You can click, but you can't hide

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Image placed on sites shut down for copyright infringement.
Image placed on sites shut down for copyright infringement.

You can click, but you can't hide is an advertising campaign being run jointly by several international associations looking to crack down on copyright infringement of motion pictures, most notably the MPA, the MPAA, and the GVU as part of the larger "Respect Copyrights" campaign. In addition to a print and billboard campaign, they also placed their logo prominently on the front page of BitTorrent tracker websites that they shut down between October 2004 and May 2005.

In addition to shutting down tracker sites, they sued to obtain the server records of the sites they shut down. One site, LokiTorrent was forced by a Dallas court to turn over its logs, which could be used to single out individuals sharing copyrighted materials. [1]

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[edit] Phrase

The phrase is derived from the old saying "You can run but you can't hide". As the quote is often attributed to boxer Joe Louis, popular weblog Boing Boing has joked that the advertisers themselves have used a trademark without permission. [2]

[edit] Logo

The "Illegal Downloading: Inappropriate for all ages" logo is based on the MPAA Rating System logos.

[edit] Comparison to other campaigns

The arresting nature of the graphics, and the use of scare tactics in this campaign is a marked difference from previous large-scale copyright-promotion campaigns such as Home Taping is Killing Music and Who Makes Movies?, which appealed to the consumer's interest in the art form and the consumer's compassion for movie industry workers.

[edit] References