Congress trying to kill BETAMAX decision!!!!

Discussion in 'ten-forward' started by radicalb21, Sep 14, 2004.

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  1. radicalb21

    radicalb21 Registered Member

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    Why Save Betamax?

    The short version: We're organizing a call-in day to Congress on September 14 to oppose new legislation that would undermine the Betamax decision (INDUCE Act). Sign up on the right.

    Here's why: The Betamax VCR died more than 15 years ago, but the Supreme Court decision that made the Betamax and all other VCRs legal lived on. In Sony vs. Universal (known as the Betamax decision) the Court ruled that because VCRs have legitimate uses, the technology is legal—even if some people use it to copy movies. Of course, the movie industry was lucky it lost the case against VCRs, because home video soon became Hollywood's largest source of revenue. And the freedom to use and develop new technology that was protected by the Betamax decision set the stage for the incredible growth in computer technology we've seen in the last few decades.
    Hollywood is Trying to Kill Betamax

    The Betamax ruling is the only thing that protects your right to own a VCR, tape recorder, CD-burner, DVD-burner, iPod, or TiVo. It's that important. But new legislation that's being pushed through the Senate by lobbyists for the music and movie industries would override the Betamax decision and create a huge liability for any business that makes products which can copy sound or video. This legislation (formerly known as the INDUCE Act) would essentially give Hollywood veto power over a huge range of new technologies. And if they get this power, they'll definitely use it: just as they tried to stomp out the VCR in the 70's and 80's, the music and movie industries want to force all content to go through their own restricted channels.
    Is Congress Insane?

    You might think so at first glance. Voters, technology experts, public interest groups, and electronics manufacturers all oppose these efforts to weaken Betamax. So why is it still happening? Because the major record labels and the movie studios-- the same companies that opposed the Betamax ruling-- make huge donations to the re-election campaigns of the Senators who are sponsoring this legislation. And most members of Congress assume this is a non-controversial issue, off the radar of most voters. If they can please their donors without a big fuss, they will. It's bad policy, but until we start making noise, it's smart politics.
    Why We Need a National Call-In Day

    We need to make sure Congress hears from the public. There's been plenty of opposition on the internet to the INDUCE Act and its more recent drafts. But this general dissatisfaction hasn't quite come together into a real demonstration of how strongly people feel about protecting the Betamax decision. At Downhill Battle, we've organized people to send faxes to Congress before and there's been lots of emails flying around, but telephone calls take it to the next level. A big, one-day mobilization to swamp these members of Congress with phone calls could make a huge impact on the debate. If you care about keeping Betamax intact but haven't felt compelled to act before, now's the time to get involved. You can sign up on the top right of this page.
    Not Convinced? Don't Take Our Word For It.

    If you're ready to get involved, go sign up. If you want some more info on the Betamax ruling and what's happening in Congress, here are some really good quotes from filesharing opponents, Mr. Rogers, and Sony's own Corporate History, all of them in support of the Betamax decision: Convincing Quotes.

    To sign up online go to http://www.savebetamax.org/
     
  2. radicalb21

    radicalb21 Registered Member

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    This concerns various formats of recordable media as well as fair use.
     
  3. radicalb21

    radicalb21 Registered Member

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    Anyone who has ever used an iPod, taped TV shows, or made a mixtape for
    their friend needs to read this! Hollywood is pushing Congress to pass a
    bill that could make the VCR, CD-Rs, and iPods illegal.

    http://savebetamax.org/

    In late 70s, Hollywood tried to make the VCR illegal. Now they're at it
    again. Back then, Hollywood's lawyers argued that because *some* people
    might use a VCR to make illegal copies, they had a right to sue *any*
    business that sold VCRs.

    Fortunately for the future of technology, the Supreme Court said that
    any new technology with "substantial non-infringing uses" was legal and
    should be allowed to flourish. That wisdom, known as the "Betamax
    decision" (after VHS's short-lived predecessor) was great news for the
    economy: dozens of markets sprung up that would otherwise have been
    smothered by the fear of litigation and liability. And it was good news
    for Hollywood too: soon they were making billions in the same video
    rental market they tried to litigate out of existence.

    But now Hollywood (and the major record labels) are trying to undo
    "Betamax" with a new law that would let them sue any business that gave
    their customers freedom to make legal copies. The music and movie
    companies claim they only want to ban p2p filesharing software like
    Kazaa. But legal experts say that dozens of products--even Apple's
    hugely popular "iPod"--would soon find themselves under the gun. We need
    to stop this from happening, and the time to act is now.

    http://savebetamax.org/

    This legislation is called the INDUCE Act, and it's opposed by the
    mainstream technology industry (eBay, Google, Intel, Verizon, and Yahoo
    have all lobbied against it) along with public interest advocates like
    Public Knowledge and even librarian groups. These companies and
    organizations are all making their voices heard in Washington, but now
    it's time that members of Congress hear from the public (you!).

    We're organizing a national call-in day. The plan is: Senators who are
    siding with Hollywood against the public interest will receive a steady
    stream of phonecalls for as long as it takes. Think of it like a
    consumers' rights march on Washington that you can do from your home or
    your desk at work. Hollywood and the record companies have millions of
    lobbying dollars, but all we have are our numbers. If you think keeping
    the VCR legal was a good idea, we need you to act now:

    http://savebetamax.org/

    And finally, if for some reason you can't participate yourself, please
    forward this email to friends or coworkers who can.

    Thanks for your time, and we hope you'll join this historic and
    extremely important event.
     
  4. radicalb21

    radicalb21 Registered Member

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    Here is part of an email I recieved:

    Thanks for joining the push to "Save Betamax". This is your confirmation
    email for Tuesday's national call-in day. Please mark your calendar
    right now with the following information.

    You're signed up to make calls on September 14th at 09:08 AM. We
    have a list of 12 Congresspeople who have the most influence to pass or
    stop the INDUCE Act and we'll be targeting their offices. The Senators
    and Representatives you will be calling on Tuesday are:

    Senator John Mccain
    202-224-2235

    Congressperson Joe Barton
    202-225-2002

    Congressperson James Sensenbrenner
    202-225-5101

    By trying to undo the Supreme Court's "Betamax" decision, entertainment
    companies are tinkering with the cornerstone of prudent tech law--and
    they could make iPods, TiVo's, and publicly beneficial applications of
    peer-to-peer technology illegal. We can't let this happen, and to stop
    it we need to rally as many people as possible.

    In a few minutes you'll receive a second email. Please: forward it to as
    many of your friends and co-workers as possible, as soon as you can. Our
    adversaries have a million-dollar lobbying operation, but all we've got
    is the power of numbers and the viral nature of online
    communication--let's use it.
     
  5. Marja

    Marja Honestly, I'm not a bot!!

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    So we probably wouldn't even get to make "HOME" movies!!

    What is going on with this world?

    Sounds like we are entering some kind of "Dark Age"o_O?

    Thanks for the links, guess I will stay up and e-mail some other families who would like to record their family's hi-lites, control what the little ones watch on TV, etc. etc. and on and on.
     
  6. ???

    ??? Guest

  7. While I'm quite glad that this thread has been allowed to exist as long as it has on this board - and I'm happy to see people getting interested/involved - I'd like to point out that this is just ONE issue among many that are going to seriously impact your freedom and your privacy in the coming months/years if you live in the United States.

    You would all do well to visit the following sites to get a bigger picture on what's going on - and what YOU can do to either stop or minimize it:

    http://www.aclu.org/safeandfree/

    http://action.eff.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=esJNJ5OWF&b=124596

    http://www.cdt.org/
     
  8. Mr.Blaze

    Mr.Blaze The Newbie Welcome Wagon

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    :mad: man i was all for the fight against the man but you went on and on and on

    first off keep it short

    all you had to say is congress is trying to band all recording devices vcr,cd-r cd-rw ,dvd -r dvd -rw even your old tape recorder will be band no american well be aloud to have any of these devices in there home.

    all the stuff in your house wither it be a computer with a cd-r drive to your old tape recorders in your home will be considered illegal to have

    all because the music industry and the movie industry want to tell you what you can and cant do in your owen damn home

    how is this possible

    these company's are lineing your congress mens pockets full of money
    to say f*** you to americans rights

    join the fight and tell congress to f*** off

    go to this website http://www.savebetamax.org/ get of your lazy ass and give them the finger go go go!


    also what am sighning up for at that site?

    i would had put every congress phone number in every state all there e-mails and contact info with a simple zip code and state copy and paste send to congress

    something like if you let this bill pass next election cout your ass out grrrrrrrrrrr

    is that so hard now lets go get them
     
  9. Mr.Blaze

    Mr.Blaze The Newbie Welcome Wagon

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    :eek: holly crap isnt a hard drive considred a recording device?
     
  10. Lurkerella

    Lurkerella Guest

    I think a hard drive is recording something!!!o_OHoly Cow!!! Whatz next??!!
     
  11. Mr.Blaze

    Mr.Blaze The Newbie Welcome Wagon

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    will if a hard drive is a recording device and this bill pass the pc falls under there juristiction

    this means you cant have movies or music on your pc and under windows upcomeing longhorn with paldin hardware

    basicly a hardware trojan algaints piracy and there foot hole in pear to pear programs whoaaaaaaaaaa

    they can tell us what and when and if and how

    they can sue put is in jail take alway are property spy on us break in to are homes and send us to jail with out proof

    the music and movie have taken over are home and now they make the laws

    kinda cool you can buy hueman rights and change amendments
     
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