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    SG1 Archive pleads guilty

    Reposted from SG1_Spoilme http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/sg1_spoilme/
    -------------------------------------------------------

    Follow-up on the SG1 archive mess:

    Source: http://news.com.com/2062-12-6895.html?date=20040824

    reports in an article on online copyright infringement that

    “The federal government already pursues criminal charges against online copyright infringers, however. One recent case, sparked by MPAA complaints, saw the Justice Department charge a Cincinnati man with illegally offering episodes of "Stargate SG-1" http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/pr2004/050.html on a Web site devoted to that show.

    A Justice Department spokesman told me last week that Adam Clark McGaughey has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge later this month. (He also said the feds had not used provisions of the Patriot Act to investigate McGaughey, countering a widely circulated Web rumor.) http://www.sg1archive.com/nightmare.shtml

    #2
    McGaughey moved his website overseas and continued to stream episodes over the Internet until April 2003

    The FBI, DOJ or any other US body has absolutely no right to sit there and press charges against those who host material in another country that may not have the same laws concerning things like this. Another testament to the endless American capitalist greed.

    Comment


      #3
      Actually they do IF the individual(s) responsible for operating the site are on US soil.

      Also "Stargate SG-1 is produced by MGM and airs on Showtime and UPN.". This is a little out of date. The reporter really should have done his homework. It's over 2 years since the show moved.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by aschen
        McGaughey moved his website overseas and continued to stream episodes over the Internet until April 2003

        The FBI, DOJ or any other US body has absolutely no right to sit there and press charges against those who host material in another country that may not have the same laws concerning things like this. Another testament to the endless American capitalist greed.
        Yes, Adam apparently was greedy too. he was making money off his site, and if he had downloads on it, he was profiting off it. Copyright holders ARE allowed to defend their copyrights. Unfortunately too many fans think they can steal and profit as much as they want.

        Comment


          #5
          Wha!? I always thought that was a joke, no kidding. Cause posting it on April 01, 2004, was not a good idea. But why did he have to shut down his site and move it overseas?

          I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
          [Revelations 22:13]

          Comment


            #6
            McGaughey profited from his website through advertising and sales links on the website itself.
            He wasn't making profit off the videos themselves, he was making profit off the of banners and stuff. Those two things are totally unrelated. Making a profit off the videos (ie burning them to DVD and selling them) is illegal.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by aschen
              He wasn't making profit off the videos themselves, he was making profit off the of banners and stuff. Those two things are totally unrelated. Making a profit off the videos (ie burning them to DVD and selling them) is illegal.
              No, you are wrong. First off, it is illegal to make them available for download, period. But he was also making money of the site that offered the downloads. Assuming that the videos represented the bulk (or at least a significant portion) of the sites content then he was (even if indirectly) profiting from them. Because they drew in the audience. Without an audience no one would buy his ad space. And no one would follow the sponsor links. So the videos were putting money in his pocket, period.

              Sharing copyright material is a grey area at best (and it's rarely at its best). But the moment you start making any sort of money of it you are way over the line.

              Comment


                #8
                If you get caught...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by aschen
                  He wasn't making profit off the videos themselves, he was making profit off the of banners and stuff. Those two things are totally unrelated. Making a profit off the videos (ie burning them to DVD and selling them) is illegal.
                  From the U.S. Copyright Office website:

                  Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150, 000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights.

                  I seriously doubt that MGM gave him any reproduction and/or distribution rights to the episodes, seeing as how they decided to sue him over it.

                  Whether or not he was making money from the actual episodes is irrelevant to whether or not it's illegal. He had no right to do what he did, and he got caught doing it.

                  Making money from his site and moving the downloads to a server overseas just made it worse - on the first point, he was profitting in a roundabout way by stealing from them, on the second point, because he was intentionally trying to evade United States law.

                  He should consider himself lucky that they're allowing him to plead to a misdemeanor here. If he seriously did continue to offer the downloads until April of 2003, despite the FBI becoming involved an entire year before that (and the C&D orders that would have been sent prior to the FBI being sent in), then he was willfully and with intent refusing to comply with federal law. I say they shouldn't allow him to plead anything on this.

                  Think about it. April of 2003 - the end of Season Six. Six years, 22 episodes per year, 132 episodes being distributed not only without the lawful copyright holder's permission but in violation of their direct C&D orders going hand-in-hand with willful evasion of copyright law... at $150,000 for each willful infringement... he'd be looking at $19,800,000 in fines alone, never mind the attorney fees (and MGM would have some seriously expensive lawyers) and court costs.

                  Doing what he did isn't a game, and he's not the wronged party here. He broke the law, plain and simple, he got caught red-handed, he refused to stop when he was told to, and he deserves to reap what he sowed.

                  Had he simply complied with the first D&C order rather than trying to hide from the law, he wouldn't be in this mess now.

                  Interesting to note that CafePress has already revoked his affiliation rights. I wonder how long it will be before Amazon does the same.
                  ~bri~


                  Comment


                    #10
                    Isn't C&D? Ceist and desist? Some BS like that.

                    Well, as I have previously stated: Another testament to the endless American capitalist greed.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by aschen
                      Isn't C&D? Ceist and desist? Some BS like that.
                      Cease and Desist, yes. Stop what you're doing now, or we're going to sue you - in a nutshell.

                      Originally posted by aschen
                      Well, as I have previously stated: Another testament to the endless American capitalist greed.
                      Actually (and yes, I do see the in there, so I'm pretty sure you're being tongue-in-cheek here ), it has much less to do with American greed or Capitalism than it has to do with basic artistic integrity and common respect.

                      MGM owns Stargate. It is their creation, and they should be the only ones allowed to decide what is done with their property. Fan fiction, though never challenged, would most likely not fall under this same banner, because as a derivative work transferred in a different medium, it would most likely fall under the Fair Use provision.

                      But all and still, my site - all of the graphics, the stories I've written and am still writing, the videos I've made and am still making - if MGM came to me and said, "You can't do that because we own it, and we're telling you to take it down."... everything would be gone. Because I realize and I understand that no matter what, MGM still owns the rights to everything I do or make that pertains to Stargate, and if they told me I couldn't play with it, I'd honor that request.

                      That's what he should have done, from the very beginning. If he'd simply respected them enough to honor their wishes for their creation, there wouldn't have been a problem at all.
                      ~bri~


                      Comment


                        #12
                        Greed or not, it's the law.

                        sites, even like gateworld here, exist at the 'mercy' of the copyright owners. Every single person that writes fanfic, makes wall papers, etc, etc are breaking the copyright law of the original owners of the item, in this case MGM & co.

                        USUALLY, if the fan is not making money, the corporations tend to look the other way. It's written off as free advertising and not worth the bad PR to track down and shut down free (to the viewers) sites.

                        HOwever, if that fan IS making a profit from their endeavor, then it's easier to justify tracking them down.

                        Adam broke the law first. Got his chance to back down when he got TOLD to back down. Instead, he thumbed his nose at authority, kept right on doing it and, just like Martha Stewart, just ticked authority off more and more until they came down on his head.

                        If you, general you here, want to earn the studio's respect, you have to treat them with respect. Adam didn't do that.
                        Where in the World is George Hammond?


                        sigpic

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Ehh. Well, I am sort of serious. I really do have a strong aversion to capitalism.

                          Chances are, MGM didn't want him transferring those shows because if people have the movie files on their computer- what will they need the DVD box set for. Hence, their motives are most likely monetary.

                          I feel that the arguement of "protecting" media is kinda void. What are you protecting it from? You can't just say its yours, and even if you do, no one will believe you.

                          If someone is sharing someone else's vision with the world to those who may not have a chance to see it otherwise, shouldn't that be looked upon as a positive thing?

                          In fact, I feel that because you have used their copyrighted material to make your own images, that you are very well stealing more than those who share recorded eps.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by aschen
                            Ehh. Well, I am sort of serious. I really do have a strong aversion to capitalism.
                            Ahhh... see, I don't. But it's the economic system that I was raised with, and the thought that I can earn my way up is something I find very appealing. But that's a whole other discussion.

                            Originally posted by aschen
                            Chances are, MGM didn't want him transferring those shows because if people have the movie files on their computer- what will they need the DVD box set for. Hence, their motives are most likely monetary.
                            This is why copyright law exists - to keep unauthorized persons from making money from someone else's creation, so yes - of course the motive was monetary. But it only became that way when Adam refused to cooperate. Had he simply stopped uploading the episodes, there would have been no motive to pursue any legal action against him.

                            Originally posted by aschen
                            I feel that the arguement of "protecting" media is kinda void. What are you protecting it from? You can't just say its yours, and even if you do, no one will believe you.
                            Do you honestly think that no one "believes" that Stargate is MGM's property?

                            And yes, if I made it with my own two hands, I can just say it's mine, because it is. Filing for legal copyright status with the US Copyright Office only makes my rights more enforceable, it doesn't "create" them. Every piece of art, every piece of writing, every piece of copyrightable material - once published - is automatically copyright to its creator.

                            If it's mine, it's mine. And if I catch you making money off of it, I'm going to be more than a little ticked off.

                            Originally posted by aschen
                            If someone is sharing someone else's vision with the world to those who may not have a chance to see it otherwise, shouldn't that be looked upon as a positive thing?
                            Not if doing so infringes on the copyright holder's property rights or detracts from the value of their holdings. And offering the episodes for free download, right alongside the sale of legal copies, affects MGM's earnings.

                            Originally posted by aschen
                            In fact, I feel that because you have used their copyrighted material to make your own images, that you are very well stealing more than those who share recorded eps.
                            Um... I believe I just said that I am very aware that what I do is only at MGM's discretion. Yes, I use their official images to make wallpapers. Yes, I use their DVDs to make videos. Yes, I use their characters in my stories. And if I ever cross the line and go too far for their tastes, they will tell me, and I will take them all down.

                            But no, I'm not stealing "more" or "less" than Adam did. Bottom line is we're both stealing from MGM without their permission. It's a matter of intent and proportion.

                            I use portions of the episodes - most times completely out of context - and in so doing I create completely new and seperate (derivative) works and transmit them in an entirely different format. I have never, and will never, offer entire episodes for download on my site. That's a line that I cannot and will not cross - not only because it's wrong, but because I am fully aware of the ramifications it may have for other members of the fandom.

                            What if MGM now, because of Adam, decides to come after all of us for infringement? What if this one man going as far as he did, for as long as he did, has convinced them that none of us can be trusted? What if GW, OS, AbydosGate... what if every single Stargate site on the web got shut down because of this?

                            Would you still think Adam didn't do anything wrong?
                            ~bri~


                            Comment


                              #15
                              Would you still think Adam didn't do anything wrong?
                              No, I'd just blame it on MGM for taking it too far. I think piracy is great.

                              Comment

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