"We still can't quite understand Hollywood's crusade against RealNetworks over its RealDVD offering..."
I've said it hundreds of times, when the copyright industry is faced with competition, it sues. If it cannot sue, it has the laws change so it can sue, then it sues. If suing doesn't work, it uses the police power of the state to eliminate the competition.
Lucky for the movie industry, it only needed step one of its master plan.
Oh, and where is the competition? Because the movie industry would rather you buy a separate portable movie rather than use your DVD collection for free.
According to Slashdot, Steve Jobs was quoted as saying,
We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.
Apparently, employees, agents, shall I say, operatives of HTC broke into Apple's offices and stole ideas. Those dastardly bastards deserve to be sued!
Wow. This is just crazy! Think about this. A copyright is a government granted monopoly. These musicians are suing the government because they feel their government gravy train does not earn them enough money.
Here's an idea. Stop sucking off the government's teat and earn your living through making and selling a great product people are willing to buy. If the only way you can get customers to pay is by suing them, you're doing something drastically wrong.
Of course someone will say that the government needs to protect these musicians from theft. That's not how copyright works. Copyright is not a property right. Once again, copyright is a government granted monopoly. And the government in Spain has limited the monopoly to be very pro-citizen. Thus, there is simply nothing for the government to protect.
This is not new. A few weeks ago I read about a lawsuit over a restaurant theme. A restaurant in Florida is alleged to have used the same "heart attack" theme as a restaurant in Arizona.
I found it hilarious that the lawyers were arguing about nonsense, e.g., that the themes were actually quite different.
That's nonsense because it completely ignores the fact that restraint themes are not given government monopolies.
So it simply does not matter if the exact themes were used. It happens all the time. There are millions of restaurants with Italian, sports, entertainment, etc. themes, because there is no such protection. Why didn't the lawyers not argue that? Didn't they know?
"the biggest Toyota recalls this year were still mechanical in nature: the floor mats and gas pedals"
Mike, you seriously believe that the acceleration problem combined with an inability to brake or shift into neutral or park was related to floor mats and gas pedals?!
The school can spy on the students in their homes.
The kid was at home eating candy.
Someone at the school was spying on the kid and mistakenly believed the kid was taking drugs.
The school punished the kid for appearing to take drugs at school.
There are too many things wrong with this. First, schools should not be allowed to spy on students at home. Duh. Who the frick thought that was a good idea?!
What right does the school have to punish students for their acts at home?! Let's assume the kid was in fact doing drugs at home. Even if we accept that, the school would have no right or reason or business to punish the kid.
When faced with evidence that the kid was either taking drugs or eating candy while at home, why does the school assume he was taking drugs?
If the person spying on the kid honestly believed the kid was doing drugs, why didn't he immediately call 911 and have an ambulance sent to the kid's house so his stomach could be pumped?
I could go on and on... but you guys get the point. This is a simply bizarre story.
eBooks... "should be considerably cheaper than a real book"
He still doesn't get it as far as I'm concerned. He still thinks he can determine the price of an product a priori. The market will set the price on eBooks. Maybe the market will make eBooks cheaper, and it's still possible that the market will make eBooks more expensive. Or maybe something in between. But it will not be authors or publishers who make that final decision.
On the post: RealNetworks Agrees To Pay $4.5 Million In Legal Fees To Hollywood Over RealDVD; Gives Up
I've said it hundreds of times, when the copyright industry is faced with competition, it sues. If it cannot sue, it has the laws change so it can sue, then it sues. If suing doesn't work, it uses the police power of the state to eliminate the competition.
Lucky for the movie industry, it only needed step one of its master plan.
Oh, and where is the competition? Because the movie industry would rather you buy a separate portable movie rather than use your DVD collection for free.
On the post: Danish Politicians Questioning Why Denmark Is So Against ACTA Transparency
Demanding a more transparent process is meaningless doublespeak. It could mean as little as public updates about the secret process.
Wake me up when governments start demanding a completely transparent process.
On the post: Rep. Conyers Compares Lack Of A Performance Right Tax To Slavery
She actually renamed the Performance Rights Act the Civil Rights for Musicians Act.
I've rebutted her ridiculous points here.
On the post: Intellectual Ventures Lending Its Patents To Members To Sue Others
On the post: Apple Goes Offensive On Patents: Sues HTC
Re: Re:
Heck, that's probably what happened to Microsoft!
On the post: Apple Goes Offensive On Patents: Sues HTC
Apparently, employees, agents, shall I say, operatives of HTC broke into Apple's offices and stole ideas. Those dastardly bastards deserve to be sued!
On the post: Spanish Indie Labels To Sue The Gov't For Not Stopping File Sharing
Here's an idea. Stop sucking off the government's teat and earn your living through making and selling a great product people are willing to buy. If the only way you can get customers to pay is by suing them, you're doing something drastically wrong.
Of course someone will say that the government needs to protect these musicians from theft. That's not how copyright works. Copyright is not a property right. Once again, copyright is a government granted monopoly. And the government in Spain has limited the monopoly to be very pro-citizen. Thus, there is simply nothing for the government to protect.
On the post: Long Time Video Game Critic Claims Conclusive Evidence That Violent Video Games Cause Aggression; Conclusive Except That It Isn't...
Has Craig Anderson ever mailed gay porn to a judge? Got in childish fights with cartoonists? Been disbarred? Nope. Enough said.
On the post: Can Anyone Help HelpAReporterOut Understand That Competition Is Perfectly Legal
Re: Re:
On the post: Can Anyone Help HelpAReporterOut Understand That Competition Is Perfectly Legal
Re:
I don't know what's more idiotic, spell check systems or my inability to use spell check systems.
On the post: Can Anyone Help HelpAReporterOut Understand That Competition Is Perfectly Legal
I found it hilarious that the lawyers were arguing about nonsense, e.g., that the themes were actually quite different.
That's nonsense because it completely ignores the fact that restraint themes are not given government monopolies.
So it simply does not matter if the exact themes were used. It happens all the time. There are millions of restaurants with Italian, sports, entertainment, etc. themes, because there is no such protection. Why didn't the lawyers not argue that? Didn't they know?
On the post: MagicJack Tries To Silence Boing Boing; Loses And Has To Pay $50,000
This is basically an admission from the CEO that the purpose of the lawsuit was to silence Boing Boing.
On the post: Russian Collecting Society Sues Promoters For Not Paying Up To Let Beyonce Sing Beyonce Songs
The band that toured in Russia under the name Deep Purple had only one original member and he was not one of the band's song writers.
Beyonce does not write her own material.
So both "artists" are not performing their own songs. They're performing someone else's song. And that's the purpose of a collection society.
On the post: As Cars Get More Complicated, Maybe Open Source Is The Way
Mike, you seriously believe that the acceleration problem combined with an inability to brake or shift into neutral or park was related to floor mats and gas pedals?!
On the post: School Spying Scandal Gets Even More Bizarre: Student In Question Was Disciplined For Eating Candy
Re: Doubt removed!
On the post: School Spying Scandal Gets Even More Bizarre: Student In Question Was Disciplined For Eating Candy
Re:
Oops, that should read: "The school punished the kid at school for appearing to take drugs."
On the post: School Spying Scandal Gets Even More Bizarre: Student In Question Was Disciplined For Eating Candy
The school can spy on the students in their homes.
The kid was at home eating candy.
Someone at the school was spying on the kid and mistakenly believed the kid was taking drugs.
The school punished the kid for appearing to take drugs at school.
There are too many things wrong with this. First, schools should not be allowed to spy on students at home. Duh. Who the frick thought that was a good idea?!
What right does the school have to punish students for their acts at home?! Let's assume the kid was in fact doing drugs at home. Even if we accept that, the school would have no right or reason or business to punish the kid.
When faced with evidence that the kid was either taking drugs or eating candy while at home, why does the school assume he was taking drugs?
If the person spying on the kid honestly believed the kid was doing drugs, why didn't he immediately call 911 and have an ambulance sent to the kid's house so his stomach could be pumped?
I could go on and on... but you guys get the point. This is a simply bizarre story.
On the post: Ok Go Singer Explains How Lack Of Embedding Videos Hurts Everyone
Everyone but the corn farmers.
On the post: Author Who Claimed $9.99 Not A Real Price For Books Admits Comments Were A Mistake
Re:
Obligatory Bugs Bunny quote:
On the post: Author Who Claimed $9.99 Not A Real Price For Books Admits Comments Were A Mistake
He still doesn't get it as far as I'm concerned. He still thinks he can determine the price of an product a priori. The market will set the price on eBooks. Maybe the market will make eBooks cheaper, and it's still possible that the market will make eBooks more expensive. Or maybe something in between. But it will not be authors or publishers who make that final decision.
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