Just wondering if anybody had heard of it and what you think of it.

Basic description: It's an act in the US that if passed would give companies the right to have the government shut down websites if it feels that they violate copyright laws. They can also force search engines to remove the links from their database.

Some people believes it goes to far and call it internet censorship. They also worry because it would also require places to youtube to remove content like a person singing a copyrighted song.

Some say that it's the logical step to stop copyright infringement.

I just thought it would be an interesting topic because if passed, it might even effect Dokuga since fanfiction is almost always an issue that teeters on the line between illegal derivative work and fair use work...

I'm not good when it comes to law, but wouldn't it be like the time, when the company owning Inuyasha decided to clear the sites from showing pictures or scans from the original manga?
True we had to delete few pictures, icons and banners, but nothing really happened.

The law itself makes a website responsible for what it's users post, which is why youtube would have to take down registered songs etc. But sheer numbers alone would make the task almost impossible, because they upload more content in a minute than most sites do in a day. Policing that much data would be a nightmare, and youtube would have to fold. IRC would be even worse. 4-chan (Dont stop reading because I typed that, please) did an 'adult video day' to prove the point by creating multiple accounts and uploading adult content, setting the profiles to be dormant until 'x' day, and suddenly youtube was flooded with content, and it couldn't delete it quickly enough to keep it off the site.

As for forcing search engines to omit different sites, Australia tried something similar a few years ago, and it didn't work out as planned. The trial slowed the net by twelve percent (I think, I can't remember the exact number), and the omissions became contrary, including online poker sites and even a dentist. Adding to that, a twelve year old proved they could bypass it by using a proxy. I think they only recently got any filters online this past summer, and so far there hasn't been a lot of success, and several drawbacks.

Hopefully they'll look at that example and decide against it. If not, I have a feeling enough people will get angry and speak out, because America is based around net use now. Almost everyone has a way to access the internet, and slow net and 'forbidden' will piss anyone (and everyone) off. If there is one thing I've learned, everyone loves their tubes, and you do not mess with their tubes. And I have a feeling the moment 'Firewall of China' is mentioned, people will latch onto it.

Fanfiction is one of those things that does straddle a really indistinct line. Japan law has (or had, Im definitely not up to date) a much different perspective on fanworks, which is why doujin and whatnot of all sorts end up on the market, no matter the content. It's part of the reason you see a 'no fic' list on FF.net for many western writers. I suppose if the licence is held by an american company, they could enforce it, but I'm not sure about otherwise.

Okay, I'm sorry, my boyo has a double bma, one in international law, and he made sure I worded this somewhat coherently. And I blabbed. What I'm saying is, I'm an optimist. I truly hope it doesn't go through, and I choose to believe that if it does, enough people will lose their cool and do something. My biggest worry is that the Occupy movement is getting so much coverage that people won't notice it's happening.

Before anyone starts to hyperventilate over the future of the site, I will state this again, as I did regarding the fan art. Dokuga will remain as it is, online and active, until we receive a cease and desist order from a legal entity. As has been stated, the internet is a very big place... and fanfiction is a very small part of it in general. When places like FanFiction.net start revising their policies is the time I would even REMOTELY become concerned. Until then, write, draw and be merry, Dokuga!!

Trust me... we are very small fish in an extremely big pond. IF it ever comes to pass (which, given the amount of effort it will take, is highly unlikely), it will still be a LONG way off.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled arts and stories!

~~Wiccan~~

Sophie, I don't think it'll be the same because they just did what they produced. The act that they're trying to pass would allow them to take all of InuYasha fanfiction (and all fanfiction in general) down because it's using copyrighted characters and premises. All a company would have to do is tell the government that they own the rights to the characters and fanfiction writers are infringing on that and it's gone.

Hatter Theory, don't worry about blabbing. Everyone does it and at least you're making a point. Most people are ignorant about it because it's not getting that much coverage and I hope it doesn't pass either because that basically spells the end of free speech when regarding the internet. The worse thing about it is that it would (supposedly) also give them the right to pull international sites as well.

That's why I thought it'd be an interesting subject because a company can easily go "They're using my characters. Take their website down." and the government has no choice but to do it even though it's non-profit.

The Occupy movement is getting a lot of attention, but did you also know their trying to pass a domestic terrorist act that says if they suspect you of doing terrorist activities that they can arrest you and the limit for the arrest are about the same amount of people in the Occupy movements?

Wiccan, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to start a panic. I just thought it was be an interesting topic. I know currently we have nothing to worry about and probably won't even if it's passed because most companies don't really care about fanfiction. I just wanted to get others take on the act itself, not Dokuga being taken down.

Once again, I apologize if I cause a panic or anything of the sort.

Tsuki Ai wrote:
Wiccan, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to start a panic. I just thought it was be an interesting topic. I know currently we have nothing to worry about and probably won't even if it's passed because most companies don't really care about fanfiction. I just wanted to get others take on the act itself, not Dokuga being taken down.

Once again, I apologize if I cause a panic or anything of the sort.

Not to worry, m'dear... I posted as a preemptive measure to reassure anyone who might be overly concerned about the future of the site - NOT because I viewed your posted as inciting anyone to panic, 'k?

You're absolutely right, it's an intriguing topic and definitely something to be concerned about as far as our overall freedoms in the United States are concerned. I look forward to seeing other people's opinions on the matter. Perhaps, if you know of any petitions or protests that we could participate in, you might post links? That would certainly be a constructive way to show our lawmakers that we don't feel such a move is necessary - that our little fan stories are no threat to their copyrighted monoliths.

Again, please, no offense was taken as I realize there was none intended. Like I said, just reassuring the membership that we will not be panicking over this unless or until it becomes a reality that we must deal with.

~~Wiccan~~

Oh jebus, I really do need to sleep someday. I just realized how much I blabbed. Sorry if it sounded like a soapbox was involved, it wasn't meant that way. Mer.

The Occupy movement worries me in that the coverage of violence has been escalating, which could be the worst possible thing that could happen. As opposed to bringing to light social injustice and the cause of Occupy itself, I'm more afraid that will spark a huge crowd giving in, and starting the violence in retaliation.

And while neither issue is more or less prevalent than the other, I wish the internet censorship bill got more coverage on television etc. One of the sites doing a lot of newsfeed for it is DemandProgress.org. They will practically spam your email with info on it if you sign up (I know from experience).

Okay. Blah, naptime for a couple of hours, then studying.

well it'd be stupid of the gov't to ban them, it would just mean that American's would go else where to find what they want, it'd be harder, but it would still happen.

besides, it's like when napster shut down, people still find a way to do what they want on the internet.

either way, i honestly don't think that this will pass, mostly b/c it's one of those idiotic laws that some how makes it up there, b/c someone's pressing a personal agenda, then when it gets to the head, every's ones like... "seriously?"

You all got me interested. I searched a bit about copyright in my country and what I found is that until person is not claiming that something belonging to other company for example characters from Inuyasha; and the work is originally created by another person, who of course gets no profit for it; the author of said work is not breaking any copyright law.
Of course if you use names like Inuyasha, Kagome etc. in your work you need to put disclaimer, but that's what most of the fanfiction writers do.
That's how the law works at least in Poland.

Wouldn't it be the same in this case? I mean if the site could be closed just by using name of copyrighted character, then using name like Mickey Mouse would get the site closed. It would be just silly in my opinion... or I'm just too stupid to understand it. I admit it might be the case too

What I've read about SOPA - and I've been following it for a while now, the issues you all raised have been covered, except for one: SOPA will give the US government power over EVERY site that ends in a .com, as .com is a primarily US-based domain. Which means that websites all over the world, regardless of who owns them, or their nationality, will be liable for deletion under this act. SOPA crosses international boundaries, and it's far too powerful, because any corporate finding the tiniest thing objectionable would be entitled to force the site to stop what they're doing - and failing that (like Youtube failed 4chan's assault), they will have to power to shut the site down, summarily.

I'm unsure of the exact link, but Firefox is running a petition to keep the internet free, open, and uncensored! It's probably easily accessible on Google; I imagine that many ISP's and individual websites will begin hosting similar petitions as this issue becomes more widely known.
Personally, I find the idea of a government-run internet to be extremely invasive...and not that intelligent. The logistics are pure nightmare, and the results are likely to be less than stellar.

Gov't run internet? When did we become part of the USSR??!! LOL just kidding but seriously.
You should all move to .ca I don't think we care as much up here in Canada LOL. So long as it doesn't impact hockey, beer and maple syrup production we're happy jk.

Because our hockey teams and beer are better.
*sorry, it begged for it, so j/k, kind of*

Because you buy the good Canadian players and USA beer is weak, gotta drink twice as much if you want a decent buzz. LOL

Shay wrote:
Because you buy the good Canadian players and USA beer is weak, gotta drink twice as much if you want a decent buzz. LOL

Nuh uh... Red Wings get theirs from Europe...

And yeah, I'm kidding too!

~~Wiccan~~

I reply with two defensible positions. I do not drink for the buzz, but the taste, and domestic craft beers can be very tasty. And-okay, you've got me, we do import a lot of Canadians. *Looked at the Wings lineup.* A lot of Canadians. *ahem*

WiccanMethuselah wrote:

Nuh uh... Red Wings get theirs from Europe...

And yeah, I'm kidding too!

~~Wiccan~


I love you soooooooooo much right now. *glomps*

-shudders- Seriously, if passed it would be a nightmare. Logistics aside it would be the death of artistic expression as this generation knows it. Not to mention the ones behind us and the Baby Boomers who came before in the early days of Internet. I checked out Google to see the state of possible petitions. And there are several on different sites. So word is spreading even if it's not on live news. Thank Goddess -sigh-

I'm definitely against this Act.

Besides threatening the fanfictions I enjoy reading, it also threatens my livelihood. I'm an Illustrator. I do art for my own characters and concepts, as well as fanart. And I post these works on Dokuga and Deviantart, and on my own portfolio website. SOPA will make it harder for people to create their own domain names, and make it harder for artists to showcase their work.

Plus, it's not that easy to rearrange the Internet. They would have to go into the internal coding of the Internet, and change the codes. Who knows what could happen? D:

The thing that worries people and makes it think it might possible get passed is that it has supporters from both the Democrats and Republicans. Then you have major companies that encourage it. It all looks to be possible, but it's one of those things that are only good in concept. Just like there are a few senators trying to give Obama a "kill switch" for the internet.

Hatter: Yes, that is a major problem. The Occupy movement was supposed to bring about awareness, but it's getting to the point that you have people joining, just to get on the bandwagon and it's going to go bad if they can't bring it back to what they started it for. I wish this act would get more coverage as well, along with a couple of other acts, but I fear that so many people would've virtually ignored it because they were more caught up in the NBA lockout. Then some people just don't care about what the government's doing until it affects them.

Sophie: That's what everyone's problem with it is. They could shut down a website if you use Mickey Mouse in any form to make like a story or fanart or anything other than just mentioning him. Yet, the government will only take it down if the company complains about it.

Interesting, I suppose that from a technical perspective it's not so much if they pass the law but whether or not it will be practically feasible. The average computer software, server, and network setups as run by Internet Service Providers (ISP) can have a value of several thousand dollars (depending on technical specifications, and brand) to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even millions. Plus given the size of the internet, and the practical applications of having to regulate, and surf every website, plus make the judgement on whether or not it breaches copyright will be enormous, and incredibly costly on an international level. We're talking from millions to billions of dollars in technical restructuring of the internet, software, and computing systems, and networks, plus enabling of new legislation in every country that allows for prosecution under the Act or similar Acts. In a cash-strapped recession across all global economies one has to consider who exactly will cover the cost? The consumer, the governments on the verge of defaulting on international borrowings, or the companies that are pressing for their copyright to be protected?

If anything this could be a long and drawn out issue.

naqaashi wrote:
.. except for one: SOPA will give the US government power over EVERY site that ends in a .com, as .com is a primarily US-based domain.

Actually... no. SOPA/E-PARASITE will allow anyone to say: "I own this, I want it off the net."

There's, supposedly, a five day period for it to be verified before an order officially goes though... but if say, the Hosting provider doesn't remove it within the 5 day period, then they're fined for every day it's up.

If Google/Bing/Yahoo/etc.. doesn't de-index the site from search results then they get fined.

If the DNS servers (what take a name [like dokuga.com] and translates it to an IP address), don't re-direct the site to what the person who put in the complaint says, they get fined... etc, etc.. etc...

Pyreite wrote:
Interesting, I suppose that from a technical perspective it's not so much if they pass the law but whether or not it will be practically feasible. The average computer software, server, and network setups as run by Internet Service Providers (ISP) can have a value of several thousand dollars (depending on technical specifications, and brand) to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even millions.

When's that stopped 'em from doing anything? =/

The people behind the tech (Even the main guy that design the "web" as it's known) have already said it isn't feasible, and would pretty much break the internet protocols. The MPAA, RIAA, etc.. (you know, the ones that really push these stupid laws) basically said: "So what, just re-write the protocols then."

*sigh*

-J

PS. A few linkies:

• http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111118/03163416812/sandia-national-labs-dns-filtering-sopapipa-wont-stop-piracy-will-hurt-online-security.shtml


• http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2011/11/stop_online_pir.htm


• http://www.itworld.com/security/223845/piracy-bill-could-waylay-floss-projects


• http://boingboing.net/2011/11/11/stop-sopa-save-the-internet.html


• http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20128166-281/copyright-bill-controversy-grows-as-rhetoric-sharpens/


• Couple posts from the EFF:
  
  
  • https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/sopa-hollywood-finally-gets-chance-break-internet
  
  
  • https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/proposed-copyright-bill-threatens-whistleblowing-and-human-rights
  
  

Danger ... Slashdot, some comments may not be SFW.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/26/2142219/protect-ip-renamed-to-the-e-parasite-act

But I've also heard that those in Congress have been ignoring the signed petitions to stop SOPA. They aren't listening to their constituents. And says bad things about what's going to happen if this issue isn't brought to everyones' attention.

This is a topic that I have been following for a while. My personal belief is that the SOPA is an endrun to justify all of the site seizures that ICE has already implemented. Several hundred sites have already been shut down in the past months by ICE. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement - you would think they have more pressing things to do) Another large group was seized over the Thanksgiving weekend and on Cyber Monday. They give no warning and don't even allow the site owner to dispute the charges before they are shut down. The sites vary from bit torrent sites to retail sites they believe are selling counterfeit merchandise. They are even attacking online storage sites. MegaUpload has been shut down. I have a friend who has a paid account with them and uses it to store her Doctoral thesis as a backup to her personal computer. She now has no access to it.

Imagine that. I thought this was an America protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty in a court of law? ICE doesn’t even need a legal search warrant to shut these sites down.

The bill before Congress at this point is facing some high powered opposition as it is written, including Nancy Pelosi. The world is watching this very closely.

Personally, I don't think they will ever stop the 'online piracy'. As someone earlier in this thread pointed out, it affects the .com sites. Most of your major bit torrent sites have already moved. Demonoid has moved to .me.

The very definition of ‘online piracy’ is still being debated and defined across the world. The landmark Dutch case against The Pirate Bay pit the Dutch lawmakers against each other and a new political party was formed, the Pirate Party. Many of the members of this party won their elections and are now a force to be reckoned with. They have a very different view of what constitutes piracy. Also of note, two of the judges in this case have very close ties to the film industry and even own stock in film companies. The case is still being appealed on the grounds of judicial misconduct.


In Spain, a recent court decision has blown the whole thing out of the water. A Spanish bit torrent site was seized and its owners arrested for copyright infringement a couple of years ago. When the case was brought to trial, they were acquitted. A three judge panel ruled that the downloading was not piracy. Because it was not for profit and was basically for personal use by the downloaders where no one was making any money off of it, they likened it to a lending library. What is very interesting is that in Spain, there are no appeals. This decision is binding. It set a major precedent.

Also several of the law firms that have specialized in anti piracy litigation are being censured and even criminally charged for hacking into private citizens computers to obtain evidence for their cases and sending intimidating and threatening letters demanding money to drop their suits.

Our own courts have dismissed several massive lawsuits against large groups of downloaders. They ruled that the suits must be brought individually and the defendant named. It increased the costs to the plaintiffs and eliminated using a blank list of defendants hinging on forcing the ISPs to turn over the names of their customers.

Something else I find interesting is that one of the companies screaming the loudest over piracy of their properties is Sony. I am not a computer genius. But even I know that the average John Doe knows absolutely nothing about file compression and thus has no use for it. Divx is a widely used file compression technique generally used to make monster files manageable. It is also the most used by 'pirates' to compress movies for download. Phillips and Magnavox are divisions of Sony. Riddle me this... why would Sony, a staunch defender of copyright laws and so very anti piracy, market DVD players under both Phillips and Magnavox brands that proudly proclaim they are Divx compatible? The average consumer, unless they download, doesn't have a clue what Divx is.

I still remember the early days of VHS. I can't begin to count the number of times I got to work in the morning and everyone was scrambling to find someone who recorded the game, yesterday's soap, or other TV event. It was common to hear people beg for copies of the tapes because of power outages that sabotaged their own recordings while they attended their kids recitals, games, graduations, etc. Nobody complained of copyright violations then. Instead they fought to be the first to rush new technology to the market... record one show while watching another, set VCR to record multiple shows in a 7 day period.

In short, the industry spent years enabling what they are now decrying. My take on this? Sorry guys. You opened this can of worms. Technology has allowed those worms to multiply at an alarming rate. There is no way you will ever put them back in the can. The term 'sour grapes' comes to mind. As in, with the advent of the internet and bit torrent, you no longer make obscene profits off of providing the equipment and materials that allow people to record and enjoy their daily fixes. Sooo just claim copyright infringement on those that are doing what they have always done and get outrageous court settlements to line your pockets. Not to mention... the money you spend to lobby for support in Congress to pass laws in your favor, increasing the burden on an already overburdened court system, and utilizing agencies like ICE to do your dirty work for you. We as a nation face many more important issues.

Those of you who have expressed a desire to get more information on internet censorship issues can do so at torrentfreak.com

The information referenced above has for the most part come from them. Torrentfreak is a news and information site dedicated to reporting bit torrent and internet censorship news from around the world. You should read the story posted yesterday about the latest attempt in France. A group has gone to court demanding that Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, and France's ISPs block access to video streaming sites and delist them in their search engines.

Sorry for the long post. Lots of info I wanted to share.