Can Read 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (23)

• On the post: Fan-Made Movie Edits: Another Cultural Loss At The Hands Of Copyright

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2012 @ 10:07am

  I think there should not be any copyright issue when he just released a script listing the begin/end time stamps of his cuts.
  
  Somebody could then write a program that reads the script and apply them to the source material, showing the parts in the scripted order.
  
  That would also allow other fans to alter the script and build upon the work by the original editor.
  
  Just a thought...

• On the post: Judge Delivers Thorough And Complete Smackdown Of Oracle's Copyright Claims

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 03:33am

  Re:

  The code behind the API is still covered by copyright. Also, providing an API makes your software open and a preferred choice as a component in a larger system, which in turn can boost sales.
  
  Without API's, Windows would not have become the leading OS, there would be no App Store, Play market, and Facebook would not have become the de facto authentication engine. Whether you like any of these platforms or not, it is their openness thru API's that helped them achieve market dominance.

• On the post: Judge Delivers Thorough And Complete Smackdown Of Oracle's Copyright Claims

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 31 May, 2012 @ 06:45pm

  Kudos for the judge. He really understands the subject. Near the end of his ruling he comments on Oracle's motives:
  
  That interoperability is at the heart of the command structure is illustrated by Oracle?s
  preoccupation with what it calls ?fragmentation,? meaning the problem of having imperfect
  interoperability among platforms. When this occurs, Java-based applications may not run
  on the incompatible platforms. For example, Java-based code using the replicated parts of the
  37 API packages will run on Android but will not if a 38th package is needed. Such imperfect
  interoperability leads to a ?fragmentation? ? a Balkanization ? of platforms, a circumstance
  which Sun and Oracle have tried to curb via their licensing programs. In this litigation, Oracle
  has made much of this problem, at times almost leaving the impression that if only Google had
  replicated all 166 Java API packages, Oracle would not have sued. While fragmentation is a
  legitimate business consideration, it begs the question whether or not a license was required in
  the first place to replicate some or all of the command structure. (This is especially so inasmuch
  as Android has not carried the Java trademark, and Google has not held out Android as fully
  compatible.) The immediate point is this: fragmentation, imperfect interoperability, and
  Oracle?s angst over it illustrate the character of the command structure as a functional system or
  method of operation.
  

• On the post: Irish Charity Told It Needs To Pay A License Fee To Link To A Newspaper Article

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 31 May, 2012 @ 04:01am

  As pointed out by the lawyers, each of these articles come with an array of buttons to share them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and lots of other services. Clicking any of them would require you to pay fees to Newspaper Licensing Ireland. Such a clever way to save the dead tree media.

• On the post: Regina Spektor: I'm Lucky That People Can Get All My Music For Free

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 30 May, 2012 @ 02:15pm

  I like to listen to her music on my cheap seat.

• On the post: Fox Issues DMCA Takedown To Google Over SF Chronicle Article… Claiming It Was The Movie 'Chronicle'

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 29 May, 2012 @ 08:33am

  Re: Re: 1 out of millions

  So I think a $10 fee would be the minimum rights-holders should pay.
  
  That would make indexing sites like Isohunt profitable... so I guess that will not happen.

• On the post: Spotify In A Box: Why Sharing Will Never Be Stopped

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 26 May, 2012 @ 01:20am

  Your favorite million songs

  A million songs would take 10 years, 16 hours a day continuous listening. For each song to become a favorite, you'd have to listen to them multiple times. That would last a lifetime, with no time left for other entertainment.
  
  Frankly, these numbers are meaningless. You would need a broad taste in music to have 10000 favorites. The problem (or rather the fun) is finding those songs. Spotify is an excellent tool to find music related to what you're listening to. Amazon also has great suggestions, but unfortunately I am unable to buy MP3 songs from Amazon because I live in the wrong country.

• On the post: Is It A Problem If People Only Discover A Musician Because They Have A Cool Kickstarter?

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 26 May, 2012 @ 12:31am

  Attention - Interest - Desire - Action
  
  Even musicians have to follow this marketing mantra. You can make great music, but in these days you cannot get around the Internet to get people to notice you. However, without excellent art, you won't pass the "desire" stage.

• On the post: Boom: Jury Says No Patent Infringement By Google In Oracle Case

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 23 May, 2012 @ 12:08pm

  Re:

  Patent and copyright reform? Think of those poor lawyers losing their jobs.

• On the post: Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Tenenbaum Case; Allows Charade To Continue

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 21 May, 2012 @ 01:42pm

  Re:

  You'd have to leave the planet to get the RIAA off your back.

• On the post: Economist: Copyright Is An Antiquated Relic That Has No Place In The Digital Age

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 16 May, 2012 @ 01:01pm

  Re:

  $0.99 IS worth it for a copy of a song if it means something to the consumer.
  
  This may be true for new songs, but not for a 2-minute mono track recorded in the 50's.
  
  From Amazon: Maybellene - Chuck Berry 2:20 $1.09

• On the post: Tenenbaum To Supreme Court: Let's Get This Constitutional Debate On Statutory Rates For Copyright Infringement Rolling

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 16 May, 2012 @ 04:00am

  Let's do the math here:
  
  30 songs, assuming his BitTorrent client has been set to a maximum share ratio 2:
  
  Maximum revenue loss per song = (2+1) times $0.99 = $2.97, total is $89.10.

• On the post: Court Goes Censorship Crazy Against Dutch Pirate Party

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 11 May, 2012 @ 03:40pm

  Despite all their efforts, it is still easier in the Netherlands to find The Pirate Bay than to find a site where you can legally download MP3 files.

• On the post: EMI Kills Off More Innovation: MP3Tunes Declares Bankruptcy Due To 'Withering' Legal Costs

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 11 May, 2012 @ 02:12pm

  There may be two sides to this story. One of them can be found on http://www.freespire.com/

• On the post: The Ridiculous Hoops Mad Men Had To Jump Through To Use Part Of A Beatles Song

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 09 May, 2012 @ 09:55am

  Here, There and Everywhere?

  The Beatles catalog is probably the most protected music catalog ever. None of the albums can be found on Amazon and several other download services. Search "Beatles" and you will find interviews, some old covers they did, and a bunch of songs preformed by Beatles tribute bands. No Beatles songs are included in themed compilations.
  
  It's a shame that such cultural icons are kept from the public by their gatekeepers.

• On the post: Bad Lawsuit, Worse Timing: Beastie Boys Sued Over Infringing Samples On Seminal Albums

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 08 May, 2012 @ 09:58am

  Wikipedia's entry on Paul's Boutique:
  

  Contrary to popular belief, most of the sampling for Paul's Boutique was cleared, but at excessively lower costs compared to the statutory rates of today.

  
  Extensive sound analysis of any song will reveal a similarity with other songs. The only way to prevent this is to invent new notes and new instruments to play them on for each new song.

• On the post: Pirate Party Wins Again In Germany

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 07 May, 2012 @ 03:15pm

  Another explanation

  A vote for the German Pirate Party is essentially an anti-establishment vote. Throughout Europe such votes are usually given to extreme right wing parties, but those have not been very popular in Germany since WW2.
  
  The Greens used to be the anti-establishment party. The fact that they are losing votes probably indicates that people now see them as part of the establishment.

• On the post: UK High Court Expands Censorship Regime: Orders The Pirate Bay To Be Blocked

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 30 Apr, 2012 @ 01:37pm

  Like in the Netherlands, this will only draw people's attention to the Pirate Bay.

• On the post: Fight Is On Between Oracle And Google Over Java API Copyrights

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2012 @ 03:28am

  Jurors are no programmers

  The problem is that the jurors, none of whom are programmers, look at these snippets and see a similarity and assume they must be copied.

• On the post: :-( Samsung, Research In Motion Sued For Making It Easy To Use Emoticons

  

  Can Read ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2012 @ 01:25pm

  Software patents

  This feels like a car manufacturer suing the competition for placing the steering wheel and pedals in exactly the same position in their cars.

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