Ima Fish 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (2337) comment rss

  • On the post: WIPO Boss Reappointed Until 2020, Despite Bogus Legal Threat Against Blogger

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 09 May, 2014 @ 01:12am

    Re:

    I found it. This is scary stuff. Giving common knowledge perpetual protection. It's beyond ludicrous.

    http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/briefs/tk_ip.html

  • On the post: WIPO Boss Reappointed Until 2020, Despite Bogus Legal Threat Against Blogger

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 09 May, 2014 @ 01:02am

    Ok, I give up. What is "traditional knowledge" a code word for? What are they trying to monopolize and monetize here?

  • On the post: The Bizarro, Fact-free World Of Copyright Policymaking

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 08 May, 2014 @ 08:59am

    Shakedowns, grifts, and rackets are generally not based upon evidence.

  • On the post: Medialink Threatens Customer With Lawsuit For Writing A Negative Amazon Review

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 07 May, 2014 @ 11:13am

    Re:

    Agreed. Years ago I was about to buy something from some eBay seller and decided to check out his ratings. He had a a near 100% favorable rating despite having a lot of sales. Something seemed off.

    In reading through the ratings he basically went on a tirade and forced people to change their ratings. In other words, his nearly 100% rating was false and was based entirely on his insanity.

    Believe me, that was a much bigger turn off than a few bad ratings would have been. Nothing is perfect. I can accept that. But I won't willingly accept insanity.

  • On the post: Washington State Files First Consumer Protection Lawsuit Against Kickstarter Project That Failed To Deliver

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 05 May, 2014 @ 03:46pm

    Let's be happy about one thing: The state is not going after Kickstarter! They're actually going after the company at fault. Considering how common it is to go after the larger and more collectable, but incorrect, target, I find this refreshing.

    Maybe the police will stop blaming Craigslist for prostitution and the MPAA will stop blaming Google for piracy.

  • On the post: Congress Has Voted Proactively To Remain Clueless About Technology

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 05 May, 2014 @ 09:32am

    It doesn't matter. Either the OTA would parrot what the lobbyists want Congress to hear or it would be objective and would be ignored by Congress in favor of what the lobbyists want.

  • On the post: Why Do So Many People Describe Aereo 'Complying' With Copyright Law As The Company 'Circumventing' Copyright Law?

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2014 @ 10:27am

    There's been a flip within the last 100 years. While copyright used to be considered an exception to the freemarket, nowadays copyright is the defacto natural order. If you're not paying what the copyright industry wants, you're pirating. Even if you are paying. Even if you're not legally obligated to pay. It's either the MPAA and the RIAA's way or you're a thief.

    I've said before, the copyright industry always gets their way. When they want to get paid, but aren't, they sue. If they lose, they have laws passed. If they can't get federal laws passed, they have state laws passed. If that doesn't work, they have treaties passed. They never give up and they never lose in the long term.

    Copyright is about to get a whole lot worse, and it's never gonna get better.

  • On the post: Describing Public Domain Works As 'Pirated' And 'Illegal' Is Bad For Everyone

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2014 @ 10:43am

    There's this bizarre mindset that copyright is the default and not an exception to the natural world. Which is utterly ridiculous. Copyright and patents are not a natural right. They exist solely at the discretion government. In other words, if there is no law prohibiting it, it's not infringement or piracy.

    That erroneous mindset can be seen in a recent Cracked article about how plays written in England in the 1800s received no copyright protection in the United States.

    The article specifically states that it was not illegal to perform those plays in the US, because they were not covered by any copyright law in the US. However, despite it being perfectly legal to perform those plays, the Cracked article goes on to claim as fact that it was piracy to perform those plays in the US. It's simply bizarre. There was no piracy going on!

  • On the post: The Cost Of Permission Culture: Or Why Netflix Streaming Library Sucks Compared To Its DVD Library

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 09 Apr, 2014 @ 10:48am

    Can you imagine if you need permission to perform covers of songs?! Of course, someone is making a ton of money (and paying out only a small portion) on licensing fees, so it's all good.

    A system should exist for movies and TV shows after 3 or 10 years. Anyone can stream them if they pay a reasonable license fee. Of course the reasonable part of the equation will be the most difficult.

  • On the post: German Court Says Creative Commons 'Non-Commercial' Licenses Must Be Purely For Personal Use

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2014 @ 12:58pm

    Can someone explain why Creative Commons doesn't simply define the phrase itself? It seems idiotic to create a license without defining important terms in the license.

  • On the post: KlearGear No-Shows Hearing, Reinstates $3,500 Non-Disparagement Clause

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2014 @ 11:00am

    Re: Re: Re: Anand Capur

    According to an Anonymous Coward, the address is basically a mailing address for multiple firms.

    So if it's a randomly picked address, the selection was not that random. But was intentionally picked to be even more obscure.

    Here's another question to no one in particular: Has anyone ever bought and received anything from KlearGear? I wonder if it's a pure scam or just poorly run.

  • On the post: KlearGear No-Shows Hearing, Reinstates $3,500 Non-Disparagement Clause

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2014 @ 10:47am

    Re: Re:

    Thanks, even though it destroyed my entire theory. That's a huge clue.

  • On the post: KlearGear No-Shows Hearing, Reinstates $3,500 Non-Disparagement Clause

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2014 @ 10:44am

    Re: Re: Anand Capur

    I'm certainly not going to say it is Anand. And you might be right that they just randomly picked an address. They also could have rented space from him. Who knows?

    However, to get a default, you must get service. So they must have served someone. Who did they serve?

  • On the post: KlearGear No-Shows Hearing, Reinstates $3,500 Non-Disparagement Clause

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2014 @ 10:24am

    "Until someone actually outs those responsible..."

    According to KlearGear's website the address is: 2885 Sanford Ave SW, Grandville, MI 49418

    There is nothing with any variation of the KlearGear name in Michigan's corporate database.

    Google Maps lists the address as belonging to: BoostPlatform, LLC. BoostPlatform, LLC's website (www.boostplatform.com) is down.

    According to Michigan's corporate database, BoostPlatform, LLC has ANAND CAPUR as a resident agent.

    Here is Anand Capur's linkedin account. Which acknowledges he's the founder of BoostPlatform, LLC.

    Is Anand Capur the owner of KlearGear? Maybe.

  • On the post: Obama Apparently Ready To Kill Bulk Phone Record Collection… As New House Bill Lowers Standards For Data Collection

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 25 Mar, 2014 @ 07:10am

    Let's assume Obama publicly kills the collection of bulk phone records. Would anyone actually believe that?

    Here's the rub: Let's assume they don't stop. And let's assume they get caught again. What consequences would anyone face (other than the whistleblower)? None. Nada. Zip. So there's no actual downside to continuing in secret.

    This is merely a ruse to make the collection secret again.

  • On the post: Rep. Nadler Claims 'You Bought It, You Own It' Is An 'Extreme Digital View'

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 20 Mar, 2014 @ 12:23pm

    I assume if confronted, the great representative would argue that he's only talking about copyright. And merely because you license a limited right to use a copy of a copyrighted work, does not necessarily mean you have an automatic right to transfer that license. That sounds so reasonable, right?

    The problem with that explanation is that nearly everything sold nowadays has IP issues. Your car is filled with copyrighted software and patented technology. Your house was designed from a copyrighted blue print. Heck, according to the Nadler, even the shirt on your back should be copyrighted!

    So under Nadler's view, we don't own hardly anything we buy. And that, at least to me, is an extremest position.

  • On the post: FBI Bust Another Handcrafted 'Terrorist' For The Crime Of Thinking About Supporting A Terrorist Organization

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2014 @ 11:31am

    Re:

    Some of the quotes from U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright are pretty good:
    "Society does not win when the Government stoops to the same level as the defendants it seeks to prosecute ? especially when the Government has acted solely to achieve a conviction for a made-up crime."

    "The time has come to remind the Executive Branch that the Constitution charges it with law enforcement ? not crime creation. A reverse-sting operation like this one transcends the bounds of due process and makes the Government the oppressor of its people."

    "Zero. That's the amount of drugs that the Government has taken off the streets as the result of this case and the hundreds of other fake stash-house cases around the country. That's the problem with creating crime: the Government is not making the country any safer or reducing the actual flow of drugs."

  • On the post: Based On NSA Defender's Arguments Against Public Debate, The 4th Amendment Should Be Classified

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2014 @ 10:13am

    Heck, why stop with just the 4th amendment? By publishing our criminal statutes we're telling terrorists and criminals exactly what facts and circumstances the police and prosecutors are investigating. By publishing court rules, we're telling terrorists and criminals the inner machinations of our judicial system.

    Clearly all laws should be hidden. And our judicial process should be kept entirely secret.

  • On the post: Despite Promises To Fight Mortgage Fraud, DOJ Basically Ignored It, Then Claimed Success With Faulty Stats

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2014 @ 07:40am

    "Putting bankers destroying the economy in jail? Not hot"

    Threatening the wealthy with crimes can have huge consequences. Compare spending your time tilting at windmills to arresting a highly connected billionaire. In which one do you have to stick your neck out? Which one is going to ruin your career if something goes wrong?

  • On the post: Google And Viacom Finally Settle The Big YouTube Lawsuit

    Ima Fish ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2014 @ 07:21am

    Viacom's argument in part was: Your honor, Google is guilty of copyright infringement for providing access to content we ourselves uploaded to YouTube for promotional purposes.

    It's no wonder they lost.

Next >>