Czech Pirate Party Tries To Show That Linking Is Not A Crime

from the will-this-backfire? dept

The Pirate Party in the Czech Republic is trying to show that linking is not a crime by putting up sites that merely link to some infringing material. The party is doing this to support a high school student facing massive fines for linking to some works covered by copyright. I do wonder, however, if this will backfire. Law enforcement, industry folks and politicians who simply don't understand the technology will not realize the point of such a site, and merely assume that it's yet another "piracy" site. I would think a more effective means of doing this would be to merely iframe the results of a Google search...
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Filed Under: copyright, czech republic, linking


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2011 @ 10:32pm

    Framing *IS* LInking *IS* Piracy... so Use a Google Serach result

    Better yet they should just link a Google search result...
    That lawsuit would be fun to watch.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2011 @ 11:08pm

    I would think a more effective means of doing this would be to merely iframe the results of a Google search...

    Attempting to calculate outcome...
    Decompiling the mind of a government official...
    Result:

    while (self.attention_span < goldfish.attention_span)
    {
     government.ban(Google);
     try
     {
      self.use(Google);
     }
     catch (search_engine x)
     {
      government.unban(x);
     }
    }

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      mirradric, 3 Aug 2011 @ 9:43pm

      Re: an alternative

      while ( (self.time_wasted < goldfish.attenion_span || self.contribution(ban_google) > self.price ) && !government.isbanned(Google))
      {
      try
      {
      // ban can throw a public outcry exception is outcry level above threshold
      government.ban(Google);
      try
      {
      self.use(Google);
      }
      catch(search_engine x)
      {
      // just throw. no need to check threshold
      throw new public_outcry(x.target);
      }
      }
      catch (public_outcry po)
      {
      government.unban(po.target)
      }
      }

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    mike allen (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 12:23am

    I consider it bad manners not to link to a full story / article. But of course you cant educate idiots. and ALL politicians are idiots, though I sometimes wonder who has least intelligence politicians or lawyers or MAFIAA.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      G Thompson (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 12:41am

      Re:

      I think of it this way.

      Who is led by the all mighty re-election dollar without knowing anything == Politicians

      Who states they gains the most from banning piracy. == MAFIAA

      Who gains the most money, experience and claims they they are only doing what is in best interest of clients == Lawyers

      Therefore on a sliding scale of idiocy I'd say Lawyers were most intelligent, followed by Mafiaa, then coming in a dead last are politicians.

      QED

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Richard (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 1:36am

        Re: Re:

        Nah - you got it wrong.

        Politicians are being re-elected.

        Lawyers are laughing all the way to the bank.

        MAFIAA are paying for it all and geeting nothing of real value in return. MAFIAA are definitely top of the stupidity league.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 12:53am

    Get a life.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 1:07am

    I very much agree with mike allen's statement of a link provided to the source of a comment or editorial. Especially when the source provided is for the purpose of making comment at some other place. Folks that might read your thoughts based on the text of some other source want to know particularly that it is not a 'made up article' merely for the sake of commenting but rather something found on the net used for the base fodder.

    Any time I use such a method, always, without exception, I provide a source link, show no hyperlinks that might be within the source text, and very rarely even post an image. As habit, the reader is reminded that those items are within the original source and encouragement is provided to see that same source.

    Without links, that habit proves hard to continue.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Jay (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 7:02am

      Re:

      Uhm... the source is the Piraty party's Czech site. I sure as certain don't speak Czech, so TF's review is valued more.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    smoalne, 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:13am

    not really buddy

    if you know what a referenced directory is in *nix then you'll understand how linking isn't infringement. The site merely indexes sites holding the copyrighted material and stores them by url - making a reference to something that's illegal isn't illegal in itself right ? I mean actions speak louder than words, and thinking about something isn't bad at all.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:49am

    In a related story, the leader proved that black was white and white was black, and was killed on a zebra crossing.

    Thanks to Monty Python.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    chris, 4 Aug 2011 @ 3:28am

    Linking to copyrighted material is infringement? Do they realise that means basically every link on the internet, and therefore every site is infringing?

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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