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Safeguards For RIAA Hard Drive Inspection 276

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In SONY v. Arellanes, an RIAA case in Sherman, Texas, the Court entered a protective order (PDF) that spells out the following procedure for the RIAA's examination of the defendant's hard drive: (1) RIAA imaging specialist makes mirror image of hard drive; (2) mutually acceptable computer forensics expert makes make two verified bit images, and creates an MD5 or equivalent hash code; (3) one mirror image is held in escrow by the expert, the other given to defendant's lawyer for a 'privilege review'; (4) defendant's lawyer provides plaintiffs' lawyer with a 'privilege log' (list of privileged files); (5) after privilege questions are resolved, the escrowed image — with privileged files deleted — will be turned over to RIAA lawyers, to be held for 'lawyers' eyes only.' The order differs from the earlier order (PDF) entered in the case, in that it (a) permits the RIAA's own imaging person to make the initial mirror image and (b) spells out the details of the method for safeguarding privilege and privacy."
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Safeguards For RIAA Hard Drive Inspection

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22, 2007 @12:14AM (#18829217)
    >> "I'd need to aim for a different demographic, the family market."
    >> "I don't sell sick stuff like Marilyn Manson or cop-killer rap, and I'm proud to have one of the most extensive Christian rock sections that I know of."

    Damn those lieing stealing Christians!! I'll bet the mormons are twice as bad. I mean, they believe in Jesus twice, once in the Old World and once in the New World!

    I'll bet those "Marilyn Manson" or "cop-killer rap" listening kids probably aren't smart enought to even use a computer. So maybe you should think about changing your "demographic" again if you want to make money? ;-)
  • by ZombieRoboNinja ( 905329 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @12:31AM (#18829331)
    Think they'd buy it?
  • So if I had music that I wrote and copyrighted on my own computer hard disk, they then are allowed to copy my music during this process without paying me compensation?

    --jeffk++
  • by Mistlefoot ( 636417 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @12:51AM (#18829483)
    Priveleged file list

    1) *.mp3
    2) *.avi
    3) *.mpg

  • by ztransform ( 929641 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @01:08AM (#18829595)
    RIAA employees were discovered with a "significantly disturbing" volume of porn on their own machines. When questioned they denied that the material was sourced from hard drive mirror images..
  • by mikiN ( 75494 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @02:15AM (#18829937)
    Pleading the Fifth:

    Judge: "How do you plead?"
    Defendant: "Ta-da-da-daaaaaa, ta-da-da-daaaaaa..."

    (sorry, couldn't resist...)
  • by myowntrueself ( 607117 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @02:42AM (#18830027)
    and I'm proud to have one of the most extensive Christian rock sections that I know of.

    You mean that people are actually ripping and sharing Christian rock??

    Thats just *sick*.
  • by bratwiz ( 635601 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @03:57AM (#18830319)

    One could make the case to a judge that with all the drives the RIAA has unethically examined using their wide, pervasive and invasive techniques, there is a better chance than not that they have CHILD PORN on their own computers, and that a low-level forensic examination of the RIAA's computer disks would likely reveal CHILD PORN was there even if it is now erased. My understanding is that is a federal crime no matter HOW the CHILD PORN got on the RIAA's computers or whether the CHILD PORN on the RIAA's hard disks is now erased. I firmly believe that CHILD PORN is wrong and the RIAA has no business engaging in CHILD PORN for any purpose whatsoever. Furthermore I think the slashdot user community should petition the court to appoint an appropriate forensic expert to look for the CHILD PORN on the RIAA's computers.
  • by bl8n8r ( 649187 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @09:13AM (#18831179)
    ln -s /usr/share/goatse.jpg $HOME/stuff_I_got_from_limewire.mp3
    ln -s /usr/share/goatse.jpg $HOME/movie2007.avi
    ln -s /usr/share/goatse.jpg $HOME/awesome_concert.mpg

    or maybe for more fun..

    for file in `find /usr/share/goatse -type f`; do
        ln -s "$file" $HOME/$RANDOM.mp3
        ln -s "$file" $HOME/$RANDOM.mpg
        ln -s "$file" $HOME/$RANDOM.avi
    done
  • by Tanktalus ( 794810 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @10:54AM (#18831749) Journal

    Works even better if you can get that clock in the bottom-right to blink "12:00"... the judge will just say "yeah, my VCR does that, too" and dismiss the case.

  • by PetoskeyGuy ( 648788 ) on Sunday April 22, 2007 @11:48PM (#18836815)
    • The parent post was awesome. Real Move of the week material, but still it was rather lacking in some ways. I've done my best to improve their content as much as I could. I give my permission for the RIAA or similar organizations to use this version in any way they like. I'm would just be happy to give something back to the music industry that has given me so much.

    As a record store owner who has failed to diversify or pay attention to industry trends , my business faces ruin. CD sales have dropped through the floor just like the previous obsolete formats before them . People aren't buying half as many CDs as they did just a year ago. Revenue is down and costs are up. My store has survived for years, but I now face the prospect of bankruptcy. Every day I ask myself why this is happening when I should be researching current trends and alternatives to restructure my business instead of wallowing in misery .

    I bought the store about 12 years ago. It was one of those boutique record stores that sell obscure, independent releases that no-one listens to, not even the people that buy them. I decided that to grow the business I'd need to aim for a different demographic, the family market. My store specialized in family music - stuff that the whole family could listen to. I don't sell sick stuff like Marilyn Manson or cop-killer rap, and I'm proud to have one of the most extensive Christian rock sections that I know of.

    The business strategy worked. Buying an existing profitable store and changing nothing was simpler then I ever imagined. People flocked to my store, knowing that they (and their children) could safely purchase records without profanity or violent lyrics. Over the years I expanded the business and took on more clean-cut and friendly employees. It took hard work and long hours but I had achieved my dream - owning a profitable business that I had built with my own hands, from the ground up. But now, this dream is turning into a nightmare.

    Every day, fewer and fewer customers enter my store to buy fewer and fewer CDs. Why is no one buying CDs? Why is no one buying cassette tapes, 33s or singles on 45s? My wax cylinders are literally covered in dust! Are people not interested in music? Do people prefer to watch TV, see films, read books? I don't know. But there is one, inescapable truth - Internet piracy is mostly to blame. The statistics speak for themselves - one in three discs world wide is a pirate. On The Internet, you can find and download hundreds of dollars worth of music in just minutes. Millions of people are finding and downloading any music item they want. It's so easy some people are downloading stuff they never would have listened to before just to check it out. It has the potential to destroy the music industry, from artists, to record companies to stores like my own. Before you point to the supposed "economic downturn", I'll note that the book store just across from my store is doing great business. Unlike CDs, it's harder to copy books over The Internet. Except for audio books. And it's really just as easy to copy the books - it's just a little harder to encode them and not as convenient to read them using a computer right now.

    Pirates are the worst. They are not as easy to identify as you would think. They almost never wear those little triangle hats. A week ago, an unpleasant experience with pirates gave me an idea. In my store, I overheard a teenage patron talking to his friend.

    "Dude, I'm going to put this CD on the Internet right away."

    "Yeah, dude, that's really lete [sic], you'll get lots of respect."

    "I just hope it will work in my CD player. I haven't bought a CD since the last two wouldn't work in my CD player and this guy refused to give me a refund for the defective discs."

    I was fuming. So they were out to destroy the record industry from right under my nose? F

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