Topic: Another thread on copyright/patent/trademark law (Read 54929 times)

Thad · « **Reply #160 on:** February 12, 2009, 06:35:45 PM »

It is a well-documented fact that eBook providers hate it when blind people are able to access their content.

...I'm trying to wrap my head around what the beef is. Nobody's going to choose a text-to-speech program over an audiobook, given the choice. With the possible exception of A Brief History of Time, As Read By the Author.

Thad · « **Reply #161 on:** February 28, 2009, 10:04:08 PM »

Doctorow: EULA's should just say "Don't violate copyright law."

(HT to the GP.)

Mongrel · « **Reply #162 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:16:26 AM »

Swedesh I-copyright law supposedly causes 40% drop in volume of nation's net traffic.

That's... if that's accurate, that's, uh... that's a lot.

Brentai · « **Reply #163 on:** April 04, 2009, 08:41:41 AM »

Wait, you mean they actually give a shit when something gets made illegal over there? Crazy Swedes.

Transportation · « **Reply #164 on:** April 04, 2009, 09:10:18 AM »

This isn't that odd if this man is to be believed:
BBC

Quote

"Today, there is a very drastic reduction in internet traffic. But experience from other countries suggests that while file-sharing drops on the day a law is passed, it starts climbing again.

"One of the reasons is that it takes people a few weeks to figure out how to change their security settings so that they can share files anonymously," he added.

Though I'm not really sure what that last part actually means.

Brentai · « **Reply #165 on:** April 04, 2009, 09:32:43 AM »

It's going to take a couple weeks before the entirety of Sweden learns about Tor.

Dooly · « **Reply #166 on:** April 04, 2009, 11:18:17 AM »

Does this mean they're finally going to put the clamps on The Pirate Bay?

Zaratustra · « **Reply #167 on:** April 17, 2009, 05:06:09 AM »

Pirate Bay: Guilty.

Maybe they could sell their story to Hollywood to cover the costs. Oh, wait.

Mongrel · « **Reply #168 on:** April 17, 2009, 05:18:18 AM »

I wonder how long it will take before all the useful sites on the internet migrate to countries even farther out of the reach of the western world.

Oh you thought this would go away? That's a good one! Next you'll be telling me about this War on Drugs!

Brentai · « **Reply #169 on:** April 17, 2009, 07:54:38 AM »

As you may have noticed, I'm a huge advocate of piracy. That said I don't hold any presumptions that it is at all legal or moral.

These guys do.

Well, thanks for calling a lot of undue attention to yourselves so the rest of us can operate in peace, I guess.

Transportation · « **Reply #170 on:** April 17, 2009, 08:46:52 AM »

Quote from: Third Strongest Brentai on April 17, 2009, 07:54:38 AM

As you may have noticed, I'm a huge advocate of piracy. That said I don't hold any presumptions that it is at all legal or moral.

These guys do.

Well, thanks for calling a lot of undue attention to yourselves so the rest of us can operate in peace, I guess.

The legality aside, the torrent argument always struck me as a silly loophole, I'm not really sure how you could say intellectual property is "moral".

It's neutral, at best. The concept of copyright is a recent development in human history and all it does it sponsor a specific set of professions. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but new technologies have made the concept difficult to enforce without draconian law enforcement. There are simply too many offenders. Any real enforcement would involve imprisonment and/or thousands of dollars in fines for millions of people. All over something as trivial as watching movies for free. The entertainment industry doesn't benefit society enough to justify that.

Obligatory mention of how patents protect things far more useful to society and have much shorter terms and that RIAA is basically a monopoly.

Zaratustra · « **Reply #171 on:** April 17, 2009, 08:48:23 AM »

1) IP piracy is illegal;
2) IP piracy is unenforceable;
3) IP owners have a lot of money.
From 1, 2 and 3 follows
4) IP owners will spend millions and millions swinging the law like a gigantic crane that demolishes all around it until it finds a pirate or two.

Mongrel · « **Reply #172 on:** April 17, 2009, 08:54:09 AM »

Pretty much.

IP holders just can't stand the idea that someone is getting their shit for free. They live in a world where everyone who downloads stuff for free would buy all of it legally if they had not other option.

I guess my point of view is that unless the adversarial relationship that currently dominates business-customer interactions is reformed soon, it may prove more damaging to capitalism in the longer term than the current economic downturn. It's incredibly poisonous, and no way to run a business.

Saturn · « **Reply #173 on:** April 17, 2009, 09:56:57 AM »

If the European courts are anything like American courts, this will be stuck in appeals for the foreseeable future.

sei · « **Reply #174 on:** April 17, 2009, 01:35:48 PM »

The Pirate Bay Trial: The Official Verdict - Guilty

Mongrel · « **Reply #175 on:** April 17, 2009, 01:37:41 PM »

All I have to say is...

that's a hell of a neckbeard.

Thad · « **Reply #176 on:** April 17, 2009, 06:06:13 PM »

Quote from: Department of Transportation on April 17, 2009, 08:46:52 AM

Obligatory mention of how patents protect things far more useful to society and have much shorter terms

I will agree, with the caveat that I believe software should be subject only to copyright and not to patent.

Mongrel · « **Reply #177 on:** May 28, 2009, 08:11:33 PM »

Maybe this should be in News From The North, but I figured everyone would get a chuckle out of this one: Canadian Think Tank plagarizes US Lobby group's report on IP and copyright.

sei · « **Reply #178 on:** June 12, 2009, 04:03:05 PM »

[T]he Pirate Party has gathered enough votes to be guaranteed a seat in the European Parliament.

France considering legalization/deployment of government-installed trojans.

Royal☭ · « **Reply #179 on:** June 18, 2009, 08:47:30 PM »

Woman illegally downloads 24 songs, fined to tune of $1.9 million

News:

Author Topic: Another thread on copyright/patent/trademark law (Read 54929 times)