DannyB's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
from the favorites dept
This week's "favorites" post comes from DannyB.
Having never done the favorite posts before, I wasn't sure if I should. Since I didn't have to
pee, I hope I made the right decision.
The best laugh all week was
Man Tries To Patent Godly Powers; Justifies It By Pointing To Software & Business Method Patents. That makes sense in an insane sort of way. Multiple forms of insanity combined. He forgot to mention aliens. 'Nuff said.
Speaking of patents: Congress Happy To Knock Out Patents That Impact Financial Institutions... But Everyone Else?. Don't worry. This is good news in disguise.
Precedent: You protected Johnny from bad patents, why not me too? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Microsoft To US Gov't: Hey, Only We Should Be Able To Use Patents To Shakedown Other Companies!. Nice hypocrisy there Microsoft. Live by the patent, die by the patent. (Apple, are you listening?)
56 pages of iTunes terms? Really? Can't we get a short version in one sentence? Try this: You agree to return to the Apple store each month and do whatever they tell you. I AGREE
Which brings me to
Music Service Simfy Files Complaint Over Apple Blocking Its iPad App. When you build a business on something controlled by a party with conflicting interests, be prepared to have the rug yanked out from under you. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. (Disclaimer: Android fanboy talking.) Android lacks a single point of control. There are currently multiple Android app stores (e.g., Google, Amazon), with more on the way. (Will I get in trouble for saying "app store"?) If you don't like Google's store or its policies, approval process, etc, there is Amazon's store. More choice
(not less)
is a good thing.
I had to chuckle at
Former Obama Advisor Says Wikileaks Is Wonderful For The US Government. It's a shame the US government doesn't
understand the importance of anonymous public whistle blowing. Of course, maybe they do, but I'd rather not go there.
The next article was informative.
How Out Of Control Copyright Law Is Keeping Millions Of Books & Images Away From Scholars. I admit I had been one of those confused about the "science" and "arts" part of "useful arts and science". I didn't know copyrights were for science and patents were for useful arts. That profoundly affects what I think copyrights were intended to protect.
Next was Once Again, The Freedom Of Information Act Is Proving To Be Just That: An Act. If the Osama Bin Laden pictures are released, we learn nothing new. (Unless it would reveal something we didn't know! My mind races with possibilities if I go there.)
Otherwise, propaganda usage of the pictures is irrelevant.
Honest people could comply with FOIA.
If the government would act honestly most of the time, they would have credibility when they need to protect a secret.
Which leads to several ICE domain seizure favorites.
- The List Of Sites Challenging Domain Seizures
- Rojadirecta Sues US Government, Homeland Security & ICE Over Domain Seizure
- ICE Stalling On More FOIA Requests Concerning Domain Name Seizures
- Government working for private industry.
- Lack of due process, legal service, representation and response.
- Making a(nother) mockery of FOIA.
- Its ineffectiveness.
- Hurting unrelated subdomains; demonstrating a lack of understanding of how things actually work.
- Impacting sites outside the US.
Talk about the right hand of government not knowing what the left hand is doing. C'mon guys. Which do you want? The free flow of information or censorship and government control. It's a delusion to think you can have both.
I was happy to see continuing pushback on mass copyright infringement lawsuits and copyright trolling.
- From Two Nude Nuns Mass BitTorrent Lawsuits Down To None
- Judge Rules That Righthaven Lawsuit Was A Sham; Threatens Sanctions
- Denver Post Sued Over Righthaven Connection
- Those Who Settled With Righthaven Consider Taking Action; Righthaven Threatens Them With More Suits
Oh goodie. FBI Agents Getting More Power To Spy On People With Less Oversight. Why is this not surprising. CDA. DMCA. PATRIOT Act. ACTA. PROTECT-IP. Naked scanners. Patdowns. Controlling "rogue" websites. Government as a private police force, no due process. GPS tracking without due process. Making a joke of FOIA. Where does it end?
Maybe it just gets worse. US Trying To Extradite UK TVShack Admin Over Questionable Copyright Charges?. It turns out the US is not just trying, they're actually going to do it. Wow. The discussion on this topic says it all.
Summit Entertainment May Learn That You Can't File A Copyright Takedown Over A Trademark Issue. What to say? The title itself is the punch line. I hope that abuses of the DMCA starts resulting in some serious costs to the abuser.
Senators Unconcerned About Massive Unintended Consequences Of Criminalizing People For Embedding YouTube Videos. I should be shocked. But I'm too numb from other government actions. Clearly the senators don't give the south end of a northbound rat.
What did we learn? People in government should be required to have a full bladder. Which brings me back to where I started. (Oh, gotta run now. . .)
Re: Re: It's like Tethering all over again
You miss the point complete.
Going over your data plan limit is entirely unrelated to whether you can use your data for your phone or your laptop. You can do one without the other.
I used it a lot on my laptop and never went over my cap. Never came close.
Aren't the carriers supposed to warn you when you are getting close to your limit anyway? Didn't the FCC require this?
Re: Re: It's like Tethering all over again
That's what I did.
I used my own means to tether like there was no tomorrow and never heard diddly squat from AT&T. I didn't exceed my plan limit on data. In fact, I never usually even come close -- including when tethering.
Unfortunately, most people cannot just "use their own means" to implement tethering to a custom app.
It's like Tethering all over again
Treating Video as some sort of special use of data is as stupid as treating Tethering (to your laptop) as some kind of special use of data.
Data is like water. It's all potable. It all comes into the house over the same pipes.
I'm going to repost something I wrote earlier. Just replace all cases of Tethering with Video/Facetime/Hangouts/etc.
Quick Tethering Quiz.
Which costs more and which puts more stress on their network:
1. A 1 kilobyte packet transmitted between my phone and the tower.
2. A 1 kilobyte packet transmitted between my phone and the tower.
(Please note in the case of (1) the packet was from my mobile browser, and in the case of (2) the packet was from my laptop browser.)
If I have a 2 GB monthly data limit, which of the following activities will use more data on the network:
1. Downloading 2 GB of data to my mobile phone?
2. Downloading 2 GB of data to my laptop?
I have an interesting situation. My water utility sells me metered water for washing dishes, watering the lawn, showering, and other limited purposes.
The utility offers a Tasting plan for an additional monthly charge. Under this plan, I am allowed to use the water also for cooking and drinking. (Even though my water use is metered, and each gallon of water for cooking and drinking is delivered by the same pipes!)
Dear customer: our records indicate that you have been using water for cooking and/or drinking. Please upgrade your water rate plan to our convenient Tasting plan that allows for this usage. If you continue to use water for cooking and drinking, you will be signed up for the Tasting plan automatically.
I think the Tasting plan is just a fee that they made up. It isn't a service they provide. They just want more money from me. I've got a workaround of using a container to obtain water from another room for the purposes of cooking and drinking.
Some people shout: Theft of service!
But what service? They're already delivering water to me, and metering it, and I'm paying for it, and its delivered by the same pipes!
Some people shout: but you signed an agreement and using the water for cooking and drinking is a breach of that agreement!
Ask a lawyer about the term "unconscionable contract".
Nobody in their right mind would agree to this if they had any actual choice in the matter. Just because they have the power and can force you into paying this ridiculous fee or doing without doesn't make it right.
I say that this Tasting "service" is no service at all, it's just a fee for delivering nothing at all extra to me. It's a case of the utility wanting something for nothing. Yet people seem to think it is somehow wrong to use the water I'm paying for for drinking or cooking unless I sign up for the more expensive Tasting plan.
In order to add legitimacy to their Tasting plan, the water company says that the Tasting plan is actually delivering something: it includes an additional 2 Gigabytes of water per month, giving you 4 total Gigabytes of water.
But what if I only need 2 Gigabytes of water and therefore my existing monthly 2 Gigabyte plan is plenty? The water company already charges $10 per extra Gigabyte of water I use over the limit. So if I used excess water, it's not like they wouldn't get paid.
Furthermore, once I sign up for the Tasting plan, they don't make any distinction between water used for drinking/cooking and water used for other purposes. I could use 3/4 of it for tasting, and 1/4 for bathing/dishwashing. Or any other split. Or all of it purely for tasting. So then if I paid for Tasting and used only 2 Gigabytes of water, which I already had paid for, then why did I need the Tasting plan?
I seem to be very confused about stealing water for tasting. Someone please set me straight.
Re: How the mighty have fallen.
Some people say it began when we took prayer out of schools.
Others say the downfall of America can be traced back to when the Mars company introduced the blue M&M.
Re:
> I don't think anyone commenting has actually been hit with a
> water balloon. Hint: they hurt. A LOT. Yes that's assault.
So is an arrest and criminal record warranted? Is violence by police warranted?
How about just a suspension?
Clue: getting snapped by a towel in the shower hurts too, but I don't know anyone who got arrested and injured in a police takedown over it.
Re: Re: I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Detainee: I downloaded a song that I already had bought on CD.
Re:
Don't think it couldn't happen. When the original Gestapo happened, I'm sure it took people by surprise.
History repeats. Human nature doesn't change.
Re:
This planet could be some other planet's hell.
Re: "no punishment too large" IS A FINE WITH OOTB
So are you saying that for any crime, no matter how small, there is no punishment too big?
Do you support capital punishment for pirates? What about for people guilty of playing their radio loudly enough to be considered a "public performance" without having a license for public performance?
Should enhanced interrogation techniques be used to find out of they know of any other students who may be planning to throw water balloons or play the radio too loudly?
Re:
> If Scroll Kit had just used different content and said "Snow Fall-like",
> I can't imagine the Times would give a shit.
Oh yes they would. This is about copyright. The copyright maximallists are crazy. I'm sure a wave of them will be along shortly to demonstrate and confirm this.
Copyright to promote the useful arts and science
In practice copyright is used:
* to censor undesirable speech
* to prevent you from owning what you bought
* to prevent competition (even when copyright itself is not at issue)
* to make outrageous but bogus claims (I have the copyright on this feature, this flavor, this color, this style, or over plain hard facts).
* to limit growth of the public domain through abuse of copyright length
* to destroy the public domain by re-copyrighting it
* as a tool to accuse and send extortion shakedown settlement letters, aka "copyright trolling", (see practitioners: Prenda, Righthaven, MPAA, RIAA)
* to prevent fair use of any kind, no matter how legitimate that use may be
* to enable "collection societies" to collection on works they do not own
* to enable "collection societies" to shakedown people's private use of the radio (or other music) in a public location
* . . . and other things I'm sure I've missed
Copyright bad? Does it need reform? Don't even think such a thing!
Re: Re: Re:
Prenda may not be anti-piracy. In fact, they may be pirates. Or not. Who can know.
What they are is fraudsters gaming the court system to use copyright law in order to shakedown people over a copyright accusation and blackmail of being associated with gay pr0n.
Re: Re: Re:
On what basis do you say TechDirt is pirate central?
Just because someone might:
* be against copyright
* point out that piracy exists
* point out that individual piracy doesn't harm copyright owners
* point out that the world has changed and Hollywood needs to change with it
doesn't make me them piracy.
If something bad happens to someone innocent or at least deprived of due process to potentially show innocence, then it is a big deal, and rightly so. Furthermore proof of guilt should be required, not proof of innocence. When these things continually occur, it is evidence there is something very rotten about copyright.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
If there is no force of law, then ISP's should just tell Hollywood where they can take their Sick Strikes and be done with it.
If there is force of law behind Sick Strikes, then there is no due process.
Which way is it? And therefore, which consequent result?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
> if that hearing was criminal in nature, which it seems to me it
> was despite the underlying infringement action being a civil action
The underlying purported infringement action may be civil. That is different than the fraud which is what the hearing was about. Fraud upon the court is criminal, even if you commit the fraud in the course of a purported civil action.
Now, I say "purported" because there never really was any infringement action. All they wanted was to game the court system to send out extortion shakedown settlement letters. There never was any intent to litigate -- as evidenced by the plaintiff's own actions whenever they find a defendant willing to fight.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Are you actually suggesting the judge should hold him/her self in contempt of him/her self?
As for your question: has anyone the judge accused of fraud been convicted of fraud: there is this thing called due process that Hollywood is unfamiliar with. Be patient. The convictions will come. (Unlike the Hollywood case of accusation == guilt.)
As for libel (yes, that's the correct spelling) or slander, statements in court are privileged. The context matters. If someone accuses you of molesting squirrels in public, that may be actionable. If they accuse you in court, it is not. Quoting the court accusation is not libel, because there is a record to follow in the court to eventually find out if the accusation was proven or not.
Re:
John Steele just hates it and thinks it is unfair that judges are so biased against perpetrating multiple simultaneous frauds upon the court while using the court as a tool in an extortion shakedown.
This bias on the part of the judges is brazenly obvious.
This bias is unfair to the John Steel who has stated he has a goal of making $10,000 per day from extortion shakedown settlement letters.
Re:
Less than average joe writes:
Yes, there are bigger dirtbags that do way worse. Let me give an example.Look judge, there are bigger criminals than Prenda, see?They got away with this copyright trolling extortion shakedown racket and abuse of the court system to send "settlement letters" for a long time before the courts caught on. So why shouldn't we be able to get away with it too?
But the RIAA/MPAA were smart enough to see the end of copyright trolling, and switched to Sick Strikes instead.
But TechDirt is not obsessed with Prenda. It covers lots of other great topics. DMCA takedown abuse. DMCA criminalizing unlocking and circumventing for legal purposes. Hollywood violating its own most holy copyright laws. Hollywood buying the government and encouraging corruption. And many other interesting topics than just Prenda.
Re: Just go ALL PRENDA, ALL THE TIME.
Each exciting episode of Prenda Law:
Look judge, there are bigger criminals than us, see?1. is more entertaining than most Hollywood tripe
2. is reality
3. has no commercials
4. can be freely shared and discussed
5. costs nothing
6. is public domain
7. is educational
8. and really rankles you because of the the preceding items
But why go all Prenda, all the time? There are so many other clowns to laugh at. I'll give you a hint:
It is actually $7000 per day
In feetnote 1 on page 2 of the order, judge Wright makes it clear who the $1000/per day/per individual applies to.
1 That is, Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy, Gibbs, AF Holdings, Ingenuity 13, and Prenda.