AfterDawn: News

MPAA to fund anti-piracy education in schools

Two big intellectual property associations, RIAA and MPAA, have taken very different approaches to combat ever-growing online piracy. While RIAA keeps sueing its potential customers, MPAA tries to change people's attitudes (and trying to come up with watermarks, "creative" laws, etc).

MPAA's latest attempt to do something about P2P piracy is to educate schoolchildren about P2P and legal issues surrounding it. It has paid $100,000 (which seems ridiculously small amount compared to the size of the movie industry) to gets its anti-piracy ideas to 900,000 American schoolkids in grades 5 to 9. Organization called Junior Achievement will implement the campaign using volunteer teachers from the business sector.



In addition to scaring heck out of schoolkids by telling them that "if you haven't paid for it, you've stolen it", MPAA also has launched a nationwide campaign to show anti-piracy commercials in 5,000 movie theatres in the U.S.

Some copyright law experts are worried about the picture MPAA is trying to create for students, because U.S. copyright laws include "fair use" clauses that allow making copies for personal and educational use and this important exemption might (most likely will) get ignored when MPAA tells kids how the American copyright laws work (or should work from MPAA's point-of-view).

Source: Houston Chronicle

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 24 Oct 2003 14:58

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• 14 comments

• Ghostdog

  I´m not sure this is a completely bad idea, but I sure as hell wouldn´t want the MPAA teaching kids what is right.

  25.10.2003 09:51 #1

• amrik

  I agree with Ghostdog. What kind of garbage would the MPAA put into these little kids' heads? They will conveniently forget to mention the fair use clauses, won't they?

  26.10.2003 04:05 #2

• Litnrod

  I can garuntee i'm not letting corporate america educate my kids on anythnig ..

  27.10.2003 09:02 #3

• GrayArea

  quote from amrik >"They will conveniently forget to mention the fair use clauses, won't they?"
  
  Fair use doctrine is being dismantled (where digital media is concerned) as we speak. If things go according to industry plans, it will not exsist. Check out DRM & "trusted" computing.
  
  Pay per play. Period.
  
  Here's a link to a recent paper that point's out how fair use is being undermined by current digital media services. It will only get worse.
  http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/~john_han/docs/p029-mulligan.pdf
  

  We mustn't lower ourselves to the level of those we loathe, lest we become loathsome ourselves.
  

  27.10.2003 11:23 #4

• Herb

  This is going to be rather long, but I think important about this issue. First, all parents, let you school know that you do NOT want JA in your school.
  
  This absolutely shocks me !!
  
  I do not want to be identified by JA, but I worked for them for many years, much of time in management in their corporate office.
  
  Because they have a values "in" to the schools, many, many organizations have tried to get with JA so they can get directly to the kids. Their materials are sensational, no money is allowed to be taken by the government , and it has been offered, but it has been true to its mission of having volunteers like you and me go into the classroom and facilitate a class with their, "learning by doing" materials. I also volunteered in the classroom for them and it did make me proud to see kids understand the concept of taxes, or that it takes many skills to run a business and how difficult it is to set pricing for a product, supply and demand, etc. Then to add some personal experiences of your own to make a point.
  
  For them to become a pawn of a special interest group shocks me. This is a compex issue and obviously they are allowing the MPAA to buy the integrity of their organization.
  
  Here is the page on their web site http://www.ja.org/about/about_newsitem.asp?StoryID=155
  
  I strongly advise all to do this.
  Call the national headquarters at 719-540-8000. You can fax them at (719) 540-6299.
  
  I will now give you some names you can ask for, It is better to e-mail, call or fax a person then to leave it for the general mail box.
  
  Also very important is to contact your local JA offices. You can e-mail here to get that information as well sa look in your phone book . newmedia@ja.org.
  
  Here are some direct e-mails lwillis@ja.org let her know that you would never volunteer for JA because of this relationship with MPAA (and it looks like the message of the RIAA is thrown in there as well).
  Edwin Bodensiek at ebodensiek@ja.org - tell him the bad will this is creating in the community and challenging the integrity of the organization
  
  David Chernow
  President & Chief Executive Officer - You really need to let him have it !! How could he sell out the integrity of this organization. dchernow@ja.org or ask for him by phone.
  
  Dr. Darrell Luzzo
  Senior Vice President -- Education dluzzo@ja.org or a call. His staff creates the materials. Let him know how he has compromised all of their work.
  
  Buzzy Thibodeaux
  Senior Vice President -- Public Affairs -
  bThibodeaux@ja.org
  Let him know how he can screw up so many years of an impecable reputation.
  
  Marty Lee
  Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer - mlee@ja.org -
  He will be very influenced if you let him know how JA has been totally tarnished and how you will let your local office know and never, ever volunteer or give them a dime.
  
  These are all senior management staff, they would have to okay this. Here is the web site for all of their phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
  
  You can start here, then select the departments on the right to get some specifics. http://www.ja.org/near/near_nat_staff_mgmt.shtml
  
  Their is a site where you can find your local office, which is here
  http://www.ja.org/near/near_map.asp
  
  Also, very, very important is the National Board. They should have blown this away, but it is possibly their idea, someone from their must have been spoken to. It looks like Deloitte right now leads the National Board, but the list is here .
  http://www.ja.org/involved/involved_vol_who_board.shtml

  27.10.2003 13:52 #5

• nrlz

  Why don't the MPAA spend that money to clean up their own movies of sex, drugs and violence before pointing their finger at other people? That would sure do more for society than any Junior Achievement organization.
  
  And what's up with the MPAA giving an academy award to Roman Polanski the fugitive child molester? Is that what they're teaching in school?

  27.10.2003 15:10 #6

• Herb

  Please follow up on this.
  
  Tell your local principals and schools that you DO NOT want Junior Achievement in your schools. It is your right to do so. That is the most important.
  
  Junior Achievement is a non-profit, like I said I worked for many years. It is a cheap, stupid way to get some money. It is now JA for sale. This is totally against their charter, mission statement, etc. They have been a great organization and their materials absolutely first rate. New CEO, new management, new board members, they have now become prostitutes for lobbyists.
  
  Their status for so many years, allowed them to walk into our public schools. This is the first time that they now became a financed arm of lobbyists.
  They are a non-profit organization that finds volunteers to come into their schools and facilitate programs which are aims at teaching kids about economic/business education. Something very much lacking. Now they have totally gone against their own values.
  www.ja.org web site for HQ
  719-540-8000 - central number
  what they used to do http://www.ja.org/about/about_who.shtml
  David Chernow - six figure CEO of non-profit dchernow@ja.org phone (719) 540-6203
  
  Thibodeaux, Buzzy ---> Make sure you e-mail buzzy
  SVP -- Public Affairs
  bthibodeaux@ja.org
  
  CFO - Tim Armijo tarmijo@ja.org
  Casteel, Pamela
  Vice President -- Education Policy, Evaluation & Outreach pcasteel@ja.org
  
  Lee, Marty
  Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer mlee@ja.org
  
  Harnden, Jim
  Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer -- Information Technology jharnden@ja.org
  
  Bodensiek, Edwin ----> He wrote the letter on the web site telling about how they are partnering with the MPAA.
  Director -- Public Affairs ebodensiek@ja.org
  
  Dewar, Thomas ---> he looks to recruit board members and partnerships
  Senior Vice President -- Resource Generation tdewar@ja.org
  
  A mailing would be great an send them all your thoughts about having volunteers coming to the classromm confusing children with eroneous information about the laws.
  
  Please tell all of your local schools that you do want Junior Achievement in your schools. Tell your local JA offices.
  

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  27.10.2003 17:58 #7

• Ghostdog

  I encourage all americans to follow up on this. If you are a parent take preventative measures. Talk to the other parents who have kids in your school, organize a meeting with school staff.

  28.10.2003 00:44 #8

• Herb

  Great comment Ghostdog.
  
  I did send the "fair use" law to the VP at Junior Achievement who is so pissed. He is a VP, not a senior VP.
  
  Ghostdog, I would be willing to create sa mailing list of Senior executives at Junior Achievement as well as well as add some of the Presidents of some of the more influential local field offices and allow that to be a vehicle to sendout e-mails for others if they send them to me.
  
  I could create a special e-mail address and name that you can come up with like parents for decency in schools with a good e-mail address to represent the cause. I will let you decide that. Is there a way to share as well to share mailing lists with all of you as well. Via Outlook ? or Outlook express if you wouold prefer sending your correspondance out directly ?
  
  But I can tell you that mentioning that you don't want Junior Achievement in your local schools and why.
  
  This hurts me from someone who was with the organization for so long. I also am seeing that this new SVP team is selling their "JA Brand", because they are in the schools and always have had impecable integrity. It is now JA for sale. You don't want your children for sale either.
  
  This is the tip of the iceberg, my friends of other special interest and lobbyists paying their way into the schools to indoctrinate our children in schools that we pay for.
  

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  28.10.2003 06:26 #9

• Litnrod

  I have written an e-mail to the president and CEO of JA and am contacting both of the 2 remaining daughters schools this afternoon. In my letter to Mr Chernow i simply stated that I had been a big advocate if the organization as my 14 yr old had some dealings with it last year, but that now i would no longer support them, and urge both schools to reconsider in light of this new found information. Thank you Herb for all the info you posted. Luckily for me, I have "corrupted" my kids at a young age and are failry saavy to the lowdown.

  28.10.2003 07:08 #10

• Herb

  Fantastic Litnrod,
  
  Another good idea would be to spread the word in other newsgroups and forums that you might belong to.
  Especially ones that are family and education related. Letting you state education heads know is a good idea as well.
  
  There are so many problems like student illiteracy, teenage suicide, kids who are without direction because of family breakups, the glut of outsourcing of U.S. jobs, etc. Yet, they decide to sell themselves to MPAA. I will try to use my contacts to find out how much money they received for this.
  
  Since I worked there for a years, I know that they are very sensitive to public relations presures. If they loose their reputation, they have lost everything.
  
  Junior Achievement has discussed for years allowing ads on their materials for pay, having corporations involve themselves in the materials itself and never have done it. That direct "in" to your children in the schools has made the offers plentiful.
  
  This is the first time I see them looking to market the "JA Brand" as they put it, doing things that will have former CEOs turn over in their graves. The current CEO is from outside the organization as well as a whole bunch of the senior management people, although others are veterens from the field offices. They do not understand how big the integrity issue is.
  
  Integrity used to be number one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  28.10.2003 12:59 #11

• Litnrod

  it was all over other forums the moment i read it .. i'm a big advocate for the boycott-riaa movement ... and of eff .. and am tired of having this kind of thing shoved down my throat .. and now to find out they are going to try n bs my kids .. well . =)

  28.10.2003 13:28 #12

• Herb

  I am with you Litnrod.
  
  It is one thing to hit at ignorant adults and media morons who get their opinions bought out.
  Another to pour money down the throats of our legislative and executive branches. We know that they are whores (I am sorry if that word offends).
  
  But to use unassuming children. It reminded me of governments that brainwashed the children so bad that they turned their parents in to the "state".
  
  It is discusting and I am particularly disgusted by having Junior Achievement involved. www.ja.org
  

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  28.10.2003 15:16 #13

• tcheng

  A Better way to deal with this issue:
  
  Downhill Battle has just launched a counter attack to the efforts by MPAA and BSA called Kids Smell Bullshit at www.kidssmellbullshit.com and copyrightcurriculum.com. There is a letter/photo contest for kids to write to BSA/MPAA to win an ipod mini and a wiki for building a balanced curriculum. Downhill Battle thinks that the filesharing issue is the most engaging issue for kids and they obviously are getting involved in fighting back the pro-business, self-interested groups.

  17.11.2004 08:13 #14