Copyright Lobbyists Celebrate Latest Bogus Stats With Willing Gov't Officials
from the this-is-depressing dept
Every day, we see greater and greater evidence that too stringent copyright laws are harming creative efforts rather than encouraging them. The evidence is all around us and growing. But, very few in the government recognize this. They don't actually look at the real research on these things. Instead, they accept as gospel the ridiculous debunked research that comes out of the industry lobbyists who benefit the most from such protectionism that limits real and meaningful competition. And no one calls them on it. Take, for example, this Internet News report on how lobbyists for the music, movie and software industries all got together with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and talked up a new and misleading study from the International Intellectual Property Association that talks up the importance of copyright.Unfortunately, the report has many, many problems. It mistakenly assumes that anything covered by copyright (i.e., any sort of creative output) is created solely because of copyright. Plenty of content/software/etc. is not created because of copyright -- but this study assumes that it is and that it needs to be protected -- even though for much of it, that's unlikely to be true. That leads to a very distorted picture, because it makes you automatically think that granting more copyright is better, even if much of that output would have been done anyway -- and even if there would have been more output without copyright. It falsely assumes that the production is because of copyright, rather than just covered by copyright.
But, with such bogus stats -- and gullible gov't officials -- it's easy to push for more protectionism and stronger copyright laws as being necessary to "protect" these industries. The industry officials went on and on at the get together, falsely blaming "piracy" for the music industry's troubles -- ignoring that real studies (i.e., not lobbyist-backed ones) are telling quite a different story. The overall industry is actually thriving -- in part because of the better ability to distribute and promote content and software at greatly diminished costs (often free). Ignoring these benefits, and treating them all as harm is a huge mistake.
But, it's these lobbyists and their bogus numbers that have the ears of our elected officials. What a shame. No one was invited to suggest the countering viewpoint or to show why the industry's numbers were clearly false. No one was there to discuss how stronger copyright actually harms creative output, and to show how these very industries have repeatedly fought against and shut down innovations that could have helped the economy. No one was there to question why politicians would simply accept industry-financed studies. And, no reporters seemed to have asked these questions, either. It's just politics and business as usual.
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Filed Under: copyright, gary locke, lobbyists, politics, stats
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Crystal Ball: Revenue opportunity for the enterprising entrepreneur!
These designs would be a big hit with Copyright interests and lobbyists if they were put on t-shirts, notepads, laptop bags, posters and executive desk ornaments!
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Re: Crystal Ball: Revenue opportunity for the enterprising entrepreneur!
I think this won't work because evil aliens have a proven track record of stealing the brains of government officials. But if you want to hawk wares to the alien population, have at it. :-P
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Why
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Re: Why
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Isn't it obvious?
If anyone is even the slightest bit surprised that it's "business as usual" they are being purposefully obtuse.
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Re: Isn't it obvious?
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Re: Re: Isn't it obvious?
Just watch the Daily Show to see examples of everything Truth mentioned. (I know The Daily Show is a comedy show, but it does show the news, and they have (recently) pointed out that The White House is actually decreasing transparency, and how they haven't ended the war in Iraq, or how they haven't closed Guantanamo yet and how they are bungling up National Health Care.)
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Re: Re: Re: Isn't it obvious?
Corruption, however, is and conflicts of interest, and how lobbyists have the power now instead of the actual elected officials.
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Re: Isn't it obvious?
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Capture the Flag
"Locke...has dispatched intellectual property attachés to piracy hotspots such as China, Russia and Brazil."
which is the real reason behind the pro-ip bill that was also mentioned in the article: regulatory capture.
mike's fulminations against patently bogus "reports" sorta misses their point, which is there is no point. they are simply window-dressing for the bureaucratic infra-structure of big content's d.c. strategy.
it's not whether the politicians believe or not believe these reports, they see hundreds of such every day from every sort of constituency. it's a question of who has been paid how much for them to be granted political attention.
calling mr. locke.
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Re:
Stats are bogus because question itself is bogus. It's like asking "how match it cost to build a time-machine".
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The Interplanetary Tranhumanist Intellectual Property Association is proud to report that so-called "IP-Theft" is not a real problem. This is plainly shown with this graph I have just drawn on a napkin.
If you need a second opinion, please ask one of my licensed media partner corporations. They will be happy to repeat the numbers I have just given you, since I sent a memo around earlier.
How did we at the ITIPA reach these conclusions? That's a very.. interesting.. question. The kind of thing a Terrorist would ask! Guards, Seize them!
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The numbers for losses are frequently compared to statistical growth and are found to be out of synch so either the way people teach statistics is wrong or those numbers are wrong which is it?
There you have some good solid proof that you can check for yourself and find out the truth if you are willing to be honest which I doubt it your intent.
Now which is the side with the "bogus" speech?
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People don't need to speak up they just need to not give money to those morons. That is easy to acomplish they just need to keep doing whatever they been doing and soon more big labels will close their doors and hopefully big studios and all those TV stations too.
This will be the silent treatment for all their blunders, they will fail and hand over power to other nations because they are stupid.
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It's a dizzying mess lost under the piles of crosslinks in every story around here
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He is right is not about right and wrong, is about the capacity to compete which is being destroyed by IP laws that reward the lazy and incompetent at the expense of the really capable of surviving in a hostile and unforgiven environment, and the worst part it inhibit renewal in the market, new companies can't enter the market because is locked up, people who could have succeed will not get a chance to do so, and that is the end for creativity on any region that adopts that kind of behavior.
Innovation, ingenuity and creativity needs a certain environment to happen that environment is being sterilized by IP laws that reward the incompetent and protect them not giving any reason for people to be innovative or be creative, that is why the American manufacturer's got a beating from Asia and that is why soon innovation, ingenuity and creativity will be in other parts of the world.
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Of course that is good for the old horse but it kills the incentive for other horses to go faster and be better, soon other horses from other places will be leaving the dust for them to see.
Copyright is an abomination to nature, it creates weak creatures that can't survive in the race for life.
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