http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c708 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:23:01 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c708 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c278 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:22:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c278 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c64 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:22:24 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c64
It has gotten to the point where content owners are basically thinking I don't like what this guy wrote or did *whips out takedown hammer"]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c57 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:22:06 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c57
Now, don't argue that you're acting morally by throwing up a bunch of misleading special cases or pointing to corporate fat cats also stealing when you don't accept the simple fundamentals of copyright being common law.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c262 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:21:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c262 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c100 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:18:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c100 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c37 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:16:38 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c37
But why should it? They are the alleged infringers, not the service provider. They are not eligible for the DMCA safe harbors in the first place, so issuing a DMCA notice to them wouldn't be proper.

I'd take this as a cease-and-desist notice.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c702 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:14:33 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c702
Your position seems to be that because mistakes get made, we should give up on the ideals altogether... and yet you're the one accusing us of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I think it's time for you to sit back and think about the side you've taken on this issue.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c26 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:14:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c26
It might be "interesting" that this happened, but it would be more interesting to find out how. For example, did the person who used Reinhardt's clip also issue the takedown? Or were those different people? If so, are they in the same department? Have they ever even met? Are the working under the same policy? What is the KTVB policy on fair use...by themselves or others? Is this a case of an overzealous summer intern in the legal department of a parent corporation somewhere, or is there some actual hypocrisy at the policy level?

Techdirt writers are not interested in such details, which might be useful in understanding what the real problem is (so it might be fixed). These details might make it harder to demonize organizations who do things like issue takedowns, because they might reveal that this case of egregious institutional hypocrisy was actually more like a run-of-the-mill cock up.

But who has time these days to actually understand a situation before publishing about it? Somebody blogged that a guy associated with Prenda's third cousin drive alone in the carpool lane for a mile last week. Better rewrite that article and add a sentence or two of blistering commentary so we can get it up on the front page.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c87 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:14:22 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c87 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c691 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:14:04 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c691
Lets start with the obvious. This is a news agency. I would be surprised if their entire business model does not revolve around copyright. Even if the writer doesn't know the difference (which I would be skeptical of) their editor should definitely know. News organizations usually do a pretty good job of making sure at least someone covering a topic (the writer or editor) understands the subject. For who ever speculated that the editor was on vacation, I am sure that someone was still supposed to review the article.

Next reason why its a big deal. The difference between patents and copyright (as I am sure most readers that frequent this site can tell you) is a minimum of 50 years. And that is assuming that the copyright holder dies the moment the copyright on the work comes into existence (also that you only look at the current written rules with no adjustments). Remember patents are 20 years, copyright creator life time plus 70 years. So next time you think there is no difference between the two, you should think what it would mean to you if a judge sentenced you to jail for life without prole instead of the 20 years you were supposed to get. I bet that would mean something different to you.

Same here, there is a tremendous time difference between the two. If its too confusing for people to understand the basic differences then I think that is an indication that they obviously need work. Also given that fact that nearly everyone on this planet is impacted on a daily basis by both of these concepts we should all have some understanding of the differences.

Think my statement above is laughable, you can't use the internet, watch tv, or listen to the radio without encountering copyright. And its getting hard to eat without swallowing someones patent. Use a cell phone, you are dealing with both.

So yea, I will repeat it again. It is a big deal. Newspapers have been complaining for years about all of the business that the internet has cost them, well, if they can't even get the basics correct how can we trust that they are reporting on the complicated.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c11 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:13:38 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/00412423167/fair-use-me-not-thee.shtml#c11
'Amazingly, they didn't even credit it to him, but generally to "YouTube."' -- Since when does "fair use" require attribution, and even if did, how are you going to enforce attribution without the exact same copyright regimen?

A recent tagline covers this case:
If you're against copyright, quit putting your name on posts! You don't own the idea!]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130108/08214421605/contractors-lining-up-against-free-speech.shtml#c832 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:08:04 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130108/08214421605/contractors-lining-up-against-free-speech.shtml#c832 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c673 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:07:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c673 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c132 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:05:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c132 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c84 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:01:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c84 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c672 Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:13 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c672 And yes, a factual error in report is precisely "a systemic failure of the entire enterprise" because accurate reporting of the news is, explicitly and exactly, what the system of a news enterprise is set up to do.

No, it's a single mistake. A systemic failure happens when you can demonstrate that the whole system has failed, and you sure as hell can't do that with a single mistake in a single article. Please get over yourself.

And do you really believe that is the singular purpose of a news organization? I am sure that is high on their list of priorities, but even the French government has been having trouble figuring out what AFP is and isn't, and should and shouldn't be. They can quote idealistic mission statements about exactitude all they want but the fact is that organizations are motivated by ideals AND money AND politics AND a desire for self-preservation AND egos AND practical constraints.

I can't believe I'm reading a Techdirt article where the squeaky-clean Disney's Main Street USA Edward R. Murrow-and-Walter Cronkite idealization of journalism as being a superhuman endeavor is being defended as fact.

If that's the case, maybe we should make Google subsidize all the newspapers!]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c258 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:59:26 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c258 However I am pretty sure that the sum of all copyright is significantly more restrictive, making France or Germaby look like a piracy paradise. I mean, combine EU laws with almost complete control for the copyright holder and a demand for a warrent to be able to remove infringing content (officially...) with the US where there are lawgiven fair use and DMCA. The sum would be almost complete control for the copyright holder and DMCA-systems to remove content (which is close to how it really works!). Add to that the japanese anticircumvention laws on DRM, the three strike model of the kiwis, with Swedens nasty federal offence infringement, use of US intelligence data to discover infringers and the ITU DPI standard to control data submission. Then we are dealing with extremely nasty stuff.

Of course the copyright industry will find it insufficient, since nothing should be spared to defend their livelyhood. They will ask for protected top-level domains (.music for all music and removal on sight on any other domain, combined with national domain-names being 100% restricted to only local traffic), a DRM-standard in HTML5, a complete 3rd party liability for sites, ISPs and advertisement agencies and better content ID markers.

Imagine that world...]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130108/08214421605/contractors-lining-up-against-free-speech.shtml#c820 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:55:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130108/08214421605/contractors-lining-up-against-free-speech.shtml#c820 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c82 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:54:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c82