boycott-riaa.com - Article: Ferreting out copyright scofflaws

Ferreting out copyright scofflaws

Posted by Olivier on August 11, 2004 at 2:25 AM (printer friendly)

Just when you thought software licensing enforcement couldn't get any more fun, the copyright cops at the Business Software Alliance have enlivened the process with a spunky cartoon ferret.

http://news.com.com/Ferreting+out+copyright+scofflaws/2100-1012_3-5303966.html?tag=nefd.hed

User Comments (These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)


awehr	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 2:56 AM Already heard about this.. if it werent for the fact that kids were being brainwashed i would be laughing right now.

independentm...	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 3:56 AM Ferrets are known to be mean and ferocious little cusses and they often bite small children. Don't let your kids play with the weasel. :)

awehr	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 4:02 AM i just noticed gothic angel hasnt been around in a while. I wander if he got hacked and fried? =)

goldenpi	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 4:18 AM The BSA has two main roles: 1. Produce annual piracy statistics. They like to complain about China, every year. 2. Harass business. They make surprise raids, demanding to see licence information. This is annoying, as many businesses (like me) keep licence records by stuffing a bag with certificats and tucking it safely in an easily-forgotten storage location. The BSA did a study some years ago on the reasons for licence infringement, and found most unlicenced software was actually due to misunderstanding of the elaborate legal text in the EULAs. Admins were using OEM licenses on the wrong machines, using upgrade editions and reusing the previous versions on other machines, not checking if they were still under the user limit as the company grew. Minor things. The BSA response was not to clarify licences, but to offer admins a course on understanding licence terms.

awehr	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 4:21 AM I've seen some bsa PSA's... they are not obnoxious like others, and are more down to earth. I cannot harbor hatred toward an organization which has yet to propose a law to hurt me, the consumer.

axxis	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 8:02 AM Stick six or seven of those little bastards down your trousers and let them fight it out amongst themselves . . . FUN . . . FUN . . . FUN . . . OUCH DAMMIT!!!

tomsong	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 8:21 AM The BSA seems ineffective because they were around long before the increased aggressive tactics of the RIAA. The efforts to lock up software blew up in their face. However, to laugh at them as clowns is no longer relevent. Senator Hatch admits in his floor statement that the Induce Act was written by the BSA.

tomsong	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 8:23 AM See the kiddie video at http://www.bsa.org/resources/boy_band.mpg BSA ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE, BACK-TO-SCHOOL POLL TO NAME MASCOT Washington, DC �(August 10, 2004)� Elementary school students heading back to school in September will be invited to name the �Play It Safe in Cyber Space� mascot, a �copyright-crusading� ferret who teaches tech-savvy kids about cyber ethics.Beginning September 1, thousands of kids nationwide are expected to log on to www.playitcybersafe.com to vote for one of five ferret names by the end of the month. The winning name will be unveiled in January in a new, educational comic book curriculum. �Play It Safe in Cyber Space� is the Business Software Alliance�s (BSA) education program that teaches children the importance of responsible computer and Internet use, respect for digital creativity and copyright protection.�Computer usage is commonplace in youth education today, and good legal and ethical behaviors need to be taught with the technology,� said Diane Smiroldo, vice president, public affairs for BSA. �We hope that naming the ferret and creating a comic book curriculum that focuses on respecting digital copyrighted works will be a fun way to remind kids and educators about the importance of learning and practicing good cyber ethics.� The four-page comic book about cyber ethics created by BSA and Weekly Reader, a leader in educational publishing, will debut in early January. The storyline, which features the ferret as the �Copyright Crusader,� is designed to educate children about the importance of protecting and respecting copyrighted works such as software, music, games and movies. The comic book and companion teacher�s guide will be mailed nationwide to fourth grade teachers who subscribe to Weekly Reader and will be available for free download at www.playitcybersafe.com. Recent research underscores the need to continue to educate our young people about the importance of cyber ethics and respect for intellectual property. Results of a Harris Interactive poll, commissioned by BSA, show that young people ages 8-18 understand the meaning of copyright, yet still illegally download and copy software and other digital materials. In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of cyber ethics, BSA encourages teachers to utilize educational resources, such as the cyber ethics curriculum, �Play It Safe in Cyber Space,� co-developed with Weekly Reader, in their lesson plans for students. Children may vote for their favorite ferret name by visiting www.playitcybersafe.com, from September 1 to 30, 2004. Also available for download on the site are free copies of BSA�s currently-available cyber ethics curriculum, �Play It Safe In Cyberspace.� Since its initial distribution in 2002, the curriculum has reached more than 13 million kids, parents and teachers.

pinemikey	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 9:06 AM I think Orrin would be an appropriate name for a nasty little weasel who lives in a fabricated dream land.

compmore	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 10:11 AM my thought exactly. Orin is a perfect name

pinemikey	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 10:24 AM Maybe "Orrin you getting enuff music?" A little long, but It would be good for a Tshirt, eh leflaw?

INeedAlover	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 10:39 AM How appropriate! A weasel to represent a weasely organization like the BSA. It suits them well, as does the name Orrin. Maybe he'll come up with a friend named HATCH.

Bufo	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 10:43 AM I can understand why Microsoft and adobe would not want their software copyrights to be violated, but I'm not so sure they really gain by trying to scare kids away from P2P use (especially Microsoft). I'm sure there may be a few kids who use P2P to swap copyrighted microsoft programs. But the main thing they swap is, of course, music files. And if every kid stops using P2P, then the demand for microsoft products will go down, not up. Something here doesn't make sense.

Death4u2	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 10:45 AM BSA, they're all wankers if you ask me. Cheers

israfelli	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 11:00 AM Here are some names for the little ferret: Corporate Swiney Fecial Frank the Ferret Propaganda Pete Lignus the Butlick Ignatio Industry: the Dollar Weesil Orinette: Corporate Wunder Ploy Spouter the Bullshit Rat Peebs the Profit Rodent Carl Cash, the Corporate Contender Bottom Line Bob, sales advocate Ralph Revenue It's funny how the they are taking the same drastic approach that the tobacco companies took when their industry started dying: they try to influence children with pathetic psychological ploys. I dont know whats worse, them or the publishers that print the stuff. They're probably all on the same team anyway.

MP3user	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 11:30 AM "Piracy - the act of copying copyrighted material. " Last time I checked, it was copyright infringement, and if you have permession ,ti's neither "Online theft is defined as any type of 'piracy' that involves the use of the Internet to market or distribute creative works protected by copyright. " Nah, "online theft" is a bullshit term created to guilt trip people that any copying is illegal, even those wherethe copyright holder gives permission to copy said works

ShadowMom	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 11:35 AM We had a ferret, and believe me, he would not associate with people like the BSA (except to bite them). This is an affront to ferrets everywhere. However, they are funny to watch, and they are terrible little thieves. Just like the BSA!! And they are smart enough to write a better bill than the Induce Act.

Jazzmary2U	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 12:28 PM israfelli.. :lmao::lmao::rofl:

Lachatte	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 12:34 PM Hey, this is a controlled "Name the Ferret" contest. ..."thousands of kids nationwide are expected to log on to www.playitcybersafe.com to vote for one of five ferret names by the end of the month". I guess they were prepared for all the "kids" who might want to "weasel in" on the fun! I liked this quote from the BSA: �We hope that naming the ferret and creating a comic book curriculum that focuses on respecting digital copyrighted works will be a fun way to remind kids and educators about the importance of learning and practicing good cyber ethics.� Notice that the BSA said kids and EDUCATORS. They don't want teachers to be tempted to copy any material from the internet that is not available in their school. Remember all the fines that were leveled against universities that purchased a copy of a program and put it on a server for the whole class? Somebody do a ferret parody. "No Ferret Left Behind", I say.

RocketGib	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 1:57 PM Since when did the BSA get the right to conduct searches without a warrant?

telsien	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 2:48 PM I hope that "book" accurately portrays ferrets. We wouldn't want the kids getting wrong ideas about them. A friend of mine has a pair of ferrets, and I like them, but when he lived with a cat he had to be careful. The little freaks will apparently go for the jugular if they think they're being "threatened" by something close to their own size. (They were originally domesticated to send into rodent holes, from what I understand.) My friends' ferrets lie around and sleep all day when they aren't destroying everything in their path or stuffing his possessions in random hidey holes so he can't find them. All ferrets do this "hiding" thing, and I've seen them drag things away that are at least twice their size, plus they help each other. Interestingly, ferrets are also a relative of the skunk.

goldenpi	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 4:27 PM The BSA has been fighting software piracy almost since there was software piracy. Their tactics are more mature than the RIAA or MPAA. The crucial difference is the BSA has accepted there will always be some infringement, and nothing they can do will prevent that. The RIAA is still convinced that a ruthless enough policy will stop all infringement, while the MPAA believes it can prevent infringement by stoping users posessing technology capable of infringement. The BSAs basic policy is to ignore all home users, they are really just free advertising, and concentrate on the business users. This is why is they are the buisiness software alliance. They do occasionally meddle elsewhere through, with educational campaigns or the occasional hired bot patrolling p2ps. I think it was the BSA that did the brief "Dont Copy That Floppy!" campaign. I still have the video from that, a bad rapper in the computer telling two pupils why they shouldn't take a game from the school computer home to play. Ferrets are related to polecats, but dont stick quite as much.

carla60626	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 5:08 PM stick to what? (I know you really meant stink)

mmnuc3	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 5:55 PM in the end, the gov't never passes a law to benefit normal people. they always benefit the rich, the corporations, or themselves by giving more power to said entities.

MP3user	Date: August 11, 2004 @ 6:04 PM http://www.playitcybersafe.com/pdfs/class_poster_teens.pdf Question "posed" in propoganda flyer: "What's the difference between me downloading software and soembody stealinf dfrom a store?" They say: none Those guys are trying to brainways, I say

keith134	Date: August 12, 2004 @ 11:34 AM Why don't the Boy Scouts sue them for infringement? (BSA= Boy Scouts of America) That would be a stroke of irony.