It has always struck me as odd that the people who are supporting censorship for the last several years are artists and organizations that purport to represent artists. This has been true since Napster; most of the measures that have been put forward to block unauthorized copying have had strong censorship implications. Most of the methods put forward could be turned against the artists themselves very easily. SOPA and Protect IP are worse than most, but they are not the first.
>>Too bad quantity isn't a substitute for quality. I suppose it's easy to spout off thousands of posts when you're not encumbered by silly things like journalistic integrity. God forbid any kind of ethics slow you down.
At least on this point, Average_Joe, I will concede that you are an authority on the topic of your comment.
I just wanted to say thanks to Mike, the other contributing bloggers, and commenters. Heck, I would even like to thank the trolls who have, perhaps unintentionally, occasionally contributed thoughtful comments and valid counterpoints; they keep us honest and our logic tight.
This blog has been an important counterpoint to a lot of the industry misinformation out there as well as an outspoken advocate and rallying point for defense of first amendment freedoms.
The industry has already made up its mind and does not want to be confused by the facts.
By the way, how has Hadopi been doing? If the industry's analysis of the situation was correct, then French media sales should be booming compared to other European countries like Switzerland that have more lenient piracy laws. The industry got everything that it asked for in the legislation. If the industry was correct in its analysis then there should be some clear indication by this time.
>>Video is on Megauploads front page for that that want to see it.
Was the video just a series of the little talking heads snippits? If so it is hard to imagine what grounds UMG had for the takedown. What I am seeing is a series of artists that are expressing opinions that are contrary to UMG's position. That would be the very definition of protected free speech. I didn't hear music playing in the background of any of the ones I listened to, but even if there was some it would probably count as fair use.
If this is as bad as it appears then I hope MegaUploads pushes back hard.
It may be interesting to see how UMG's copyright claim works out. It was my understanding that the commercial was a product of megaupload itself, but I didn't get to see it taken down. I wonder what basis UMG has for claiming the copyright other than "We don't like MegaUpload." Is this a case of copyfraud in action? If so, it would be a perfect illustration about what is wrong with SOPA and Protect-IP.
I am wondering if this is going to backfire. The ad is going to bring more attention to the issue. The ads may become a point of discussion on a wider range of blogs and traditional news outlets. Those reports are not likely to be favorable if they start looking at the claims in the ads. Some of the sheep in the media are waking up to the reality of what is going on with SOPA and Protect-IP.
>>Notice how late any of the usual trolls were to this post?
I notice that. I figured they were all at the same Christmas part this morning and didn't see the post right away.
Either that or the story is about something that is so outrageous that there wasn't much to say about it other than comment about the sourcing. Even if the story is only partially true it should rattle the sensibilities of any American citizen.
So far there has only been one really off the wall post about tin hats from someone that I assume has a large collection of his own.
Predicting Supreme Court decisions based on oral arguments is approximately as accurate as predicting stock prices based on tea leaves and chicken entrails.
To be generous, justices often play devil's advocate during oral arguments, and justices who have had their questions answered in briefs may not speak up. To be cynical, I suspect that the law clerks working behind the scenes are often more influential that the oral arguments of the opposing attorneys.
The tenor of the hearing might have been influenced by the fact that the counsel for the Mayo Clinic himself didn't argue against medical patents being invalid. His argument was that this patent was invalid.
I am not surprised so many people are upset about the Spotify API. You have to accept that you are not involved in a zero-sum game. You also have to be willing to accept that other people are making money, perhaps more money than you are. That runs counter to management-thing in most large corporations. Couple that with the fact that you have to think beyond "let's put ads on it" for your revenue model, and it is no wonder the traditionalists are complaining.
The entertainment industry is like a three year old whose parents have given him everything he wanted. Now the indulgent parents are starting to wake up and see the monster that they have created. The three year old has been told "no" for the first time, and he doesn't like it. I expect a major tantrum.
I wonder how much industry bad behavior will matter in the decisions. There is sort of a balance implied in the DCMA. Companies and certain industries have gotten some extraordinary powers to protect themselves, but that implies that they have a responsibility not to abuse that power by harming consumers. If bad behavior matters to the LoC, here is how I predict things will shake out:
Carrier ID. This is very bad behavior by just about every carrier. Most of the instructions for removing Carrier ID (at least the ones that probably work) involve rooting your phone, and that effectively breaks any DRM installed by the carriers. If bad behavior matters, then jailbreaking mobile phones should be approved. Besides, the ruling that iPhones could be jailbroken did not cause the sky to fall as people in the industry predicted.
Sony is guilty of some bad behavior when it comes to game consoles. First they rolled back a feature that Sony itself advertised as a reason to buy PlayStations. Then there was the little matter of the consoles being essentially useless while Sony fixed their servers. What would happen if Sony had not fixed their servers? Would it be fair to just tell folks "Too bad for you. Your expensive game console is now worthless. Of course you could still use it if you broke DRM on it, but that would be illegal." On balance Sony probably did more damage to their customers than the customers could do to Sony if DRM could be circumvented. That should count for something. Nintendo and Microsoft didn't have these problems, but Sony's behavior demonstrated how vulnerable consumers are to corporate bad behavior due to DRM on game consoles. The LoC would have justification for allowing breaking DRM on game consoles, but maybe they will just allow it on Sony systems.
DVD DRM has mainly damaged the industry itself, although it certainly inconveniences legal users. However, the DCMA allows companies to hurt themselves with silly DRM all they want, and it assumes that people who legally buy the product will be inconvenienced (unlike the people who get the movies illegally and get a more useful version). Still, DVD DRM hasn't had any incidents making the news about bad behavior harming consumers. At least not yet. If the LoC uses bad behavior to justify any other DRM circumvention it would send a strong message to the MPAA companies to be very, very careful about introducing even more draconian DRM systems that might do customers actual harm.
But ... but ... What about all my mass marketing and promotion skills I have learned after decades at mass media companies. Let me just explain to you the miraculous powers of a masterfully designed windowed release system coordinated with a world wide touring schedule! I can find a no-name, no-skill rapper and turn him into a recording star even if his musical skills are challenged at the kazoo level (did I mention that I know people who can do wonders in post-production?) The Internet and freetard music don't require someone of my skill level. Creativity is overrated, and it complicates the marketing plan.
Aren't my skills valuable to the music industry? They have to be worth something, don't they? How am I going to support my fleet of luxury vehicles if I don't get my annual bonuses?
Kaspersky already does some smart anti-piracy things. For one thing, their basic home licence allows you to legally use their product on more than one computer in your home.
All AV software has flaws, and Kaspersky has some of the more annoying ones including well-known false positives that they don't seem to be able or willing to correct. Still, their withdrawal from BSA probably means that I will be more likely to renew my license with them next time it expires.
Lawyers bully people all the time. It's part of their job. I have a part time job as a high-class bouncer at public events. Most of the rules I am enforcing are really unenforceable. I bluff and bully people constantly. It works.
Of course, we are doing our bullying in real life. This is another case where doing something on the big, evil Internet suddenly makes it illegal.
Heck, we have been relentlessly bullying our trolls here for the last few months. I think it has been effective. We still have our dissenters, but they have raised the level of their posts from the level of "pirate mikey" to the point where they sometimes actually make a good point in their comments. That is a win for both the dissenters and the TechDirt community.
On the post: UMG, MegaUpload Case Gets Even Stranger; Will.i.am Says He Didn't Authorize A Takedown
Re:
On the post: Writers Guild Realizing That SOPA Goes Too Far; Union Support For Censoring The Internet Begins To Crack
On the post: Louis CK: Connecting With Fans & Giving Them A Reason To Buy By Being Polite, Awesome & Human
On the post: Oh Look, I've Done 40,000 Techdirt Blog Posts
Re:
At least on this point, Average_Joe, I will concede that you are an authority on the topic of your comment.
On the post: Oh Look, I've Done 40,000 Techdirt Blog Posts
This blog has been an important counterpoint to a lot of the industry misinformation out there as well as an outspoken advocate and rallying point for defense of first amendment freedoms.
On the post: HADOPI Wants To Research File Downloads: Shouldn't It Have Done That First?
By the way, how has Hadopi been doing? If the industry's analysis of the situation was correct, then French media sales should be booming compared to other European countries like Switzerland that have more lenient piracy laws. The industry got everything that it asked for in the legislation. If the industry was correct in its analysis then there should be some clear indication by this time.
On the post: A Bunch Of RIAA Label Artists Endorse MegaUpload... As RIAA Insists It's A 'Rogue' Site
Was the video just a series of the little talking heads snippits? If so it is hard to imagine what grounds UMG had for the takedown. What I am seeing is a series of artists that are expressing opinions that are contrary to UMG's position. That would be the very definition of protected free speech. I didn't hear music playing in the background of any of the ones I listened to, but even if there was some it would probably count as fair use.
If this is as bad as it appears then I hope MegaUploads pushes back hard.
On the post: A Bunch Of RIAA Label Artists Endorse MegaUpload... As RIAA Insists It's A 'Rogue' Site
On the post: Entertainment Industry Still Can't Get Grassroots Support For SOPA/PIPA, Resorts To Trying To Buy Support
On the post: Breaking News: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details...
Re: Re: Re:
I notice that. I figured they were all at the same Christmas part this morning and didn't see the post right away.
Either that or the story is about something that is so outrageous that there wasn't much to say about it other than comment about the sourcing. Even if the story is only partially true it should rattle the sensibilities of any American citizen.
So far there has only been one really off the wall post about tin hats from someone that I assume has a large collection of his own.
On the post: Breaking News: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details...
Re:
My problem is deciding which of the two crony capitalism tickets to vote for.
On the post: Supreme Court Seems Ok With Patenting Medical Diagnostics
To be generous, justices often play devil's advocate during oral arguments, and justices who have had their questions answered in briefs may not speak up. To be cynical, I suspect that the law clerks working behind the scenes are often more influential that the oral arguments of the opposing attorneys.
The tenor of the hearing might have been influenced by the fact that the counsel for the Mayo Clinic himself didn't argue against medical patents being invalid. His argument was that this patent was invalid.
On the post: Belgian Anti-Piracy Group Threatens To Take ISPs To Court If They Don't Block The Pirate Bay; Pirate Bay Traffic From Belgium Increases
On the post: Attention! Monetizing Spotify Apps Is The Same As Monetizing Music
On the post: As Expected, SOPA Supporters Hate More Reasonable Alternative
I expect a major tantrum
On the post: Copyright Office Once Again Preparing To Throw Citizens A Fair Use Bone
Will bad behavior matter?
Carrier ID. This is very bad behavior by just about every carrier. Most of the instructions for removing Carrier ID (at least the ones that probably work) involve rooting your phone, and that effectively breaks any DRM installed by the carriers. If bad behavior matters, then jailbreaking mobile phones should be approved. Besides, the ruling that iPhones could be jailbroken did not cause the sky to fall as people in the industry predicted.
Sony is guilty of some bad behavior when it comes to game consoles. First they rolled back a feature that Sony itself advertised as a reason to buy PlayStations. Then there was the little matter of the consoles being essentially useless while Sony fixed their servers. What would happen if Sony had not fixed their servers? Would it be fair to just tell folks "Too bad for you. Your expensive game console is now worthless. Of course you could still use it if you broke DRM on it, but that would be illegal." On balance Sony probably did more damage to their customers than the customers could do to Sony if DRM could be circumvented. That should count for something. Nintendo and Microsoft didn't have these problems, but Sony's behavior demonstrated how vulnerable consumers are to corporate bad behavior due to DRM on game consoles. The LoC would have justification for allowing breaking DRM on game consoles, but maybe they will just allow it on Sony systems.
DVD DRM has mainly damaged the industry itself, although it certainly inconveniences legal users. However, the DCMA allows companies to hurt themselves with silly DRM all they want, and it assumes that people who legally buy the product will be inconvenienced (unlike the people who get the movies illegally and get a more useful version). Still, DVD DRM hasn't had any incidents making the news about bad behavior harming consumers. At least not yet. If the LoC uses bad behavior to justify any other DRM circumvention it would send a strong message to the MPAA companies to be very, very careful about introducing even more draconian DRM systems that might do customers actual harm.
On the post: In A World Where Recorded Music 'No Longer Has Monetary Value,' The Artist Is King
Aren't my skills valuable to the music industry? They have to be worth something, don't they? How am I going to support my fleet of luxury vehicles if I don't get my annual bonuses?
On the post: Kaspersky Dumps BSA For Its Support Of SOPA; Says SOPA Hurts Consumers & Innovation
All AV software has flaws, and Kaspersky has some of the more annoying ones including well-known false positives that they don't seem to be able or willing to correct. Still, their withdrawal from BSA probably means that I will be more likely to renew my license with them next time it expires.
On the post: Don't Roll Your Eyes At This Post, Or You Might Violate An Anti-Bullying Law
But sometimes bullying is very effective
Of course, we are doing our bullying in real life. This is another case where doing something on the big, evil Internet suddenly makes it illegal.
Heck, we have been relentlessly bullying our trolls here for the last few months. I think it has been effective. We still have our dissenters, but they have raised the level of their posts from the level of "pirate mikey" to the point where they sometimes actually make a good point in their comments. That is a win for both the dissenters and the TechDirt community.
On the post: How Labels Pulling Out Of Spotify Are Doing Massive Harm To Themselves
Re: STHoldings has a new claim
It is doubtful that the streaming services will ever be good for the artists as long as the contracts are negotiated by the major labels.
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