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I'm Spartacus!
posted by mpawlo on Friday April 02, @02:25AM
from the reader's-opinion dept.
Copyright Crosbie Fitch writes "Is it possible for a massive act of civil OBEDIENCE?

What would happen if 1,000,000 file-sharers confessed to illegitimately sharing umpteen copyrighted files?

Could they actually do so?

Could they do so in a class action kind of way that if any of them are liable for punitive damages that they all are?

I'm thinking of an "I'm Spartacus!" session here. ;-)


Would the US economy really enjoy the situation where an entire generation was suddenly enslaved in mortgaged indenture to the record labels?

If each individual can confess and be fully liable (specifically with no out-of-court settlement possible) for 100 tunes x $150,000, that's $15m per head, can the US GDP take a hit of $15 trillion and see it end up in the labels' pockets?

The whole point of this exercise would be to call the law's bluff.

The people effectively say "If we're all such criminals, then rather than see 500 of our number hung drawn and quatered every 6 months as a lesson to cow the rest of us, we will stand united - prosecute us all or change the law!".

In some ways the RIAA is stabbing the unsightly nose of the US with a toothpick as if to demand it be less obnoxious. It's time the nose turned and said "Get your bloody knife out and cut us off once and for all, or quit poking and accept us".

One hopes the US government would quickly grab the RIAA's knife the moment it realised it was about to become permanently disfigured and a laughing stock of the world.

The law is created by the people for the people. The quickest way the people can get an unjust law changed is if they unite in being subject to it. Lobbying by interested parties or victims with deeper pockets will take a long time to obtain change.

All you need is a carefully worded affidavit (or whatever) that remains invalid until it has at least a million signatures - ideally something that can be signed online. Each confessor is equally liable for the full penalty ($15m each) or nothing at all. 100 copyrighted files can also be provided via BitTorrent just to ensure each individual's culpability.

This strategy might just help prevent another 500 families from being financially wrecked.

What do you reckon?"

Egyptian ISPs | Spaf on Legislating Technology, Congressional Testimonies, and Info Security  >

 

 
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    I'm Spartacus! | Login/Create an Account | Top | 4 comments | Search Discussion
    Threshold:
    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    Doesn't work with speeding tickets (Score:2)
    by Seth Finkelstein (sethfNO@SPAMsethf.com) on Friday April 02, @07:36AM (#1520)
    User #31 Info | http://sethf.com/
    This doesn't work with speeding tickets, parking violations etc. - which matters more to a broader population base.

    - Seth Finkelstein [sethf.com]

    Re:Doesn't work with speeding tickets (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 02, @01:17PM (#1521)
    Heh.

    I bet if you made each parking violation $150,000 per hour, and three years in prison if the violation exceeded 100 hours, you'd soon get everyone doing parking violations in protest.

    CF
    Re:Doesn't work with speeding tickets (Score:1)
    by scubacuda ({scubacuda} {at} {iname.com}) on Friday April 02, @01:35PM (#1522)
    User #483 Info | http://www.greplaw.org/
    Why couldn't they arbitrarily take the 100 admitted p2p abusers and start there?

    There are a thousand forms of subversion, but few can equal the convenience and immediacy of a cream pie. Noel Godin

    Re:Doesn't work with speeding tickets (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 04, @07:30PM (#1523)
    Yes, but while annoying, most people beieve that speeding tickets punish a legitimate crime(while they may disagree with how low the limit is most people I know think there should be one), and most people find the tickets are reasonable(expensive enough to punish without ruining an average persons life). I think most people think that the punishment for file sharing is at least disproportianate with the crime and many would argue about whether it should be a crime at all.... I like the idea. I don't think it would work, but I like it.

    Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition. - Isaac Asimov

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