[IP] more on upon suspicion .. Verizon to Police Web Customers To Protect Disney From Piracy -- a response from Dan Bricklin
Begin forwarded message:
From:
Date: September 25, 2005 8:19:08 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] upon suspicion .. Verizon to Police Web Customers
To Protect Disney From Piracy -- a response from Dan Bricklin
Dave, If you want to use this remove my name please - I'm feeling a
bit conspicuous.
Aside from all the other worms in this can, and it looks like a very
large and crowded can, how on earth can this be enforced without
blowing up in Disney or Verizon's face ?
A thought experiment if you will.
Say I put up the following password protected zip files on my verizon
"Personal Web space of 10 MB"
as advertised at http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/tx/
technology/fios_fact.html
appropriated-disney/little-mermaid.zip
appropriated-disney/sleeping-beauty.zip
appropriated-disney/beauty-and-the-beast.zip
appropriated-disney/3-pigs.zip
appropriated-disney/Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame.zip
appropriated-disney/Pinocchio.zip
appropriated-disney/Cinderella.zip
appropriated-disney/Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs.zip
appropriated-disney/20000-Leagues-Under-The-Sea.zip
appropriated-disney/Aladdin.zip
appropriated-disney/Rapunzel.zip
appropriated-disney/Swiss-Family-Robinson.zip
appropriated-disney/Treasure-Island.zip
So now some questions
What are Verizon or Disney going to do?
Is there any reason to serve subpoenas or terminate service?
If they do so inappropriately, can I sue Verizon or Disney?
If Verizon or Disney open the files to see what they are, which
turns out to be the public domain text and my copyrighted commentary
about how Disney appropriated these public domain works for the
Disney films, can I sue under the DMCA?
Would someone at Verizon or Disney go to jail like Dmitry Sklyarov did?
If someone with a Verizon web page distributes my copyrighted
photograph without my permission can I sue Verizon?
If someone with a Verizon email account quotes my email in her email
without my permission can I sue Verizon?
Is there anyone at Verizon who is smarter than a sack of wet hammers?
Can Verizon's stockholders sue on the basis of verizon voluntarily
giving up their common carrier status and opening themselves up to
untold liability?
David Farber wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Tim Onosko <onosko@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 25, 2005 9:51:53 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] Verizon to Police Web Customers To Protect
Disney From Piracy -- a response from Dan Bricklin
Reply-To: tim@xxxxxxxxxx
Here is the actual text from Verizon's press release about their
agreement with Disney. I don't know how much clearer this can be.
"Under the agreement, Verizon would forward and track notices to
its subscribers allegedly engaged in the unauthorized distribution
of Disney' s copyrighted works, without identifying the
subscribers to Disney, and either provide subscriber identifying
information pursuant to lawfully served subpoenas or terminate
Verizon Internet service provided to subscribers who have
infringed Disney copyrights and received multiple notices."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/
story/09-21-2005/0004112313&EDATE=
I think this makes it quite clear that Verizon will actively
police its traffic for copyright violations, through whatever
means it has, on Disney's behalf. And that, regardless of its
past policy of resisting attempts to obtain subscriber information
and identities via subpoena, this agreement changes that.
This paragraph, as I read it, also says Verizon may terminate
your service based on suspicion or allegation that you have
infringed upon Disney's copyrights, not actual proof as determined
by a third party such as a court of law. (How do you get your
"member in good standing back, or your service restored?)
Moreover, if Verizon does not monitor this traffic or continues to
resist such subpoenas, it will not be in compliance with this
agreement, and may lose the right to carry Disney's content on its
fiber cable systems.
I don't know how anyone can read this sideways, or think that this
agreement is insignificant. In my opinion, it is quite
significant and may stand a chance of becoming boilerplate in
future agreements between carriers and content providers.
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