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Yahoo China Sued Under Brand New Copyright Law

techcrunch.com — The International Federation for the Phonographic Industry says that around 90% of all music sold in China is pirated and Yahoo! China includes links to unaffiliated sites selling pirated music.

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  • marshallk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Headline should read "to be sued"
  • kaje, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Crap...so no more using http://yahoo.cn to download individual music files in their MP3 search or is that perfectly ok? =)
    • elephantdog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Thanks for the tip, very easy!
    • Nitrodist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2How about using baidu.net to search for mp3s? That's still legal right?
  • SirDaShadow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21I swear to God, I read that as the "The International Federation for the Pornographic Industry"...
    • CarlosReyes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Phew, and I thought I was the only one!
    • jdb252, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4You sick bastard - How could you pervert something upstanding like that to "Pornographic"?

      Actually, I did the exact same thing.
    • brandizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was kind of jealous for a minute. "CHINA GETS A SEARCH ENGINE THAT GIVES YOU FREE PORN?" Then I realized that's what every search engine here does and that I was reading it totally wrong.
    • mikeabundo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd support that federation.
  • rocketryguy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6So did I, but no, it's a stiffer form of vinyl...
  • gamekid, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7In before RIAA sues Google for linking to torrents with a "filetype: torrent" search.
  • st3ph4n, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3So, please tell me i'm not the only one that at first thought yahoo was being sued by the International Federation for the Pornographic Industry
    • fugazi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Im afraid not you and about 10 other people who posted before you thought the same.
  • djjohn87, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Crazy Chinese bastards.
  • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1Let's see. We made this really cool song/video/picture/etc., and people really, really liked it, and it was played billions of times all over the world. We could have sold millions of copies and made a lot of money for the artists, the publisher, and the stores. But instead we only sold a few thousand copies, and then went out of business.

    Bummer. Oh well. We'll just keep creating cool stuff, just cuz we're nice artists who don't really care about making money. We just like working hard to make cool, unique stuff. We don't want to be compensated for giving people pleasure.

    Creator, consumer, capitalist, communist, or just a petty thief...

    ...which are you?

    (Me? I'm a creator and a capitalist. Can you tell?)
    • Herolint, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Be what you may, the truth of the matter is that the RIAA are not capitalists. They COULD provide online music at a DECENT price, but they don't. Therefore, people go elsewhere, including Allofmp3.com (which is NOT a pirate site) or just plain pirating.

      It has been proven that the market does not support the prices the music industry is charging. Now, if the industry were capitalists, they would come out with desired distribution mechanisms and reasonable prices. Instead, they try to use the court systems to eliminate the competition; so to speak.

      All they have really done in my case is encouraged me to just stop listening to music all together. I'm sure that will bring them huge profits once all the "pirates" are gone.
    • drakethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5No your an industry whore. Consumers easily justify stealing it because they think its overpriced. People want thousands of songs and according to industry prices, thats thousands of dollars. Its easy to price fix things legally by creating an organization that agrees that all labels should charge at least X amount for their music. Imagine if alcohol costed 100+ for a bottle of hard a, you would people brewing it themselves and selling it illegally without a license just because of the rediculous prices. Wake up industry and realize that you created the black market by your ripoff prices. You can't say that 90% of the world pirates and that makes them all evil.
    • elephantdog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm a creator, communist, capitalist, consumer in that order. Which means I make stuff for the hell of it, and if I make money doing it great, if not it's time to look for other work.

      You don't have any fundamental right to own an idea, it is just a courtesy to reward the creators.

      I would enjoy the benefits of someone else's labor (often for free), though I wouldn't deprive them of what they made.


    • jdb252, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So you're not a consumer? Wouldn't that be hypocritical for you, the self-proclaimed capitalist?

      People share created content online without any expectation of compensation - See newgrounds.com. It's not so far-fetched that people would actually create to entertain with no hopes of monetary value.
    • Ifnotformuffins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I could tell you liked the prospect of a steady flow of income, but i have to confess i didn't exactly mark you down as a capitalist. Or that could just be my own personal definition of a "capitalist".
      I always figured a "capitalist" as someone who was pro-business as long as its in his own best interest.

      Now tell me, do you as a so called "creator" really believe that cartel-esque associations like the mpaa, riaa and their worldwide counterparts stand up to your best interest?
      Can you honestly claim the current business plan of laying on nightmarish DRM on content, suing at every possible occasion while making as much of a media spectacle as possible is the best approach to capitalism(within this particular market)?

      I'm all for capitalism, its the only social/economic theory that can kinda work with the human being's nature. But what you are trying to stand up for isn't capitalism.
      It does not represent it.
      There are better ways to squeeze money out of that content than those that these associations are determined to use.
      Renew the approach to the client, re-think the distribution platforms, stop scaring away the damn crowd with the full of cash pockets. Settle the copyright infractions without this big a fuss, turn those copyright infringing outlets of your media into your own channels. In the long run, the illusion of freedom yields allot more cash than a fear campaign.

    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, it's all about supply and demand. You're both correct that the current prices are out of whack, and the industries surrounding them will have to adjust if they want to survive. There are too many legitimate low-price outlets (allofmp3.com is one - I use it) where the prices are more in line with expenses, and the creators/producers can still make a nice profit without gouging the consumers. It's digital media, after all. The cost of delivery is quite a bit lower, and I could do without the glitzy marketing (and the budgets they entail) designed to make me believe that a product (e.g., Brittney Spears, Jessica Simpson, etc.) is worth buying.

      However, the bloated prices still don't justify stealing. If I stole goods from a high-priced store and gave it away for free in the parking lot, I would expect that eventually somebody would toss me into jail. The people who received stolen goods from me? Well, they could claim that they didn't know the goods were stolen, but their claim wouldn't hold water for long: people generally don't give valuable things away for free. Knowing that the goods were stolen, they took them anyway. That makes them thieves, too.

      Industry whore? Of course! I like money. Don't lie: I suspect that you do, too. The reality is that all of us who work for a living are whores, since most people don't actually like what they do to earn money. I'm actually one of the lucky ones: I really like what I do, I'm pretty good at it, and I make pretty good money selling it. I create things that people enjoy consuming. I work hard to make cool, unique things, and I sell copies. Unfortunately, I'm not as good at selling stuff as I am at creating it, so I have people who help me with that. They get a fairly substantial cut, because they tell the world that my products exist, and they own the stores where my products are sold. Marketing and sales is expensive, and I have to pay the piper.

      I want to get rich, just like most people. Not disgustingly rich. I don't need billions, but I'd certainly like to get a lot more than you can get on a standard salary. I gave up on the salary world about 15 years ago. I fly without a net. Luckily, I've found something I love doing that pays well, and holds some hope of eventually making it possible for me to NOT have to work so hard, so I can pursue some less commercial (profitable) ideas before my time runs out. If I didn't get paid for making things, then I would have to stop, or find something else to do. Maybe I'd have to go back to earning a salary. That would definitely suck.

      I liked your alcohol analogy, since you've actually reinforced my position: if you don't like the prices, then COMPETE, don't STEAL.

      www.allofmp3.com : Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" for 11 cents!

      1/9th the price at iTunes! I love it. THAT is what will change the industry.
    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes, lots of very creative people create simply for the joy of doing so, with no expectation of reward besides the satisfaction of a job well done. In fact, that's how I got started. Then one day somebody showed me how to make money doing it. I didn't make a lot at first, mostly because I didn't know how to sell. I just put it out there, and some of the people who stumbled across it actually sent me money. Then I ran into a guy who offered to do some marketing for me, in return for a slice of the pie. I didn't believe him at first, so he took the risk and did it pro bono. It worked! My sales went up by a factor of 1000, and I gave him what he asked for, no problem (since I would be making about 700 times as much money). The first guy introduced me to a woman who knew how to get my product onto more shelves - for a cut. I took the leap, and at the same time quit my day-job. I haven't looked back.

      To those that think that intellectual property has no continuing value: that is such a crock of *****. They are my ideas, the results of my work, expressed in tangible form. I created them. You did not. If you like the things I create, then it's perfectly reasonable for me to ask you to pay to use them. The price? We're back to supply and demand again. If my price is too high, then not enough people will buy my products. If my price is too low, then I won't be able to pay my expenses. It's up to me to find the right price. If I don't find the right price, then my business will fail. Good motivation, wouldn't you say?

      We could go back and forth on this for a while, obviously, but there's not much point. It's unlikely you'll convince me that I should give my products away, and it's unlikely that the thieves will ever start paying again as long as it's unlikely they'll get caught. For those of you who actually feel guilty for pirating, please stop. As has been discussed, there are places out there where you can get (digital) products at very low, very reasonable prices. If those places are successful, then the whole DRM issue will simply fade away.

    • karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just so we're clear: I think the draconian approach that the RIAA et al have taken is laughable. It's such a Republican "police state" approach, and it will never work. I think we're mostly in agreement here (except for the communists among us) that legitimate competition will drive prices down, people will stop stealing, and we can all go back to listening to our music.

      Works for me.
    • timmarhy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the current music industry is anything but capitalism, under capitalism CARTELS should be outlawed.

      they are the reason we have to pay $30 AUD for a cd which is mostly "filler" just to get one or 2 songs we like.

      and i'm sorry, but you cant' justify running a cartel to fix prices in order to make millions more profit. until they stop this, i shall continue to even the odds in my favour.
  • onlyheart, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1try http://music.yahoo.com.cn to search any music you like and you can download it.
  • eclectro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1digg not for the story but the thread clue-in.
  • cope, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this is the start of country orientated search engines..
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