MPAA and RIAA: You Cannot Infringe Copyright But We Can!

It is striking, to say the least, when the two organizations at the forefront of copyright litigation are involved with copyright infringement themselves.

With regards to the MPAA, a copy of the movie ‘This Film Is Not Yet Rated’ was sent to the MPAA for review purposes.  This movie looks at the ratings system of the MPAA and criticizes it as an alternative form of censorship.  The director of the film specifically prohibited copies of the dvd from being made in an email.  Nonetheless the MPAA proceeded to make unauthorized DVD copies.

With regards to the RIAA, Edgar Bronfman (chairman of Universal which runs several important music labels) has admitted in an interview that his own children have used file-sharing networks to illegally download music.  When your dad is Edgar Bronfman and you neither lack money or access to music, and use peer networks nonetheless, it reflects the degree to which file-sharing has become a legitimate social norm for discovering music.