Patriot Act Clauses Used against Webmaster of SG1 Fan Website

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

Federal charges were filed against Adam McGaughey, creator of the popular SG1Archive.com website - a fan website devoted to the MGM-owned television show Stargate SG-1. The charges allege that the website engaged in Criminal Copyright Infringement and Trafficking in Counterfeit Services. The charges were the culmination of a three-year FBI investigation, set in motion by a complaint from the Motion Picture Association (MPAA) regarding the content of the SG1Archive.com website.


SG1Archive.com is one of the most popular fan-run websites among the Stargate community. In addition to providing very active fan discussion forums, broadcast schedules, production news, and episode guides, the site heavily promotes the sale of the show on DVD. As of this writing, direct links from SG1Archive.com to Amazon.com have resulted in the sale of over $100,000 worth of DVDs. Many more DVDs have been sold to international fans of the show through sites like Blackstar.co.uk. Upon hearing this news, Stargate executive producer Brad Wright called the site "cool" - which Adam took as an endorsement of his work.


However, instead of thanking Adam for his promotion of their product, officials at MGM and the MPAA have chosen to pressure the FBI into pursuing criminal charges. Adam was first tipped off about the investigation when the FBI raided his and his fiancee's apartment in May of 2002 and seized thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment. Adam later received a copy of the affidavit filed in support of the search warrant, and was shocked to discover that this document, prepared by the FBI, contained significant amounts of erroneous and misleading information. For example, two social security numbers were listed for Adam, one of which is not his. References were made to a cease and desist letter sent by the MPAA to an email address that did not exist. His online friendship with other Stargate fans across the globe was portrayed as an international conspiracy against the MPAA. And perhaps most disturbing of all, it was later revealed that the FBI invoked a provision of the USA Patriot Act to obtain financial records from his ISP. The FBI's abuse of its powers did not stop there. When they seized Adam's computer equipment, he was given written documentation stating that it would be returned within 60 days. The equipment that they did return did not arrive until more than 8 months later, and only then after much prodding from his lawyer. Much of it was damaged beyond repair - one laptop had a shattered LCD screen, an empty tape backup drive was ripped apart for no apparent reason, his fiancee's iBook was badly damaged when it was pried apart with a screwdriver. The FBI's computer crimes staff is either incompetent (at least when it comes to Macintosh computer equipment) or else they just don't give a damn.

More: http://www.sg1archive.com/nightmare.shtml

[strategery blunder]

1. Are we a Corporate Police State yet?

:scared::puke:

[shadowknows69]

2. Homeland security

keeping hollywood safe from adoring fans who would prevent the studios from sucking every last penny out of their property. He needs to use the testimony of the E Prod and the fact that he made MGM 100 large from his site and tell them to credit it to his legal fees. This is crazy.

[Conservativesux]

3. At least we can stop hearing the tired old line about the Patriot Act not.

affecting anyone, like we keep hearing from the Right-wing goons.

[shadowknows69]

5. aren't they supposed to be busting terrorists with it.

A 3 year investigation on a sci-fi channel show fan site? If MGM wins the lawsuit are they going to pay us back for our taxes that went into this debacle?

[LynnTheDem]

18. "The only purpose of the Patriot Act is to prevent terrorists from

unleashing more death and destruction."

-Ashcroft the Sicko Insane Liar

[w13rd0]

4. It's sad that both Democrats and Republicans...

...are on the wrong side of this issue. Intellectual capital, imagination, is one of our most important resources. It's renewable, it builds on itself. As organizations like the MPAA try ever increasing centralization of control of intellectual property, with the help of the US government, we rob ourselves of opportunities.

Fairly chilling...we've so many core issues we must deal with to ensure a free and fair future.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Very scary

Are record labels going to go after music fan sites next? :scared: I feel so bad for the guy and his fiancee. :( And here I thought we were supposed to be fighting terrorist's? :eyes: This is disgusting way to use power. Shameful!

[Tigress DEM]

11. I believe they target a few students and bust them big to make examples

Especially with the MP3 stuff.

Now I don't know on this guys account if he is honestly being trashed or if someone spoofed his email and made bogus copies by hacking into his machine or if he's just being set up. With the way things are going it could be any one of them.

[Trillo]

14. They are fighting the terrorists. Guess Who the terrorists are? nt

[bluestateguy]

6. counting the days until the law's expiration....

If it does expire, maybe we could have a Patriot Act countdown and celebration.

[shadowknows69]

7. good luck

we'll have a few terra scares before the exp date and the spin machine will rally the sheeple in favor of it. enough of congress will sell out to extend it. not an optimistic prediction but I feel it will be an accurate one.

[Conservativesux]

8. I'll believe it when I see it expire, not before. eom.

[Tigress DEM]

12. HR 418 is worse. There are no internet privilages in prison camp.

[neweurope]

13. It won't expire. And there's PATRIOT II and HR 418!

-------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[flaminbats]

10. sooo long SG1, it was fun

:thumbsdown: no more SCIFi channel for me!

[magellan]

15. Stunning abuse of powers

The squabble between fan websites and studios has been going on for years. In some cases there are true copyright violations...but too often the complaint is frivolous and based wholly on driving traffic back to the (sucky) studio-owned 'official' websites. Hollywood doesn't seem to care how their actions turn the fan base off.

But the Stargate website incident just goes too far. Besides the obvious abuse of power, this caught my eye:

References were made to a cease and desist letter sent by the MPAA to an email address that did not exist.

Just a few years ago e-mail correspondence wasn't considered legally binding for just this reason. You had to be served with a REAL, SIGNED cease and desist order. Often studio lawyers would contact the ISP if they couldn't get a response from the site owner, and apply pressure that way. Significantly, this was to give the site owner a fair opportunity to rectify copyright issues by voluntarily removing any contested material from their site before any further action would be sought.

But those were the Good Old Days. It's very clear the Patriot Act has changed us to a "guilty until proven innocent" society...unless, of course, you're talking about a corporation or corporate official. THEY get DECADES to avoid compliance with the law -- IF they're ever charged for their criminal actions in the first place.

But we can take some comfort in the fact that Stargate: SG-1 and :Atlantis are filmed in Canada, with a partially Canadian cast and crew, so the film industry seeing the most benefit lies north of the border. And I think that may be more the crux of the MPAA's problem.

Ha! A pox on Hollywood!! Go, Hollywood North!

[baron j]

16. I hope the ACLU is all over this case.

This goes against the principles of why the web was founded, as a free exchange of ideas. Then the nasty corporations came in, smelling a money-making opportunity, and put up all of their content lacking sites, with no links to external sources. So much for hyperlinking!

[depakid]

17. The MPAA (like the RIAA) is bad for artists & for business

These groups are just shooting themselves in the feet over things like this. It's hard to believe sometimes just how stupid they are....

About all they'll get is crocodile tears when the same thing happens to them as happened to Clear Channel and Viacom.

Whatever hastens that day, hat's off to it.