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Posts Tagged ‘Bsa’

New wave of pirates has psoriasis, frat boy hair; no peglegs

According to a new report (PDF) from the Business Software Alliance, “roughly 41 percent of all software installed on personal computers is obtained illegally.” And, although the US government is reluctant to bring prosecutions against noncommercial P2P users or against downloaders, the Department of Justice is increasingly willing to prosecute criminal copyright infringement cases brought to its attention by groups like the BSA. But who are these criminal masterminds, exactly?

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Business Software Alliance wants in on three-strikes action

The Business Software Alliance exists to fight software piracy, and the group has thrown its weight behind the “graduated response” method of dealing with online copyright infringement. But, in a sign that Big Content has heard the public’s complaints about lack of due process and disproportionate penalties, the BSA goes out of its way to talk up the need for an appeals process and judicial oversight before any Internet disconnections could occur.

Graduated response deals with suspected copyright infringement on the Internet by involving ISPs, who implement a set of ever more restrictive sanctions on users accused of sharing movies, music, or software online. Warnings and speed throttling are two common penalties being proposed, but it’s the threat of outright Internet disconnection (in France, there’s even a national blacklist that can keep you from getting any Internet service for up to a year) that stirs up the most passion.

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