If the suit was successful Techdirt would have to pay damages and remove the content (not just restrict access to the content in the UK).
Damages are based on how much harm the defamation did to your reputation.
This is a natural limit to suiing in different countries, as there is no point in suing for defamation in the UK unless you have a reputation in the UK.
If the supplier of a service you use sends you a warning that a particular part of your behaviour is unacceptable (and under the TOS you agreed to, your access may be restricted if you continue with this behaviour).
You decide to continue that unacceptable behaviour.
Why is it the supplier's fault for following through on the ban?
Why don't you have to accept responsibility for your actions / choices?
Mike you make it sound like the CSIRO is suing anyone who built on top of their work (implying the 'on top' part is the most important).
Rather than suing a company that used the CSIRO's inovation without paying for a license.
There is a difference between taking existing technology and finding an new use AND adding someone else's new inovation/improvement to your existing product.
What exactly did these companies ADD to the CSIRO's work?
Turbine has reported a 40% growth in subscriptions since F2P.
Sounds great, but still unanswered is how much impact will the Turbine v Atari lawsuit have on the game?
[given that Turbine has said Atari must OK all new content and if Atari is correct in the audit, Atari could terminate the licensing contract.]
These lawsuits are about damage to your reputation.
Consider the case of Dow Jones v J Gutnik. Gutnik has a reputation in Australia but not much of one in the US.
Seems reasonable that he would sue in Australia, where his reputation was most damaged.
Seems unreasonable that a company can profit by destroying his reputation untruthfully, but have no liability simply because the company is registered in the US.
Looks like US telecoms have been taking lessons from Australia's Telstra.
Probably after talking to Sol Trujillo and his Amigos (now he has taken the Au$3 mill golden handshake to go away).
Make the user sign up for 12 to 24 months contracts and have to pay a huge fee to cancel.
On entry level plans put a 300Mb/month cap (up + down) and charge Au$150 / Gb extra.
Then exclude Telstra 'pay to use' content from the quota to encourage use of Telstra's expensive walled garden.
This catches out new to broadband users and leaves them with no way out.
Telstra also refused to fix faults on copper lines and installs 'pair gain' systems (on which only Telstra can supply access) to ensure it maintains a customer base.
I was involved in creating an SMS system to alert online share traders of activity on their account in real time, including that a conditional trade requirement had been met.
We finished this in 2004 and it has been in production ever since.
Telstra in Australia has 'broadband' plans starting at 400Mb and excess useage up to Au$500 / Gb for ADSL!
Telstra also charges for uploads.
Telstra offers a movie download service, crippled with DRM (so the movie can not be played after 48 hours). Telstra also offers sporting event through the major (only) pay TV company.
These do not count towards your limit.
This way Telstra has created the true walled internet garden, only dreamed of by other ISPs.
Add to this that Telstra owns the only copper network in Australia (and will refuse to connect/repair/install at a whim).
Like most countries this is about politicians LOOKING like they are doing something worthwhile but not upsetting anyone important.
I spend a few weeks in Thailand each year visiting my sister.
Most Thai's do not have (powerful) PCs and use internet gaming cafes. GTA disks could be bought in most shopping centers for about 100 THB (~US$3).
Don't blame the Thais. Thailand is the country where the military leaders went to the king to ask permission to stage a coup. With the king's OK the coup succeeded with no shots fired.
On the post: Increasing Concern Of UK's Draconian Libel Laws And How They're Abused
Re: Futility
Damages are based on how much harm the defamation did to your reputation.
This is a natural limit to suiing in different countries, as there is no point in suing for defamation in the UK unless you have a reputation in the UK.
On the post: Does It Make Sense To Ban Players From Xbox Live Just For Using A Glitch?
You decide to continue that unacceptable behaviour.
Why is it the supplier's fault for following through on the ban?
Why don't you have to accept responsibility for your actions / choices?
On the post: CSIRO Taxes Innovators To Fund Innovators?
Re: The CSIRO Patent Looks Even Worse The More Closely You Examine It.
I suggest you don't make sarcastic jokes about other cultures, unless you do your research first.
I suppose it shows the difference between people with only theoretical knowledge and those with real world experience.
BTW If you submitted your masters in '88, I an half a decade older than you.
On the post: CSIRO Taxes Innovators To Fund Innovators?
Re: Re:
Rather than suing a company that used the CSIRO's inovation without paying for a license.
There is a difference between taking existing technology and finding an new use AND adding someone else's new inovation/improvement to your existing product.
What exactly did these companies ADD to the CSIRO's work?
On the post: CSIRO Taxes Innovators To Fund Innovators?
Re: Patent Fraud By The State.
How can we trust you to get your facts right when you can't even get the origin of a simple accent right?
Cockney (rhyming slang) is English (UK) not Australian. ['Ocker']
I also fail to see how a 1979 text could possibly mention the speed issues caused by relected radio waves the CSIRO solved.
On the post: Dungeons And Dragons Online Highlights How Free Can Work As A Part Of A Business Model
Sounds great, but still unanswered is how much impact will the Turbine v Atari lawsuit have on the game?
[given that Turbine has said Atari must OK all new content and if Atari is correct in the audit, Atari could terminate the licensing contract.]
On the post: Lily Allen Distributing Tons Of Copyrighted Music; Blows Way Past Three Strikes
You again obsfucate the point.....
It is therefor a mute point as the the legality of the downloads Lily was offering.
Lily was, in her words, harming the music industry to promote her own sales (while telling others to stop).
On the post: A Teaching Moment For Lily Allen [Update: And *Poof* Goes Her Blog]
re
The mixtapes are still available (when I post this) but she has taken the time to remove the blog.
Lets hope she stops impacting on others ability to make a living and benefit from the fruits of thier labour soon.
On the post: A Teaching Moment For Lily Allen [Update: And *Poof* Goes Her Blog]
Google is your friend...
On the post: A Teaching Moment For Lily Allen [Update: And *Poof* Goes Her Blog]
Lily Quits Music
No more tours or albums.
But is continuing the blog to stop the 'biggest threat to British music's future'?
But the blog is already gone?
Colour me confused....
On the post: Lily Allen Distributing Tons Of Copyrighted Music; Blows Way Past Three Strikes
Re:
Lily is clearly distributing free music while tell us it is wrong and harmful to do so.
Before we play semantics;
I am not a rock star, politician or lawyer, who it appears, can get away with this behavior.
I design safety systems for heavy machinery, so dishonesty on my part can have spectacular consequences.
On the post: Congress Looks To Extend Safe Harbors To Service Providers Hit By Foreign Rulings
Consider the case of Dow Jones v J Gutnik. Gutnik has a reputation in Australia but not much of one in the US.
Seems reasonable that he would sue in Australia, where his reputation was most damaged.
Seems unreasonable that a company can profit by destroying his reputation untruthfully, but have no liability simply because the company is registered in the US.
On the post: RCN Increases Rates, Says You'll Have To Pay A Fee To Downgrade
Taking Lessons from Telstra
Probably after talking to Sol Trujillo and his Amigos (now he has taken the Au$3 mill golden handshake to go away).
Make the user sign up for 12 to 24 months contracts and have to pay a huge fee to cancel.
On entry level plans put a 300Mb/month cap (up + down) and charge Au$150 / Gb extra.
Then exclude Telstra 'pay to use' content from the quota to encourage use of Telstra's expensive walled garden.
This catches out new to broadband users and leaves them with no way out.
Telstra also refused to fix faults on copper lines and installs 'pair gain' systems (on which only Telstra can supply access) to ensure it maintains a customer base.
On the post: School Shooting In Germany Immediately Leads To Calls To Ban Violent Video Games
Ban GUNS not GAMES
Without the guns this would not have been any where near as horrific, no matter how violent (if at all) playing a game had made the shooter.
I suppose it is because the game critics are scared the gun nuts might get violent if you try to disarm them...
On the post: SMS Alerts Over Credit Card Transactions? Patented! Visa Sued
Prior Art, I have some....
We finished this in 2004 and it has been in production ever since.
On the post: Frontier DSL Stands By Its Caps... Even As It Decreases Broadband Speeds
Welcome to Australian Broadband!
How can you make a walled garden, ie encourage your customers to consume your content/ads in preference to the general content?
Easy. Charge them to download other content, except your own by creating 'free' to download zones.
On the post: German Court Allows Frank Zappa Festival To Continue, Despite Protests From Zappa's Wife
Spend a few hours on the tower of power...
- Frank Zappa
On the post: Mixed Messages From Sprint On EVDO Bandwidth
Aussie Telstra started this years ago...
Telstra also charges for uploads.
Telstra offers a movie download service, crippled with DRM (so the movie can not be played after 48 hours). Telstra also offers sporting event through the major (only) pay TV company.
These do not count towards your limit.
This way Telstra has created the true walled internet garden, only dreamed of by other ISPs.
Add to this that Telstra owns the only copper network in Australia (and will refuse to connect/repair/install at a whim).
See the problem?
On the post: Thailand Overreacts; Bans Grand Theft Auto Due To Stupid Kid
Thai politicians
I spend a few weeks in Thailand each year visiting my sister.
Most Thai's do not have (powerful) PCs and use internet gaming cafes. GTA disks could be bought in most shopping centers for about 100 THB (~US$3).
Don't blame the Thais. Thailand is the country where the military leaders went to the king to ask permission to stage a coup. With the king's OK the coup succeeded with no shots fired.
On the post: Bandwidth Caps Keep Getting Lower And Lower
Some 'broadband' plans are 256Kbit/sec with 300Mb, counting uploads and downloads.