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Old 09-13-2004, 07:07 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Save BetaMax!!!

Save BetaMax!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by SaveBetaMax.org
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.
If you care at all about this law even having a chance of passing, you need to step up and do your part. Take the 1-2 minutes it takes to sign up and make the phone call tomorrow, and also send a fax through the website to your Senator.

Save BetaMax!!
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Old 09-13-2004, 07:28 AM   #2 (permalink)
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I'm looking for a bill reference. That is, which bill is this? I didn't see any such thing on their site.
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Old 09-13-2004, 07:45 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Here's the proposed Bill for the INDUCE Act:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.2560:

Here's a letter from Marybeth Peters of the U.S. Copyright Office supporting the bill:

http://www.corante.com/importance/ar...n_S_2560-1.pdf

And here is a very well put together list of links that pertain to the INDUCE Act:

http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/mod...ticle&sid=1549
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Old 09-13-2004, 09:05 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Thanks muchly!
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Old 09-13-2004, 09:28 AM   #5 (permalink)
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No problem. Just hope that this can somehow help. While I don't think the bill would get passed because it would be a devastating blow to a number of industries, the fact that its on the table and has even a small breath of life could mean problems.
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Old 09-13-2004, 07:49 PM   #6 (permalink)
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I've signed up and I'm calling tomorrow!

These were the numbers I recieved in case the TFP wants to join in without signing up:

Congressperson John Conyers, Jr.
202-225-5126

Senator Patrick Leahy
202-224-4242

Senator Orrin Hatch
202-224-5251

We NEED to defeat this thing!
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Old 09-14-2004, 12:23 AM   #7 (permalink)
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this is a very important issue... the title is a little silly for it, as I do not think too many care about the format of BetaMax itself , and are unaware of the importance of the original betamax ruling. Related fact: that VHS is the standard format now is a result the of the entertainment industry's influence (despite Beta being a far superior format).
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Old 09-14-2004, 04:36 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Heh, I named the thread as I did because it was originally referred to as the BetaMax ruling, so I apologize for any confusion.
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Old 09-14-2004, 04:59 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Here's the list of people I'll be calling today:

Senator Ernest Hollings
202-224-6121

Congressperson Nancy Pelosi
202-225-4965

Congressperson James Sensenbrenner
202-225-5101
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Old 09-14-2004, 05:52 AM   #10 (permalink)
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Guys, I was just about to post this... Go for it.

Hey, think about it this way--if this thing passes, your beloved ipod would be illegal.
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Old 09-14-2004, 06:38 AM   #11 (permalink)
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC
A little update--I just made my three calls, and at all three offices, the secretary who picked up the phone sounded quite flustered and annoyed. I can only assume this is because of the large number of people who must be calling and bitching. Sweet.

Seriously folks, sign up and call. Its quick and painless.
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Old 09-14-2004, 02:31 PM   #12 (permalink)
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I missed my slot cause of the workload today at my job =/

Did anyone else sign up and make their calls?
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Old 09-14-2004, 02:48 PM   #13 (permalink)
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You know what's retarded about this? This would make computers illegal, as they can do both. Talk about ruining an industry, and most importantly, the WORLD'S economy. Somebody really didn't think this one through. Anything computer related would be black listed, along with DVD Recorder units, VCR's, video cameras, and all that type of thing.

Post thoughts on THAT!
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Old 09-14-2004, 02:50 PM   #14 (permalink)
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I made the calls to the Senators I was assigned, Leahy and Hatch (both whom I consider fuckers but thats another thread).

The people I spoke to on the phone were very polite and listened to my rant. The both also knew what I was calling about as soon as I mentioned the Induce Act. I'm sure this is going to be noticed on the Hill tomorrow.

Ha, I can hear it now:
Random Senator: "Hey Orrin, you get a bunch of pissed off callers about that retarded Induce Act you're supporting?"

Sen Orrin Hatch:"Bite me."

Last check at the site had 5000 people signed up to call. Totally awesome!
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Old 09-14-2004, 06:14 PM   #15 (permalink)
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Like I said, I made my calls. It was about 10:30AM, and the secretaries seemed pretty flustered at that point--very quickly and annoyedly (is that a word?) transferring me to the comments line.
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Old 09-15-2004, 05:01 AM   #16 (permalink)
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I went to the site today and read the feedback. Lots of good feedback, but there wasy way too much to read it all. You can check it out here:

http://www.savebetamax.org/feedback-view.php

And to all the people here that signed up and helped out, thanks a lot for your time and effort!!!
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Old 09-15-2004, 05:17 AM   #17 (permalink)
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I've been against the INDUCE act since day 1 so I'm glad that this was brought to the community's attention. It's ridiculous how powerful corporations are, but remember that the government hasn't been entirely turned over to corporations just yet. Keep on fighting for what you believe...like consumer freedom!
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Old 09-15-2004, 07:49 AM   #18 (permalink)
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I understand the concern, but this will never get passed.

There would be too big of a public outcry.

Not to mention, if my ipod was ever illegal, I would gladly shoot the first law enforcement agent that tried to take it away from me.. so they definitely know the public will fight back, and hard.
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Old 09-15-2004, 08:18 AM   #19 (permalink)
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Stompy, the political argument is that the INDUCE Act wouldn't "really" make iPods, etc illegal. However, when you ask people in the industry and other concerned experts who have actually read the bill, as opposed to politicians, you get a very different answer. But, where do most people get their info? Politicians. So, no, there wouldn't be much of a public outcry, and there would be even less so because the effects of the bill would be slowly integrated as opposed to an immediate confiscating of iPods, etc, since that clearly WOULD create a public outcry.

Anyway, here's an e-mail I received at the end of the day yesterday:

Hi everyone,

The Save Betamax call-in day was a huge success. Not only did we send a loud
message to Congress that the INDUCE Act needs to be stopped, but we're in a really
good position to stay on top of this bill for the fall. If the bill makes it out of
committee in the Senate, you'll get an emergency alert from us, so watch for that.

With over 5,000 participants making roughly 15,000 phone calls, you just put Senate
and House leaders on notice: not only do advocacy groups, hardware manufacturers,
and giant internet businesses not like this bill, but voters don't like it either.
That's a force that can tip the scales.

From some of the comments we've received, it sounds like this was a real
educational experience for the staffers at the offices you spoke with. We didn't
give out any canned talking points. But people have been following this bill so
closely that most callers probably knew more about what the INDUCE Act really means
than the lawmakers you called. And if you want to learn more, these two blogs are
essential reading:


http://www.corante.com/importance/
http://www.corante.com/copyfight/

Unfortunately, everyone still has to be very vigilant; we've heard that Hatch is
extremely committed to getting this bill passed. Within the next two weeks, one of
two things is likely to happen: a new draft of the bill will justify a new hearing
in the Senate Judiciary committee, or Hatch will push the bill through to the Senate
floor. The moment either happens, Senators will need to hear from all of you. And
we'll let you know.

Have a look at our most recent blog post. We posted some of the feedback we
received throughout the day and it's great: http://downhillbattle.org/

And for all day Tuesday, the lead story on Wired.com was about Save Betamax. Check
it out:
http://wired.com/news/politics/0,128...w=wn_tophead_1

Finally, thank you everyone for the great effort you put in.

Sincerely,

Holmes Wilson
Tiffiniy Cheng
Rebecca Laurie
Nicholas Reville
Downhill Battle Team
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Old 09-18-2004, 12:23 PM   #20 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PulpMind
Related fact: that VHS is the standard format now is a result the of the entertainment industry's influence (despite Beta being a far superior format).
The truth of this is the fact that the creators of the Betamax format refused to license studios affiliated with pornography, but those that backed VHS had no such restrictions. With pr0n being the major factor of bringing video cassette recording devices into the mainstream (oddly enough), VHS won out over Betamax rather quickly.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DEI37
You know what's retarded about this? This would make computers illegal, as they can do both.
Actually, that's not true at all. The concept would be that hardware IN your computer would need to follow strict Digital Copyright and Watermark technology... software writers, CD-RW/DVD-RW manufacturers, PVR card manufacturers would all have to allow for bits that would prevet copying of data. Both Slashdot and ARSTechnica have had threads regarding this that got pretty in depth as to what would or would not likely happen. Computers wouldn't go anywhere, and existing technology would not be outlawed. If iPods ended up violating the rules, Apple would be prohibited from manufacturing them (wouldn't be an issue due to their exisitng AAC watermarking scheme). However, your existing iPod would not be illegal to have. Just hope it doesn't break. Maybe this would be a huge boon for the repair industry. *shrug*
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Old 09-18-2004, 12:50 PM   #21 (permalink)
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The mass media industry is dying, of course some of it will survive, but in a radically different and smaller form... obviously there is very little they will not sink to in order to try and save their own hides... this is a direct attack on the people, and they may well be able to bribe this into existence. This is just another reason I dont buy CD's or go to movies anymore. The internet has achieved significant gains against the process of commodification, to try and repeal them is only to try and repeal history, it is impossible,
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Old 09-28-2004, 10:33 AM   #22 (permalink)
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Just received this email today from the Savebetamax.org People:
Quote:
Hi everyone,

This is an emergency alert for everyone who took part in the Save Betamax call-in day: Today, Orrin Hatch will be trying to line up enough votes to get the INDUCE Act (S. 2560) through to the Senate floor. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee need to hear from you right now.

At the bottom of this message is a list of Senators to call. Please take the time to call two of them, before 5 PM EST today. The bill is scheduled for mark-up on Thursday, so it's very important that you make these calls today.

We need to stop this bill, and we can. Because the INDUCE Act is such a radical departure from two decades of tech policy (set in place by the Betamax decision), a truly unprecedented coalition has formed to stop it. Heavyweights of the technology and electronics sectors are joining public interest groups in fighting hard against the extremely well-connected entertainment industry lobbies (the RIAA and MPAA). Right now there's something of a stalemate-- insiders all say that INDUCE has a 50/50 shot at becoming law.

That's why it's extremely important that Senators hear what you have to say. This email is going out to the over 5,000 people who participated in the Save Betamax call-in day. Tomorrow (Wednesday) the EFF will be running a call-in day for their members, using the software we made for Save Betamax. In just two days Senators could be hearing from tens of thousands of constituents. But we need you to make these phone calls, and spread the word (i.e. on your blog, or in an email to friends) that right now is the time to act.

SENATORS TO CALL

Please call two of these Senators, and if you have time feel free to make more calls. Make sure to look down the list to see if any Senators represent your state. Every phone call counts, but calls from constituents will carry more weight, so make sure to let them know if you're a constituent. Also, the RIAA likes to pretend that all musicians support their breed of copyright extremism. We know that's not true, so if you're a musician make sure to mention that as well.

Orrin Hatch
UTAH
202-224-5251

Patrick Leahy
VERMONT
202-224-4242

Charles E. Grassley
IOWA
202.224.3744

Edward M. Kennedy
MASSACHUSETTS
202-224-4543

Arlen Specter
PENNSYLVANIA
202-224-4254

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
DELAWARE
202-224-5042

Jon Kyl
202) 224-4521
ARIZONA

Herbert Kohl
WISCONSIN
(202) 224-5653

Mike DeWine
OHIO
(202) 224-2315

Dianne Feinstein
CALIFORNIA
202-224-3841

Jeff Sessions
ALABAMA
202) 224-4124

Russell D. Feingold
WISCONSIN
202/224-5323

Lindsey Graham
SOUTH CAROLINA
(202) 224-5972

Charles E. Schumer
NEW YORK
202-224-6542

Larry Craig
IDAHO
202/224-2752

Richard J. Durbin
ILLINOIS
202) 224-2152

Saxby Chambliss
GEORGIA
(202) 224-3521

John Edwards
NORTH CAROLINA
(202) 224-3154

John Cornyn
TEXAS
202-224-2934

NOTES FOR YOUR CALL

On the new INDUCE Act drafts:
The INDUCE Act has already been through several revisions, as Hatch et al. attempt to appease some of their most powerful opponents. But none of these revisions cut it; all of them make industries liable for infringement they don't commit or even profit from, and all of them would give the entertainment industry veto power over new technology (say, the wireless iPod). For more information on the latest draft, see the following article in Wired:
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0...w=wn_tophead_2

On Republicans and Democrats:
Like many tech law issues, this one cuts across party lines (most powerful members of both parties are on the wrong side). If you're calling Republican Senators, emphasize that this legislation would create a huge new legal liability (which means bogus litigation) against American high tech companies. Tell them that the Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Union both oppose the bill. And check out an ACU flyer here:
http://www.boingboing.net/images/acu-inducead-final.pdf

If you're calling Democrats, emphasize that the Betamax decision was sound policy and that the entertainment companies' extreme stance on copyright is directly opposed to the public good.

For more information about the INDUCE Act, go to:
http://savebetamax.org

Thanks for your time and your energy.

Sincerely,

Holmes Wilson
Tiffiniy Cheng
Nicholas Reville
Rebecca Laurie
Downhill Battle Team
If you've got the time to place a call and express your concern, please do so. Thanks!
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Old 09-28-2004, 01:07 PM   #23 (permalink)
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Just called Kennedy's office. They took the comment.
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Old 09-28-2004, 02:36 PM   #24 (permalink)
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Awesome. I called Specter and was redirected to leave a message. Ah well.
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