http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c50 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:31:01 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c50 If that is true he ought to just pay this before people look deeper into this. ....]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c626 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:29:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c626 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c625 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:29:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c625 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/10303023175/magic-hat-brewery-sues-west-sixth-brewing-using-number-six-their-logo.shtml#c544 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:25:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/10303023175/magic-hat-brewery-sues-west-sixth-brewing-using-number-six-their-logo.shtml#c544 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c43 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:23:07 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c43
"I'm sorry, AF Holdings just filed for bankruptcy right after selling off our copyrights to our other....I mean another company."]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c612 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:22:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c612
I don't expect everyone to understand the distinctions of IP law (and if everyone did, there'd be no real reason to write about it), but I do expect people who write about such things professionally to get their facts right. Just as I would expect them to do if they were informing me about maritime law]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c589 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:20:58 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c589 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c582 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:19:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c582
This article impugns the entire media organization as if this is some grand fucking systematic failure of the entire enterprise.

It is far more likely that some junior reporter put this in and the editorial staff was short handed because one person was on vacation and one person got sick the day this article hit the desk. Is that newsworthy?

This is the Techdirt mentality: if anyone in a big huge organization makes a mistake or does something stupid, it is cast as a failure of the whole organization, all of its leadership, and culture as a whole.

The plural of anecdote is not data. You have absolutely zero idea about how this mistake was made, who reviewed the article, how it slipped through the cracks, nothing. You have speculation at best. Yet you feel free to write a whole article of your own about it. So you don't need facts because why... they are "journalists" and you are just a blogger?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c997 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:17:37 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c997 ]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c578 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:10:41 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c578
Yes, mistakes get made. And then they get pointed out. And the journalists who make the fewest mistakes rise to the top over time. There's no room for your laissez-faire attitude towards facts, and you'll find very little support for it among the very people you think you're defending.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c559 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:08:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c559
I don't blame the AFP, as much as I blame the entertainment industry. For years they've been conflating ideas and terminology as part of their "education" (and what they mean by "education" everyone else defines as disinformation), and getting the government to go along with them.

Given one of the key targets of these "education" programs has been news agencies, it really isn't all that hard to see how they can often get things wrong (after all, who would understand IP rules better than the people who rely on them for their livlihood, right?). Hell, even Adam Savage, whom Techdirt has written about before for his serious interest in IP matters, recently got some of the terminology wrong.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c642 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:06:28 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c642
Had they really thought a gun then they would soon draw their own handguns while ordering them down on the ground spread eagle style.

So all we have here is abuse of the law to censor. You would think cops would want to teach a bunch of kids better lessons in this high technology world.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c547 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:05:30 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c547
Your sense of the importance of this incident is way way out of proportion.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c240 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:01:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c240 The Internet could make all the worlds knowledge and culture available to whoever wants it at near zero cost. The fact this is being prevented by greedy middlemen is a tragedy. Not only does it leave people in ignorance, it also leaves them dependent on the west for solutions to their problems.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c119 Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c119 Not liking something that a company does isn't a reason to sue.

I guess it is when your spouse is an attorney.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130315/15285222343/bad-move-google-removes-adblock-plus-google-play-store.shtml#c3430 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:56:25 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130315/15285222343/bad-move-google-removes-adblock-plus-google-play-store.shtml#c3430 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c617 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:54:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c617 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c25 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:53:40 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/10542823205/another-court-tells-prenda-to-pay-up-attorneys-fees.shtml#c25
Who is Prenda?
Who owns Ingenuity123?
Who owns AFHoldings?
Who is the actual plaintiff?
Who owns the copyright?
Who represents who?
Who controls what?
Who gets paid how much?

Oh, it's not me, your honor! It's someone else. I just show up in court, or collect checks, but I don't make any decisions. I take orders from someone else who also is not a decision maker. Ultimately this all happens by itself. There is no top. There is nobody who makes decisions, controls or is responsible for all of this. While the Alan Cooper signature may be a forgery to give us the ability to later claim fraudulent copyright transfer, nobody actually signed it. And that Salt Marsh thing? He signs things, but the documents are quantum -- they do not exist when a court wants to see them.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c844 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:52:11 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/18265123163/reporters-find-exposed-personal-data-via-google-threatened-with-cfaa-charges.shtml#c844
For example - they proactively block sites their system detects that have malware or viruses. They don't have to. Its the responsibility of site owners to ensure their sites don't have malware or viruses baked in. Yet Google has chosen to help.

This is no different.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c219 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:51:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/00583723201/if-you-thought-copyright-was-mess-earth-what-does-it-look-like-space.shtml#c219
If you think about Mickey Mouse, are you infringing Disney's copyright? What if you willfully memorize a copyrighted poem? Think hard; the answer could be worth $150,000 in court.
According to the law, copyright protects]]>