djeggnog - are you trying to say that people who have already downloaded the elders' manual for their personal use are presently in danger of legal action?!! I find that to be highly unlikely.
DMCA Complaint from The WatchTower for links to KS-10 'Shepherding' book
by Simon 217 Replies latest forum announcements
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Lady Lee
If the WTS chose to do it they could subpeona Simon's records, find out who has the book and sue them. I'm not saying they would. I'm saying they could. It is their legal right.
What djeggnog said matches up with what I have researched. And don't think that just because you don't live in the US you are off the hook. International copyright laws are pretty much the same everywhere.
"International" Copyright
There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that automatically protects a work throughout the world although more than 150 countries have ratified a treaty intended to accomplish as many of the benefits of "international copyright" as possible. Generally, if a work is protected in the U.S. it is protected in most countries because the U.S. adheres to the leading copyright convention, the Berne Convention, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
http://www.copyright.com/viewPage.do?pageCode=cr10-n#international
I hate like hell defending the WTS so I am only doing it to protect this board and yes to protect YOU
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Lady Lee
and just because you don't like what djeggnog said doesn't give you the right to slam him because you don't like the legal truth. I've already removed 3 posts slamming him. I'm here and ready to remove others that go over the top
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minimus
Lee, good!
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donuthole
The laws are continually changing in this digital age but downloading and possessing a copyrighted work is not a illegal. Distribution is illegal. However the reason the RIAA is able to file such a large suit on music file sharers is because they can claim a financial loss because the works that are being downloaded are also sold. If the Watchtower decided to be litigious they would have a difficult time proving up financial losses for an internal manual that is freely distributed to elders within their religion. Further they would have to decide if bringing a lawsuit to the public is worth the attention it would bring to a document that they very much want to keep away from public (legal) scrutiny.
Make no mistake about it, despite eggnogs claims, the elder's manual is very much a secret document. Letters have already leaked where the elders received official directives that no one but elders are permitted to look at it. It must be kept out of site, even from family. Further having the book spiral bound by a place like Kinko's or a sister in the congregation is expressly forbidden. The only exception is that a baptized brother may bind but only under the direct supervision of an elder. Think about it. If the book was not intended to be secret why such strict directives?
In the meantime, those that have chosen to distribute this file are taking an understood risk and are engaging in civil disobedience for what they believe to be the greater good. (That is if they even are in a country where these laws are applicable.) There is a public value in having this book widely released. Here are just a few reasons:
1.) Their secret directives on how to handle someone who has a blood transfusion is in violation to the agreement they made with the Bulgarian government.
2.) Some of their secret instructions on how to handle judicial meetings betray any claims to clergy confidentially the Watchtower has used when shielding such meetings from scrutiny during child abuse lawsuits.
3.) When a Witness undergoes a judicial meeting they are not fully informed of their rights. The release of the manual provides information for those who are being tried in such a manner so that they are better prepared.
That being said this website is exercising their due diligence by removing links to the material ensuring that this forum resource can remain available for those who would benefit from it. Even then removing links right now won't matter too much in the long run. The cat is already out of the bag. WikiLeaks currently has their hands full with the release of the Iraq war documents but eventually the book will end up on their servers for any who have a continued interest in it. Even though they have nothing to do with this religion they fully understand that there is an important public interest in having the material available.
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Eiben Scrood
So donuthole says individuals who downloaded the file are not personally at risk for being sued but Lady Lee says they are.. Who is right?
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Lady Lee
Look at it this way
If a musician finds out that you have pirated CDs of his music he can sue you for possession of the music even if you are distributing it
sorta like drugs - possession (in some places) is a crime - perhaps not as great a crime as distributing it but still a crime
BTW I am not grabbing my info out of thin air. it isn't my opinion. I am copying and pasting (under "fair use" ) exceprts from websites discussing copyright law and I provided the link if you want to go read more
You decide who is rigth.
U.S. law might not apply here in Canada but the world is growing smaller and more and more countries are climbing on the bandwagon to stem the flow of copyrighted material regardless of the amount of money that is lost by pirated data or where the original was produced or where it eventually winds up
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Simon
If the WTS chose to do it they could subpeona Simon's records, find out who has the book and sue them
... who says I keep records?
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notverylikely
djeggnog is right, do the smart thing, protect the site and yourselves.
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AnnOMaly
1.) Their secret directives on how to handle someone who has a blood transfusion is in violation to the agreement they made with the Bulgarian government.
This has piqued my interest. Nothing could have been done to change what was already printed in 1991 before the WTS made its deal with Bulgaria, but I'd be very interested to know whether the Bulgarian 2010 elders' book has the same directive as the English one. Are there any Bulgarians here who could find out (in line with "fair use" limits, of course ;-) )?