[mythtv] [ANNOUNCE] torrentocracy = rss + bit torrent + myth

Chris Petersen lists at forevermore.net
Mon Jun 21 12:34:34 EDT 2004


> I thought of another way you can get the project shutdown.  Allow users
> to make illegal copies of their DVDs.  Darn, someone already beat me to
> it.  How about a plugin that plays illegally downloaded ROMS.  Damn!!!
> Just because a piece of software can be used to do illegal things
> doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used.

But there *are* legal ROM's available to play, and mythgame does not
include any illegal ROM files.  Mythgame is not liable for what its
users do illegally, since there is no feasible technological way to
determine which ROM's are legal (ie. written from scratch) and which
aren't.

> The courts have already ruled against 321 Studios in a similar matter. 
> The court ruled that the DVD Ripping technology violates parts of the US
> Digital Millennium Copyright Act because the act bars distribution of
> tools that bypass copy protection mechanisms.  I do not agree.  It's my
> DVD!  I bought it with my hard earned money and I'll do what ever the
> f@#% I want with it.

The courts ruled that 321 Studios' software violates the DMCA -- it uses
DeCSS-type code to remove copy protection from DVD's in order to "make
backups."  However, even though mythvideo supports this same kind of
feature, it is not illegal to own the code, only to use it.  There are
MANY DVD's out there with no CSS or Macrovision on them.  It's perfectly
legal to back up your own DVD's -- the problem comes (legally speaking)
when you break the encryption in the process.  If there is no
encryption, it's not illegal.

The problem with torrentocracy is not that it uses a p2p protocol
CAPABLE of illegally sharing recorded TV shows, it's that it illegally
SHARES those TV shows.

-Chris



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