Maher Arar was kidnapped, sent overseas and tortured. His lawsuit was tossed out of court because it would have revealed national security secrets.
German citizen Khalid el-Masri was similarly kidnapped and tortured in a case of mistaken identity. He was then released on a desolate road in Albania with no money, no identification, only the clothes on his back, and no passport. He was detained there as a terrorist due to his unkempt appearance and general lack of documents. He eventually sued (by video -- same mistaken identity resulted in him being denied entry to the US) which suit was dismissed. This suit was dismissed without being heard because it "would present a grave risk to national security."
The state secrets exception has a long history of being used to cover up government embarrassment. You can read more about it here:
If it is art, then it is fair use and is not a copyright violation. If it is a copyright violation, then it can't be art so what is it doing in a gallery?
"If you go down this route, any patent that results in purely a change in stored information is invalid."
I think that is actually the correct position. Software is a written instantiation of an idea, not a manufactured one, and the proper protection is copyright.
Just not under the insane terms of current copyright law.
I lived through that era. This is correct. And it is responsible for the two most annoying factors that were actually what killed off the 8 track: a complicated tape transport mechanism that tended to snarl and terminate your investment, and a tendency to switch tracks in the middle of a song.
Cassettes fixed both of these problems at the minor inconvenience of having to reverse the tape direction. Some had auto reverse, some didn't. Those that did were marginally less reliable.
They each shared the eternal problem of any cheap tape: a dramatically compressed dynamic range which tailed off at less than 15 kHz. The resulting loss of highs always made them sound muffled.
Nobody intended RICO to be used against ordinary citizens either, but it is now the tool of choice in law enforcement. In many jurisdictions, confiscation of assets prior to trial is treated as just another form of taxes.
On the post: Article About 'The Menace Of The Software Pirates' From 1985
why
On the post: Feds Insist That As Long As They Break The Law In A 'Classified' Way, They Can Never Be Sued
this is news?
German citizen Khalid el-Masri was similarly kidnapped and tortured in a case of mistaken identity. He was then released on a desolate road in Albania with no money, no identification, only the clothes on his back, and no passport. He was detained there as a terrorist due to his unkempt appearance and general lack of documents. He eventually sued (by video -- same mistaken identity resulted in him being denied entry to the US) which suit was dismissed. This suit was dismissed without being heard because it "would present a grave risk to national security."
The state secrets exception has a long history of being used to cover up government embarrassment. You can read more about it here:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/State_secrets_privilege
On the post: EMI Doesn't Pay Royalties, Or It Does, But To The Wrong People, Or It Doesn't, Or Maybe It Does...
class
On the post: Modern Art: $5 Million Worth Of Unauthorized Downloads On A Hard Drive On Display
interesting zen moment
On the post: 'What Idiot Wrote The Patent That Might Invalidate Software Patents? Oh, Wait, That Was Me'
software patents
I think that is actually the correct position. Software is a written instantiation of an idea, not a manufactured one, and the proper protection is copyright.
Just not under the insane terms of current copyright law.
On the post: Samsung Cites 2001: A Space Odyssey As Prior Art For Tablet Design
Steve
On the post: The Many Killers Of The Music Industry: The Analog Era
Re: Re: Re: 8 track
Cassettes fixed both of these problems at the minor inconvenience of having to reverse the tape direction. Some had auto reverse, some didn't. Those that did were marginally less reliable.
They each shared the eternal problem of any cheap tape: a dramatically compressed dynamic range which tailed off at less than 15 kHz. The resulting loss of highs always made them sound muffled.
On the post: Senators Unconcerned About Massive Unintended Consequences Of Criminalizing People For Embedding YouTube Videos
RICO
On the post: Mixed Messages: US Talks Of Cleaning Up 'Rogue' Internet... While Underwriting Censorship-Proof Shadow Internet
Silly American
On the post: MPAA Attacks Demand Progress With Ridiculous & Unsubstantiated Claims
I signed it
On the post: How Out Of Control Copyright Law Is Keeping Millions Of Books & Images Away From Scholars
Disney . . .
On the post: Senator Schumer Says Bitcoin Is Money Laundering
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