Everyday Copyright Violations 431
Schneier has pointed out a great law review article about the problems with copyright. The author takes a look at normal daily practices and how many commonplace actions actually result in what can be considered copyright violations. "By the end of the day, John has infringed the copyrights of twenty emails, three legal articles, an architectural rendering, a poem, five photographs, an animated character, a musical composition, a painting, and fifty notes and drawings. All told, he has committed at least eighty-three acts of infringement and faces liability in the amount of $12.45 million (to say nothing of potential criminal charges). There is nothing particularly extraordinary about John's activities. Yet if copyright holders were inclined to enforce their rights to the maximum extent allowed by law, he would be indisputably liable for a mind-boggling $4.544 billion in potential damages each year. And, surprisingly, he has not even committed a single act of infringement through P2P file sharing."
Imminent destruction! (Score:5, Funny)
that was a freebie (Score:5, Funny)
for Bruce Schneier!
Why a link to his blog, when all he says is boilerplate comment about the original article. Yeah, I know it's a PDF, but anyway. I believe does not need techniques like Roland's Piquepaile to get hits.
hmm maybe I should watch my back now, considering I have bad-mouthed Bruce Schneier... brb, unplugging my box from the netwoGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAfldsfjadlkfw35r$@#%$ETW#TE%$T
Re:that was a freebie (Score:3, Funny)
*runs*
Re:Puh-lease! (Score:2, Funny)
Thanks,
The MAFIAA
Encoding and Distributing (Score:4, Funny)
O.K. if I encode the opening chords of Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" into a barcode and have it tatooed on my schlong, then sleep around, and then the RIAA comes after me, do I have a leg to stand on? Do I have a shot? Will they cut me off? Am I in violation? Can I be infected by a rootkit? Does taking viagra count as intent to mass distribute?
Re:Imminent destruction! (Score:5, Funny)
Unfortunately for the author's hyperbole, tattoos of copyrighted art on one's person fall under fair use.
Well, thanks for clearing that up.
I had no idea that a functional majority of the Supreme Court of the United State (A) had issued a writ of certiorari [wikipedia.org] in an appellate case involving copyright and fair use; (B) has chosen to collectively blog on Slashdot under a single pseudonym "bconway"; and (C) has decided to publish a definitive opinion on the scope of fair use in personal body art under the aforementioned pseudonym in the aforementioned Slashdot. As opposed to, say, The United States Reports [wikipedia.org], which is the oh-so-last-century "official" recording mechanism for SCOTUS decisions.
I personally think you're right. But since Section 107 of US Code Title 17 doesn't call out "personal body embellishment" as one of the explicit examples of fair use, it's a judgment call. Not your judgment, not my judgment, but a court's judgment. And, if the appeal process runs far enough, the Supreme Court's judgment.
ObDisclaimer: IANAL, but neither are most of y'all.
Re:Imminent destruction! (Score:3, Funny)
Since you are such a damn good lawyer, I'm sure you'll have reasonable sources to back up the claim that you're making. As another poster has already asked, please provide us some sort of peer-reviewed documentation to support your claim. Claiming that something is fair-use just because you don't like the alternative does not make it so.
More statements along those lines:
Killing somebody in self-defense is completely justified.
Making 14,567 copies of a song is fair-use.
Ripping an encrypted broadcast and distributing it to my group of friends is fair-use.
Note, I'm not defending copyright law, as I personally think it's gotten to the point where it's ridiculous. Basically, the purpose of this post is to call you a fucking retard. Thanks.
Oh shit, my birthday's coming up (Score:5, Funny)
Name of the Client: me
Description of the Presentation: birthday party
Who will view the presentation? friends and family
How many people will be attending the presentation? 20
What is the number of locations where the presentation will take place? 1
How many copies will be made? 25
Will any copies be sold? No
Please give a detailed description, including timing(s), of how the song will be used in the presentation: The song will be sung once before I blow out the candles on my birthday cake. There will be a camcorder set up and the recording will be sent to everybody at the party and some people who could not attend.
Are you going to license an original master recording or are you going to re-record the song? Rerecording
Will you be altering the Song's lyrics in any way: Yes
If yes, please type new lyrics.
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday Dear RockMFR
Happy Birthday To You
And Many More
On Channel 4
And Scooby Doo
On Channel 2
And Frankenstein
On Channel 9
General Comments: no gifts, please
*submits*
Fee: $0.00
:)
Re:And Fonts... (Score:5, Funny)
However, you will then be scorned by the typographic community for doing so
I wonder exactly how it would change my life for the worse should this occur. Would I be relegated to dictating correspondence to a shady "letter merchant" in dark alleys? Would the psychological oppression from being a typographic outcast cause me to break under the steady gaze of traffic signs and theater marquees? Would all children's educational programming be mysteriously absent from all the PBS channels I receive? Would the BIC company blackball me from future writing implement purchases? Truly, these are the questions that keep one awake at night.
Re:Imminent destruction! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Encoding and Distributing (Score:4, Funny)
O.K. if I encode the opening chords of Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" into a barcode and have it tatooed on my schlong, then sleep around, and then the RIAA comes after me, do I have a leg to stand on?
Sounds like you have three.
Re:Law on Everybody (Score:3, Funny)
A Soviet, An American and an Austria are talking in a bar
Soviet: You see, where I come from, we have the best system of laws: if it's not allowed, it is forbidden
American: No, no, no, you have it backwards, in the USA we have the best system: If it's not forbidden, then it is allowed
Austrian: Bah, both of you are wrong, we know what we're doing when it comes to the law: If it's forbidden, then it is allowed!
No, sorry, your schlong is too small... an offence (Score:5, Funny)
I also doubt wether it will stand up in court.
Someone stop me!
Re:Applicable for all laws? (Score:3, Funny)
In Illinois it's 100 feet, and yes. And not signalling is a pet peeve of mine, as I try to conserve gas; when I see a signal I take my foot off the gas. The brakes convert my kinetic energy to heat and throw it away. And stopping on the crosswalk is another pet peeve, especially when I'm on foot.
The last time I was pulled over it was because I gave two young ladies a ride to a house in the ghetto after certain illegal services that should NOT be illegal in a free society were performed, and they pulled me over because it was a "known drug house".
"Have you ever been arrested for crack?"
"I ain't been arrested for NOTHIN'!"
"We can check."
"I figured you already did."
"Did you know those girls smoke crack?"
"They do?" (note that I did not make a false statement; yes I knew they were crackwhores but neither admitted nor denied it)
I wasn't actually pulled over; I was cut off by a big black SUV and several large men, armed sith firearms and tasers, with shirts that read POLICE, FBI, abnd DEA (one DEA fellow was wearing a ski mask in July) ordered us out of the car. After my 4th amendment rights against unwarranted search and seizure were violated (and I didn't appreciate that cop, who I assume was a homosucksyouall, grabbing by balls) we were let go after it was found that there was, in fact, no conrtaband.
When what happened to me hapens to enough people we will have another revolution. I fear that day more than I fear the God damned Gestapo that stopped us that day.
You don't have to do anything wrong to get pulled over, just be in the wrong part of town with the wrong color of skin!
-mcgrew
Re:Imminent destruction! (Score:3, Funny)
Never mind the Zune guy, how about the chap who spent a year getting Albus "Homo" Dumbledore tattooed on his back [news.com.au].
Re:duh (Score:5, Funny)
IMO, anyone who believes that P2P really costs artists money has not given much thought to the matter. Clearly, if I've never heard of you I'm not going to buy your CD or book.
Plagairism is another matter entirely; it should be severely punished.
-pegr
Re:And Fonts... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Applicable for all laws? (Score:3, Funny)
As always, your duty is not to get caught and remember the "Computer is Your Friend"
Obligatory (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Imminent destruction! (Score:3, Funny)
Umm (Score:3, Funny)
can I volunteer to do some research!
AnotherWikiTag ~~~~ (Score:3, Funny)