IIRC, the US Tax Code comprises more volumes than US Criminal Code.
The worst part about it is that "old" sections are never removed. A new 300 page regulation "overrides" them, and the following year a new 250 page regulation reinstates half of what the prior one killed, the year after that...
The problem really isn't with Code, but on how it's updated and maintained.
And something the "tax the rich!" crowd can never seem to figure out is that the tax code is HOW the rich get their money back.
Not a copyright issue. The formula for Coca-Cola is patented. Nobody can sell a product that is chemically identical to that patented formula except the patent holder.
I was thinking Royalties, especially in music and books.
On further reflection, the problem with "life" isn't it's varying length, but how would you handle a copyright created by a business.
So, yes, a fixed term would be best, but the number of renewals would have to be limited or we'd have the same Disney problem.
Say the average life expectancy in the US is 80 years. Setting the term of copyright to 10 years with a maximum of seven renewals would cover the same period.
As to Copyright, Life plus five years, non-transferable should work fine. You can License your New Mouse to Disney for whatever you want, but five years after you die it goes Public Domain.
Which means Disney would take all measures, up to and including hiring mercenaries, to prevent that from ever happening.
As to Trade Secrets... that gets a bit "iffy". They're not a description of "normally" patentable items. Decaffeinated coffee is a good example.
The process is quite involved, and requires liquid CO2. That original process was a trade secret. Couldn't be patented at the time (might be now, the rules have changed), was very difficult, and the moment all the necessary "secrets" about it were exposed, every coffee business geared up to compete in that market.
There shouldn't be any legal protections for Trade Secrets other than the obvious ones regarding actual theft or espionage. IIRC, Patent Law has changed to where you can now patent a "process", if it hasn't it should.
Using your customer list example, no, the list itself isn't a trade secret. The methodology used to collect, maintain, sort, and "rate" each name on the list could be. I don't see any way the list itself could be considered a trade secret or how a Patent could be granted for one. I'm not sure how "illegal use" of a list is handled. If you rent a one-time use of that list AC keeps going on about, and then use it three times, you would be subject to a lawsuit over it. But not because it's "protected" information, but because you've committed a contractual abuse.
I vote against the incumbents. All of them, except the President, every election.
I'm in NY, so Presidentials automatically go Democrat, as the NYC vote swamps the rest of the state out of consideration. So I vote for the Rep on the big ticket.
I never used those services, by the time they came around my taxes were too complex to NOT use a CPA as a buffer.
I've been audited three times in the last forty or so years.
The second time was the IRS's fault - the accounting firm checked their work, deemed it fine, sent it back and the IRS conceded.
The other two times were errors the accountants made.
They refiled with corrections at no charge to me, and they ate the penalty fees the IRS assessed.
And before some idiot jumps in saying they only did that because I'm a rich old white guy nazi, NO. I'm not rich, nor a nazi. They ate the penalties because it was their screwups that caused them, and it was good business.
My problem is with the government sending that data out to every tax payer.
Figure out the five most important "ID's", starting with SSN.
Now, if you could come up with a log-in system that required ALL of them as "passwords", and got the IRS to setup a site where you could download/on-line complete your info after entering those, I'd be less inclined to scream about it.
However... Think of the initial obamacare website. THAT is the level of competence and security people should expect from the government. Because that's the level we're going to get, like it or not.
Liability. Those services are a buffer between me and the IRS. Won't get my data back if it's released, but I can sue Intuit over it. Can't sue the IRS. Well, alright, you can, but you'll get a court date of about a week before the first manned interstellar flight, so...
Same reason I use an accountant. If they screw up my taxes or get hacked, it's on them.
But the idea of the IRS, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, sending all that information to EVERY TAX PAYER on a yearly basis is completely insane.
Birth dates, SSN's, bank account numbers, credit details, outstanding loan information, etc.
Re: 'The rules don't apply to X' is not 'equal treatment'
Not just ISP's.
Just got my electric bill. They've added $1.98 Billing Fee this month. Which "may change if I select another supplier"...
Currently, my actual electric usage is less than 1/4 of the amount of the bills. Tariffs, Taxes, Fees, Surcharges, and "Delivery" (runs flat double the usage) comprises the rest of the bill.
But they still "advertise" that electricity from them is "A dime a kilowatt hour!" or somesuch nonsense.
Get with the times. White people are Nazis. Except the college students who "care".
The neo-Nazi / Aryan crew is no different in actions and propaganda as Black Lives Matter, Inc., Antifa, Black Panthers, Weathermen, or any other radical group.
At this point in history, it's simply Whitey's turn in the barrel. Mentioning that any non-white group has done anything horrible in the past doesn't "correct" the claims that they haven't, it just proves the speaker is a racist.
And what's never, ever allowed to be spoken of is that about 85% of the US population, of all races, creeds, whathaveyou, simply do not care. They're busy working to keep their families fed, housed, and clothed, what spare money comes around is banked against future needs.
Exactly. Appeals overturned the Prejudicial Dismissal.
They didn't decide who was "right", they didn't trample anyone's Rights, they didn't "award the winner".
They can now re-file again.
Frankly, they should be filing multiple suits so that if the grouped charge is dismissed with prejudice (again) they've still got time in the courtroom on the other "counts".
Cool. Now wait another forty years, and try to remember YOU WERE TOLD ABOUT THIS...
Some 20 year old is going to explain to you why you are wrong about what happened not just 40 years ago, but you actually took part in.
I've had more "kids" tell me that Global Cooling wasn't a "thing" in the late seventies and that the people pushing it were NOT among those who started the Global Warming movement, and "explaining" to me what the Viet Nam war was "really about", then ten years after that was passe all about how war causes PTSD so you have to be careful around veterans, to current day where a hangnail at a formative moment of your psyche can cause PTSD so they need to raid MY retirement funds to get those people "help".
You'll see similar if you live long enough. And you'll shake your head in wonderment and start saying stuff about those damned kids and their loud music...
I suspect there are far more garbage collectors than there are carrier deck workers. Or cops. Possibly combined.
If there were the same number of cops as garbage collectors, what would the "chances" of dying on the job be?
If you ask a mathematician what 2+2 equals, they'll ask "for what value of "2"? If you ask the same of a statistician, the answer will be "what would you like it to be?".
Of course there's valid use for statistical analysis. But applying "across multiple interrupted time-series estimation techniques" should be pegging the BSometer all the way into the red.
I know that when I see "proof" of anything that says things like "across multiple interrupted time-series estimation techniques" instead of "using standard accepted methods", there's a reason those accepted standard methods weren't used.
And that reason is pretty much always that they didn't give the desired result.
When my daughters were little, they HAD to have every Disney cartoon movie when it came out.
I'd fast forward the VHS tape to the movie actually starting, then pop the case and physically cut the forty-five minutes of ads for other Disney movie "coming attractions" off the tape.
When the "Horizontal Hold Stabilizers" came out, I bought one and copied JUST the movies to 8 hour VHS tapes. They watched them on eternal loops anyway. Hell, I can still sing every pre-1995 Disney song from memory...
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Gotta say...
IIRC, the US Tax Code comprises more volumes than US Criminal Code.
The worst part about it is that "old" sections are never removed. A new 300 page regulation "overrides" them, and the following year a new 250 page regulation reinstates half of what the prior one killed, the year after that...
The problem really isn't with Code, but on how it's updated and maintained.
And something the "tax the rich!" crowd can never seem to figure out is that the tax code is HOW the rich get their money back.
On the post: Tired: Insane Patent Verdicts; Wired: Insane Trade Secret Verdicts
Re: Re: Re: Re: Copyright duration and such.
Not a copyright issue. The formula for Coca-Cola is patented. Nobody can sell a product that is chemically identical to that patented formula except the patent holder.
On the post: Tired: Insane Patent Verdicts; Wired: Insane Trade Secret Verdicts
Re: Re: Re:
re; life+5
I was thinking Royalties, especially in music and books.
On further reflection, the problem with "life" isn't it's varying length, but how would you handle a copyright created by a business.
So, yes, a fixed term would be best, but the number of renewals would have to be limited or we'd have the same Disney problem.
Say the average life expectancy in the US is 80 years. Setting the term of copyright to 10 years with a maximum of seven renewals would cover the same period.
On the post: Tired: Insane Patent Verdicts; Wired: Insane Trade Secret Verdicts
Re:
I'm in agreement.
As to Copyright, Life plus five years, non-transferable should work fine. You can License your New Mouse to Disney for whatever you want, but five years after you die it goes Public Domain.
Which means Disney would take all measures, up to and including hiring mercenaries, to prevent that from ever happening.
As to Trade Secrets... that gets a bit "iffy". They're not a description of "normally" patentable items. Decaffeinated coffee is a good example.
The process is quite involved, and requires liquid CO2. That original process was a trade secret. Couldn't be patented at the time (might be now, the rules have changed), was very difficult, and the moment all the necessary "secrets" about it were exposed, every coffee business geared up to compete in that market.
There shouldn't be any legal protections for Trade Secrets other than the obvious ones regarding actual theft or espionage. IIRC, Patent Law has changed to where you can now patent a "process", if it hasn't it should.
Using your customer list example, no, the list itself isn't a trade secret. The methodology used to collect, maintain, sort, and "rate" each name on the list could be. I don't see any way the list itself could be considered a trade secret or how a Patent could be granted for one. I'm not sure how "illegal use" of a list is handled. If you rent a one-time use of that list AC keeps going on about, and then use it three times, you would be subject to a lawsuit over it. But not because it's "protected" information, but because you've committed a contractual abuse.
On the post: Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible: Some Republican Politicians Are Indistinguishable From Neo Nazis
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I vote against the incumbents. All of them, except the President, every election.
I'm in NY, so Presidentials automatically go Democrat, as the NYC vote swamps the rest of the state out of consideration. So I vote for the Rep on the big ticket.
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Re: Re: Re: Re: Gotta say...
I never used those services, by the time they came around my taxes were too complex to NOT use a CPA as a buffer.
I've been audited three times in the last forty or so years.
The second time was the IRS's fault - the accounting firm checked their work, deemed it fine, sent it back and the IRS conceded.
The other two times were errors the accountants made.
They refiled with corrections at no charge to me, and they ate the penalty fees the IRS assessed.
And before some idiot jumps in saying they only did that because I'm a rich old white guy nazi, NO. I'm not rich, nor a nazi. They ate the penalties because it was their screwups that caused them, and it was good business.
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Re: Re: Re: Re: Gotta say...
My problem is with the government sending that data out to every tax payer.
Figure out the five most important "ID's", starting with SSN.
Now, if you could come up with a log-in system that required ALL of them as "passwords", and got the IRS to setup a site where you could download/on-line complete your info after entering those, I'd be less inclined to scream about it.
However... Think of the initial obamacare website. THAT is the level of competence and security people should expect from the government. Because that's the level we're going to get, like it or not.
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Re: Re: Gotta say...
Liability. Those services are a buffer between me and the IRS. Won't get my data back if it's released, but I can sue Intuit over it. Can't sue the IRS. Well, alright, you can, but you'll get a court date of about a week before the first manned interstellar flight, so...
Same reason I use an accountant. If they screw up my taxes or get hacked, it's on them.
But the idea of the IRS, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, sending all that information to EVERY TAX PAYER on a yearly basis is completely insane.
Birth dates, SSN's, bank account numbers, credit details, outstanding loan information, etc.
Really?
On the post: Texas Senator Pushing A Bill That Would Allow The State To Sue Twitter For Banning Conservatives
Re: 'The rules don't apply to X' is not 'equal treatment'
Not just ISP's.
Just got my electric bill. They've added $1.98 Billing Fee this month. Which "may change if I select another supplier"...
Currently, my actual electric usage is less than 1/4 of the amount of the bills. Tariffs, Taxes, Fees, Surcharges, and "Delivery" (runs flat double the usage) comprises the rest of the bill.
But they still "advertise" that electricity from them is "A dime a kilowatt hour!" or somesuch nonsense.
On the post: Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible: Some Republican Politicians Are Indistinguishable From Neo Nazis
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Get with the times. White people are Nazis. Except the college students who "care".
The neo-Nazi / Aryan crew is no different in actions and propaganda as Black Lives Matter, Inc., Antifa, Black Panthers, Weathermen, or any other radical group.
At this point in history, it's simply Whitey's turn in the barrel. Mentioning that any non-white group has done anything horrible in the past doesn't "correct" the claims that they haven't, it just proves the speaker is a racist.
And what's never, ever allowed to be spoken of is that about 85% of the US population, of all races, creeds, whathaveyou, simply do not care. They're busy working to keep their families fed, housed, and clothed, what spare money comes around is banked against future needs.
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Gotta say...
...I find it odd that TD is espousing having the IRS send everyone's financial data across the internet or via snail mail.
I, for one, do NOT want anything associated with my yearly income, nor my birth date and SSN released into the wild like that.
The can, as they have always done, compare my actual return with what they've kept on file from previous years in house.
On the post: TurboTax Did Everything It Could To Hide The Free-Filing Its Supposed To Offer
Re:
It's completely illegal(1)!
We'll pursue it with unlimited(2) vigor!
At 100mb/s(3), Guaranteed(4)!
(5) ... do I really need to type out the footnoted exclusions?
On the post: Appeals Court: Idiot Cop Can Continue To Sue A Protester Over Actions Taken By Another Protester
Re:
Exactly. Appeals overturned the Prejudicial Dismissal.
They didn't decide who was "right", they didn't trample anyone's Rights, they didn't "award the winner".
They can now re-file again.
Frankly, they should be filing multiple suits so that if the grouped charge is dismissed with prejudice (again) they've still got time in the courtroom on the other "counts".
On the post: Appeals Court: Idiot Cop Can Continue To Sue A Protester Over Actions Taken By Another Protester
The Appeals Court...
...is correct.
It's the basis for "incitement to riot" charges.
McKesson appears to have "ordered" the illegal roadblock. That does put him liable for any injuries resulting from the action.
AFAIK, the First Amendment, no matter how tortuously stretched, doesn't cover assaulting people with rocks...
On the post: Today In Bananas Copyright Law: Court Urged To Rule That A Banana Costume Is Not Infringing
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Cool. Now wait another forty years, and try to remember YOU WERE TOLD ABOUT THIS...
Some 20 year old is going to explain to you why you are wrong about what happened not just 40 years ago, but you actually took part in.
I've had more "kids" tell me that Global Cooling wasn't a "thing" in the late seventies and that the people pushing it were NOT among those who started the Global Warming movement, and "explaining" to me what the Viet Nam war was "really about", then ten years after that was passe all about how war causes PTSD so you have to be careful around veterans, to current day where a hangnail at a formative moment of your psyche can cause PTSD so they need to raid MY retirement funds to get those people "help".
You'll see similar if you live long enough. And you'll shake your head in wonderment and start saying stuff about those damned kids and their loud music...
/s
On the post: Behind The Scenes Look At How Facebook Dealt With Christchurch Shooting Demonstrates The Impossible Task Of Content Moderation
Re: Re: Intent?
Nice diversion.
Facebook considered "ethical reasons" and "intent of posting" as part of their "should we delete it" policy.
So if I post a video of a person being shot in the head without comment or audio, is that ok?
If I leave the audio on and the victim is screaming racial epithets at the shooter, is that ok?
If I leave the audio on and the shooter is screaming racial epithets at the victim, is that ok?
Oh, sorry. YOU don't get to make that decision. Facebook makes it FOR you.
And now whines that "it's so hard to determine reason or intent...."
On the post: Study: The 'War On Cops' Is Pure Bullshit
Re: Re: Re: Re: Not comparable
I suspect there are far more garbage collectors than there are carrier deck workers. Or cops. Possibly combined.
If there were the same number of cops as garbage collectors, what would the "chances" of dying on the job be?
If you ask a mathematician what 2+2 equals, they'll ask "for what value of "2"? If you ask the same of a statistician, the answer will be "what would you like it to be?".
Of course there's valid use for statistical analysis. But applying "across multiple interrupted time-series estimation techniques" should be pegging the BSometer all the way into the red.
On the post: Study: The 'War On Cops' Is Pure Bullshit
Re: Re: Statistics...
I know that when I see "proof" of anything that says things like "across multiple interrupted time-series estimation techniques" instead of "using standard accepted methods", there's a reason those accepted standard methods weren't used.
And that reason is pretty much always that they didn't give the desired result.
On the post: Despite Spielberg's 'Get Off My Lawn' Moment, The Oscars Won't Ban Netflix
Re: It's not just the cost
When my daughters were little, they HAD to have every Disney cartoon movie when it came out.
I'd fast forward the VHS tape to the movie actually starting, then pop the case and physically cut the forty-five minutes of ads for other Disney movie "coming attractions" off the tape.
When the "Horizontal Hold Stabilizers" came out, I bought one and copied JUST the movies to 8 hour VHS tapes. They watched them on eternal loops anyway. Hell, I can still sing every pre-1995 Disney song from memory...
On the post: Despite Spielberg's 'Get Off My Lawn' Moment, The Oscars Won't Ban Netflix
Re: Re: Re:
Possibly, but not by much. Bond movies were yearly, and "last year's" would hit TV before the new one came out.
Home video? I'm talking about the sixties and seventies.
Next >>