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WipOut Contest 117

Posted by Hemos from the the-joys-of-IP dept.
musicmaster writes "A couple of organisations that worry about too much copyright protection have organised an essay contest about intellectual property. This contest is meant as an alternative to a similar WIPO contest. The contest can be found at Wipout Among the participating organisations are Center for the public domain, the Register, the EFF and the GNU foundation."
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WipOut Contest More

WipOut Contest

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  • The slashdot lead-in seemed to be missing some of the details, like what the topic of the contest is. I pasted it below, on the off chance that the site gets slashdotted.

    In March 2001, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) launched an international student essay competition. Students were asked to submit essays with the title 'What does intellectual Property mean to you in your daily life?'. It is obvious that WIPO are expecting a number of self-congratulatory essays detailing the plentiful benefits of intellectual property (IP).

    • Actually, while the slashdot article was a little scant on details it stopped short of being misleading. The page from which that quote is pasted talks about the counter essay contest in response to the contest put on by the WIPO because the contest that the WIPO is putting on openly states that it will be suppressing and disregarding the entries that go against the grain of the common IP doctrine.
  • Essays are great, but are they enough to change something in the real life?

    • Re:Great but... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by geekfiend ( 448150 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @02:33AM (#2491730)
      The Declaration of Independence, does that ring a bell? If you consider the defination of the word, it was an essay. An essay that changed history. Some say for the worse, but it definatly had an impact!!!! And it did work. TJ did a good real life job of telling the world why the USoA decided to jump off the England Bandwagon

    • A well-written essay infects the mind of the reader with its meme. The reader tells two friends, who tell two friends, and so on and so on. A subtle essay can change the minds of a million people, which is far more dangerous than giving them guns. People in power fear negative opinions of themselves for a good reason. Even a minority of their constituents turned against them can nullify their regime. Why do you think most repressive governments begin by restricting speech?
    • I think the perpose of this is mainly to raise conscientiousness about the current state of IP law, not to "change" anything.
  • I'm definatly going to try my hand at this essay. If I don't win, it's not a big deal, as I'll be able to at the very least send it to the letter-to-the-editor of my local newspaper. Anything to get the word out! Send a copy of your letter to a senator! To the president! The possibilities are endless.
  • "Everytime I turn on the television and see that the government has it's thought-stealing satellites out beaming their lasers on me, broadcasting my ideas and secrets on NBC. Well I would reach for my tin foil helmet...

    That is until i found there are laws to protect me now. Thanks WIPO! I just wish there were laws to make the neighbors dog stop ordering me to kill."

  • Some History of the Copyright (Score:4, Insightful)

    by namelessone99 ( 519987 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @03:05AM (#2491785) Homepage
    I cam across this while looking at Eric Flint's Homepage (1632 author). He has put about half of his books online for the reading enjoyment of the masses. He is very adament about not taking copyrights too far. http://www.baen.com/library/palaver4.htm. Here is the the first paragraph of the page: " These are two speeches given by Thomas Macaulay in Parliament in 1841, when the issue of copyright was being hammered out. They are, no other word for it, brilliant ? and cover everything fundamental which is involved in the issue. (For those not familiar with him, Macaulay would eventually become one of the foremost British historians of the 19th century. His History of England remains in print to this day, as do many of his other writings.) "

    • Best Excerpt (Score:5, Insightful)

      by PingXao ( 153057 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @04:12AM (#2491880)
      Thomas Macaulay in Parliament in 1841:

      I will only say this, that if the measure before us should pass, and should produce one-tenth part of the evil which it is calculated to produce, and which I fully expect it to produce, there will soon be a remedy, though of a very objectionable kind. Just as the absurd acts which prohibited the sale of game were virtually repealed by the poacher, just as many absurd revenue acts have been virtually repealed by the smuggler, so will this law be virtually repealed by piratical booksellers. At present the holder of copyright has the public feeling on his side. Those who invade copyright are regarded as knaves who take the bread out of the mouths of deserving men. Everybody is well pleased to see them restrained by the law, and compelled to refund their ill-gotten gains. No tradesman of good repute will have anything to do with such disgraceful transactions. Pass this law: and that feeling is at an end. Men very different from the present race of piratical booksellers will soon infringe this intolerable monopoly. Great masses of capital will be constantly employed in the violation of the law. Every art will be employed to evade legal pursuit; and the whole nation will be in the plot.

      Macaulay is basically saying that most people want to do the right thing, but when onerous laws are passed those laws become de-facto repealed by just about everyone. It lessens the dignity and honor of good people when rules and regulations become so one-sided in favor of special interests that ordinary people start to think there's nothing morally wrong with acting outside those laws and thus become "criminals" overnight. IMO such laws also demean the law itself and the respect which should be accorded to it.

      At one time, people just wouldn't sit still for some things. With the general laziness and apathy of the general public (consumers) today, no wonder the special interests are trying so hard.

      • Re:Best Excerpt (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Speare ( 84249 )

        Those who invade copyright are regarded as knaves who take the bread out of the mouths of deserving men. [...] Men very different from the present race of piratical booksellers will soon infringe this intolerable monopoly. --Thomas Macaulay, 1841

        What strikes me here is the use of the word piratical. It is no new thing to consider the wholesale disregard for copyright as "piracy," a theft that has very real connotations on the wages of the copyright holder.

        I am no fan of DMCA or SSSCA [halley.cc], but I am also no fan of disregard for copyright. It has its place, and as Thomas Macaulay was saying, if treated properly, ensures income for the popular working artist. The key here is to respect the creator's intent. If you want Metallica songs, pay for the CDs. If you want Stephen King novels, pay for the pages. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Vote with your dollars.

    • Th link here [baen.com] is extraordinary.

      The level of insight offered in this speech is outstanding and thoroughly depressing when compared to the level of debate offered by parliament or congress. What would one of these men thought if transported into the 21st century and introduced to a debate in our current "democracies"? Imagine the disgust such a man would have felt at the degeneration and stupidity that has overtaken our political system.
      • The level of insight offered in this speech is outstanding

        I agree -- the speech is extraordinary -- one of the best pieces of political argument I have read for a long time (however, do I only think it so good because I agree with all his arguments?). But don't think that it was an unmitigated age of enlightenment: I promise you that there was a fair amount of posturing, rhetoric and lying even back then :)

      • The level of insight offered in this speech is outstanding and thoroughly depressing when compared to the level of debate offered by parliament or congress.

        When you collect the dozen or so best speeches of a century and ignore the rest, it's bound to look pretty good. I'm insufficiently familiar with McCauley's contemporaries in Parliament to comment on them, except to note that you can see the effects of their less inspired decisions abroad in the Crimean War and their colonies, and at home in anything by Carles Dickens.

        In an area I am more familiar with, 19th century America had a few great men in Congress, and more than a few blackguards. One Senator ran short on words, so he beat an elderly Senator unconscious on the Senate floor. A Senator was publicly caught buying votes in his home state; the Senate promptly formed a committee to investigate, not the (ex)Senator, but the man who exposed him. Overall, American politics was cleaner in the 20th century than the 19th. Sometimes their language was more high-faluting than any modern American would use, but that doesn't make it more expressive, or less likely to have cloaked evil intentions or plain pigheadedness.

        I don't know how the British Parliament compared with that. Certainly they weren't crude enough to commit physical assaults, nor do I think any MP would have been as badly educated as Tennessee congressman David Crockett, but probably many of them weren't as eloquent as Davy Crockett...
  • Now, IANAL but the following condition of entry seems strange

    9. The counter essay contest committee does not claim any intellectual property rights over any of the essays that are submitted to the contest. We do assume, unless you clearly state otherwise, the non-exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the essays in connection with the contest and post-contest publicity.

    Surely, they cannot assume the right to reproduce and distribute, that right must be granted by the author. And it is this assumption that copyright was meant to protect against.

    Of course, they could make it a condition of entry that they may reproduce the works, but that is different.
    • .. You can assume anything you want. I can assume that the moon is made of cheese if that fills my heart with happiness. Were you planning on writing an essay on the evils of IP law and then suing them for reproducing it?

      I think the word assume is used in this context to let you know exactly what the terms of submitting an essay are..
  • I'd submit an essay, but i am afraid someone would copy it.

  • I don't get it.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by PopeAlien ( 164869 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @03:20AM (#2491804) Homepage Journal
    .. So how do I ensure that I am getting proper royalties from this essay? Has wipout got some sort of advanced DRM that will insure that my ip remains the property of wipo and I recieve .002 cent's per dollar sale? What about making sure that I recieve multiple royalties based on delivery media? I'm gonna have to run this by the RIAA and make sure it's legit, then I'll roam the web and 'sample' material from various sites and use it for my 'unique' personal essay.
    • I recently had the chance to sit in on a copyright meeting with ASMP (professional photographers) and I think it is rather amazing that they seem to have a lot more rights to their work than programmers do. I guess it is because there are groups like the ASMP out there, that's why they have such strong laws protecting their work.

      Photographers basically have all rights to their work, unless they specifically give them away. If I go and take pictures you tell me to, where and when etc. directed by you with your camera and your film, they are still MY pictures. How come programmers don't have that protection as well? Maybe they do and it just isn't widely known.

      • We do - it's our work. Unless you specifically sign it away, it's still a product of your time and effort, regardless of what specifications you worked from.

        At least, that's what I've been going on for years. If it's any different, please correct me, and tell me who I have to write a letter to in order to change that.

        -Dan

        BTW-I'm Canadian, I don't know how it works for Americans.
        • When I was hired to my current job (and I'm pretty sure this applies to most everyone working as a programmer for someone), my contract basically says that whatever I produce on company time belongs to the company. Same with a patent that was recently filed for an invention created during my time with this company -- I am still one of the (co-) inventors, but the patent belongs to the company.

          On the other hand, if I had developed these projects on my own time, then I certainly would be the owner and sole and complete controller of what happens to them.

          I"m sure the same thing could happen to professional photographers as well -- whoever they work for could easily require in their contract that any photos taken on company time would belong to the company. Because of groups such as the ASMP, however, photographers have at least some other job options should they choose not to accept that contract. In the computer industry, such contracts are pretty standard, and (especially in today's job market) you wouldn't have much choice but to sign.

      • Re:I don't get it.. (Score:2, Insightful)

        by TheMidget ( 512188 )
        If I go and take pictures you tell me to, where and when etc. directed by you with your camera and your film,they are still MY pictures.

        This is ridiculous. You mean, you if you go on holidays, you want to have a photo of all of you, and you ask a random stranger to take a group photo of all of you standing in front of some monument ("just press the big button..."), somehow this random stranger now has all rights to the picture? This is ridiculous!

        Wedding photos, I can understand: the wedding photographer usually brings his own equipment, and adds creative work (by chosing when and how to shoot pictures), but generalizing this to any situation is somewhat absurd.

        • Wedding photos, I can understand: the wedding photographer usually brings his own equipment, and adds creative work (by chosing when and how to shoot pictures), but generalizing this to any situation is somewhat absurd.

          It's absurd in respect of wedding photos too.

          The photographer is hired to do a job (take pictures) and is paid for that job. When the job is done, the photos (rightly) should belong to the person who paid for the work to be done.

          If I hire you to build a fence for me, you can not tell me after you've built it and been paid, "Oh by the way, you can not hire anyone other than me can paint this fence, and you can't paint it yourself either."

          Effectively, that's what the photographers are doing. "I took these pictures, thank you for the money, if you want to actually use any of these pictures that I took and that you have paid for, you must give me more money."

          There is definitely something wrong with that picture!
    • Perhaps they 're assuming the right to reproduce it without paying royalties!

  • We need to FIGHT the WIPO! Support Wipout! (Score:3, Informative)

    by mr_don't ( 311416 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @03:29AM (#2491822)

    The essential goals of the WIPO [wipo.org] and the WTO's TRIPS [wto.org] agreement have essentially the same goals: to standardize Intellectual Property Law across national borders. James Love, of the Consumer Project on Technology [cptech.org], has Pharm-policy mailing list readers a link to this joint press release [wto.org] of the WTO and the WIPO. This press release describes a new joint initiative regarding cooperation between these two corporation-friendly organizations. The initiative calls for a new push to help developing countries establish more monopolistic intellectual property infrastructures. Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of the WIPO, states in the press release that intellectual property was a tool for technological advancement, economic growth and wealth creation for all nations, especially for least-developed countries. Does this joint initiative really take into account the economic needs of the people in less developed countries? Or does it simply add to the wealth of companies that monopolize information? What about economically comprimised people living in well-developed countries?

    Read the essay entitled The WTO and the WIPO Combine Forces to Privatize the World [freeipx.org].

  • anybody know what the prize is for the contest? i've skimmed the few pages on the site, and i see no mention of it. maybe everyone who enters the contest shares the prize..?

    (hey, as long as everyone is making lousy open source jokes.. )
  • Am I the only one who was hoping for some top quality F-3600 AG racing after seeing that title? Oh well, back to the serious news then.

  • My submission is already out of date. ;-) (Score:3, Informative)

    by Rogerborg ( 306625 ) on Monday October 29, 2001 @05:23AM (#2491937) Homepage

    Heh, I submitted this essay [wipout.net] in early September, on the theme of mnndatory licensing of encryption know-how. At the time, it was science fiction. In the light of the hacker==terrorist backlash, and the SSSCA, it's already looking out of date and not nearly extreme enough. Go figure.

  • 2001-09-05 21:57:19 Copyright Essay Competitions (articles,news) (rejected)

    dorks
  • ...at 800x600.
    What fucking year is it? Am i expected to have a spare machine just for looking at retro websites? If it doesnt look good at 1024x768 or higher, then just forget it. The very idea that i`ll change my display settings to look at a website!!

    • What fucking year is it?

      A.D. 2001. (No "war was beginning" jokes please.)

      Am i expected to have a spare machine just for looking at retro websites?

      No. Just un-maximize your browser. In fact, I generally browse in a 720x480 window when I'm not using Mozilla tabs.

  • I am planning to submit the anti-DMCA petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/nixdmca/petition.htm l [petitiononline.com]

    Please have a look and sign it!
  • http://www.wipout.net/home_eng.html#thepoint

    Not even these guys can escape the slashdot mistakes of typing DCMA. Argh!!!
  • grrr...when I read the article name I thought it said WipEout contest, and I got all excited. mmm...WipEout...
  • Strange that nobody here has mentioned it, but I'm one of the people who runs Netscape with Javascript turned off--yes, I put my browser where my mouth is with regard to monopoly, security, and invasive marketing--and the site explicitly disses us:
    Note to Netscape Users

    I am sorry, but the design of this site does not work in Netscape unless you have Javascript enabled. I appreciate that this is a problem (and I am working on a better solution than just this page) but that's what comes of using propietary software to create the site, I guess. If you have javascript turned off, you can still see the pages, but not quite in the way I intended them (as you will see).

    If I entered, I'd win a prize in the contest. I would do it by writing an informed pro-free market and pro-globalization piece that would shame anarchists, third world socialists, and WIPO alike.

    However, to me it showed the organizers are not committed to open standards and it left me completely loathe to join in.

  • First, a pat on the back to /. - this is really a good discussion. I hate to pollute it with such a simple thought ...

    Do you suppose I could visit the anti-IP site, read all the essays, then take the best and resubmit it as original work (hey, we don' need no stinkin' IP protection). If I picked right, and the original essay wins the prize (small as it may be), then I could claim my share ...

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