When the automobile was invented, it isn't as though the buggy whip makers simply died off in unemployed starvation.
Horses did.
Can machines make rugs? Yup, yet there's a huge market in hand-woven rugs out there.
And some people enjoy riding horses -- that doesn't mean demand for horses is anywhere close to what it was in 1910.
People aren't horses of course. As the economy changes, people can adapt to provide labor in a way horses can't. But people adapt slowly -- certainly not as quickly as automation replaces jobs. There's no Moore's Law for labor.
And service jobs aren't really an answer. Wages for service jobs are low because there's excess supply in the labor market there -- that excess supply is coming from all of the manufacturing workers that have, essentially, been replaced.
I don't think it's the end of the world, but it definitely deserves more of a response than simply dismissing the people raising those concerns as luddites.
Non-profits claiming 501c3 status can lose their tax exemption if they engage in certain political activities. It's a fine line -- for instance, while it's okay to advocate for some particular legislation, it's not okay to advocate for a particular candidate. It's not a new development but rather a longstanding interpretation of the law.
Given that, it's not surprising that the IRS would focus on Tea Party groups. Imagine if you saw a sudden surge in non-profit applications under a section of the tax code that prohibits lobbying for or against specific candidates and that these groups are associated with movements were explicitly organized to protest the election of a political candidate that now happens to be President. That would raise all sorts of red flags!
That's not to say what the IRS did was legal or proper. But I'd chalk this up to overzealous enforcement of the tax code rather than any specific malicious or ideological intent.
Can I complain about some of the recent inline advertising? A couple months ago, there were some Intuit ads that were designed to look like posts written by Techdirt staff. Although Techdirt had marked it as advertising, the markings weren't all that clear and the text within the ad itself was meant to come across as an "organic" post. That sucks.
Also, a request: I want the ability to post comments on inline ads -- e.g. if I see an Intuit ad, I want to be able to post an angry screed about Intuit next to it for the benefit of other Techdirt readers.
The problem isn't that the Turkish government doesn't get Twitter. The problem is that "insulting religious beliefs" and "revilement crime" are illegal to begin with.
"Over the past several years, the Tor system was abused in a number of crimes including the posting of online murder threats on Internet bulletin boards, theft of money from accounts via illegal accesses to Internet banking sites, postings on dating sites by those seeking relationships with children, and leakages of security information from the Metropolitan Police Department."
I wonder which of those triggered the request to block ...
Woodger's original image may borrow from a public domain work or Disney's own work, but she's added plenty of unique copyrightable elements of her own, all of which is copied on the bag image.
Think of this way: fair use allows you to quote a book in a book review, but it doesn't allow the book author to copy the entire review wholesale.
Easiest way to fix this: If the act of infringement consists solely of using a product as it was intended to be used (or as advertising depicts it being used), then the manufacturer or retailer of the product becomes a necessary party to the suit. This forces trolls to face companies that can actually spend money on lawyers.
It's not a complicated change to patent law and, for better or worse, wouldn't affect patent law except to discourage this type of trolling. I'm surprised Congress hasn't taken this up yet.
Unfortunately no. Patent law is not violated solely by market activities. For reference, here's 35 U.S.C. 271(a) of the U.S. patent laws:
Except as otherwise provided in this title, whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention, within the United States or imports into the United States any patented invention during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent.
MPHJ could try suing the scanner manufacturer on the grounds that the seller is "inducing" infringement, but there's nothing in patent law that keeps them from suing the end user as well.
Piracy isn't the only alternative to Wiley's books as well. I mean, a lot of these textbooks suck. Royally so, and the only reason anyone buys them is because their professor is a co-author and insists on it.
I imagine this is less true in markets where Wiley charges a low price, and that professors there might be open to, e.g., teaching a course using free alternative materials found online.
Most grammar and style guides have accepted the split infinitive. There's no compelling justification for the rule against it. In fact, it's liable to increase ambiguity as people try to rewrite what was otherwise fairly straightforward.
It'd be interesting if individuals could actually get a share of the profits. There are sorts of issues with securities laws, but there has been some push to change this -- e.g. with the JOBS act.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: You mean relying on FREE products is risky?
You can technically put banner ads into RSS, and some sites do. There's no rule against including images. And there's no rule against counting reader views when giving the number of impressions your content gets.
A number of popular ad-driven sites also don't make their full content available via RSS, and require the reader to click through to see more.
Off-topic, but can I complain about the Intuit advertising post? Although the content was clearly written by Intuit, the language is written in the third person, to give the impression that someone from Techdirt is actually writing the content. I doubt it'd fool anyone, but the ad comes off as douchey.
(1) This is exactly why characters alone should be outside the scope of copyright. Imagine if someone wrote a sequel to Harry Potter way off when books 1-6 are in the public domain but 7 is not. The author would be allowed to use Harry but couldn't make any reference to Harry's defeat of Voldemort at the end.
(2) To the extent that authors want to create an official canon and prevent knock off sequels that confuse readers, trademark law is sufficient to do this.
(3) Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this book non-fiction? There's no infringement because the Holmes character is not actually being used as a character.
(4) Even if this non-fiction book would otherwise infringe, how is this not fair use?
On the post: Rice University Professor: SkyNET's Gonna Take Ur Jerbs!
Horses
Horses did.
And some people enjoy riding horses -- that doesn't mean demand for horses is anywhere close to what it was in 1910.
People aren't horses of course. As the economy changes, people can adapt to provide labor in a way horses can't. But people adapt slowly -- certainly not as quickly as automation replaces jobs. There's no Moore's Law for labor.
And service jobs aren't really an answer. Wages for service jobs are low because there's excess supply in the labor market there -- that excess supply is coming from all of the manufacturing workers that have, essentially, been replaced.
I don't think it's the end of the world, but it definitely deserves more of a response than simply dismissing the people raising those concerns as luddites.
A short read on this topic that's neither dismissive nor neo-luddite: http://www.amazon.com/Race-Against-The-Machine-ebook/dp/B005WTR4ZI
On the post: More Details Show IRS Targeted Groups Critical Of How The Government Was Run
Tax Code
Given that, it's not surprising that the IRS would focus on Tea Party groups. Imagine if you saw a sudden surge in non-profit applications under a section of the tax code that prohibits lobbying for or against specific candidates and that these groups are associated with movements were explicitly organized to protest the election of a political candidate that now happens to be President. That would raise all sorts of red flags!
That's not to say what the IRS did was legal or proper. But I'd chalk this up to overzealous enforcement of the tax code rather than any specific malicious or ideological intent.
On the post: Native Advertising Is Advertising People Want
Recent Techdirt Ads
Also, a request: I want the ability to post comments on inline ads -- e.g. if I see an Intuit ad, I want to be able to post an angry screed about Intuit next to it for the benefit of other Techdirt readers.
On the post: Double Blow Against Freedom Of Speech For Twitter Users In Turkey
Not Twitter
On the post: Police In Japan Are Asking ISPs To Start Blocking Tor
Reasons
"Over the past several years, the Tor system was abused in a number of crimes including the posting of online murder threats on Internet bulletin boards, theft of money from accounts via illegal accesses to Internet banking sites, postings on dating sites by those seeking relationships with children, and leakages of security information from the Metropolitan Police Department."
I wonder which of those triggered the request to block ...
On the post: DailyDirt: Helping People In Boston
Re: Re: Re: Re: No. That isn't natural.
Those folks at the marathon were.
On the post: Oh Look, The Number Of People Employed In The Movie And Music Recording Business Just Hit An All Time High
Re: Re:
"Do you listen to music at work? Yes? Then you have a job in the music industry!"
On the post: Copyright Maximalist Disney Accused Of Copying Artist's Painting On Cosmetic Bag
Pretty clear infringement on the bag
Think of this way: fair use allows you to quote a book in a book review, but it doesn't allow the book author to copy the entire review wholesale.
On the post: Sen. Feinstein Says Congress 'Ready To Take Action' To Rein In Violent Video Games
Call her
Those calls actually do work if enough people call.
On the post: More Details Revealed On The Patent Lawyers Demanding $1000 For Every Worker At Companies Using Scanners
Suggested Fix
It's not a complicated change to patent law and, for better or worse, wouldn't affect patent law except to discourage this type of trolling. I'm surprised Congress hasn't taken this up yet.
On the post: More Details Revealed On The Patent Lawyers Demanding $1000 For Every Worker At Companies Using Scanners
Re: Re:
MPHJ could try suing the scanner manufacturer on the grounds that the seller is "inducing" infringement, but there's nothing in patent law that keeps them from suing the end user as well.
On the post: More Details Revealed On The Patent Lawyers Demanding $1000 For Every Worker At Companies Using Scanners
Re:
So yes, they really do intend to sue everyone.
On the post: Supreme Court Gets It Right In Kirtsaeng: You Can Resell Things You Bought Abroad Without Infringing
Re: Re: Re: I liked this part
I imagine this is less true in markets where Wiley charges a low price, and that professors there might be open to, e.g., teaching a course using free alternative materials found online.
On the post: Prenda Law Tries To Close The Barn Door After The Horse Has Lawyered Up
Re: Re: Re: Re: I can see it now...
On the post: Warner Bros. Lets Veronica Mars Crew Prove Demand For A Movie Via Kickstarter
Re:
On the post: Modder Makes SimCity Capable Of Offline Play Which Works Flawlessly
Re: Take away copyright!
Fool me once? Shame on you. Fool me twice? Shame on me. Fool me thrice? I'm a gullible schmuck TAKE MY MONEY.
On the post: The Killing Of Google Reader Highlights The Risk Of Relying On A Single Provider
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: You mean relying on FREE products is risky?
A number of popular ad-driven sites also don't make their full content available via RSS, and require the reader to click through to see more.
On the post: Crowdfunding Picks: Throw Trucks With Your Mind & Other Cool Control Interfaces
Re: Advertising
On the post: Crowdfunding Picks: Throw Trucks With Your Mind & Other Cool Control Interfaces
Advertising
On the post: Arthur Conan Doyle Estate Sued To Show That Sherlock Holmes Is Public Domain
(2) To the extent that authors want to create an official canon and prevent knock off sequels that confuse readers, trademark law is sufficient to do this.
(3) Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this book non-fiction? There's no infringement because the Holmes character is not actually being used as a character.
(4) Even if this non-fiction book would otherwise infringe, how is this not fair use?