So, late Friday, we reported on how the Republican Study Committee (the conservative caucus of House Republicans) had put out a surprisingly awesome report about copyright reform. You can read that post to see the details. The report had been fully vetted and reviewed by the RSC before it was released. However, as soon as it was published, the MPAA and RIAA apparently went ballistic and hit the phones hard, demanding that the RSC take down the report. They succeeded. Even though the report had been fully vetted and approved by the RSC, executive director Paul S. Teller has now retracted it, sending out the following email to a wide list of folks this afternoon:

From: Teller, Paul
Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 04:11 PM
Subject: RSC Copyright PB

We at the RSC take pride in providing informative analysis of major policy issues and pending legislation that accounts for the range of perspectives held by RSC Members and within the conservative community. Yesterday you received a Policy Brief on copyright law that was published without adequate review within the RSC and failed to meet that standard. Copyright reform would have far-reaching impacts, so it is incredibly important that it be approached with all facts and viewpoints in hand. As the RSC’s Executive Director, I apologize and take full responsibility for this oversight. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and a meaningful Thanksgiving holiday....

Paul S. Teller
Executive Director
U.S. House Republican Study Committee
Paul.Teller@mail.house.gov
http://republicanstudycommittee.com

The idea that this was published "without adequate review" is silly. Stuff doesn't just randomly appear on the RSC website. Anything being posted there has gone through the same full review process. What happened, instead, was that the entertainment industry's lobbyists went crazy, and some in the GOP folded.

Frankly, if they wanted to win back the youth vote, this was exactly how not to do it. If you just look through the comments on our post on the original, or through the Twitter response to this report, there were tons of people -- many of whom were lifelong Democrats -- claiming that they would switch parties if the GOP stuck with this. Instead, they folded like a cheap card table in less than 24 hours.

In the long run, that's going to hurt the GOP, because the people who were suddenly interested in supporting the GOP will assume that any such effort is subject to a similar bait-and-switch. Meanwhile, this leaves open an opportunity for the Democrats as well. The Republicans just came close to becoming the party that actually listened to what was important to young people today -- and they quickly changed their mind. The Democrats can sweep in and take the issue since apparently it's there for the taking. All they have to do is be willing to tell some Hollywood lobbyists to pipe down.

Hello Techdirt! It's an honor to be here. Here are my favorite posts from this week. Most of these fall under the general theme of "be careful what you wish for"...

If There Needs To Be An Investigation, It Should Be About Why The FBI Was Reading Certain Emails

While some have noted the irony of General Petreaus being taken down due to online surveillance methods that he should have been aware of, the case is bringing growing attention to an issue many of us have been discussing for a while: how easy it is for law enforcement to snoop through your email.

Man, what a few weeks for the privacy and surveillance debate. The head of the CIA getting taken out by friendly fire snooping is almost too good to be true. Head on over to vanishingrights.com and make some noise about it.

It's Scary How Rapidly Government Requests For Info And Censorship Are Increasing

Google's latest transparency report is out and the notable bit of info is that governments continue to increase how often they're seeking info about users. The increase there is a steady growth which is immensely worrisome. There's also an equally troubling increase in the attempts to censor content via Google

Nothing really to say here. I think this is an issue that's getting close to going mainstream. I can see 2013 being about privacy & surveillance to a large extent.

Draconian Downloading Law In Japan Goes Into Effect... Music Sales Drop

consumers are spending less on music than they were before the bill became law ... the government has made some people so fearful of being arrested that they won't do any downloading from legitimate sources any more...

Gotta love this.

Apple Learns That Suing A Key Supplier May Not Be So Smart; Samsung Jacks Up Prices On Apple

So even if Samsung has to pay Apple for patent infringement, perhaps it'll be financed by the higher prices on processors Samsung sells Apple.

As one commenter suggested: pass the popcorn, as it's clear that it's going to keep getting uglier between these two.

Copyright Maximalism: Turning Satirical Works Into Ridiculous Reality

Last week, we discussed Microsoft's patent filing on a content distribution system that counted heads and charged license fees accordingly. Utilizing the Kinect or some other unnamed technology, Microsoft had the beginnings of the copyright industries' wildest dreams: an opportunity to treat the public's living rooms like theaters and collect "admission" from every viewer.

Rick Falkvinge has amusingly pointed out that "prior art" exists for this "Content Distribution Regulator" -- in the form of a satirical piece published at BBspot (and covered here years ago, noting that it "hit too close to home") five years before Microsoft's filing.

I love the idea that we might start busting patents with science fiction on a more regular basis.

The Raw Power Of Louis CK: Even HBO Is Opening The Garden Gates

Yesterday, Louis CK announced the seemingly impossible: his next comedy special will air on HBO, and also be available as a DRM-free download like his revolutionary Beacon Theatre show. Yes, even the network so infamous for its tight grip on content that fans have literally begged it to take their money can't ignore the overwhelming success of CK's open, inexpensive, highly accessible approach to content distribution.

Louis CK is my hero.

House Republicans: Copyright Law Destroys Markets; It's Time For Real Reform

Late on Friday, the Republican Study Committee, which is the caucus for the House Republicans, released an amazing document debunking various myths about copyright law and suggesting key reforms.

If you're used to Congress not understanding copyright, prepare to be surprised. It's clear, thorough and detailed about just how problematic copyright has become and why it needs to change.

Wow -- this is exciting. Reminds me of the recent 2011 UK study on Intellectual Property and Growth that is working its way through Parliament now. It does seem that this could be a watershed report; we’ll see.

Nick Grossman is "Activist in Residence" at Union Square Ventures and a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Media Lab in the Center for Civic Media.