Lamar Smith, SOPA Author, Caught Red-Handed Infringing Copyright

Lamar Smith, SOPA Author, Caught Red-Handed Infringing Copyright

m.ibtimes.com

It turns out Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the author of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, has been caught red-handed infringing copyright himself with an image used on his personal Web site.

An investigative report by Vice found a photo on Smith's campaign site had infringed the copyright and never credited the source.

Here's how it went down.

Vice checked out an archived version of Smith's Web site using the Wayback Machine and found it once used a background image of a stock photo of a colorful woodland scene created by a photographer named D.J. Schulte.

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
STOP SOPA: Banner for ATS members - Come and get it!
How SOPA could kill ATS and free speech online
Reddit Announces Blackout to Protest SOPA
Boycott SOPA: An Android app that terrifies publishers and politicians

To quote ALANIS MORISSETTE, "Isn't it ironic."

Tsk...tsk. Stealing Mr. Smith? Mr. Schulte, the photographer, says you never credited him on the website for the use of his photo. You should be ashamed of yourself. It appears your website is also in danger under SOPA. See how easy it is, to be a criminal under your proposed legislation. Scrub SOPA now. It's not right for America.

Mr. Schulte had this to say:

"I do not see anywhere on the screen capture that you have provided that the image was attributed to the source (me)," Schulte wrote on Flickr.

If SOPA, which would give the government power to shut down any Web site in violation of online piracy rules, passes, Schulte said he would be entitled to file a suit against its creator, Lamar Smith.

"So my conclusion would be that Lamar Smith's organization did improperly use my image. So according to the SOPA bill, should it pass, maybe I could petition the court to take action against texansforlamarsmith.com."

Mr. Smith went to Washington...it's time Mr. Smith and his SOPA strategy leave the internet to those who know how to use it.

Welcome to the internet Mr. Smith.



STOP SOPA

m.ibtimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well isn't that just hilarious.
Mr. Smith is a definite hypocrite.

Also, just my thoughts on the matter, but if movie and music companies don't want their stuff on the internet, why don't they make their CD's and DVD's with a safe-guard for that stuff? I know it's possible as I had a DVD with one of those anti-piracy safe-guards on it.
And to add to that statement, if movie companies don't want their movies to be pirated, why do they GIVE you, yes they literally GIVE you, a digital copy to upload onto your computer?? They're basically saying "We don't want anyone pirating our movies, but here! Have a digital copy to upload onto the internet!"

Pretty much a similar scenario to those morons that abused the copyright on that annoying Anti-piracy message & music that starts before most DVD's or movies play!

The trouble with all these fools wanting to mess with everything, is that once they get a piece of legislation passed, they get bored and have to find something else to MEDDLE with...basically there's no friggin end to all!

Time to block his access to the internet huh?

reply to post by webpirate


has to be the funniest.. you know what i do.. i call these people.. but they dont like the honest questions i asked.. we could start a campaign of putting public liars public numbers everywhere.. like with every corrupiton case.. just post every possible number to any related offices so we can call and get more quotes and the truth..

btw that being said.. if you got a call at 4am asking weird questions it wasnt NECESSARILY me.. so quit calling the feds... im tired of replacing doors..

does anyone else find this funny

Agent Smith: The great Morpheus. We meet at last.
Morpheus: And you are?
Agent Smith: A Smith. Agent Smith.
Morpheus: You all look the same to me.

how typical that his name is mr smith.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the internet censorship bill on Tuesday, January 24th so we still have time to stop it
americancensorship.org...

Originally posted by Believer101
Well isn't that just hilarious.

Mr. Smith is a definite hypocrite.

Also, just my thoughts on the matter, but if movie and music companies don't want their stuff on the internet, why don't they make their CD's and DVD's with a safe-guard for that stuff? I know it's possible as I had a DVD with one of those anti-piracy safe-guards on it.
And to add to that statement, if movie companies don't want their movies to be pirated, why do they GIVE you, yes they literally GIVE you, a digital copy to upload onto your computer?? They're basically saying "We don't want anyone pirating our movies, but here! Have a digital copy to upload onto the internet!"

edit on 12/1/2012 by Believer101 because: (no reason given)

6

The DVD encryption 'CCS' was hacked the day the first one was commercially released. Those safeguards you talk of were root-kits which they stopped using because A.They got hacked anyway and B.They kept losing court cases over them every time the end users sued them over it since the root-kits were not inline with your rights and wrecked your system.

The additional downloads are protected by DRM which still does not prevend them from being hacked but the regular joe smoe has to google through at least a link or 2 to find out how to bypass it.

the simple fact of it all is that nothing can be protected by a system since every system needs a key so the legitimate end-user can acces the product. It is the fundamental flaw to any protective system like this but the biggest problem is the distribution of these products which is easily spread by use of the internet.

By creating something like the SOPA you basicly get a dictatorship over the net and as a bonus it will give TPTB potentially almost absolute control over what you say and do on the net.China for instance has handled the internet like that since day one but never to combat piracy,they also never hid the fact that it is to control content delivered and spread amongst their people.


all in all piracy is their excuse to make the pesky internet as it exists today go away.

I'm not surprised. A-holes like this idiot makes up laws like that to oppress others, yet they always believe themselves to be above the laws. He, and everybody else who as much as thinks about infringing freedom and the Internet like this, should be lined up and shot to statuate an example. Fight fire with fire, it really does work wonders.

Originally posted by SpaceJockey1
Pretty much a similar scenario to those morons that abused the copyright on that annoying Anti-piracy message & music that starts before most DVD's or movies play!

The trouble with all these fools wanting to mess with everything, is that once they get a piece of legislation passed, they get bored and have to find something else to MEDDLE with...basically there's no friggin end to all!

How right you are brother. Living in Washington dc I saw small groups succeed but rather than go home happy, they morph into monsters. DC is an addiction. Any group with the ability to raise even moderate cash is swarmed by greasy "consultants" slicker than a dope peddler.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers comes to mind. They have become a full time lobbying concern and responsible IMHO for promoting unconstitutional punishment. Ironic that going after people with excessive behavior, they have become the same thing.

Tax law for non-profits is a culprit. There should be a distinction between types.

reply to post by DancedWithWolves


That's funny, I don't care who you are. Who do these people think they are, anyway? Thomas Jefferson and Sam Adams would roll over I their graves if they could see what our government has become.

reply to post by David_Reale


While I completely understand the outrage at SOPA and the dire need to draw some legislative lines in the sand NOW, we have got to remember that these elected officials are operating in a political system that has evolved over 200 years. We, all of us, have enabled, on some level, the governments we have. We have allowed ourselves to be sucked into the blinded priorities of dominance, power, money and ultimately greed in every facet of our lives, by somebody somewhere along the line.

We want to WIN. Whether it's on the football field, in an ATS thread discussion, at the polls on election day or who out of a 100 gets the underpaid job that might be available; we think to win and dominate over everything and anyone is the goal.

SOPA is merely the legislative personification of our misguided value system that says that to dominate and control is to succeed. Even the best of us has gone for the win at some point in time, like we were trained to do.

If we really want to fix this mess, after we STOP SOPA which must be done, we have to get over this lynch mob inclination and spend our time deciding what is really of value to humanity and our world. We need new priorities as a nation, as a people, as a world wide web of humanity. We need priorities that don't have to declare a loser to have a winner. Our existence as a species among other living organisms has a purpose far beyond winner take all.

Yes, I'm mad at this guy too. He is being stubborn and this legislation is wrong on so many levels it has spawned a whole new level of awareness for the power politics has over the course of our lives. Yes, there is a lot else wrong right now. But unless we can imagine, illuminate and inspire a better ideal, we relegate ourselves and future generations to fighting the same "winning" (sorry Charlie) philosophies. Focus on and help grow the good.

The problems are becoming clear, the evidence that even our economy will fail under a "winning" program abundant, now each of us must be a part of envisioning a better course.

Peace,

Be well and do good things.

Originally posted by Rafe_

Originally posted by Believer101
Well isn't that just hilarious.

Mr. Smith is a definite hypocrite.

Also, just my thoughts on the matter, but if movie and music companies don't want their stuff on the internet, why don't they make their CD's and DVD's with a safe-guard for that stuff? I know it's possible as I had a DVD with one of those anti-piracy safe-guards on it.
And to add to that statement, if movie companies don't want their movies to be pirated, why do they GIVE you, yes they literally GIVE you, a digital copy to upload onto your computer?? They're basically saying "We don't want anyone pirating our movies, but here! Have a digital copy to upload onto the internet!"

edit on 12/1/2012 by Believer101 because: (no reason given)

6

The DVD encryption 'CCS' was hacked the day the first one was commercially released. Those safeguards you talk of were root-kits which they stopped using because A.They got hacked anyway and B.They kept losing court cases over them every time the end users sued them over it since the root-kits were not inline with your rights and wrecked your system.

The additional downloads are protected by DRM which still does not prevend them from being hacked but the regular joe smoe has to google through at least a link or 2 to find out how to bypass it.

the simple fact of it all is that nothing can be protected by a system since every system needs a key so the legitimate end-user can acces the product. It is the fundamental flaw to any protective system like this but the biggest problem is the distribution of these products which is easily spread by use of the internet.

By creating something like the SOPA you basicly get a dictatorship over the net and as a bonus it will give TPTB potentially almost absolute control over what you say and do on the net.China for instance has handled the internet like that since day one but never to combat piracy,they also never hid the fact that it is to control content delivered and spread amongst their people.


all in all piracy is their excuse to make the pesky internet as it exists today go away.

That makes sense, but what doesn't and still irks me about these companies is how they give the digital copy to everyone that buys their DVD's and that they have sites like iTunes. Yes you have to buy it, but once someone buys it do they really expect people to keep it to themselves? I've known quite a few people that buy something off iTunes, put it on their iPods or whatever else MP3 the use, then proceed to give out said song to friends.
IMHO, they're basically asking for their products to be pirated and shared with others.

reply to post by DancedWithWolves


Nice Find!

"The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality," Smith said in a statement to Roll Call. "Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts."~Rep. Lamar Smith

"It’s a vocal minority, he said. "Because they’re strident doesn’t mean they’re either legitimate or large in number. One, they need to read the language. Show me the language. There’s nothing they can point to that does what they say it does do. I think their fears are unfounded."

Hundreds of thousands of letters sent? Nearly 90,000 calls in a single day? This is not a "vocal minority." This is a large and growing segment of the population who is very, very concerned. And, they have shown him the language, contrary to his blatantly false claims. Dismissing the concerns of pretty much the entire tech sector and their users (not to mention the folks over at Reddit...) doesn't seem wise. It seems like someone who doesn't understand the internet, not just in trying to regulate it, but in how the internet can be used to rally support against those who seek to damage it.

Rep. Lamar Smith Decides Lying About, Insulting And Dismissing Opposition To SOPA Is A Winning Strategy

This guy is an IDIOT.................

Anyone belonging to ANY other forums or who can post on ANY other sites....get it out there. This should go VIRAL. Is there any way to get it on youtube???

reply to post by sonnny1


Your avatar is brilliant.

The coffee I just spewed on my keyboard when I saw that will surely dry.

reply to post by DancedWithWolves


Why thank you.

You would be surprised on what you can find on the internet,while SOPA is not the Law of the Land.

this is old news folks, you're getting behind, link I want to know when he is going to be sued.


I never liked "do as I say not as I do"

IP is a Grant not a right

reply to post by thedigirati


The law isn't in effect yet. But Schultz could still sue him now, at least get the suit filed, that would create quite a stir.