Latest Techdirt Comments http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... Epic Facepalm! http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/06034223155/quack-professor-releases-dumbest-violent-video-game-theory-ever.shtml#c611 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:17:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/06034223155/quack-professor-releases-dumbest-violent-video-game-theory-ever.shtml#c611 For those of you who aren't suffering face-palm-induced concussion syndrome"

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo213/Sick020/picard-facepalm.jpg
http://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/October-18-2011-20-12-49-DoubleFacePalm.jpg
http://picardfacepalm.com/]]> Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/01462423203/ex-prenda-lawyer-brett-gibbs-pleads-poverty-to-judge-wright.shtml#c367 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:17:34 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/01462423203/ex-prenda-lawyer-brett-gibbs-pleads-poverty-to-judge-wright.shtml#c367

ACS:Law / 21st September 2010 / Payback is a Bitch

Steele, Hansmeier,Duffy / ??????? / Payback is a Bitch



It's time for the victims of these copyright trolls to get together and push for payback.]]> Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/10401723156/if-you-think-you-should-actually-own-products-you-bought-now-would-be-good-time-to-call-congress.shtml#c1913 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:17:17 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/10401723156/if-you-think-you-should-actually-own-products-you-bought-now-would-be-good-time-to-call-congress.shtml#c1913 > contract is far more difficult than shutting
> down the parties that supply the tools that
> make it all too simple for their customers to
> breach.

Ah, so you apparently believe making things easy for big companies at the expense of citizens' property rights is the proper purpose of the criminal justice system.

Gotcha.]]> Re: Re: ???????? This comment has been flagged by the community. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1092 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:16:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1092 And they know it http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c51 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:16:21 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c51
And companies know it. That's why they tow VERY close to the legal line to screw customers left and right.]]> Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130424/00010122821/adam-savage-why-copyright-trademark-holders-need-to-get-over-their-obsession-with-control.shtml#c317 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:15:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130424/00010122821/adam-savage-why-copyright-trademark-holders-need-to-get-over-their-obsession-with-control.shtml#c317
That's gold. Absolute. Fucking. Gold.]]> Re: Re: Re: Just another politician. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/15495123189/ron-paul-doesnt-win-ronpaulcom-is-guilty-reverse-domain-hijacking.shtml#c435 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:14:37 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/15495123189/ron-paul-doesnt-win-ronpaulcom-is-guilty-reverse-domain-hijacking.shtml#c435
"I really don't see how A) will lead to B(ii)

The income tax wasn't created until 1913, and even then it only applied to "the rich". The federal government received revenue through other means prior to that.

reducing waste (including insane military spending and corporate boondoggles) would be much simpler

That's included in "original size and enumerated powers". (And I actually disagree with him on that point; one has to eradicate a cancer to save the host, not simply shrink it.)]]> Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/18225323199/president-obama-is-troubled-about-chilling-effects-his-own-administration-is-causing-to-journalism.shtml#c724 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:12:44 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/18225323199/president-obama-is-troubled-about-chilling-effects-his-own-administration-is-causing-to-journalism.shtml#c724 Yes, Barack Obama is the president. That does not make him omniscient or omnipotent. He is nominally the boss of about a zillion people. It is totally unfair to expect him to be aware of and responsible for the actions of every single one of his subordinates. Subordinates who are often gigantic agencies with their own strong personalities and agendas and organizational inertia.

That would be true if this were a one-off situation. It's not. It's happened over and over again and he's been directly asked about his prosecutions of whistleblowers for years.

He knows.]]> Re: Re: Too many thieves and pirates break ANY business model. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1075 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:10:38 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1075 This rebuttal brought to you by your friends at the RIAA. Because we know what you really want, and we're going to take it from you anyway, so you might as well submit without resistance.

"And yet they magically expect some third party, who has no idea if the content was put up in an authorized manner or not to make that determination for them?"

That is correct. Magic is the "in" thing at the RIAA these days. Our magic is decorated with the faces of dead presidents, which makes it more powerful than your magic. By definition. Get used to it.

"Really?"

Yes.

"Do they not realize (or not care) what a massive chilling effect that would have on innovation?"

We absolutely realize what a massive chilling effect that would have on innovation. Since innovation is the enemy of our Dead-Hand-of-the-Past(tm) business model, creating chilling effects that stifle innovation and creativity is the exact objective of our actions. Making a few adjustments to your general and (freedom of) speech-related liberties, and those of the world's population at large, is a desirable concomitant benefit. But that's another topic for a different context. Nothing to see here. Move along.

"If service providers are required to proactively guess at what is infringing and what's not -- and face liability for guessing wrong -- then the obvious is going to happen: a lot less innovation in any service that includes user generated content."

What's wrong with that? That's the desired outcome of our actions. Jamming a stick in the spokes of the wheels of progress for our own personal enrichment (as well as that of our cronies) is the reason we exist.

"The risk of liability would be way too high."

Exactly! It's magic!

"That may not matter to the RIAA, who has never been a fan of the internet, but it sure as hell matters to the public, who has received tremendous value from the internet."

The "public?" Get real! What relevance could the needs and desires of the "public" possibly have?! This is our playground you're talking about! We make the rules here! Because we have magic (decorated with the faces of dead presidents)!

"I'd also imagine it matters quite a bit to tons of musicians who are not a part of the RIAA machine, who now use the internet to have a better career than they ever had under the old system."

Who are those delusional fools? They don't deserve our Munificence-In-Exchange-For-Your-Soul(tm) anyway. If any musician draws breath, it's only at our sufferance! (Also, due to the complexities of calculating how much our members are owed by their unrecouped slaves, we prefer to measure quantities of musicians numerically, rather than by global net weight.)

The RIAA now returns you to your regularly-scheduled programming. Remember: We have the magic (decorated with the faces of dead presidents); you do not.]]> A nice sentiment http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c32 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:09:23 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c32
You must live in a different America than I do. These days, this is the *only* reason to sue.]]> French news agency? http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c371 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:08:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c371 Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c362 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:05:29 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c362
What about the difference between Righthaven and Prenda?

What about the difference between Righthaven and the RIAA?

The difference between Prenda and the MPAA?

It's all just nuances I tell you!

Oh, and who owns that video that four major Hollywood studios are taking down? The ownership is just a nuance I tell you.]]> Re: Steal... sharing... all the same at Techdirt. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c338 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:02:32 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/19133923200/copyright-patent-its-all-same-to-worlds-third-largest-news-agency.shtml#c338 Re: Re: Re: Just another politician. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/15495123189/ron-paul-doesnt-win-ronpaulcom-is-guilty-reverse-domain-hijacking.shtml#c419 Fri, 24 May 2013 12:00:16 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/15495123189/ron-paul-doesnt-win-ronpaulcom-is-guilty-reverse-domain-hijacking.shtml#c419
In order to fix the debt problem, the banks can't be allowed to do FRL anymore and the government has to set how much money gets made every year with strict guidelines.

Of course, there's more to it, but that's the basic gist of it.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c12 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:59:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/12122823187/guy-sues-twitter-taking-away-his-twitter-handle.shtml#c12 Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c515 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:57:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/21222323165/another-ca-cop-thinks-cell-phone-might-be-dangerous-weapon.shtml#c515 while fearing for her life she didn't]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c269 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:57:44 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c269 Re: Re: don't forget http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/01462423203/ex-prenda-lawyer-brett-gibbs-pleads-poverty-to-judge-wright.shtml#c357 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:56:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130524/01462423203/ex-prenda-lawyer-brett-gibbs-pleads-poverty-to-judge-wright.shtml#c357 "As for his health, Brett's condition is stable (i.e. good), and is looking forward to hanging with all of his friends down in Grenada."

FWIW, one can be in "stable (i.e. good)" condition with cancer, and still have a huge amount of medical expenses -- including ongoing drug regimen and regular expensive checkups.

So, I don't think that statement disproves anything in the filing.]]> Oh no, don't throw me in the brier patch! http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1063 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:56:20 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1063 Since no one but the copyright holder can know what is and is not authorized, but they want everyone to take down content that even might be infringing anyway, that would mean that everything would have to be taken down.

Yes, that that's exactly what they want.

They *want* links gone, so that they can control who gets to promote music.
They *want* reviews and previews gone, so they can control what you see before you buy.
They *want* Youtube gone, so that everybody has to go to Veho to view music videso.
They *want* Apple and Amazon gone, so that everybody has to go back to record stores.

if they had their presence(and profits) on the net essentially disappear overnight it wouldn't take too long before they'd start thinking that maybe a more moderate approach


No, their presence wouldn't disappear because they have distribution monopoly, but everybody else's presence would, which is exactly what they want.

Piracy is a straw-man. What they want is for *everybody else* to stop competing with them. Moving from "the internet is a communications medium" to "the internet is a broadcast-only medium" would fuck everybody except them.]]> Re: Too many thieves and pirates break ANY business model. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1047 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:52:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/17515223193/riaa-copyright-reform-we-need-is-to-make-everyone-else-copyright-cops.shtml#c1047 is moral. In fact, sharing content is morally superior to hoarding it to leverage it for profit. I also don't ascribe any ownership to any content I might produce because it's not really mine, it's built on the common wealth of culture that belongs to every thinking being in existence. It's not mine nor any other person's property. Everything I have, or will, personally publish is, as far as I'm concerned, automatically part of the public domain. I'm not so stupid to think that I can make money by going against human nature's compulsion to share knowledge and culture. I know that if what I do is worth paying for, I can get paid for doing it. It's called being paid for labor. Idiots like you want to get paid for a product that doesn't exist. And what of the content I produce? It's advertising for my value as a content creator, so that people may know what I'm able to provide them. Content I publish isn't what's valuable, I'm what's valuable. If there is no me, there is no content created by me.

So, I have no fears about people sharing content I create because I will never support my income on that platform.]]>