This is about a corporation exploiting Mr. Brown's face and reputation to make money off both of them. He has every right to demand that they either forgo using his likeness or pay him for the privilege.
This is the singer formerly known as Prince and now known as Prince again. If his music disappears, could somebody please tell me how is this a problem?
I'm sorry to have to say this, but that remark exceeds Mr. Fitzgerald's being a jerk without even trying. Both of you are doing it superbly.
The fact that he's willing to sue somebody for publishing a negative opinion? lukemv's got it right. If the pakhtash is that litigious, I wouldn't even call him for an estimate. He might stub his toe while he's on my property.
Not paying for it is a good option. My family has "movie night" once a week via Netflix and haven't had Cable since... since... (internal search engine 404)
Marketing and public relations are NOT legal issues.
Which is why utterly boneheaded C&Ds like this get issued. The legal department is not responsible for whatever ill-will or derisive laughter might ensue from their dedicated efforts to make their employers look like greedy idiots.
"All the news that's fit to print." has always meant "All the news WE think is fit to print." The Times has a long tradition of suppressing information. For details, check out their fine reporting by Walter Duranty on Stalin's engineered famine in the Ukraine, surely the most egregious example of "information hoarding" in history.
Given her publisher's public response to the demand for eBooks a few years ago, that "I should think they would understand that if we don't provide it, they can't have it," it's going to take an awful lot to convince people to buy the eBooks, and even more to accept locking them down.
Or hasn't the publisher seen the "unauthorized" set that came out a year or two ago which, as far as anybody was able to tell, had been created with professional-level layout for PDF and team-proofed to a very high quality for RTF.
If the publisher were smart, he'd get copies and sell them unlocked in all popular reader formats (mobi,eReader, ePub, etc.) at $5 a book and might make money that way.
Like every corptocracy these days, they're very big on marketing. Their ads scream "We're the best you can get." etc. etc.
So how do they miss the fact that good customer service is the most valuable marketing they have? Advertisements will get customers to look, but good customer service will keep them loyal. And word of mouth like this, as others here have noted, is doubleplus ungood.
I figure a couple of bucks is worth it to see how I like Konrath's stuff, so I went over to B&N and it also turned out that they support UN-encrypted ePubs.
About the only thing I can say about the version I downloaded is that the bibliography might have included links to the electronic editions of the other books in the series.
OTOH, all eBook stores are search engines, and given title/author...
Advertising gets customers in. Good service keeps them there. That being said, if it's an obvious pricing glitch, piling on is greedy and rude, and the sort of behavior people condemn in large companies.
A few years ago, I had an interesting email exchange with a "gentleman" who, up until the exchange, had been one of my favorite science fiction writers.
He: "The police should have the power to search everyone's hard drive over the net and delete anything they deem suspicious. Anyone who objects to this is a thief or thief wannabe."
Me: "I object to that, and aren't you being a little harsh to someone who has bought every book you've ever written?"
He: "Big deal. All the royalties I've gotten from you wouldn't take me to dinner at my favorite restaurant."
I've done two things about that last response:
1. All my copies of his books, including signed copies of "The Forge" etc. promptly became "pulp fiction."
2. I have neither bought, nor been able to bring myself to read anything he's written since then, not even by the library route.
I think I can safely take the same route with anything Chartier's put his greasy little paws to.
A pledge that's not worth the air it's breathed out with.
For the very simple reason that, while you have control over *making* calls, you have no control over *receiving* them, unless you choose to ignore a ringing phone while driving. My wife is usually driving when business emergencies arise and she has to deal with them by phone. Some of them involve the immediate necessity of returning to the business.
That pledge will be broken with the first incoming call.
On the post: Jim Brown Appeals Case Over Whether Or Not EA Can Use His Likeness In A Video Game
This isn't "free expression rights."
On the post: Prince: No Music On The Internet; The Internet Is Over
So where's the problem?
On the post: Concrete Company Sues Woman For Posting Negative Review On Angie's List
Re:
The fact that he's willing to sue somebody for publishing a negative opinion? lukemv's got it right. If the pakhtash is that litigious, I wouldn't even call him for an estimate. He might stub his toe while he's on my property.
On the post: Hulu CEO So Careful Not To Upset Cable Companies, He Might Just Destroy His Own Business
Re:
On the post: Hulu CEO So Careful Not To Upset Cable Companies, He Might Just Destroy His Own Business
Old Saying
Still true.
On the post: Trademark Cluelessness: The Other White Meat
Marketing and public relations are NOT legal issues.
On the post: How The NY Times Hides Behind Copyright Law To Hoard Information And Weaken Its Journalism
Not much new here.
On the post: Marvel Pricing Digital Comics Three Times Higher Than Paper Copies [Updated]
So what?
On the post: Australian Gov't Says ISPs Should Spy On Users... At The Same Time It's Trying To Attack Google For Doing Less?
You just don't understand.
When a government does it, it's "for the people/children/public safety/your protection."
See?
On the post: JK Rowling Finally Realizing That Offering An Official Ebook Might Be A Good Idea?
This comes a little late in the day.
Or hasn't the publisher seen the "unauthorized" set that came out a year or two ago which, as far as anybody was able to tell, had been created with professional-level layout for PDF and team-proofed to a very high quality for RTF.
If the publisher were smart, he'd get copies and sell them unlocked in all popular reader formats (mobi,eReader, ePub, etc.) at $5 a book and might make money that way.
But locked copies? [maniacal laughter]
On the post: Did AT&T Really Threaten A Customer With Legal Action For Emailing Feedback To CEO? [Updated]
What doesn't AT&T appear to understand here?
So how do they miss the fact that good customer service is the most valuable marketing they have? Advertisements will get customers to look, but good customer service will keep them loyal. And word of mouth like this, as others here have noted, is doubleplus ungood.
On the post: Author Joe Konrath Experiments With 'Piracy' To See How It Impacts Sales
Speaking solely for myself
About the only thing I can say about the version I downloaded is that the bibliography might have included links to the electronic editions of the other books in the series.
OTOH, all eBook stores are search engines, and given title/author...
We'll see how this plays out.
On the post: Zappos Admits Pricing Mistake Cost It $1.6 Million; But Is Upfront About Taking The Hit Itself
Good customer service is good marketing
Greed isn't pretty on the small scale, either.
On the post: Hurt Locker Producer Says That Criticizing His Plan To Sue Fans Means You're A Moron And A Thief
Re: Re: Re: Been There, Done That
On the post: Hurt Locker Producer Says That Criticizing His Plan To Sue Fans Means You're A Moron And A Thief
Been There, Done That
He: "The police should have the power to search everyone's hard drive over the net and delete anything they deem suspicious. Anyone who objects to this is a thief or thief wannabe."
Me: "I object to that, and aren't you being a little harsh to someone who has bought every book you've ever written?"
He: "Big deal. All the royalties I've gotten from you wouldn't take me to dinner at my favorite restaurant."
I've done two things about that last response:
1. All my copies of his books, including signed copies of "The Forge" etc. promptly became "pulp fiction."
2. I have neither bought, nor been able to bring myself to read anything he's written since then, not even by the library route.
I think I can safely take the same route with anything Chartier's put his greasy little paws to.
On the post: Can Oprah Do What Driving-While-Yakking Laws Can't?
A pledge that's not worth the air it's breathed out with.
That pledge will be broken with the first incoming call.
On the post: Study Says: Lack Of Innovation, Not File Sharing, Real Problem For Record Labels
Given a choice between doing the smart thing and doing the stupid thing...
On the post: Irish Collection Society Wants Music Bloggers To Pay Up To Promote Music
Re: Re:
No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.
On the post: Imitation Isn't Just The Sincerest Form Of Flattery; It Can Be An Important Business Strategy
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Imitation Isn't Just The Sincerest Form Of Flattery; It Can Be An Important Business Strategy
They copied all they could follow, but they couldn't copy my mind,
And I left 'em sweating and stealing a year and a half behind.
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