Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/17 08:51As we all know Viacom are sueing Google & YouTube for copyright infringement. As far as I am aware Showtime is owned by Viacom so therefore clips from Penn & Teller : Bullshit! are part of this legal action. Will P&T support freedom of speech & tell Viacom to drop the case?
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Jabjabs
User Karma: 12
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/17 11:35Hard to tell, while they do respect freedom of speech they also respect copyright law. They could go ether way if they even comment on it at all.
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/17 11:39If Viacom owns Bullshit, then P&T work for Viacom. So no, I don't think they'll be telling their bosses what to do.
Penn has spoken negatively on the radio show about people posting content that they do not own on the internet. I don't get the impression that he considers it "free speech".
~JoMadge
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Aston14
User Karma: 3
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/17 13:19Yeah, Viacom does own Showtime, and P&T are technically working FOR Viacom, so Viacom can tell them to forget about it. Plus, Penn did say in one show that he is against watching Bullshit! on youtube, or downloading it on a torrent, unless you are a subscriber to showtime, in which case you have paid for the right to do so. I dont think it is a free speech issue, because it isnt your speech that you are sharing, it is P&Ts, so I think first amendment attorneys might have a hard time with this one.
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mddawson
User Karma: 5
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 09:25The problem I have with this legal action is that I live in Australia and YouTube is the only access I have to preview certain programs.
For example after watching a couple of BS clips I purchased the DVDs from Amazon. There would not have been a sale but for YouTube. Some of the episodes have since been broadcast on FTA TV here but it is unlikely I would have watched due to the timeslot.
YouTube has also allowed me to watch a few NBC and CNN clips that have been mentioned in these forums. These were not screened on the NBC and CNN available on pay-tv here in Oz.
In the long run I think Viacom is cutting their own throat as people outside the US will not be able to preview many shows and therefore not purchase the DVDs.
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mindme
User Karma: 44
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 11:52Yeah I third that Penn would not view it as a free speech issue. He also comments he does not download illegal music/movies. I think he claimed 99.9% of his MP3 collection was paid for and there were a handful of MP3s on his HD that were not attained "legally". Mostly because they were so rare and hard to find, he couldn't buy it if he wanted to.
He did say, however, that realistically when people pirated BS it didn't hurt his bottom line as it meant usually one more fan created and one more ticket buyer for his real cash cow, that being his show at the Rio.
At the end of the day, artists should be able to profit from their work and should retain the right to distribute their material the way they see fit.
I remember MP3.com was sued like crazy by the record companies over some "play anywhere" technology. It was a good idea and it was even in keeping with Penn's reasonable concept of fair use (if you subscribe to showtime or you bought the DVDS, then don't sweat watching it on youtube or downloading it). Basically, MP3.com would have you register with their site. You'd use some software to verify the CDs you actually owned. MP3.com would then let you download MP3 versions of the CDs you owned. So instead of hauling your CD collection to work, you could leave it at home, register them with MP3.com, and then log onto MP3.com at work and listen to your tunes online.
To do this, MP3.com had to make copies of commercial CDs and distribute the MP3s without the express permission of the record companies. MP3.com argued it wasn't going to affect the record companies' bottom line as the people doing the downloading already owned the music in question. The record companies argued (successfully) that it still came down to MP3.com making unauthorized copies of their music and distributing their music in an unauthorized manner.
MP3.com didn't last long after that, sadly.
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Gus_Lan
User Karma: 7
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 13:04MP3.com is a big CNET website still (right by teh side of Gamespot and Film.com) and they do great, they just covered the SXSW thing and all.
GUS
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Parrot
User Karma: 8
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 13:35mindme wrote: It was a good idea and it was even in keeping with Penn's reasonable concept of fair use (if you subscribe to showtime or you bought the DVDS, then don't sweat watching it on youtube or downloading it). Basically, MP3.com would have you register with their site. You'd use some software to verify the CDs you actually owned. MP3.com would then let you download MP3 versions of the CDs you owned.
How is that a good idea? I don't think it should be illegal... but it sounds like a pretty unnecessary idea to me. If you have the CD you can just rip the MP3 files from it, why would you want to bother registering with a website, verifying your CD, and initiating a download?
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Gus_Lan
User Karma: 7
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 16:33Cuz then you could download the mp3s at work or at a friends place.
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Parrot
User Karma: 8
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 17:16I guess that's a benefit.... I figured most people would just want to carry them around on their MP3 player. If I wanted to have my MP3 collection available to download I'd upload it to some webspace or an online email account.
But I guess it would be good to have an extra choice there.
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mddawson
User Karma: 5
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 17:27I think there is a substantial difference between high quality downloads like MP3 and Bit-torrent when compared to the low quality of YouTube. One isn't going to create a DVD from a YouTube clip.
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Sc00ter
User Karma: 3
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 17:53Parrot wrote: mindme wrote: It was a good idea and it was even in keeping with Penn's reasonable concept of fair use (if you subscribe to showtime or you bought the DVDS, then don't sweat watching it on youtube or downloading it). Basically, MP3.com would have you register with their site. You'd use some software to verify the CDs you actually owned. MP3.com would then let you download MP3 versions of the CDs you owned.
How is that a good idea? I don't think it should be illegal... but it sounds like a pretty unnecessary idea to me. If you have the CD you can just rip the MP3 files from it, why would you want to bother registering with a website, verifying your CD, and initiating a download?
One thing they offered is that when you order a CD you could download it right away. That way you could have the music in MP3 before the physical CD shows up at your doorstep.
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Nabilon
User Karma: 1
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/20 20:23As a swedish resident and huge Penn fan i can't even visit the Showtime website (americans only). It is not an option for me to wait for 2 years before some swedish channel buys the show! (we do have some showtime channel in Sweden but they only air old 80s action movies).
What i can do, and will do, is to get the DVDs but i WILL keep downloading the shows till there is an legal option that won't let me wait for 2 years.
I understand that the networks make a bigger profit (or so they think?) selling their shows to other countrys like Sweden then selling straight to individuals on itunes and such. But it is not the way of the future.
What i would like to see is an world wide option for TV-shows. You preorder the DVD and get the episodes for download when they air (maybe pay a little bit extra).
I hope you all get my frustrated point.
(Sorry about poor spelling)
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Parrot
User Karma: 8
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/21 00:33One day all television shows will be available for download for a small price over the Internet. Then people from all over the world will be able to see local programming from any country. Imagine the kinds of choices you'll have then!
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mddawson
User Karma: 5
Re:Viacom lawsuit and P&Ts Bullshit! - 2007/03/21 09:15Nabilon wrote: As a swedish resident and huge Penn fan i can't even visit the Showtime website (americans only).
A little trick, Google the Showtime web address but don't click on the link, click on Cached instead and you will get the page up. Unfortunately you have to do this with every page - copy the link/address - Google it - click Cached.
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