The MPAA’s “University Toolkit,” a controversial suite of programs designed to help colleges monitor their networks for copyright infringement has been taken down for copyright infringement. Life is mysterious and magical, isn’t it? [BoingBoing]
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I hope whoever the copyright holders are, they sue the MPAA for trillions of dollars for IP theft. Please. PLEASE!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
That is five kinds of awesome!
A bit more on the story. A Ubuntu developer noticed that the MPAA was pushing a bootable CD for their “University Toolkit” based off of Ubuntu. Problem is, the CD’s under the GPL, a licence which essentially says “You mod it, you release the mods to the public using the license.” Keeps things free. Best way to do it is to keep the sources availible.
MPAA didn’t do that. The developer tried to get in contact with someone in the MPAA… and got nowhere. So he went to the ISP and evoked the DMCA to yank the CD down.
Next step for MPAA? Ether release the code, put in for the DMCA exception and be prepared to be sued, or drop the CD all together.
@STrRedWolf: Kbuntu, not ubuntu
My question: why can’t they be sued ASAP anyway? It seems kinda like they apply different rules to copyrighted works (for their works, they sue infringers, but when they infringe, they just say “whoops, sorry” and withdraw).
@cde: Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE instead of GNOME for the UI. Ether way it’s Ubuntu’s codebase… which is reworked and de-politicalized Debian.
@STrRedWolf: But as a derivited work under GPL, the KBuntu maker has the copyright, not Canonical.