This Week In Techdirt History: June 23rd - 29th
from the now-and-then dept
Five Years Ago
This week in 2014, the DOJ finally released its memo explaining its justification for extra-judicial drone strikes on American citizens, after a court firmly rejected attempts to bury it — and it was still full of ridiculous redactions and even pointed to a different still-secret memo. Meanwhile, the CIA was getting closer to releasing its torture report, while also being hit with lawsuits over its resistance to FOIA requests.
We also saw some good and some bad from the Supreme Court, with a ruling that law enforcement does need a warrant to search mobile phones, but also its infamous ruling against Aereo — which was quickly seized upon by Fox, even as Hollywood's own press was able to see the problems.
Ten Years Ago
This week in 2009, the RIAA was defending the huge award in the Jammie Thomas trial while artists like Moby and even one of the musicians whose work Thomas supposedly shared were speaking out against it. The Swedish appeals court found that there was no bias in the Pirate Bay verdict and denied a retrial, while a German politician defected for the Pirate Party in protest of his party's support for an internet blacklist, and the recording industry was suing to force Irish ISPs to implement three-strikes programs (while Spain was rejecting a three-strikes proposal).
Fifteen Years Ago
More rapid change was on the horizon this week in 2004 as the web started to replace the library stacks as the best place to do research and folks were warming up to the idea of ditching their landlines for their mobile phones. Jack Valenti was trying to simultaneously deny and defend his infamous anti-VCR stance by rewriting history, Tiffany was suing eBay for not policing counterfeit items, the instant messaging wars were still raging with Yahoo again deciding to block the multi-platform IM app Trillian, SpaceShipOne officially made it to space for the first time (though not quite with the requirements to win the X-Prize), and domain speculators were gearing up for the election by buying all the Presidential candidate domain names they could think of.
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Reader Comments
The First Word
“Re: lying! In many ways, is all blue has left. Much to relish.
Remember when you promised to leave forever bro!
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Oops
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Aereo! In many ways, Techdirt's biggest FLOP. Much to relish.
Through a couple years in lower courts, Masnick was elated with victory and confidently predicted the loophole Aereo used would pass review, while only a few persons argued was clearly illegal re-broadcasting.
And who was proved right? Where is Aereo today? What does Masnick have now except bitter old-man mutterings? HMM?
After TWENTY years, while allegedly supporting copyright and daily touting his expertise (including Ivy League "Doctorate"), Masnick has yet to grasp the most basic rule of all about copyright: if you didn't make content, you've no right to it in ANY way.
Loopholes, no matter how clever or complex, don't confer any right to even view, let alone gain money off someone else's content. And Fair Use is not a right but an uncertain defense.
You kids should read that over, if can bear to. You whined and shrieked to no avail. Note too the many account names which have ceased commenting.
If still not convinced, glance over Torrent Freak, with streaming sites shut down, operators fined / jailed, DMCA now used as should in subpoenas for customer details.
You aren't just losing! You can't pretend any more. Five years on, I'm declaring: Pirates HAVE lost. All that remains is mopping up. And for "Techdirt" to do its own quiet fade.
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Re: Oops --
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Re: Oops -- "Moo" is semi-zombie with 18 month gap...
Skipped 2017 entirely, in for this one-liner making 14 in nearly 4 years. That number of months gap occurs often. Weirdest site on teh internets.
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Re: Aereo! In many ways, Techdirt's biggest FLOP. Much to relish
In worrying about pirates, who are often future customers, you are overlooking the real loss of sales, all those independent creators who self publish on the Internet and attract a fan base that support their creativity. Any hours spent watching and listening to Indepent publisher are hours that are not being spent on content from the MPAA/RIAA members, or radio,TV and cable output.
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Re: Aereo!
If it quacks like a duck, it doesn't matter what the law says, eh?
Copyright is a tool of the Corporations, not people. Love it and love corporations!
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Question! If you dislike both government-sponsored censorship and corporate control over speech as separate concepts, how do you explain your support of corporate censorship via copyright?
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Which is exactly what corporate bootlickers like Blue hate, no matter how much shit he talks about corporations.
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You seemingly have no life outside of Techdirt, so I can understand how you can’t grasp the idea of someone having such a life.
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Re: lying! In many ways, is all blue has left. Much to relish.
Remember when you promised to leave forever bro!
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Definitely the sign of a healthy, not-at-all deranged mind
It is rather funny that one of their more persistent paranoid delusions can basically be boiled down to 'Anyone who isn't as obsessed with this site as I am is part of a conspiracy.'
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please correct
the is a damaged url
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Re:
How's that Paul Hansmeier defense fund coming along bro?
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Re: Oops
Fixed, sorry.
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Re: Aereo! In many ways, Techdirt's biggest FLOP. Much to relish
Five years on, I'm declaring: Pirates HAVE lost.
Name any movie or TV show ever made, and I'll be watching a free illicit stream of it within ninety seconds. Lost indeed.
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Night of the Living Dead!
…wait shit
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Re: Aereo! In many ways, Techdirt's biggest FLOP. Much to relish
So are you saying the record companies don't have any rights to any music? They didn't make any of the content.....
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