The IFPI, the international arm of the RIAA reportedly barred a handful of university professors from entering their press conference.
The professors are from the Centre for Technology and Society, a part of the prestigious Brazilian think-tank Fundação Getulio Vargas.
The reason for barring those professors entry could be that the organisation they are a part of, the Centre for Technology and Society, has prepared a manifesto that proposes to “amend” Brazilian copyright law. The IFPI probably didn’t want them around while they announced their new round of lawsuits where they try to catch another 8,000 alleged file sharers. Makes sense doesn’t it?
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry or the IFPI (official website) represents almost 1500 record companies in 75 countries and has announced similar anti-piracy campaigns in the past.
The official explanation for barring the profs was that the seating room could only hold 40 people. The funny thing is however that there were already 50 people in the room! So, they asked if they could stand and at least listen to the debate. Apparently, there wasn’t even room for standing. What really adds the cherry to this tropical sundae of suspicious behaviour is the fact that the professors were officially invited and given permission to participate.
Later on it was discovered from various news agencies including Reuters and the AP that it was in fact a lie and that there was ample seating available in the room.
A petition has been started to support the manifesto prepared by the Professors’ organisation. If you’re interested, you might want to have a look it at here (scroll down for the English version).
