Internet Zen Master (profile), 15 Feb 2013 @ 11:01pm
Interesting discussions with my Business Law Prof about these topics
We're in the middle of covering Trademarks, Patents and Copyrights, so I've effectively become the devil's advocate for the class, constantly asking questions like "what's the rationale behind copyright being life plus 70?" His first answer was simply "because the legislators decided it would be," but after a little pressing, he admitted that it was because of lobbying efforts (even got him to discuss how copyright/trademark crazy Disney is by pointing out that the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act is more well-known as the Mickey Mouse Act).
He even wrote down on the board to show the class how groups like the RIAA calculate the absurd damages they claim in court (and that's before treble damages).
He ended the copyright section of the chapter by explaining (after I'd pointed out that the lawsuit campaigns by the RIAA had completely backfired), that I was correct, and that Hollywood has actually started offering more incentives for people purchase their product instead of pirating it (see: additional content aka bonus tracks/director's commmentary, etc, etc.) I was sorely tempted to point out that all that additional content usually comes with crippling DRM, but I decided it was probably better for the entire class if the professor got to patents, because we might never have gotten out of copyright before the quarter was over (other students started asking questions after me, and the class went over by five minutes for the past two days while we went over this material...
But I digress.
No one can deny Hollywood has been trying to offer incentives for people not to pirate, so it's not like they're completely blind to their dying business model (albeit those "incentives" now come with a shit-ton of DRM strings attached). And it's certainly a step in the right direction from Hollywood, I'm sure they'd be much more willing to move into the 21st century if we did some extra heavy reform on our copyright laws (perhaps returning them to the renewable every twenty-eight years or so), and doing what Canada did and limit the maximum damages for infringement to $5,000 max for starters...
That said, none of this is likely to happen if Chris "Broken Record" Dodd is calling the shots for groups like the MPAA. The sooner he's gone, the better.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 15 Feb 2013 @ 9:28am
*sigh*
Apparently being on the Internet reverts one's maturity level to that of junior high/high school.
Seriously, don't we have anything better than to make puns about some hasbin defending his trademark (which he has every right to do, even if it is rather ridiculous) because he doesn't want someone to think that he endorses a no-longer exist tool for measuring a man's tool-
Internet Zen Master (profile), 14 Feb 2013 @ 6:30pm
ATTENTION KEYBOARD WARRIORS!!
An important announcement from the Internet Defense Headquarters:
THE INTERNET IS UNDER ATTACK!
Subject Chubby Checker is demanding that his name be erased from the Internet because of a now-defunct phallus-measuring application.
Defenders of the Internet, we cannot let his heresy stand!
AS OF THIS POST, WE AT INTERNET DEFENSE HQ ARE INVOKING THE STREISAND PROTOCOL. PROTOCOL WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL SUBJECT HAS RESCINDED THREAT OR HAS EXPIRED.
All keyboard warriors are hereby authorized to spread information about Chubby Checker and this now-impotent "tool" he is raging over through any and all mediums available.
REMEMBER WARRIORS, YOU ARE THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE FOR THE INTERNET'S SURVIVAL!
Internet Zen Master (profile), 14 Feb 2013 @ 2:58pm
Wait a second...
This part in particular stuck out to me:
The folks that you're talking about are a classic example. They don't actually produce anything themselves. They're just trying to essentially leverage and hijack somebody else's idea...
Does that line remind anyone else of a particular pair of Associations of America, or is that just me?
In all seriousness though, it's nice to see that Obama is at least vaguely aware of the problems in the tech world...
That being said, the cynic in me believes that this is just Obama's way of pandering to the internet, and he basically sees them as nothing more than another special interest group.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 11 Feb 2013 @ 12:23pm
Okay, this is downright disturbing...
I knew that the DHS and their unique interpretations of the Constitution were slowly encroaching on our rights, but 100 miles in from the border? Wow. Just...... Wow.
Now, from an optimistic POV, the chances that the DHS would actually try and use their "all ur electronics belong 2 us" legalese logic are probably 0.0000000001% to zero. However, the cynic in me says that this new option will be close to the top five options Homeland Security is willing to use at the drop of a hat.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
Also, having DHS's internal office doing the "Civil Liberties Impact Assessment"? The phrase "fox guarding the henhouse" fits this scenario to the letter.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 8 Feb 2013 @ 2:51pm
Re: Re: Everybody's got one.
Except that when you take a step back and look at things from Hollywood et al's perspective, this whack-a-mole is completely necessary because it threatens their business model by causing a change of social norms. However, in the bigger picture, their stance is counterproductive and outdated when compared to the 21st century business models that are popping up and proving successful.
And yeah, the Internet's war is a war of self-defense (more or less).
Internet Zen Master (profile), 1 Feb 2013 @ 4:58pm
Not only musical artists
The artists of the visual persuasion usually tend to be really, really big the owner of artwork/characters, especially on art sites like DeviantArt.
Best example of giving credit to the artist that I can come up with offhand is from that nightmare-fuel generator known as the CreepyPasta universe.
Aside from the well-documented Slenderman phenomenon, dozens of new characters added to that universe in the last couple years. Sometimes a character will be so popular that it'll gain a following, and its customary to add "Character X" is (c) "such&such" at the end of any fanart submission about one of those characters. It's a whole "respect the original creator" mentality of that group. Hell, I've seen people give credit to an artist when they mimic the artist's style of drawing characters in that group.
And woe be to you if you should ever claim credit for art that wasn't made by you as your own...
Internet Zen Master (profile), 1 Feb 2013 @ 1:25pm
But technically they DO have a point
The content industry has ended up, through no fault of its own, as part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game between the US and Antigua, when they had nothing to do with (as far as I can tell), the United States' outdated, Puritan anti-gambling views that helped lead to their blockade on Antigua's online gambling industry.
After all, the Copyright Alliance isn't a part of the United States government, so why should it pay for the US being a jackass? If we really wanted to be fair about things, the US gambling industry would be the ones getting shafted by Antigua, not the content industry.
That being said, all the Internet Zen Master has to say to the members of the CA is: "Now you know how we felt when you tried to force SOPA on the American public. And PIPA. And ACTA...
So forgive me if I'm not exactly pouring out my heart with sympathy for your plight. Show us that your bottom line is dramatically affected with some *GASP* REAL ACCOUNTING (verifiable by at least 55 non-Hollywood affiliated CPAs), and then we'll be willing to listen.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 31 Jan 2013 @ 5:04pm
Re:
TF uploaded it to Mega-search.me, which is a public-index site. So yes, they did publish the links to their content on a public site.
As for MEGA's goals being to upset the current business model, I think you might be mixing up MEGA with Dotcom's MegaBox music service that was put on hold as a result of last year's raid. But if he was talking about MEGA, then it's obvious there are still some kinks to work out with the service... it hasn't even been online for two weeks, so these things are bound to sort themselves out one way or another.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 31 Jan 2013 @ 4:53pm
Re:
Well, the slogan is THE PRIVACY COMPANY.
So we're still allowed to share the stuff, but just not on linking sites? Seems fair enough to me. Probably for the best too, since some dumbasses clearly don't know how to hide their copyrighted material properly.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 31 Jan 2013 @ 4:42pm
THE SKY IS FALLING[/sarcasm]
Title is what everyone who's saying that MEGA has failed sounds like right now. Three things:
1) MEGA is only 11 DAYS OLD! Plus it's the brainchild of the copyright industry's #1 enemy, Kim Dotcom. Did you really think that things wouldn't go off without a hitch? (also, it's still (supposedly) in Beta, so there's probably still a few kinks to work out)
2) Unless you didn't get the memo before, MEGA=/=MegaUpload. MEGA's slogan is even "THE PRIVACY COMPANY". The fact that your files were taken down because you released the links on a public index site and they caught the eye of some overzealous copyright lobby stooge is your own damn fault. In other words, don't go publicly sharing the files just yet. Wait until MEGA's at least a few months old before you start sharing your stuff.
3) The US DoJ is breathing down Dotcom's neck, looking for any excuse to say that MEGA is just MU back from the dead, and then get Kim Dotcom tossed back in jail for violating his bail agreement, and quickly extradited to the US for their witch trial. So yeah, if MEGA's being overzealous with the takedown notices, or just trying to stop people from sharing them on public index sites, I can't say I really blame him for trying to cover his fat ass.
It'll be interesting to see what's really going on though.
Internet Zen Master (profile), 31 Jan 2013 @ 12:51pm
Someone should really add this...
to the constantly increasing amount of content that should be used in a documentary on the Streisand Effect.
EXHIBIT A: GMacMuffin's comment.
And to Mr. Mosley: as the Internet Zen Master, I welcome you to the Internet, but must inform you that the cat's out of the bag, and frankly, the Internet doesn't give a damn whether you want people to see those pictures or not. Also, Streisand Effect. Look it up.
One must ask themselves why Mosley let that sex worker bring a camera in the first place...
Internet Zen Master (profile), 28 Jan 2013 @ 3:34pm
Here's a question
Since I don't have a lot of free time to read through this study, I have to ask this:
Which musicians participated in the study? Did the big names from before the advent of the internet, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, or [insert any band pre-1990s here], give their input? Or are all the participants anonymous?
Either way, it's rather unlikely that the music gatekeepers (RIAA, GEMA, etc.) are going to take it very seriously.
On the post: Satan Finally Reveals Himself As A Legal Employer
And this is why...
Okay, there's St. Thomas More, but he's more the patron saint of politicians and civil servants, which aren't entirely despicable jobs...
On the post: How To Resolve A Trademark Issue Politely & Without Legal Threats
On the post: Chris Dodd Sounding Like A Broken Recording Industry
Interesting discussions with my Business Law Prof about these topics
He even wrote down on the board to show the class how groups like the RIAA calculate the absurd damages they claim in court (and that's before treble damages).
He ended the copyright section of the chapter by explaining (after I'd pointed out that the lawsuit campaigns by the RIAA had completely backfired), that I was correct, and that Hollywood has actually started offering more incentives for people purchase their product instead of pirating it (see: additional content aka bonus tracks/director's commmentary, etc, etc.) I was sorely tempted to point out that all that additional content usually comes with crippling DRM, but I decided it was probably better for the entire class if the professor got to patents, because we might never have gotten out of copyright before the quarter was over (other students started asking questions after me, and the class went over by five minutes for the past two days while we went over this material...
But I digress.
No one can deny Hollywood has been trying to offer incentives for people not to pirate, so it's not like they're completely blind to their dying business model (albeit those "incentives" now come with a shit-ton of DRM strings attached). And it's certainly a step in the right direction from Hollywood, I'm sure they'd be much more willing to move into the 21st century if we did some extra heavy reform on our copyright laws (perhaps returning them to the renewable every twenty-eight years or so), and doing what Canada did and limit the maximum damages for infringement to $5,000 max for starters...
That said, none of this is likely to happen if Chris "Broken Record" Dodd is calling the shots for groups like the MPAA. The sooner he's gone, the better.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
On the post: Chubby Checker Sues Two Companies For $500 Million Over Wang-Measuring App Downloaded 84 Times
*sigh*
Seriously, don't we have anything better than to make puns about some hasbin defending his trademark (which he has every right to do, even if it is rather ridiculous) because he doesn't want someone to think that he endorses a no-longer exist tool for measuring a man's tool-
Damn it, even I'm doing it now.
On the post: Bizarre 'Attribution' Troll Bullies Twitter Users Into Compliance With Baseless Legal Threats
Dispatch from Internet Defense HQ
Streisand Protocol has been invoked.
Alert the channers to this scum's existence. Then go make some popcorn and watch the Internet tear this guy a new one.
On the post: Chubby Checker Sues Two Companies For $500 Million Over Wang-Measuring App Downloaded 84 Times
ATTENTION KEYBOARD WARRIORS!!
THE INTERNET IS UNDER ATTACK!
Subject Chubby Checker is demanding that his name be erased from the Internet because of a now-defunct phallus-measuring application.
Defenders of the Internet, we cannot let his heresy stand!
AS OF THIS POST, WE AT INTERNET DEFENSE HQ ARE INVOKING THE STREISAND PROTOCOL. PROTOCOL WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL SUBJECT HAS RESCINDED THREAT OR HAS EXPIRED.
All keyboard warriors are hereby authorized to spread information about Chubby Checker and this now-impotent "tool" he is raging over through any and all mediums available.
REMEMBER WARRIORS, YOU ARE THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE FOR THE INTERNET'S SURVIVAL!
May the lolcats be with you.
-the Internet Zen Master
On the post: President Obama Admits That Patent Trolls Just Try To 'Extort' Money; Reform Needed
Wait a second...
Does that line remind anyone else of a particular pair of Associations of America, or is that just me?
In all seriousness though, it's nice to see that Obama is at least vaguely aware of the problems in the tech world...
That being said, the cynic in me believes that this is just Obama's way of pandering to the internet, and he basically sees them as nothing more than another special interest group.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
On the post: Microsoft Makes Retail Versions Of Office Single Install
If they're doing this for MS Office...
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
On the post: Homeland Security: Not Searching Your Laptop Doesn't Benefit Your Civil Liberties, So We Can Do It
Okay, this is downright disturbing...
Now, from an optimistic POV, the chances that the DHS would actually try and use their "all ur electronics belong 2 us" legalese logic are probably 0.0000000001% to zero. However, the cynic in me says that this new option will be close to the top five options Homeland Security is willing to use at the drop of a hat.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
Also, having DHS's internal office doing the "Civil Liberties Impact Assessment"? The phrase "fox guarding the henhouse" fits this scenario to the letter.
On the post: US And Europe Move On To TAFTA: Yet Another Chance To Push Through ACTA/SOPA Style IP Maximalism
Re: Re: Everybody's got one.
And yeah, the Internet's war is a war of self-defense (more or less).
On the post: US And Europe Move On To TAFTA: Yet Another Chance To Push Through ACTA/SOPA Style IP Maximalism
Everybody's got one.
The Internet's whack-a-mole is overreaching copyright trade agreements like SOPA/PIPA/TPP et al.
Everybody's got a whack-a-mole I guess...
On the post: Just Weeks Before Coulton Story, Glee Was Accused Of Copying Without Credit On Another Song
Not only musical artists
Best example of giving credit to the artist that I can come up with offhand is from that nightmare-fuel generator known as the CreepyPasta universe.
Aside from the well-documented Slenderman phenomenon, dozens of new characters added to that universe in the last couple years. Sometimes a character will be so popular that it'll gain a following, and its customary to add "Character X" is (c) "such&such" at the end of any fanart submission about one of those characters. It's a whole "respect the original creator" mentality of that group. Hell, I've seen people give credit to an artist when they mimic the artist's style of drawing characters in that group.
And woe be to you if you should ever claim credit for art that wasn't made by you as your own...
On the post: Copyright Alliance Invents New History (And New Meanings For 'Big' And 'Little') To Condemn Antigua
But technically they DO have a point
After all, the Copyright Alliance isn't a part of the United States government, so why should it pay for the US being a jackass? If we really wanted to be fair about things, the US gambling industry would be the ones getting shafted by Antigua, not the content industry.
That being said, all the Internet Zen Master has to say to the members of the CA is: "Now you know how we felt when you tried to force SOPA on the American public. And PIPA. And ACTA...
So forgive me if I'm not exactly pouring out my heart with sympathy for your plight. Show us that your bottom line is dramatically affected with some *GASP* REAL ACCOUNTING (verifiable by at least 55 non-Hollywood affiliated CPAs), and then we'll be willing to listen.
Until you do that, tough luck bitches."
On the post: Odd: Mega Removing Any File It Can Find That Is Publicly Indexed -- Even Completely Legitimate Uploads
Re:
As for MEGA's goals being to upset the current business model, I think you might be mixing up MEGA with Dotcom's MegaBox music service that was put on hold as a result of last year's raid. But if he was talking about MEGA, then it's obvious there are still some kinks to work out with the service... it hasn't even been online for two weeks, so these things are bound to sort themselves out one way or another.
On the post: Odd: Mega Removing Any File It Can Find That Is Publicly Indexed -- Even Completely Legitimate Uploads
Re:
So we're still allowed to share the stuff, but just not on linking sites? Seems fair enough to me. Probably for the best too, since some dumbasses clearly don't know how to hide their copyrighted material properly.
On the post: Odd: Mega Removing Any File It Can Find That Is Publicly Indexed -- Even Completely Legitimate Uploads
THE SKY IS FALLING[/sarcasm]
1) MEGA is only 11 DAYS OLD! Plus it's the brainchild of the copyright industry's #1 enemy, Kim Dotcom. Did you really think that things wouldn't go off without a hitch? (also, it's still (supposedly) in Beta, so there's probably still a few kinks to work out)
2) Unless you didn't get the memo before, MEGA=/=MegaUpload. MEGA's slogan is even "THE PRIVACY COMPANY". The fact that your files were taken down because you released the links on a public index site and they caught the eye of some overzealous copyright lobby stooge is your own damn fault. In other words, don't go publicly sharing the files just yet. Wait until MEGA's at least a few months old before you start sharing your stuff.
3) The US DoJ is breathing down Dotcom's neck, looking for any excuse to say that MEGA is just MU back from the dead, and then get Kim Dotcom tossed back in jail for violating his bail agreement, and quickly extradited to the US for their witch trial. So yeah, if MEGA's being overzealous with the takedown notices, or just trying to stop people from sharing them on public index sites, I can't say I really blame him for trying to cover his fat ass.
It'll be interesting to see what's really going on though.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
On the post: Dangerous: European Courts Considering Requiring Search Engine Filters Over Embarrassing Content
Someone should really add this...
EXHIBIT A: GMacMuffin's comment.
And to Mr. Mosley: as the Internet Zen Master, I welcome you to the Internet, but must inform you that the cat's out of the bag, and frankly, the Internet doesn't give a damn whether you want people to see those pictures or not. Also, Streisand Effect. Look it up.
One must ask themselves why Mosley let that sex worker bring a camera in the first place...
On the post: Broken Copyright: Jonathan Coulton Is Actually Infringing Copyright, But Glee Is Not
Re: Re: Re:
>Hollywood-employed copyright lawyer: 5 points
>RIAA/MPAA executive: 10 points
>Chris Dodd: You win.
On the post: US Still 'Warning' Antigua That It Better Not Set Up Piracy Hub, Even As WTO Gives Approval
Back to basics I suppose
Internet "piracy" is now turning into "internet privateering" in Antigua.
I guess this gives the phrase 'Pirates of the Caribbean' a whole new meaning huh?
What will the US do now?
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
On the post: Just As Many Musicians Say File Sharing Helps Them As Those Who Say It Hurts
Here's a question
Which musicians participated in the study? Did the big names from before the advent of the internet, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, or [insert any band pre-1990s here], give their input? Or are all the participants anonymous?
Either way, it's rather unlikely that the music gatekeepers (RIAA, GEMA, etc.) are going to take it very seriously.
As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."
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