[G4] Pioneer 107 and DVD media question

[Alex]

On Monday, Feb 2, 2004, at 12:49 Canada/Eastern, <csean at poc.it> wrote:

> He may indeed have a different point of view, I sincerely hope he 
> does, but
> I assume he's perfectly capable of telling me his point of view if he 
> wants
> to, either on the list or privately.

Look, this list doesn't just happen. There is a guy in Portland who 
provides resources and gives of his time to make sure this list works. 
You posted a question, I pointed out to you that your question was 
dicey. At this point, it might conceivably be polite ask the list owner 
whether he objects to that particular topic or not before going on.

This is not about self-censorship. You can search the net and you'll 
find tons of references to the subject; there are even Internet boards 
dedicated exclusively to exchanging info on how to pirate software -- 
and I shouldn't be surprised if there were one (or more) dedicated 
specifically to copying commercial DVDs. All that is between you, your 
ISP, and the people who post the info. But what is posted on this list 
-- if it is illegal -- might involve also the list owner.

> You start out by saying simply that "In more than one country, the 
> operation
> you describe is illegal".
> Yet no further information is provided. Not which countries, no 
> quoting of
> said laws, no links to the relative legal decisions, etc.

Are you joking? You want me to provide you with a legal opinion, 
complete with full references on the issue? I'll be more than glad to. 
I charge USD 200/hour (dirt cheap, btw, in this business), and I 
estimate the research will take me about 12 hours. I'll start working 
on it as soon as I receive your cheque. (Incidentally, in one of the 
post I already provided you with some free tidbits of info -- see ref 
to Norway -- that's just to whet your appetite.)

> But the fact that said questions do slip thru and get
> posted does not constitute a prosecutable act on the list operator's 
> part.
> This has been established in law.

To quote from the classics: " [...] no further information is provided. 
Not which countries, no quoting of said laws, no links to the relative 
legal decisions, etc."

> But would a US-based list owner "get in trouble" for providing Chinese
> citizens with the opportunity to break Chinese law?

Probably not. But he might "get in trouble" for providing anyone with 
the opportunity to break US law.

f