Public Outcry In Taiwan Kills Their Version Of SOPA
from the like-that-wasn't-predictable dept
At the end of May, we wrote about the Taiwanese government's bizarre proposal to create a copyright bill that was like SOPA, but even worse. Apparently, the folks at the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (IPO) had slept through the whole SOPA thing. Thankfully, the Taiwanese quickly did their own version of the SOPA blackout, with Wikipedia Taiwan and Mozilla Taiwan set to participate. However, seeing the writing on the wall (and, perhaps, someone showed the IPO folks what happened in the US), and the proposal was abandoned before the protest was even needed.Of course, it's not completely over:
In the face of these criticisms and the planned blackout, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office abandoned this severe copyright law. In its announcement, the office stated that this plan would be “adjusted.” It’s clear that the government intends to introduce another copyright enforcement initiative in the future. Still, it’s enormously encouraging to see how users in Taiwan have organized to defend their rights and successfully stopped this draconian blacklist law.Still, it is good to see that whenever something SOPA-like pops up, the public quickly jumps up to protest it.
The unfortunate reality is that many government authorities around the world still buy into the belief that the health of the Internet is acceptable collateral damage in this manufactured war on copyright infringement. Lawmakers need to understand that creativity and innovation can only thrive when our platforms remain open, where users are free to share and experiment with content. While it’s clear that the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office did not learn from the mistakes of SOPA and PIPA in the U.S., let’s hope others see the defeat of this latest copyright blacklist law and recognize that users will not put up with efforts to censor the Internet.
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Filed Under: copyright, public interest, public outcry, sopa, taiwan
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The most I have seen is Mike discussing his dislike of copyright abuse, not copyright enforcement.
Personally, I will not go back to the US, and will stay in Taiwan, until the government gets its collective head out of its ass and starts enforcing the original "for the public good" copyright viewpoint, instead of allowing the **AA's to push their abusive views on the general public.
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But by all means, carry on your ranting, don't let the actual article get in the way of your preconcieved notions.
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The Internet is under attack on a global front where no matter in which country they strike we should always stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters to strike down such bad legislation.
We cannot allow the Internet to be harmed by those organization aiming to make a land-grab for control.
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Can the US Congress be replaced by the Taiwanese lawmakers? They seem to understand and get the picture must faster than their American counterparts. Isn't this country supposed to be smarter or more technologically advanced or something?
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SOPA - "Made in Taiwan"
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Not only that, but it looks like there was no video news animation from NMA.
Youknow, the guys who provided the SOPA video animation....
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