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General Discussion / Encoding Video for Zaurus...
« on: May 26, 2004, 01:50:17 am »Quote
Another hypothetical example. Pretend we had replicators like in Star Trek... is it legal for me to replicate a part manufactured by another company? Yes... as long as I don\'t sell it, or sell a product which uses it.
No. You are half right. Under the DMCA, you are legally allowed to re-engineer technology to understand how it works. However, you may not A) distribute the technology either commercially or non-commercially to the public. You may not disclose its \"secrets\" to the public. However, there is a loophole. If you can somehow legally get yourself to be classified as a library or educational facility, you can then have additional \"freedoms\" to istibute information.
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Question: When when the RIAA sues someone is there anyway for that person (assuming he is like most people and can\'t afford the lawyers needed to stand up against the masses of RIAA lawyers) to get the court to appoint an appropriate (knowledgeable) lawyer for that person\'s defense?... and not have that person have to pay for the mess?
No...you are only appointed legal counsel under the government\'s tab if you meet the following criteria:
A) It is a criminal case (i.e. USA vs. YOU - this is not a good place to be).
AND
You clearly cannot afford a lawyer. The government will get its bean counters to get an analysis of your financial situation (house/car/bank accounts) and assess your ability to pay for legal counsel. They may, at thier discretion pay for the entire bill, pay a portion of the bill, or hit you with a judgement for the legal costs at the end of your trial.
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Is there anyway to protect yourself from corporate musseling and bullying? ...or are we typical poor americans going to be at the mercy of those who can hire dozens of layers to harrass us? Does the court system offer anything to balance this out?
Yes But you ned to be proactive rather than reactive. The key that they look at is how many assets do you have and is it worthwhile to sue and get a judgement on you. Step 1) Go into business for yourself (if you are in computers...consult....the money is better). If they attach a judgement against you, they will go to your employer to garnish your wages. Now since YOU are your employer...you can fire yourself and rehire yourself as a vounteer. Then hire your wife/Mom/Dad/Kids and give them the paycheck. BAM...you have all of a sudden become a poor person with no income...and no ability to garnish your wages...because you do not make anything. Having a wife is best because she becomes the employee and the income kind of flows right back into your pocket without any tax ramifications. Second...any assets you have you want to get rid of. You need to do this while the waters are calm...ie. no current legal issues or even threat of someone coming after you, otherwise a judge can state \"fraudulent conveyence\" and open a direct path to your assets.. You bury your assets in something called a Family Limited Partnership or FLIP. This includes your house, stocks, bonds, cash, etc. When a creditor comes after you, they can get something called a charging order against your portion of a FLIP. But since you are a partner, you do not need to release the asset for distribution (you can continue using the assets in the good name of the partnership). Creditors don\'t normally like this because if they get a charging order, they have to pay the property taxes and other fees for the portion they \"own\". Its a losing proposition for them...so they usually walk away when your assets are buried. In addition, I believe there is a Federal law that says there is a 20 year statute of limitations for a charging order to collect payment. After 20 years, its all yours again The downside is the collection agency will likely bug the heck out of you...so read up on the Federal Debt Collection Act and read how to make the collectors leave you alone.
Hey...I never said it was going to be easy...but its definately doable
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If not... then why not? Is there anything in the works to change this?
Unfortunately there is nothing in the works to change this just yet. However, with DirecTV, the MPAA, and the RIAA carpet bombing the world, I suspect someone in congress will put the brakes on this. It needs more public outcry. The key is we have a f**ed up legal system here. Anyone can sue anyone else with no recourse and for no reason. In certain european countries (like France I believe), if you sue someone and you lose, you have to pay for all of thier legal fees and costs. It kind of makes people think twice before suing someone and ensures that the case is a slam dunk. We need this kind of a system in America, but it will be a long time before that happens since lobbyists will continue to pump $$ into politicians pockets to prevent this type of legislation.
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Also... how much do you think the RIAA has to pay for each lawsuit? Are they making a profit off of this, or is it just a public exhibition to scare the populace into submission?
From what I recall, its between 100.00-150.00 to file. They try to lump as many people in a single suit to keep the filing costs down. Yes I suspect they are making a profit off of this. I believe it was documented that DirecTV was making a mint off of thier legal initiatives. I do believe that on the RIAA its not done from a profit motive, but a controlling motive (public exhibition). They are trying to flex thier muscle and show who is in charge. I think if most folks do not settle and fight back (malicious litigation etc), the US court system will begin showing little tolerance for these methods of intimidation. If you read up on DirectV, you will find that several judges just started throwing out cases left and right with stinging biradements toward DirecTV.