This is actually going beyond funny and into the realm of unbelievably sad. My question is this: how long can Carreon ( funny name for a bottom feeder ) keep this before it becomes harassment and gets him both disbarred and a jail sentence? I mean... He's embarrassing his colleagues! Right?
I'd like to believe we can shoot ACTA down, and that in the long run we can put an end to the increasingly over-zealous patent and copyright laws.
Honestly though, I don't think the politicians or the general public will get the point without a minor revolution. A total boycot of the entertainment industry with billions in losses monthly, coupled with 20% of the votes for the pirate party might suffice.
I may be excessively negative, but despite everything that's going on these days, there's pretty much a media blackout on the topic of IP, copyright, patents and the damage done while trying to protect them. Maybe the publishers are biased and keep it out of the papers? Maybe they just don't see the problem? Who knows?
...which all sounds very nice, but that doesn't change the fact that EFF refuses to let anyone sign that doesn't have a US zip code, which currently means less than 4.5% of the human race.
Re: How about actual freedom for the Internet, rather than entitlements for freeloaders?
"Now, large corporations such as Google -- which have benefited from the Internet -- are seeking to wrest control of those independent networks (which are the operators' property) from them, out of sheer corporate greed. Yes, they really DO want to use the pipes for free... and to take control of the private property of the network owners who built the Net.
Horsemanure.
This has been said over and over, last time I saw it, it was the telecom companies that wanted google, facebook, etc to pay a fricking "tax" for using "their" precious bandwidth for "free".
Only they forgot one thing: "their" pipes are paid for by the customers. We customers pay for maintenance. We customers pay for upgrades. The bandwidth is paid for!
Google do not generate data and broadcast it to customers. Customers ASK GOOGLE for data. We are using the bandwidth we bought and paid for, and we have a right to use it any way we damn well please. I'm using Google because they give me what I want, when I want it, at a price that's right. That doesn't make Google the bad guys; it makes them good at their fucking job.
Bit disturbing that the EFF seem to think of the Internet as an exclusively American network.
Thankfully the other sites realise that most of humanity is actually living on the other side of the US borders, and offer ways for everyone to sign up, as opposed to just the American minority.
While this is technically true, it's still sad. The very least they could have done is add a way to internationally support the matter - even if a court can't take those international voices into account.
Most of us non-Americans wouldn't even know where to BEGIN when it comes to filing legal complaints internationally, against the US government, for their actions in New Zeeland.
Nice that someone is trying to rally some support for this, but it's a shame all non-US victims are left out in the cold.
Re: Commercial vs University sponsored innovation - mixing metaphors
In the commercial world, patents ARE a good measure of innovation and serve as the sought after means of sharing. The stated purpose of a patent is to TEACH (the innovation).
Y'know, Imma side with Mr Masnick here and ask "where's the proof?"
As far as I can tell, "patents means innovation" is the industry's standard claim, a claim that's been under attack for a long time, and a claim that still doesn't have any believable research to back it up.
The question of whether patents hinder or encourage innovation has been a long running debate, on techdirt and elsewhere. The fact that the industry likes to use patents as a measure of innovation means that they have already decided that yes indeed, patents lead to innovation, but no matter how much they want it to be true, or how much they claim it to be true, or how many times they reiterate their view - none of it makes it true. Repeating an opinion over and over can sometimes make people think of the opinion as truth, but not everyone falls for it.
So, we end up where we always end up: where are the factually correct independent reports that says patents increase research, invention and more breakthroughs? I still haven't seen it. I doubt anyone can produce such research with a straight face.
Statistics can be a dangerous thing. It's bad when the author spouting statistics don't understand cause and effect or math in general, but far worse when they manufacture misleading statistics on purpose. It's always nice to see make-belief "proof" go up in flames like this, but the sad fact is this: the original report will surely be regurgitated by big media as truth, but the criticism of it will in all likelihood not even merit a comment. People believe what they read, especially those that can't spot errors in logic or math.
Whenever I see this kind of report I always wonder: are they stupid or deceitful? I don't much like to think about that, as neither is appealing. It gets worse; I always have to decide on whether I'm a judgemental cynic or a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
Well, I'd like to say this was all very unexpected, but, you know... Oh dear. I'd also like to say "good luck getting re-elected, de Gucht" but we all know he will - because a big fat slice of the voters simply don't know what's going on. No one, not even the press, seems interested in actually inspecting and exposing the government.
Back in elementary school, 20 years ago, we were taught that the first job of the press was to inspect, question, and criticise the government. These days there's virtually a media blackout. Of course, the press is owned by publishers, so there may be a slight conflict of interest, mm? How things have changed...
Being Swedish, I can't help but wonder where such things leave me. Swedish consumer law grants me the right to make copies of anything, on any medium, for my own personal use. I even have the legal right to decompile software and change it to suit my needs. Another interesting part of Swedish consumer law is that no matter what I sign in the way of contracts, EULAs and TOSes, etc - I cannot sign my rights away.
This sort of makes me wonder if DRM on music, books and software is entirely legal in Sweden as it attempts to circumvent the law, but I can always find ways to circumvent it anyway - despite the fact that most software, music, etc from the US says I'm not allowed to copy it (and in my book lying about people's legal rights should in itself be illegal.)
So what happens when I pass US customs in the future to visit a friend in Nebraska? I show up carrying 500 songs in my iPhone with no DRM, no receipts, no nothing, and a decompiled and modified copy of Windows 7 on my laptop. If I recall correctly, ACTA is one piece of exported legislation that contains (or contained) interesting bits allowing customs to rifle through your computer and phones for illegal copies.
The only way they can prove infringement, is to have Swedish police search my apartment and computer for the originals and digital receipts. Somehow I doubt this will happen.
What concerns me is that when I pass the US border, they will hold me to US law and whatever licenses, EULAS and TOSs came with the product, and ignore the fact that all the copies were made legally, and that their agreements are in part null and void due to Swedish consumer laws.
This shouldn't change simply because I go on vacation but it's a crazy world these days.
On the post: Charles Carreon Tries To Intimidate Parodist With Bizarre List Of Demands Plus DMCA Takedown Threat
On the post: ACTA Supporters In Europe Fighting To The Bitter End
Same old..
Honestly though, I don't think the politicians or the general public will get the point without a minor revolution. A total boycot of the entertainment industry with billions in losses monthly, coupled with 20% of the votes for the pirate party might suffice.
I may be excessively negative, but despite everything that's going on these days, there's pretty much a media blackout on the topic of IP, copyright, patents and the damage done while trying to protect them. Maybe the publishers are biased and keep it out of the papers? Maybe they just don't see the problem? Who knows?
On the post: Announcing The Declaration Of Internet Freedom
Re: Re:
On the post: Announcing The Declaration Of Internet Freedom
Re: How about actual freedom for the Internet, rather than entitlements for freeloaders?
Horsemanure.
This has been said over and over, last time I saw it, it was the telecom companies that wanted google, facebook, etc to pay a fricking "tax" for using "their" precious bandwidth for "free".
Only they forgot one thing: "their" pipes are paid for by the customers. We customers pay for maintenance. We customers pay for upgrades. The bandwidth is paid for!
Google do not generate data and broadcast it to customers. Customers ASK GOOGLE for data. We are using the bandwidth we bought and paid for, and we have a right to use it any way we damn well please. I'm using Google because they give me what I want, when I want it, at a price that's right. That doesn't make Google the bad guys; it makes them good at their fucking job.
On the post: Announcing The Declaration Of Internet Freedom
Thankfully the other sites realise that most of humanity is actually living on the other side of the US borders, and offer ways for everyone to sign up, as opposed to just the American minority.
On the post: Nearly 50,000 People Ask Why The Government Is Seizing Their Digital Files
Re: Re:
Most of us non-Americans wouldn't even know where to BEGIN when it comes to filing legal complaints internationally, against the US government, for their actions in New Zeeland.
Nice that someone is trying to rally some support for this, but it's a shame all non-US victims are left out in the cold.
On the post: ACTAfacts? ACTAfiction? Or Just Unsourced Pro-ACTA Propaganda Purporting To Be Objective?
Re:
On the post: New Study Shows Patent Laws Spur Patents; Report's Authors Pretend This Means Innovation
Re: Commercial vs University sponsored innovation - mixing metaphors
Y'know, Imma side with Mr Masnick here and ask "where's the proof?"
As far as I can tell, "patents means innovation" is the industry's standard claim, a claim that's been under attack for a long time, and a claim that still doesn't have any believable research to back it up.
The question of whether patents hinder or encourage innovation has been a long running debate, on techdirt and elsewhere. The fact that the industry likes to use patents as a measure of innovation means that they have already decided that yes indeed, patents lead to innovation, but no matter how much they want it to be true, or how much they claim it to be true, or how many times they reiterate their view - none of it makes it true. Repeating an opinion over and over can sometimes make people think of the opinion as truth, but not everyone falls for it.
So, we end up where we always end up: where are the factually correct independent reports that says patents increase research, invention and more breakthroughs? I still haven't seen it. I doubt anyone can produce such research with a straight face.
On the post: New Study Shows Patent Laws Spur Patents; Report's Authors Pretend This Means Innovation
Statistics...
Whenever I see this kind of report I always wonder: are they stupid or deceitful? I don't much like to think about that, as neither is appealing. It gets worse; I always have to decide on whether I'm a judgemental cynic or a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
These days, I'm leaning towards paranoia.
On the post: EU Commissioner Reveals He Will Simply Ignore Any Rejection Of ACTA By European Parliament Next Week
Back in elementary school, 20 years ago, we were taught that the first job of the press was to inspect, question, and criticise the government. These days there's virtually a media blackout. Of course, the press is owned by publishers, so there may be a slight conflict of interest, mm? How things have changed...
On the post: DailyDirt: Flying With The Greatest Of Ease
What part(s) do you think they are patenting? The weird wing does display an uncanny resemblance to the McGinnis wing.
http://www.synergyaircraft.com/
On the post: Canadian Politician Claims That Ripping A CD To Your iPod Is Like Buying Socks & Stealing Shoes To Go With Them
This sort of makes me wonder if DRM on music, books and software is entirely legal in Sweden as it attempts to circumvent the law, but I can always find ways to circumvent it anyway - despite the fact that most software, music, etc from the US says I'm not allowed to copy it (and in my book lying about people's legal rights should in itself be illegal.)
So what happens when I pass US customs in the future to visit a friend in Nebraska? I show up carrying 500 songs in my iPhone with no DRM, no receipts, no nothing, and a decompiled and modified copy of Windows 7 on my laptop. If I recall correctly, ACTA is one piece of exported legislation that contains (or contained) interesting bits allowing customs to rifle through your computer and phones for illegal copies.
The only way they can prove infringement, is to have Swedish police search my apartment and computer for the originals and digital receipts. Somehow I doubt this will happen.
What concerns me is that when I pass the US border, they will hold me to US law and whatever licenses, EULAS and TOSs came with the product, and ignore the fact that all the copies were made legally, and that their agreements are in part null and void due to Swedish consumer laws.
This shouldn't change simply because I go on vacation but it's a crazy world these days.
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