This Week In Techdirt History: May 3rd - 9th

from the and-then-and-then dept

Five Years Ago

This week in 2015, the big fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao was overshadowed in some circles by the resultant fight between Hollywood and Periscope streaming, which quickly led to a worryingly broad restraining order. Meanwhile, the new IP Czar kicked off his tenure with a very concerning speech, the EU was examining whether linking to infringing material is infringing, and Keurig was cautiously backing down from its foray into coffee DRM. We also saw an important win in one appeals court with a ruling that the NSA's bulk records collection was not authorized by the PATRIOT act, but a loss in another circuit with a ruling saying that warrantless phone tracking falls under the third party doctrine and doesn't violate the 4th amendment.

Finally, in the midst of a lockdown, while Fortnite launches a no-combat mode and folks who play Animal Crossing are engaged in a sweeping economic drama over the price of virtual turnips, it seems like high time to revisit this post about the "video game" being replaced with the "living game world".

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2010, Congress was busy wrestling over exactly which digital technologies its members are allowed to use, we were questioning why warrantless wiretapping is even necessary when warrant requests never get rejected, and the latest already-ruined attempt at patent reform entering new territory, a Rupert Murdoch property was yet again caught hypocritically engaging in evil "aggregation", and a UK court ruled that sports schedules could somehow be covered by copyright. This was also the week the FCC finally gave the unfortunate go-ahead for selectable output control.

Fifteen Years Ago

This week in 2005, a mystery patent buyer who prevented a bunch of patents from falling into the hands of Intellectual Ventures was revealed to be Novell making a defensive move. AOL flagged a bunch of official government emergency alerts as spam and tried to awkwardly stand by the error. Opponents of open source were latching onto the silly idea that it's somehow illegal, while fans of DRM were latching onto the equally silly idea that it could be made universal, interoperable, and effective. And the MPAA had somehow convinced the Boy Scouts in Hong Kong to start offering up a new intellectual property badge for scouts who sufficiently absorb Hollywood propaganda.

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Filed Under: history, look back


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  1. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 2:28am

    This week in Techdirty history is like every other - more leftist, Chinese sponsored propaganda spewing from the same sad sick mother-fuckers as every other day. Go ahead, spew more shit about the "means of production" superiority of China, the inferiority of American know-how and inventiveness, and how CHINA should rule the world. You are a sick cancer growing illegitimately in the dark recesses of fake news, fake commenters and fake outrage. You should be obliterated from planet earth without even a gravestone to mark your passing.

    God bless General Flynn, and SEND COMEY TO JAIL!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 5:42am

    Re:

    Can you imagine a world, just for a minute, where that cymbal-banging shadow of a monkey robot named Obama is held accountable for his actions against a three star General and Hero of the American Military. Haul him off to jail, imagine that just for a minute. Imagine the rule of law coming back to America, and Obama paying for his crimes against an American Hero. Imagine it. God Bless America. You are not alone. The avalanche of opinion is riding the wave of gravity to justice in America, Barry. God Bless Bill Bar, Devin Nunes and the other patriots serving this country faithfully.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 6:30am

    Re: Re:

    Shiva Ayyadurai didn't invent email, Hamilton.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 6:04pm

    Re:

    How's that Richard Liebowitz defense fund coming along bro?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    TFG, 10 May 2020 @ 6:20pm

    Re: Re:

    May the Holy Spirit visit you. May your eyes be opened, and your heart convicted, and may you repent of your sins.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 8:44pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    What are you recommending? Clinging to my gun and my bible?

    Is that you, Barry? Guess what! You're going to PRISON!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 9:03pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Like Trump's boy Manafort? Is he getting his daily ration of bleach injections? Or is that only for Trump's truly faithful inner circle?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2020 @ 10:08pm

    Re: Re:

    It's well funded monetarily but lacks sufficient able bodies to be very effective.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 May 2020 @ 12:58am

    Re: Re: Re:

    I think I remember the last time that happened. I think the group was called Perfect 10?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    Herrera147 (profile), 11 May 2020 @ 4:58am

    Re: Re: Re:

    The Hollywood Reporter has done its own profile on Liebowitz as well. ... Judge Cote yet again in one of his many cases, and it's not going well. ... Democracy Now! looked up how much Mango was licensing his ... Democracy Now may very well have complete defenses, including a ... Bold statement bro.

    https://www.mysubwaycard.pro/

    link to this | view in thread ]


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