nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 19 Oct 2012 @ 1:56am
Re: Possibly related context
Exactly This.
If you'll forgive me for employing a hyperbolic technique that's usually used by the trolls here - imagine someone on trial accused of pedophilia. The victims parents take every opportunity in every interview and public speech to state that the defendant is a pedophile.
Then some crucial evidence comes out that the defendant actually did not commit the crime after all. The parents and child are still victims, but that doesn't negate the damage they've done to the reputation of the accused (who is now also a victim).
Therefore it would be fair for the judge to order them to publicly retract their earlier statements (whilst they work on finding the real perp). After all they should have waited until the trial was over before making public statements as "fact".
This has been a problem in the UK recently and it is right to make Apple accountable for their vexatious PR stabs. What I'm really interested to know now is if Samsung gets to use the new UK disclaimer in their appeal in the US trial!
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 18 Oct 2012 @ 5:32am
License Now for only $14.99!
All online retailer should be specified by law to change the wording of their offerings.
If T&Cs call the media item a "license" then the button should say "License" rather than "Buy", and it should be clear to the purchaser they are buying a "license" from the the "owner" and nothing more.
That would not only solve much of the confusion and heartache, it might draw more mainstream focus on the whole issue of over-reaching copyright maximalism.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 16 Oct 2012 @ 5:29pm
Of course, there's talk also of 'streamlining' the future extradition process. Call me a cynic but it wouldn't surprise me if a backroom deal had been done to let this little fish go with a promise that the spineless UK goverment will conduct a favourable review of the process and make it more efficient.
Quick and easy PR win for May, easier assimilation of US law into UK for the World Police. Everyone's happy, go back to sleep people!
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 16 Oct 2012 @ 11:22am
Why are so many Americans content with socialised roads, socialised fire departments, socialised army, socialised police force, socialised refuse collection, socialised intellectual property protection, socialised building regulations, socialised parks...
but when it comes to socialised healthcare - oh no,can't have that, can't have someone benefiting from my comparatively small tax contribution (Thanks to my highly paid accountant - worth every cent)!
Here's a thought, next time you get burgled or mugged, or just ripped off in some way... consider if you lived in a coutry where your assailant had their basic necessities taken care of, would they have ended up taking from you?
How many crimes in the US are crimes of desperation and necessity, compared to other countries? I'd like to see some research on that.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 13 Oct 2012 @ 6:55pm
Re: Re: Re: Of course it misses completely
Patents have been developing a lot through time and its primary purpose has been to reduce the commercial secrecy to get new research going.
True for a while. I would now say the primary purpose of patents is profit and defense - there is absolutely no need for software patents to exist (morally - patents on drugs and genetic sequences shouldn't exist either).
The first problem is something as banal as boundary pushing...
Hence, the boundaries have already been stretched beyond the ridiculous, to the point that natural scientific things have been patented and then left to the courts to decide just as I stated (worryingly, in some cases upheld by the courts):
Let's just say if we were to compare the patentable boundaries to countries, America today would include Argentina, Congo, Turkey, Greenland and Finland as part of the USA.
The primary problem today is that the patents are very specific...
I'm pretty sure you'll find many informed people will argue that the problems with patents is exactly the opposite of that statement - they are overly broad - see above.
I know I've cherry picking your comment somewhat but I'm not going to apologise for that. You seem to have got most of the problem analysed, but I felt the need to intentionally point out some small flaws in your premise in order to qualify my previous comment.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 12 Oct 2012 @ 11:39am
Re: Of course it misses completely
And of course you miss the point completely, Bob. Under the current patent regimes (USPTO in particular) Isaac Newton would have had his patent applications rubber-stamped with little or no questions, leaving the question of validity to be decided by an expensive court process.
In the meantime scientific and technological process grinds to a standstill as Mr Newton obtains injuctions againsts competing scientists that infringe on his iSaac patents.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 11 Oct 2012 @ 6:48am
Treat the cause not the symptom
New laws always appear to me as papering over the wallpaper used to paper over cracks.
Plus large corporation have budgets for legal departments. They don't just pay these suits to file suits, they pay them to actively look for loopholes and alternate interpretations of existing laws. They won't just assert that black is white, they'll assert that white is merely a different shade of black - and if they can get a judge, jury and few dozen lawyers to argue over that long enough to drain a company or individual of all their resources then that's good money well spent.
It's practically guaranteed that within 5 years either the same trolls or some entirely new trolls will have found a way to use this new INSERT ACRONYM Act to either suppress competition or convert it to danegeld.
What's needed is to deal with the underlying causes of what creates trolls in the first place. Such things as 'owning' ideas without needing to invent anything. Allowing said ideas to be traded for money. Classifying abstracts as property. Start there.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 10 Oct 2012 @ 2:38am
Re:
US law was not intended to create a free pass system for businesses that intentionally avoid having a business presence in the US while offering products or services.
So businesses formed outside of the US that don't have a US presence are not simply conducting business outside the US, but they are breaking US law?
Better inform my local plumber he needs to open a US office to ensure he's not committing a crime by conducting business in my UK town.
By logical extension, if an American tourist travels to Amsterdam, buys some pot and takes it back to the US, the Dutch seller has somehow committed a crime?
The only answer is for the rest of the world to block US domains and turn back Americans at their borders to ensure that they don't accidentally break a US law by simply interacting with an American- obviously.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 10 Oct 2012 @ 2:21am
Re: Re: Re: U.S. world law
The message I'm getting here is that if you want to operate in a competitive, fair and free-market - don't do business with have any part of your product chain reliant on an American company.
Large corporates may assess the risks and determine that the profit potential outweighs them, but it seems as though America is going to shaft it's small businesses, creators and consumers in the long run when the state effectively becomes an isolated kingdom.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 9 Oct 2012 @ 3:45pm
Next up, Sony to sue Will Smith for his potrayal of 'Agent J' in Bad Boys 2, Wild Wild West, I Robot...
And what about all those typecast actors out there who are about to find their careers take a giant nosedive? I'm looking at you John Mclane, Terminator, Rocky Balboa, Bruce Wayne, Richard Sharpe, Scott Pilgrim, Mace Windu, Ace Ventura, Rachel from Friends, Spock, Bridget Jones, Lara Croft, I could go on...
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 9 Oct 2012 @ 8:02am
The zeitgeist dictates that moral are subjective in themselves...
E.g. A captcha that tests for:
Mike designed a phone that infringes on Average Joe's patent on PRESSING A BUTTON. Mike didn't seek a license from Average Joe. Did Mike do the right thing?
YES / NO
Is obviously going to be subjective based on the type of blog it appears on.
What it actually may end up doing is take the debate out of the comments entirely and into the captchas - where one side will not get heard - it will be an echo chamber - like reading BoingBoing comments.
nospacesorspecialcharacters (profile), 1 Oct 2012 @ 2:37pm
Surely the derivative photo's are fair game for the owners to take them and make further changes. The background to the second photo is rather fetching and makes it look like a movie poster. It's the kind of photo you could easily see becoming a meme.
They could easily fix that banner to read "PAUS endorse our marriage?" and distribute that?
I don't know, I like to stick to my principles and try to find creative solutions to problems. Just the publicity alone is a negative (positive?) for PAUS I imagine, I mean who are they even? First time I've heard of them and it seems like their target market is going to be the kind of people who see this photo and see red anyway...
What I mean is reasonable people will see it for what it is anyway, unreasonable people are not going to be influenced beyond their prejudice already.
I use Linux extensively for work and home, I have little problems with gaming or productivity. I have to say I haven't regretted one moment switching from Windows and now when I'm forced to use MS tech (clients' systems) I just find myself frustrated at how limited and unintuitive it is.
Not to mention, your probably using at least 2 Linux OSes in your daily life and you don't even know it. You don't even have to think about it because Linux is just that reliable.
I constantly find myself amazed at these uninformed comments, even on tech sites.
You're pendanticulator must be malfunctioning - Linux is an OS, Debian and other distributions are effectively an implementation of the kernel and GUI desktop environment - though they may differ in how they implement the kernel and/or environment.
It's perfectly possible to download and compile the default kernel - however you'd need some of the separate packages installed to get any use out of it - distributions merely come with a set of default packages for this purpose.
The question is, if there's such a large base and a strong correlation on issues, why doesn't the internet manage to influence politics more?
Then it hits me - that on most of these contentious issues both sides (in the US at least) of the political spectrum generally support things the internet hates - and if you're only a 2 party system, both parties can effectively ignore that demographic as long as they both stand on the same side of these issues.
So much of this seems like just a waiting game. Waiting for old, rich guys to die, so that the sentiment of the youth of today can become policy of tomorrow.
Perhaps what's needed is an Internet Party - a serious political party, with policies ready on all issues (not just one-issue). The major hurdle is convincing a politically bipolar electorate to support a more democratic form of government.
On the post: Yes, Apple, You Have To Tell The UK Public That Samsung Didn't Copy You
Re: Possibly related context
If you'll forgive me for employing a hyperbolic technique that's usually used by the trolls here - imagine someone on trial accused of pedophilia. The victims parents take every opportunity in every interview and public speech to state that the defendant is a pedophile.
Then some crucial evidence comes out that the defendant actually did not commit the crime after all. The parents and child are still victims, but that doesn't negate the damage they've done to the reputation of the accused (who is now also a victim).
Therefore it would be fair for the judge to order them to publicly retract their earlier statements (whilst they work on finding the real perp). After all they should have waited until the trial was over before making public statements as "fact".
This has been a problem in the UK recently and it is right to make Apple accountable for their vexatious PR stabs. What I'm really interested to know now is if Samsung gets to use the new UK disclaimer in their appeal in the US trial!
On the post: Studio To Amazon Instant Video Customer: Thanks For The $$$. Enjoy Your Blank Screen.
License Now for only $14.99!
If T&Cs call the media item a "license" then the button should say "License" rather than "Buy", and it should be clear to the purchaser they are buying a "license" from the the "owner" and nothing more.
That would not only solve much of the confusion and heartache, it might draw more mainstream focus on the whole issue of over-reaching copyright maximalism.
On the post: Gary Mckinnon Extradition To US Blocked By UK Home Secretary
Quick and easy PR win for May, easier assimilation of US law into UK for the World Police. Everyone's happy, go back to sleep people!
On the post: Amanda Palmer Unleashes The Voice Of The People About Health Insurance Via Twitter
but when it comes to socialised healthcare - oh no,can't have that, can't have someone benefiting from my comparatively small tax contribution (Thanks to my highly paid accountant - worth every cent)!
Here's a thought, next time you get burgled or mugged, or just ripped off in some way... consider if you lived in a coutry where your assailant had their basic necessities taken care of, would they have ended up taking from you?
How many crimes in the US are crimes of desperation and necessity, compared to other countries? I'd like to see some research on that.
On the post: If Patents Had Been Around In The Time Of Newton
Re: Re: Re: Of course it misses completely
True for a while. I would now say the primary purpose of patents is profit and defense - there is absolutely no need for software patents to exist (morally - patents on drugs and genetic sequences shouldn't exist either).
Hence, the boundaries have already been stretched beyond the ridiculous, to the point that natural scientific things have been patented and then left to the courts to decide just as I stated (worryingly, in some cases upheld by the courts):
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=math+formula+patented
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=patented+genes
Let's just say if we were to compare the patentable boundaries to countries, America today would include Argentina, Congo, Turkey, Greenland and Finland as part of the USA.
I'm pretty sure you'll find many informed people will argue that the problems with patents is exactly the opposite of that statement - they are overly broad - see above.
I know I've cherry picking your comment somewhat but I'm not going to apologise for that. You seem to have got most of the problem analysed, but I felt the need to intentionally point out some small flaws in your premise in order to qualify my previous comment.
On the post: If Patents Had Been Around In The Time Of Newton
Re: Of course it misses completely
In the meantime scientific and technological process grinds to a standstill as Mr Newton obtains injuctions againsts competing scientists that infringe on his iSaac patents.
On the post: Twitter Makes The Case That Trolls Should Have To Pay Legal Fees For Bogus Lawsuits
Treat the cause not the symptom
Plus large corporation have budgets for legal departments. They don't just pay these suits to file suits, they pay them to actively look for loopholes and alternate interpretations of existing laws. They won't just assert that black is white, they'll assert that white is merely a different shade of black - and if they can get a judge, jury and few dozen lawyers to argue over that long enough to drain a company or individual of all their resources then that's good money well spent.
It's practically guaranteed that within 5 years either the same trolls or some entirely new trolls will have found a way to use this new INSERT ACRONYM Act to either suppress competition or convert it to danegeld.
What's needed is to deal with the underlying causes of what creates trolls in the first place. Such things as 'owning' ideas without needing to invent anything. Allowing said ideas to be traded for money. Classifying abstracts as property. Start there.
On the post: Twitter Makes The Case That Trolls Should Have To Pay Legal Fees For Bogus Lawsuits
Re: laws passed
On the post: Court Says Case Against Megaupload Can Continue, Despite Not Being Able To Serve The Company
Re:
So businesses formed outside of the US that don't have a US presence are not simply conducting business outside the US, but they are breaking US law?
Better inform my local plumber he needs to open a US office to ensure he's not committing a crime by conducting business in my UK town.
By logical extension, if an American tourist travels to Amsterdam, buys some pot and takes it back to the US, the Dutch seller has somehow committed a crime?
The only answer is for the rest of the world to block US domains and turn back Americans at their borders to ensure that they don't accidentally break a US law by simply interacting with an American- obviously.
On the post: Court Says Case Against Megaupload Can Continue, Despite Not Being Able To Serve The Company
Re: Re: Re: U.S. world law
Large corporates may assess the risks and determine that the profit potential outweighs them, but it seems as though America is going to shaft it's small businesses, creators and consumers in the long run when the state effectively becomes an isolated kingdom.
On the post: Sony Sues Actor For Trademark Infringement For Looking Too Much Like Himself In Another Commercial
And what about all those typecast actors out there who are about to find their careers take a giant nosedive? I'm looking at you John Mclane, Terminator, Rocky Balboa, Bruce Wayne, Richard Sharpe, Scott Pilgrim, Mace Windu, Ace Ventura, Rachel from Friends, Spock, Bridget Jones, Lara Croft, I could go on...
On the post: Human Rights Group Deploys An 'Empathy Test' Captcha System To Help Sites Fend Off Trolls
The zeitgeist dictates that moral are subjective in themselves...
Is obviously going to be subjective based on the type of blog it appears on.
What it actually may end up doing is take the debate out of the comments entirely and into the captchas - where one side will not get heard - it will be an echo chamber - like reading BoingBoing comments.
On the post: Is It Really A Good Idea To Open A 'Mini' Patent Office Directly Within Cornell's NYC Tech Campus?
Re:
On the post: Why It's Tempting, But Troubling, To Use Copyright As A Stand In For Moral Rights
They could easily fix that banner to read "PAUS endorse our marriage?" and distribute that?
I don't know, I like to stick to my principles and try to find creative solutions to problems. Just the publicity alone is a negative (positive?) for PAUS I imagine, I mean who are they even? First time I've heard of them and it seems like their target market is going to be the kind of people who see this photo and see red anyway...
What I mean is reasonable people will see it for what it is anyway, unreasonable people are not going to be influenced beyond their prejudice already.
On the post: GoDaddy Receives Patent On 'Announcing A Domain Name Registration On A Social Website'
Re: Pham Award Nominee!
On the post: GoDaddy Receives Patent On 'Announcing A Domain Name Registration On A Social Website'
Pham Award Nominee!
On the post: PC Rental Companies Agree To Not Watch You Have Sex
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why oh why...
I use Linux extensively for work and home, I have little problems with gaming or productivity. I have to say I haven't regretted one moment switching from Windows and now when I'm forced to use MS tech (clients' systems) I just find myself frustrated at how limited and unintuitive it is.
Not to mention, your probably using at least 2 Linux OSes in your daily life and you don't even know it. You don't even have to think about it because Linux is just that reliable.
I constantly find myself amazed at these uninformed comments, even on tech sites.
On the post: PC Rental Companies Agree To Not Watch You Have Sex
Re: Re: Re: Re: Why oh why...
It's perfectly possible to download and compile the default kernel - however you'd need some of the separate packages installed to get any use out of it - distributions merely come with a set of default packages for this purpose.
/ducks back behind bunker
On the post: The Internet Savvy Appear To Agree On A Lot Of Policy Ideas
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Sorry previous AC (replying) was me, for some reason the cookies didn't take.
On the post: The Internet Savvy Appear To Agree On A Lot Of Policy Ideas
Then it hits me - that on most of these contentious issues both sides (in the US at least) of the political spectrum generally support things the internet hates - and if you're only a 2 party system, both parties can effectively ignore that demographic as long as they both stand on the same side of these issues.
So much of this seems like just a waiting game. Waiting for old, rich guys to die, so that the sentiment of the youth of today can become policy of tomorrow.
Perhaps what's needed is an Internet Party - a serious political party, with policies ready on all issues (not just one-issue). The major hurdle is convincing a politically bipolar electorate to support a more democratic form of government.
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