They feel slighted when something comes out for public review and comment because the don't think they are part of the public. So, I guess they feel they are part of the government instead. Talk about entitlement!
Is technical writing like legal briefs really subject to plagiarism charges? There's a lot to be gained from standardization of language. I believe Judge Posner had something to say to that effect.
I think the reason satire is not allowed is because it would be interpreted by many people as an endorsement of the satirist's message by the original author.
Even though I'd rather not boycott this particular product, boycotts in general are 100% effective dollar-for-dollar in their impact even if they don't change their targets' behavior. They are much more effective than voting, where there are all sorts of ways in which votes become totally ineffective. So if you vote, then by all means vote with your dollars even if no one notices.
It's SZC they started out on the wrong track but they muzzled their lawyers and backed off quickly. $100 a year is strictly nominal and just about as free as possible (business to business) without losing the rights like happened to Calvin and Hobbes and Monopoly. Further criticism at this point amounts to not recognizing SZC's IP at all. This blog is about reforming IP and not destroying it, and it has never been as hard on trademarks as other IP, so SZC should get credit for their voluntary reform, even if it was prompted by bad publicity.
When someone disputes a charge on their credit card, the credit card companies generally reverse the charge, and absorb the loss as a business expense.
I'm pretty sure credit card companies, and certainly Paypal, do not absorb the charge back themselves. They take it back from the vendor. That's a good thing, because otherwise a single consumer would have very little leverage with the vendor. The higher transaction fees do not cover charge backs, they cover the increased level of customer service.
There needs to be a phrase, along the lines of The Streisand Effect, to describe IP bullies who see the error of their ways, even if through bad publicity, and come back from the dark side to be one of the good guys again. Some kind of positive connotation that rewards them with good will for changing their minds. Like a merit badge.
Dare I coin The Hobbit Effect? Nah, there must be something better. What should it be? Hey Mike, why not start a contest?
On the post: TSA Freaks Out, Gets Longtime Critic Bruce Schneier Kicked Off Of Oversight Hearing
Re: If only...
"Hi, I'm Dr. Bruce Schneier. I'm the person TSA had stricken from testifying. Here's what I would have said."
Pretty simple solution.
On the post: UK Publishers Association Outraged It Wasn't Consulted Ahead Of The Public Over Open Access To Publicly-Funded Research
On the post: How ASCAP Takes Money From Successful Indie Artists And Gives It To Giant Rock Stars
I see nothing here that says ASCAP gives indies' money to stars. They said they give the stars back their own money and keep the indies' money.
Is their justification the fact that it's too hard to do all the paperwork? It obviously isn't too much paperwork to take the money!
Also, let's start calling them ASCAAP and GEMAA.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
On the post: FBI Turns Back On 2,750 Of The 3,000 GPS Devices It Turned Off For Lack Of A Warrant
On the post: Twilight Studio Issues Another Bogus Takedown, But Is Zazzle Partially To Blame?
WTF #2: Zazzle doesn't know Google ignores metatags.
On the post: Twilight Studio Issues Another Bogus Takedown, But Is Zazzle Partially To Blame?
On the post: Lindsay Lohan's Lawyer's Loopy Legal Argument Laced With Lifted Language?
On the post: C&D Squashes Seuss-Style Satire: Where Did The Idea/Expression Dichotomy Go?
Re:
On the post: Hobbit Actors Stephen Fry & Ian McKellen Pay License For Hobbit Pub
Re: Backfired?
On the post: Hobbit Actors Stephen Fry & Ian McKellen Pay License For Hobbit Pub
Re: Re:
On the post: Hobbit Actors Stephen Fry & Ian McKellen Pay License For Hobbit Pub
On the post: DailyDirt: Beating The Odds
On the post: Huge Ruling: Court Rejects Medical Diagnostic Patent
On the post: Just Because Companies Can Design Around Patents Doesn't Mean There's No Impact For Consumers
On the post: Authors Can Sleep Easy Now; Paypal Reverses Its Censorship Decision
Re: I'm not sure Paypal did anything wrong.
I'm pretty sure credit card companies, and certainly Paypal, do not absorb the charge back themselves. They take it back from the vendor. That's a good thing, because otherwise a single consumer would have very little leverage with the vendor. The higher transaction fees do not cover charge backs, they cover the increased level of customer service.
On the post: UK Pub 'The Hobbit' Offered License In Attempt To Stem PR Disaster
Dare I coin The Hobbit Effect? Nah, there must be something better. What should it be? Hey Mike, why not start a contest?
On the post: Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops Publishing Dead Tree Version; If You're Unfamiliar, You Can Read About It On Wikipedia
Re:
On the post: Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops Publishing Dead Tree Version; If You're Unfamiliar, You Can Read About It On Wikipedia
Re: Re: Re: Re: Telling....
On the post: AT&T Threatens To Cut Off Phone Service For Guy Who Beat Them In Small Claims Court Over Throttling
Re: Re: Multiplexing?
1. Sharing bandwidth with other customers over common lines with occasional slowdowns, and
2. Losing connectivity for five minutes, then being connected for five minutes, ad infinitum, even if it is full speed while connected.
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