PrometheeFeu's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week

from the favorites dept

Sat, Jun 11th 2011 12:00pm — PrometheeFeu

This week's favorites of the week post comes from PrometheeFeu

We all live in anticipation for The Call when Mike Masnick sends you an email that asks you to write Techdirt Favorite Posts of the Week and changes your life forever. We all wonder what we will be doing when it comes and how we will react. I was cleaning up cat vomit and coughing my lungs out when I answered: "Sure, I would love to!" In the spirit of making myself and all of you feel better, I decided to try to tease out some of the good news in this week's posts. We all love righteous indignation (and so I kept some) but sometimes things are improving.

The week kicked off pretty well with the interesting news of Medvedev (our favorite Putin stand-in) wanting to include a CC-like option in Russian law. In practice, it is probably irrelevant, but it may be a sign that the maximalists are starting to lose the battle for hearts and minds. However, my country of birth's broadcast regulator ruined Monday with a "Won't somebody think of MySpace" plea banning news organizations from the admittedly annoying: "You can follow us on Twitter @TheNewsYouJustSaw". It would be opening "Pandora's Box" they said. Pandora you say? Seems the regulators are not above advertising music services.

It seems somebody is always getting in the way. Whether it be the recording industry artificially limiting the ways we can use the cloud for music, the FDA not really knowing how to deal with medical devices or Apple imposing restrictive conditions on its apps, there is always someone who jumps in the middle usually demanding money. What the barriers-to-trade supporters -- whether they be copyright maximalists, FDA apologists or Apple lawyer groupies -- forget is that those barriers don't just ensure safety or make money change hands. They also preclude certain forms of innovation to the detriment of consumers. But there is a silver lining, whether it be newspapers switching to HTML5 to get out of the App Store (Sorry Apple Store), Amazon and Google just going through with their service without label authorization or Tricorder builders selling outside of the USA, capitalism always finds a way to provide more and more valuable goods and services to consumers.

For the most part, Wednesday was a good day for civil rights. First, Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced plans to introduce a bill to prohibit GPS tracking without consent. This is either spelling the end of the rule of law, or asking the police to respect your basic rights, I forget which. Then, New Zealand suddenly realized that the three strikes law would violate their citizen's rights. Of course, that might land them on ~~Santa's~~ ~~the recording industry's~~ the USTR's Special 301 report listing those countries that placed their citizen's rights above being a good little recording industry toady. But the crown jewel of that day was Samsung showing Sony how to do business: When somebody is doing work to improve your product, help them, don't sue them. Of course, things are never perfect, especially in New Jersey where apparently, real journalists don't use message boards. Also settled in that case: real programmers don't use emacs.

Thursday's opening just about knocked the breath out of me. The World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO for friends) commissioned a meta-study to see if intellectual monopolies harm innovation. (Spoiler: It does). The legal landscape nevertheless remains dangerous if you want to blow whistles under the Presidency of Mr. "sunshine is the best disinfectant." (Not Medical Advice. Also, a lie.) Thankfully, the successes are mixed with Wikileaks "associates" (as in they might get Facebook to recommend they friend Assange's third cousin thrice removed) potentially being criminalized for not testifying, and the prosecution against Thomas Drake falling apart because the evidence against him is so sensitive you can't even show flowcharts about it in court. Hopefully, more whistle-blowing lawsuits will fail (or result in favorable settlements) due to the Fed's paranoid obsession with secrecy. The irony is just too good.

Unfortunately, it appears that despite all the progress of this week, some people are still pushing absurd laws. Lip-synching videos on YouTube could earn you a jail term if public performances are criminalized. But you probably shouldn't, worry. It's highly unlikely you'll get caught unless you annoy a government official. Rule of law? What rule of law?

But let us end the week on a positive note. Officials tend to jump at every opportunity to terrify their constituents into the most absurd actions. (Anyone remember the automatic letter openers to protect us from anthrax?) Well, every once in a while, when the media tells us to be afraid, somebody steps up and says: "Calm down. Things are not that bad."

Final Disclaimer: I work at one of the above-mentioned companies as a software engineer so feel free to consider that I am subject to some related biases. However, I am not authorized to speak for my employer or anyone but myself and my cat. The opinions expressed above are solely my opinion and should be attributed to no one else on pain of looking foolish.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

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25 Comments

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The eejit (profile), 11 Jun 2011 @ 12:18pm

There's a typo in the sentence about losing hearts and minds; you put loose in, which gives it an entirely different meaning, more akin to strip clubs than a war for hearts and minds. :)
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Jun 2011 @ 1:08pm
  
  Re: Spell check.
  He also spelled it hearths, not hearts... Great article anyhow...
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  - Louis Loria II, 11 Jun 2011 @ 1:09pm
    
    Re: Re: Spell check.
    HA! no coward here, forgetfull maybe...
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    - PrometheeFeu (profile), 11 Jun 2011 @ 6:40pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Spell check.
      Thanks for catching the typos guys.
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  - Michael Ho (profile), 11 Jun 2011 @ 1:10pm
    
    Re: Re: Spell check.
    oops. typos fixed. thanks!
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Spaceman Spiff (profile), 11 Jun 2011 @ 3:51pm

Typos notwithstanding
You speak for your cat? My late (and truly lamented) cat Harrison was fully capable of speaking for himself, and like my wife, would not appreciate me speaking for him... :-)

Happy caturday!
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Jun 2011 @ 4:13pm
  
  Re: Typos notwithstanding
  But I'm sure it's OK for your wife to speak for you, am I right?
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- Gwiz (profile), 11 Jun 2011 @ 5:16pm
  
  Re: Typos notwithstanding
  My late (and truly lamented) cat Harrison was fully capable of speaking for himself, and like my wife, would not appreciate me speaking for him...
  
  All of my cats agree with you on this, except for Shanny, who is too busy trying to figure out why his tail keeps following him.
  
  Great post PrometheeFeu.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 11 Jun 2011 @ 7:43pm
    
    Re: Re: Typos notwithstanding
    You really ought to get a laser pointer and use it to help your cat exercise ... though you might want to be careful not to get sued for patent infringement.
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    - The eejit (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 2:10am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Typos notwithstanding
      Maybe we can set sharks with laser-guided teeth on them.
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CRM software, 12 Jun 2011 @ 12:19am

CRM software
Great job care on your these type posting.
Thanks for post.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 10:20am

you said: it may be a sign that the maximalists are starting to lose the battle for hearts and minds

I think: you are missing it. Russia isn't a producer of content, they are consumers. Allowing for another level of copyright (or lack of) creates confusion in the market place and will allow the Russians as a whole to ignore copyright law. You know, oops, I thought it was RCC (Russian creative commons).

It's not maximalist versus minimalist deal, just bread and circuses for the Russian masses.
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- Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:27am
  
  Re:
  It's not maximalist versus minimalist deal, just bread and circuses for the Russian masses.
  
  Sounds like you're saying that copyright contributes to mass hunger. I say abolish it then.
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- Greevar (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:43am
  
  Re:
  "Russia isn't a producer of content, they are consumers."
  
  [citation needed]
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  - Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:52am
    
    Re: Re:
    Here's your citation: USA! USA! USA!
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  - Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:59am
    
    Re: Re:
    Here is an easy test: Size of the Russian internal movie market versus what comes from outside. Size of the Russian music industry versus what comes from the outside.
    
    You are a lawyer, look it up for yourself. I would think you would know this sort of basic thing.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:42pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      You make the claim, the burden is on you to substantiated it.
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    - The eejit (profile), 13 Jun 2011 @ 3:46am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Bollywood is bigger than Hollywood - your argument is invalid.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2011 @ 12:56pm
    
    Re: Re:
    "Russia isn't a producer of content, they are consumers."
    [citation needed]
    
    I seriously doubt that he has one.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 13 Jun 2011 @ 11:07am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      It's always the same when it comes to these things, you guys would rather send a dissenting writer down the garden path of "citation needed" rather than address the issue.
      
      It's a great way to kill discussion, by not accepting the obvious.
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- PrometheeFeu (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 11:46am
  
  Re:
  I don't doubt for an instance that Medvedev has ulterior motives for presenting that law. Remember, he's a politician (Spelled L-I-A-R). But, successful politicians ride the wave of public opinion. If the copyright minimalist ideas were not gaining ground, he would have picked a more popular way to achieve his goals. Also, when Russia does not fall into the sea, this will be bullet we can fire at the maximalists. Sure, it won't prove anything and it won't win the war, but all victories are made up of little steps. Also, if Russian consumers are actually able to start dodging intellectual monopolies because of that law, well, I for one will be quite happy for them. Who knows, maybe it will put a hole in the RIAA's lobbying budget.
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  - Jay (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 12:28pm
    
    Re: Re:
    "this will be bullet we can fire at the maximalists."
    
    It costs $400,000 to enforce this copyright...
    
    For 12 seconds.
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- Marcus Carab (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 4:36pm
  
  Re:
  Russia isn't a producer of content, they are consumers. ... just bread and circuses for the Russian masses.
  
  Fucking seriously? Did you go to sleep during the Cold War and just wake up now? McCarthy is gone, you can drop the anti-Soviet rhetoric.
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  - Jay (profile), 12 Jun 2011 @ 4:50pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Nothing to see here! Russia has never made a video game nor a movie!
    They have no music or culture, like the moskau dance or books such as Tolstoy's war and peace! Nothing for us to be worried about as russia's president has common sense to at least understand the internet!
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    - The eejit (profile), 13 Jun 2011 @ 1:05am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Dude, Medvedev would understand Quantum Theoretical Physics if Putin told him to. Understanding the Internet is a day's work for him.
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