[Chefelf]

Be Loyal, Kind and Don't Steal Movies
Oct 20, 1:59 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc., etc. He is also respectful of copyrights.

Boy Scouts in the Los Angeles area will now be able to earn a merit patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.

The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a "C" enclosed in a circle.

The movie industry has developed the curriculum.

"Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft," Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in a statement Friday.

Scouts will be instructed in the basics of copyright law and learn how to identify five types of copyrighted works and three ways copyrighted materials may be stolen.

Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music.

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http://hosted.ap.org...-10-20-13-59-03

Aw man. Where's my merit badge? I totally didn't download any movies when I was in the boy scouts.

I wonder if I can get one retroactively?

[Slade]

Hahaha. Wow. Will they stoop to no level to attempt to, in their minds, secure their multi-billion dollar organizations from any threat, no matter how small?

And that's not even going into the whole notion of "digital rights."

I'm rooting for you, though, ChefElf!

[Deepsycher]

If someone showed me behind scenes before I saw a film it might spoil it for me.

I saw a documentry about the recording industries and this man argued that it cannot be classed as stealing because the difference is that "when I steal something, I have it but they don't have it." When I download something "They still have it and I have it, therefore it cannot be classed as stealing."


Digital rights:

If I created a drink using the same exact (non copyrighted) ingredients for myself and to give away for free, how can that be classed as stealing if it appeared the same as a commercial drink?

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 20 October 2006 - 08:29 PM

[Mirithorn]

... but pirated copies of the D20 modern handbook are still okay, right?

[Deepsycher]

Maybe if they are given away for free.

[barend]

well that's crappy.

giving out badges for something they haven't or even plan to do sounds pretty lame to me.

and then they get a trip to hollywood for it.


little lazy sobs

[Deepsycher]

And soon they would probably be educating them to report infringers to get rewards. Let alone nosing on other people for that. A new kind of competition I see. Followed by this instead of a nation of sharing there would be a nation of working against each other for rewards. To me if that happened it would be like putting the problems inbetween people.

[Zatoichi]

I'd like my retroactive badge as well please.

[Slade]

Best. Merit badge. Ever.

[barend]

Best. Merit badge. Ever.

damn, i wish the police boys club had been more like that.

[Chyld]

See, they're assuming that kids these days aren't treating the Scouts like rats would a sinking ship. Besides, an anti-copyright badge? Fuck that, just do the animal keeping one. I did that. About my fish.

[Ninja Duck]

Only kids in the LA area? So those less geographically advantaged won't get a chance to wear a badge with a big C on it? That just bites.

What next? A creative commons merit badge? Or a kopyleft merit bagde?

[Despondent]

Boy scout merit badges are a way to expose children (young men; fine you purists), to new things through projects of MERIT. They don't have merit badges for the things that boy scouts are supposed to be: trusty, cheerful, kind and I believe 9 other adjectives.

It would make sense that in the Hollywood land they'd want their children to have exposure to a community industry. And this way, the kids who aren't cut out for the movies can still get a job on the fast track, while doing their parents' dirty work.

I never earned any merit badges, didn't stay in scouting that long and I'm sorry about that. But the boy scout handbook (unauthorized pdfs are shared freely, I imagine) had pictures of all of the badges. I always liked the one for Journalism, a clean image of a round typewriter key with the letter J. I'm not all that interested, but I guess they've changed that one by now.

[Dr Lecter]

That news link has died use this one if you need to read the story:

http://www.washingto...6102100193.html

[Despondent]

That news link has died use this one if you need to read the story:

http://www.washingto...6102100193.html

thanks for the link, Doc.

Kinda affects the thread name, though. It's an "activity patch", not a merit badge.*


*trickle of faith restored in the BSA