier planes or even picket their facilities. I'm just saying don't give them money.
Again, if the U.S. government took such action, there would be outrage.
Ok, I can see how this crosses the line for you.
And you're doing what I said to do when you think draconian measures are being taken...not giving them your money.
So how SHOULD the movie industry go about protecting THEIR rights?
Any thoughts?
What SHOULD a business be able to do? Where do we get to tell a business that it's gone too far? And again, who tells them? This isn't some nebulous "information stream" thing. This is a privately held compant opening my stuff cause they feel like it.
Just as an aside, do you know if FedEx works with the police to find drugs or other contraband?
If so, is that different? Especially for things that give off 'false positives'?
I don't know, but you've given me more to think about on it.
Lots of ways other than this. Getting law inforcement to bust the illegal DVD vendors on the streets of Manhattan? As a start? Go after the stuff thats in the open. To say nothing of "legal under other circumstances".
Face it, the music/movie/recording industry has taken measures and been given lattitudes that would be unthinkable for any other individual, certainly any industry. I'm all for copy protection, but I think the scales are weighted a little too heavily on the side of "The Man". Copyright gets extended everytime Micky Mouse is about to become public domain, and "fair use" is becoming a thing of the past. Hence my outrage at this: Nothing is too far in the name of "their rights".
Here's a question - You open my stuff, I have your illegal DVDs. What do they do about it? Take them? Arrest me? By what authority? I may be fuzzy on the law here, but if I walk into your house (especially if I BREAK into your house) and find stolen goods, even MY stolen goods, I don't have a lot of recourse. The cops still need warrants and all that fun.
What if the MPAA opens my package and finds my phone bill? Can they hand it over to the NSA?
See what I'm talking about here? Our police don't have this authority. And the police aren't after my money.
Kyrie said "Just as an aside, do you know if FedEx works with the police to find drugs or other contraband?
If so, is that different? Especially for things that give off 'false positives'?"
I read a great analogy. This is like teaching drug dogs to look for plastic bags.
See what I'm talking about here? Our police don't have this authority. And the police aren't after my money.
I can see what you are saying here, and the fact that it is aprivate company and NOT the police is something I should have considered sooner.
I read a great analogy. This is like teaching drug dogs to look for plastic bags.
Yes and no. It's like having dogs that sniff for pot and get 'false positives' from hemp rope. It's something that has both legal and illegal uses. What do you do then?
I agree though, that if anyone is going to be opening my package, it should be the police, not a private company.
Thanks for helping me understand this better.
Okay, so I finally got around to commenting on this. You need to keep in mind how FedEx is going about this. Yes, the dogs are being trained to sniff out DVDs, but they will be used to look for a considerable amount of DVDs hidden in packages that have different goods declared as its contents. The press release you linked to indicated that the pirates are hiding DVDs in packages of other stuff. By packages they are not talking about the little envelopes you and I might use to send a DVD or two to someone. We are talking pallets of stuff.
I am all for spending efforts to stop large scale pirating. I am not talking about the guy who rents a video and burns a copy for himself. I am talking about theives that are specifically looking to make a profit off of someone else's intellectual property.
I don't think FedEx should be boycotted for trying to stop criminals. As for the private company issue, I think you need to read a little more about FACT. They work with the law enforcement agencies in Europe.
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