Sheet music is distinct from the lyrics (although it has its own set of interesting questions). These lyric sites have only the lyrics -- they're not offering you the melodies and chords.
Not true. Many bands post on their websites, but they do poor search engine optimization. Third-party lyric sites do a much better job -- as they should since all they think about is how Google can find their lyrics first, whereas artists have to divide their attention between performing, recording, etc.
Besides, most artists who aren't web-savvy probably paid some guy to put those lyrics online. Why pay someone when someone else is willing to do this for you for free?
You're barking up the wrong tree here Technopolitical. It's not that these sites are reproducing lyrics that some artist wrote and is trying to sell to another artist making a song.
They're reproducing lyrics that are already part of songs. Taking down these lyric-sites only hurts those musicians because those lyric sites promote the songs.
For example, let's say I hear a catchy tune on the radio but I don't catch the artist's name or song title. I do, however, remember the lyric -- e.g. "In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of." I search for this on Google and quickly find it's Jay-Z's and Alice Key's "Empire State of Mind." Without these lyric sites and all the effort those sites put into search engine optimization, I might not have found out what song that was and gone to purchase it. This happens all the time to me, and shutting down a lyric site only hurts the artist who wrote those lyrics.
I wonder how they tried to explain this to the judge. My approach would be to say moderators are like those passengers who sit in the exit rows and are charged with popping open that door after an emergency landing. They have extra duties and responsibilities but don't represent the airline in the way a flight attendant or pilot would.
That's not a great metaphor though. Anyone have a better one?
His proposal could probably be simplified down to getting rid of statutory / presumptive damages and requiring proof of actual damages. Some of these are hard to calculate, but there's a rich body of tort and contract law that can help.
This way, if infringement causes no net harm to the copyright holder, that holder can get, at most, $1 in nominal damages.
Think of sweat of the brow in terms of subsidizing competition. Also, assume in this scenario, the public is not subsidizing anything.
Suppose the market for a product is a billion dollars. I invest $250 million in research to discover the product. Assume it costs next to nothing to actually produce or copy the product once it's discovered. That next to nothing means I'll quickly get a large number of competitors, thereby killing any chance to get a return on my investment.
The problem isn't that there's competition. It's that my very large investment in research is also subsidizing my competition. Depending on how that competition affects my future return, that's going to limit the amount I'm willing to invest.
The one thing my professors don't like to release to the general public are exam questions. Their reasoning is that it takes a lot of time and energy to come up with exam questions year after year that are (1) answerable but (2) tricky enough that you have to spend some time answering it and (3) unique enough that you're not likely to encounter the answer to the question with a generic Google search on the topic.
It's really inconvenient for students because we can't do things like make copies of previous exams for studying purposes.
This is an issue I have trouble with -- how do you reward sweat of the brow work? On one hand, allowing people to patent facts results in way too much abuse of the system. On the other hand, discovering things in nature can often be incredibly time-consuming and expensive. How do you reward or otherwise compensate that effort? What does CwF + RtB mean in the context of commercial research?
I'm a fan of tying the visa solely to job creation and adding a provision that while you're here on the startup visa, you can't take on a full-time job at any company you did not found and thereby deprive an actual American of that job.
Actually, I'm a fan of eliminating almost all the restrictions entirely, but politics being politics, I think the above offers the best combination of political palatability and actual improvement.
Newton: Hurrah, I've invited Calculus!
Leibniz: But ... so have I!
Newton: ...
Leibniz: ...
Newton: Look, an elegant solution to the 3-body problem!
Leibniz: What? Where?
Newton scurries off to the patent office.
I actually could see Google actively assisting people in circumventing the blocks. It depends largely on what the government does. If the PRC straight up blocks access to Google HK, then what does Google have to lose? Actively assisting circumvention increases marketshare.
On the other hand, it the PRC only threatens to block Google, then Google might be a bit more restrained.
I popped on over to the site and found stories like this:
-----
Local officials have been preparing a list of area-specific questions to include in the national census which will be arriving in mail boxes this month.
The extra information will enable the Tangipahoa government to better serve locals by tailoring resources and services to our particular needs.
HAN was able to get a preview of the new “Tangi Census” that residents can expect to receive.
UNITED STATES CENSUS - Tangipahoa Parish (SAMPLE)
Residents are under no legal obligation to complete the amended forms.
1. Where do you and your family prefer to worship?
A. Catholic church
B. Galvalume church
C. Wal-Mart
2. What most concerns your family?
A. Afghan troops in Independence
B. Suicide golf cart attacks in Hammond
C. The legal confiscation of body parts
3. What is your vote worth to you?
A. As a passionate believer in our democracy, my vote is vitally important.
B. $20
If you answered B, please enter your name and address below.
4. Do you miss Arden Wells’ election commercials?
A. Yes, very much
B. Oh yes
C. Absolutely
5. How far will you drive for a bottle of wine on Sundays?
A. 20 miles or less
B. More than 20 miles
C. The Piggly Wiggly in Springfield
Actually, if Emmerich argues that, he would get off free on U.S. fair use law. It's perfectly legit to use portions of copyrighted works in other to parody or criticize them. See Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin.
If you're looking for an example of what happens when you have a browser monopoly, just look at Microsoft's IE6. It had 90%+ of the market-share at its peak and was amazing for its time. Then Microsoft decided that Netscape was no longer a threat and decided to rest on its laurels for 5-6 years before Firefox was enough of a threat to justify releasing IE7.
There's also the saying, "Throw stuff at a wall and see what sticks."
@Jill, not sure how many people on this will click on Potty Training links. Also, you are aware that Google won't look at those links, right? Look up "nofollow".
I wonder if Google has a team dedicated to counter-censorship? Perhaps they could throw resources at it that were previously dedicated towards Google China.
On the post: Publishers Still Trying To Squeeze Money Out Of Lyrics Sites
Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Publishers Still Trying To Squeeze Money Out Of Lyrics Sites
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Artists do not work for Free
On the post: Publishers Still Trying To Squeeze Money Out Of Lyrics Sites
Re: Re:
Besides, most artists who aren't web-savvy probably paid some guy to put those lyrics online. Why pay someone when someone else is willing to do this for you for free?
On the post: Publishers Still Trying To Squeeze Money Out Of Lyrics Sites
Re: Re: Re: Artists do not work for Free
They're reproducing lyrics that are already part of songs. Taking down these lyric-sites only hurts those musicians because those lyric sites promote the songs.
For example, let's say I hear a catchy tune on the radio but I don't catch the artist's name or song title. I do, however, remember the lyric -- e.g. "In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of." I search for this on Google and quickly find it's Jay-Z's and Alice Key's "Empire State of Mind." Without these lyric sites and all the effort those sites put into search engine optimization, I might not have found out what song that was and gone to purchase it. This happens all the time to me, and shutting down a lyric site only hurts the artist who wrote those lyrics.
On the post: If A Site Uses Third-Party Moderators Who Do Something Bad, Does The Site Lose Safe Harbors?
Analogies
That's not a great metaphor though. Anyone have a better one?
On the post: Rather Than Considering Information 'Property,' What About Looking At Productive vs. Destructive Uses?
Damages
This way, if infringement causes no net harm to the copyright holder, that holder can get, at most, $1 in nominal damages.
On the post: Careful What You Wish For: Greater IP Enforcement In China Being Used Against Foreign Companies...
On the post: More On The Gene Patent Ruling: What Happens Next
Re: Re: Sweat of the Brow
Suppose the market for a product is a billion dollars. I invest $250 million in research to discover the product. Assume it costs next to nothing to actually produce or copy the product once it's discovered. That next to nothing means I'll quickly get a large number of competitors, thereby killing any chance to get a return on my investment.
The problem isn't that there's competition. It's that my very large investment in research is also subsidizing my competition. Depending on how that competition affects my future return, that's going to limit the amount I'm willing to invest.
On the post: Paywall/Open Debate Applied To University Education As Well
Exam Questions
It's really inconvenient for students because we can't do things like make copies of previous exams for studying purposes.
On the post: More On The Gene Patent Ruling: What Happens Next
Sweat of the Brow
On the post: How Can The Startup Visa Be Improved Upon?
Actually, I'm a fan of eliminating almost all the restrictions entirely, but politics being politics, I think the above offers the best combination of political palatability and actual improvement.
On the post: Why Real Programmers Don't Take The USPTO Seriously: Doubly-Linked List Patented
Re: Re: SOFTWARE = HARDWARE
Leibniz: But ... so have I!
Newton: ...
Leibniz: ...
Newton: Look, an elegant solution to the 3-body problem!
Leibniz: What? Where?
Newton scurries off to the patent office.
On the post: Judges Allowed To Use Google To 'Confirm Intuition' In Cases
Re:
On the post: Google Approach In China: Redirect To Hong Kong
Re:
On the other hand, it the PRC only threatens to block Google, then Google might be a bit more restrained.
On the post: Computer Science Degrees Still In Demand
CS + Law
On the post: Judge Orders Satirical Site To Remove Joke Story About Fictional Giraffe Attack
-----
Local officials have been preparing a list of area-specific questions to include in the national census which will be arriving in mail boxes this month.
The extra information will enable the Tangipahoa government to better serve locals by tailoring resources and services to our particular needs.
HAN was able to get a preview of the new “Tangi Census” that residents can expect to receive.
UNITED STATES CENSUS - Tangipahoa Parish (SAMPLE)
Residents are under no legal obligation to complete the amended forms.
1. Where do you and your family prefer to worship?
A. Catholic church
B. Galvalume church
C. Wal-Mart
2. What most concerns your family?
A. Afghan troops in Independence
B. Suicide golf cart attacks in Hammond
C. The legal confiscation of body parts
3. What is your vote worth to you?
A. As a passionate believer in our democracy, my vote is vitally important.
B. $20
If you answered B, please enter your name and address below.
4. Do you miss Arden Wells’ election commercials?
A. Yes, very much
B. Oh yes
C. Absolutely
5. How far will you drive for a bottle of wine on Sundays?
A. 20 miles or less
B. More than 20 miles
C. The Piggly Wiggly in Springfield
-----
http://www.hammondactionnews.com/post/421121088/2010census
If you don't recognize that as satire, then you're a moron in a hurry.
On the post: Brazil's Catholic Church Sues Columbia Pictures For Destroying Jesus Statue In 2012... In Violation Of Its Copyright
Re:
On the post: Firefox Guys Admit That Competition Is What Drives Innovation
IE6
On the post: Missed Use Case? Google Buzz Reveals Who You Chat With The Most To Everyone
Re: Trying to do too much
@Jill, not sure how many people on this will click on Potty Training links. Also, you are aware that Google won't look at those links, right? Look up "nofollow".
On the post: Iran Says No To Gmail; Yes To 'We Spy On You' Email
Counter-Censorship Operations
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