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IP Czar Won't Be In The Most Sensible Place Because Industry Doesn't Like It?
from the since-when-does-industry-dictate-stuff? dept
As you may remember, last year, thanks to lots of lobbying from the entertainment industry, Congress passed the totally unnecessary "ProIP" act, which made copyright even more draconian. Luckily, the most ridiculous parts of the bill -- like getting the Justice Department involved in civil litigation over copyright -- was dropped. But there was still plenty of bad stuff in there -- including the establishment of an "IP Czar" or "Copyright Czar" who would basically be the entertainment industry's personal representative in the White House, in charge of "coordinating" (i.e., "driving") strategy on making sure that the entertainment industry's obsolete business model is always protected directly from the White House.
Earlier this year, the Senators who pushed this through got antsy and pleaded with the White House to hurry up and appoint someone to the post. In response, the White House sent Joe Biden to an industry gathering, where he promised that the White House would pick "the right person" to represent the industry's interests. And yet... since then, there's been nothing.
It's been a poorly kept secret that Victoria Espinel is likely to be the IP Czar -- and, as former IP person at the USTR (who has always been strongly in support of stronger IP), it definitely seems like the industry will be happy with her. But why has it taken so long? Michael Scott points us to a report from last month that the "problem" is that the White House can't figure out where to place this role:
Of course, OSTP is the department that makes the most sense -- but as the writeup notes, the folks in OSTP are actually more technologically focused, and are believers in openness and collaboration -- and are the sorts of folks who are skeptical of the need for greater IP protection (and, yes, some of them read Techdirt). But... given the role, it does seem like the most reasonable spot. In fact, it seems rather problematic that the White House would agree not to put it there, just because the entertainment industry is afraid that OSTP isn't going to just bend over for the copyright industry's interests. If Hollywood is basically getting their own representative in the White House, at the very least it seems fair to temper that position by putting it in a department that will at least debate how strong copyright protection needs to be.
The fact that the White House hasn't simply placed the role in OSTP certainly feels like it agreeing not to do that because the industry lobbyists who pushed for the role in the first place won't like it. That doesn't seem like the way government should be run.
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Reader Comments (rss)
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Good reference but I think the pairing would more acurately be analogous to the relationship between Harry (OSTP) and the scar Voldemort left on his head (IP Czar in captivity).
While the big media co.s would be Voldemort himself, lurking, soul shattered in an Albanian wilderness, waiting for someone to come bail his ass out.
Use the scar against him Harry! Read his mind!!!
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It's not what you think
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Re: It's not what you think
Or did this Czar notion spring from the earth fully grown of its own accord?
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So
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Re: It's not what you think
And never attribute to the normal pace of government action what can be explained by the slow, methodical workings of the wealthy elite....
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Re: So
It's kind of stunning what a legitimate question that actually is....
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Re: So
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Re: So
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Re: Re: So
And then you get to pay even less in taxes.
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The REAL problem is regulatory capture.
Examples go on and on, because people keep forgetting that the most important question a bureaucrat ever asks is: "What will I do after I leave government service?" and a job in the industry they "regulate" is the obvious answer, since they know the territory. And nobody wants to knock over their own rice bowl.
A "Copyright Czar" will inevitably make darn sure that "established businesses" will be copyrighted/DRMed/"by any means necessary" kept in the game, and upstarts kept out. If you want to kill innovation in the "intellectual property" industries, you can't do it better than that.
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Light of Day
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Re: So
I never was very good at History.
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Re: Re: So
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Re: Re: So
What matters is campaign contributions, wining and dining, private jet flights to cool places, etc.
Taxes buy you nothing. Taxes are like paying for the meal, lobbying is like tipping. Only the big tippers are getting any good service.
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Re: Re: Re: So
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Consumers will get screwed again
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Re: Re: Re: So
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Re: Re: It's not what you think
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Did Somebody Say “iPizza”?
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RE: Consumers will get screwed again
You said yourself that getting re-elected is in their priority list. It's not so much that they have 0 motivation to represent people, there's at least some there. For example, if an industry tried to get a politician to pass a law making it mandatory to rape babies, that politician might not get re-elected. There are some limits, and those limits are defined but the common folk complacency.
Every fuck up like this is just one step closer to getting a few more people "out there" to say "what the fuck man?". Look on the bright side.
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