I’ve said before, and I’ll say again. The only way we are going to see civil change at this point is if the people of both parties interested in real reforms leaves there respective overlords and form a new party.

As far as copyright goes, since the maximalists continue to refuse to even consider the least possibility of compromise, then I will return them the favor. At this point, I’m unwilling to even except reform. The ONLY acceptable “reform” I am willing to concede to at this point is the complete and utter abolishment of copyright.
And I will stick to that principle as long as they retain their current leadership. When new leadership takes over (across the board, not just a person here or there), then maybe I will be willing to consider different options, but I am no longer willing to negotiate with these people, ever.

Thank you, copyright industry, thank you, for being so utterly unreasonable that you continue to turn what were some of your strongest supporters into some of your toughest critics.

The speed of this retraction is telling evidence of how the pro-business Republicans have more money and vastly more influence than the true-believer pro-market Republicans. This is not exactly news.

of course only an idiot would only vote ‘for his own best interests’…. NO.. you voted for what is best overall for your country, and the world..

it’s in the best interest of the people, by the people, for the people… you might be young, fit and healthy so it is not in your best interest to ensure a good health system, but you will not allways be young, fit and healthy, and not everyone is young etc either…

thats probably why your country is such a mess !!! if you dont care about anything except what you want !!

‘the report could be posted on the whitehouse petition website – as a petition.’

That actually seems like an excellent suggestion. Though perhaps some of the reforms should be divided and presented separately to reduce potential controversy. But what do I know, I’m just a Canuck from the Great White North..

no he does not know that at all, he’s just guessing,

it was only a study paper, not a policy statement, it was not written by this group it was written by an academic, in copyright law. It’s a suggestion paper, again, not a policy paper..

all political parties develop or acquire papers and perspecitve of the “other side’ of the argument, it helps them to develop their own policies, and ways to counter critisms..

that does not mean they intend to adopt that paper or report, it’s a ‘counter argument’ or alternate perspective, and a different analysis.. but NOT a POLICY and a goal.

Masnick knows this, he also knows that Hollywood would not even bother to say anything in relation to this, it’s the REPS after all, there was no lobbying in this case..

but Masnick NEEDS someone to blame, he might as well use “hollywood” as much as anyone else..

yes, it’s true Masnick got an instant hard on when he first read it, and could not contain himself, but thats just what he does..

if you take masnicks word for anything, or believe that he is unbiased and not an appoligist for pirites, that is your problem..

most can see through the thin vail of his…. lies.. we accept him and his comments for what they are..

A sometimes amusing read, but not facts or real information, but a look into how ‘the masnick’ sees the world… and how he has managed to convince 10 or so people his idea’s are ‘godly’, not bad after so many years, what 1 or 2 converts a year !!!!!.. nice

yes, please, please, please don’t let it doe – please post it everywhere so we have constant and ever present access to the insanity of the GOP that is so extreme that not even they could live with it for 24 hours… wow, just wow…

you have reasonable copyright… just stop screaming and whining like a little girl.

Awesome Stone, thankyou! Got it now, reading and will post it on my blog today…

I sent him a letter as well and got what appears to be a real response. (i.e. not an auto responder). Pressure here might have a significant impact, I say lean on thsi guy gentley and just overload his inbox.

Ah, yes, keep trying to market your spit for shoeshine. Newsflash, hurricane head up your ass: you’re projecting. You masturbate so much to Lowery’s image, you think that anyone who agrees with anyone else has to do the same thing. How about telling your cocksucker buddy Phil to actually use his recording studio, and not visit sites to whine how he’s not making money off it when he’s not using it?

“The GOP caved in response to elitist Hollywood liberals? That’s saying a lot about the GOP.”

no – it just says a lot more about the tin foil hat fiction on techdirt.

“It’s not a govt report anymore, is it? That’s why they took it down.”

no, they took it down because it’s nonsense and they realized it.

“wait, I thought artists were independent now with the internet? you mean it’s not true the the internet has liberated artists?”

Most of the independent artists don’t go around suing their fans and ruining the internet.

“well, I guess if even trent reznor finds the value in signing back with a major label they can’t be all that bad, can they?”

If labels are so beneficial, why do so many artists get into disputes with their labels about stuff like royalties being withheld? Why do artists refer to label deals as “indentured servitude”? Why are so many established artists activating their termination clauses, active starting next year? I could go on all day.

any wrong doing should be unacceptable, be it from a record label or the pirate bay, or any other company or organization ripping off artists. wouldn’t you agree?

exactly – copyright empowers and protects the individual from the corporation.

I never claimed that artists shouldn’t be compensated; I simply don’t believe that they should be compensated for antiquated works.

I don’t use The Pirate Bay for anything, nor any other torrent site, so this is pointless.

As far as record label deals are concerned, really, they only benefit established artists, not the newcomers, and even then they rook them all in so many ways. The internet provides the best alternative to a label deal. The only caveat is that musicians have to handle a bit more work, e.g. self-promotion, and compete in a much broader market, but that’s how it goes. Beggars can’t be choosers.

explain how it is nonsense. exactly what part about that is unreasonable? that the Constitution defines copyright as primarily benefiting the public? That increasing a copyright length from life +50 to life +70 doesn’t incentive people to create more stuff? that copyright is not the foundation of capitalism? what my good sir is nonsensical about that report?

government documents aren’t copyrighted

Why not issue a FOIA for it?

It’s very simple. Hollywood just said: “We won’t donate to your party if you don’t remove this thing”. That’s all.

no it does not mean wrong, it means FALSE !!!!

Dude, listen.

I don’t have all day, so let me make this very brief.

Your idea that “government monopoly” means that the government uses their guns and laws to ONLY give themselves complete control over something (such as an idea) is silly.

Copyright is about granting complete unilateral control of ideas to whoever pays the most money for that idea, or gets their stupid paper in the copyright office faster.

The assumption on your part is that a government monopoly only counts of the government ITSELF occupies the tepid waters under their guns.

This is not correct.

If government, by way of the “power invested in them” *snerk* allows any organization to seize control of ideas, this doesnt ONLY include themselves, could be any organization that meets their criteria, whatever that may be.

In the end, it makes the GOP look extremely shallow and cowardly.

ALSO: Anyone who argues that copyright actually empowers the individual is deluded. The copyright law is DELIBERATELY too complicated for any single individual to manage, even with a team of fucking copyright lawyers.

This argument is laughable. You’re a freaking clown.

No, it is very clear to me, after listening to EFF, and many other organizations that focus on such things, that the situation is mostly power struggles over ideas (which cannot REALLY be controlled) between multibillion dollar megacorporations.

BTW, not even Steve Jobs and Bill Gates combined can match the wealth of those international corporations, including the media conglomerates which hold 99.98% of all copyright holdings.

It is pure folly to propose that anyone has even a teeny tiny sliver of hope to go from rags to riches enough to make a tiny freaking DENT in the power of those massive corporations, which, btw, are OWNED overwhelming by OTHER corporations.

The GOP, by selling out like little pansies to the armies of lawyers of these organizations to enforce their little fiefdoms strikes me as a bunch of pansy career politicians who dont stand for anything, dont give a damn about their country, much less the international society and culture.

Supposedly, the GOP was about business, individual liberties, self-determination, but now? It’s just a farce.

The Democrats are no better, BTW. The Democratic party has the worst track record for dragging this country into war over random crap. So much for peace-loving rationalist who want a better “equal” chance for all humans.

Everyone in politics is a goddamned sellout, Fullstop.

I am completely entirely convinced that that those stories those artists and writers wrote were ABSOLUTELY not influenced in ANY way, whatsoever, by the publishers greasing their palms, or anything like that.

If these artists or authors were really any good, their fans would rally to ensure their livelihood.

Instead, they take their sense of entitlement and beg the fucking government to stop people from trying their stuff and deciding it’s crap.

Thank you, i now have a full copy. This is going to be fun.

*sighs* What a bunch of pansy cowardly sellouts.

You keep bringing up this mysterious “middle-class” of musicians. The difference is that now, with the independent culture, any artist can play in the free market. The major labels used to be the only ones who would pick and choose the winners and losers, but now the market (that is, the consumers) can decide. That music quality has suffered in recent times is the byproduct of the major labels actively promoting junk music which, unfortunately, many aspiring artists attempt to sound like.

Why dont you do it anyway, and record it, and sell it to Sony BMG? I’m sure it’ll be a best seller!

If they were able to expand it, they are just as capable of shortening it.

The Republican movement is still controlled where the rubber meets the road by true politicians. Its quite a problem.

It also does not help when the MPAA has an political old crony, Chris Dodd, running it.

Um…

We at the RSC take pride in providing informative analysis of major policy issues and pending legislation that accounts for the range of perspectives held by RSC Members and within the conservative community. Yesterday you received a Policy Brief on copyright law that was published without adequate review within the RSC and failed to meet that standard.

Just sayin’…

Thanks for the well-articulated reply.

As a practicing Catholic, I believe in due compensation for work, and that includes for everybody. (It is wrong to discriminate.) However, what I am against is this incessant bribery that is occuring in Washington, as is evidenced by this article, as well as their habit of locking down culture solely for the sake of a few corporates’ financial gain.

Copyright should be, as the now-retracted report specified, reformed to its original state. Within that period of time, it would be only just to fairly compensate artists for said works. Then it would serve the common good.

However, I believe that copyright in its current form has mutated into a wholly abusive tool for corporations to exploit others’ works and, as such, no longer is about promoting the sciences and useful arts. It’s solely about profit and control for a select few individuals.

I’m not going to justify things like downloading movies, music, games/software and literature which somebody is trying to make a living from — they ought have that right reserved. But if copyright were shortened to 14 years, people would, and in fact already should, have access to their culture without the risk of litigation or being thrown off the internet.

If I make a mix CD for a friend, for example, that’s not theft — that’s called generosity. By no means do I have to share or give anything to anyone, yet if I choose to, who are these people to label me a thief? Now there is a difference between sharing something with a friend and handing it out for the entire world to grab for free. I don’t agree with that. But what I do in my private life with the stuff I own (yes, OWN, not LICENSED) is really none of their business.

Movies are a service, and besides, theaters make all of the huge amounts of license money back via an actual product — concessions.

Why would a photographer print t-shirts when he or she can do photography for others freelance, or post his or her images on a blog, and accept donations to continue.

You arent going to confuse this issue.

Intellectual property of any kind, including copyright, is a perversion of capitalism.

You sully capitalism’s name by claiming that a government-enforced monopoly is in ANY way a capitalist approach to ANYTHING.

You fail at understanding anything about capitalism.

Capitalism is not about being in indentured servitude to an extremely tiny population of individuals.

Ahem:

Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit. Other elements central to capitalism include competitive markets and capital accumulation.

You can thank me later.

What a shill.

Mike–

Do you actually have any evidence whatsoever to back up your assertions that the trade groups “went ballistic” and that the report had been “fully vetted” by the RSC?

Or are you seriously this much of a desperate foaming-at-the-mouth zealot that you actually just made up the whole scenario?

I dare you to answer honestly (and I know that you can’t/won’t).

“copyright is pro-choice, pro-liberty, pro-freedom… of the individual. when you take copyright away from the individual you are pro-exploitation, pro-corporation.

copyright protect the individual from corporate exploitation, without it, there would be no record contracts, no publishing deals, no advances and marketing paid to artists and on their behalf.”

What a way to completely ignore everything that was said.

Basically, you’re admitting that you’re in favor of a system wherein a few wealthy people exploit our culture for their own financial gain, because that’s exactly what copyright does. If you’re so concerned about “protecting the artists,” tell me, what are you doing about the corporates who take away ownership of their works, game the system and cheat them out of their fair wages?

The underlying point being that, today, copyright’s sole purpose is to enforce monopoly of culture and that politicians, who would otherwise reform it, are blinded by corporate bribery. The RIAA, MPAA and others have infested Washington with their point men lobbyists and this has created an imbalance in the system, biased heavily to their favor.

Bribing a politician is, in and of itself, illegal and unethical. Yet because of a semantics game — calling political cash “free speech” — they continue to get away with it.

What’s a wring?

And how is copyright pro-liberty, pro-individual, pro-choice?

If I write something down right now on a piece of paper, or take a photograph with a camera, I automatically have copyright over it. I cannot opt out. I can reduce the scope of my copyright over it by using a CC license, but they depend on copyright in order to work. So no, copyright is NOT pro-choice.
Pro-liberty? How? I am not at liberty to copy certain things, even things where the copyright holder is unknown.
Pro-individual? What does that even mean?

“if you steal things (you probably do), you may not be stealing off the GOvernment, but it will be the Government that puts you in prison for breaking the law, not the person who you stole off. “

Ah yes, the “let’s just assume our opponent on the other side of the debate is a criminal” approach to debating. What proof do you have that he is a thief?

And I should care about one guys’s retirement fund because…seriously I need a reason. Everyone who saves up for retirement…
hang on, bad argument there. That songwriter wasn’t actually [I] saving [/I] up for retirement. He was hoping that he would do a job [I] once [/I] and that society would provide for his retirement without any significant effort on his part at all.

What a shill.

More like 0.05% on a serious note.

The top 0.05% are those with true power and ability to shut the door firmly in the faces of everyone beneath them.

The top 0.05% are composed entirely of international investment bankers, just so everyone knows.

And therein lies the heart of the problem: corporate money in politics. So long as the lobbyists can woo politicians over to their side with money, there’s no way to stop the corruption from continuing unabated.

Perhaps before we look into copyright reform, we need to reconsider checks and balances in politics.

Okay then, what happens if I draw and then try to sell a Mickey Mouse comic?
I get legal threats from Disney, that’s what happens.
So…how does copyright protect me from the corporation again?

(Sorry mods, I hit return instead of tab to get from subject box to comment box and sent a blank comment.)

I don’t think I can let this word go by easily.

I am somebody who thinks of the religious, theocratic threat from Islam as a very serious danger to humanity as they have proven themselves in the ongoing civil wars in the Middle East and Asia, let alone the attacks on civil society in other countries around the world, such as East Timor, Spain, Nigeria, the USA and UK etc. And that secular values must be defended against with force against Orwellian, totalitarian, God-mandated regimes. This includes a very likely justified fight against Saddam Hussein and the military that enslaves North Korea. I am with the faction of the Left that stems back all the way to the 30’s – the bunch that would proudly declare that “fascism means war” and that if there are ever any “just wars” in this world, it must be against all forms of totalitarianism that treat 1984 as a grand inspiration instead of a dire warning.

So, having said that, let me make this very clear: the use of the word “freehadist” as a means to compare the odd kid who does the equivalent of buying a DVD from ebay and selling it again for the same price as a religious fascist bent on death and destruction is a FUCKING DISGRACE. I have no choice but to treat with contempt those who compare your every day common-sense-minded person with theocrats. It is an absolute insult to everyone who ever questioned the idea of copyright and a filthy, revolting slander.

It is something I will not have said. And neither should anyone else here.

I would argue that piracy actually disincentives creativity, since you can just offer other people’s works for download rather than create your own.

Does the internet REALLY need that much oversight?

collars my ass, we got choke chains on

My wife and I believe in supporting musicians, both established and new. We regularly (usually three or so times a month) go to live performances at small local venues. If we think they are any good, we buy their CDs after the show. I haven’t counted them in a while, but the last count was over 800 CDs. This also gives an opportunity to chat with the performers (or their spouse). They aren’t getting rich off these sales, but it allows them to keep doing what they (and we) love.

Good stuff but a true artist is compelled to create, even if they do not have a single fan. Money is a human construct. Creativity is built into our DNA.

I started a change.org petition. Let’s tell Paul Teller that cowardly isn’t cool!

Are you blind or just stupid?

First three words in the document.

RSC Policy Brief

Sorry, NOT an opinion.

You fail.

How about you?

What proof do YOU have that they weren’t calling in like crazy?

…

That’s what I thought.

That site? Again? Really? Come on, now, at least try to show a site that is actually fair, nuanced, and willing to debate the issue instead of wiping out any comment that goes against the articles and views they espouse.

Umm… Mike replied to you about this, and you are wrong. Nice try, though.Like you said, no prize for seconds.

The op-ed: http://www.theknockoffeconomy.com/what-do-the-election-results-mean-for-ip/

The RSC report: completely different document.

“Hey, what a nice little corporate welfare walled garden you got there. It would be a shame if something happened to the walls keeping everyone else out…”

You know how people of sound mind always feel on the defensive when stuff like SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, TPP, etc. always pops up again and again with a different acronym just a few short months after being killed?

I say let’s give the MPAA a taste of how that feels. Let’s keep pushing our representatives to look at copyright reform. Don’t let up. Keep pushing until the MPAA has to deal with copyright reform issues in Congress more often than we have to deal with SOPA/PIPA/ACTA legislation.

HOLY SHIT!

I thought that leaving a link to the report would’ve, in some way, encouraged a reasonably informed debate. What I have seen since that post (~180 posts ago) is something of a very bad morning on FOX news. From Religious arguments to endorsing political parties, it’s somewhat of a storm what this comment wall has become.
The Policy Brief, as it is known, has actual endorsement of RSC members; is well researched; and soundly based on factual evidence – statistically speaking.
As a collector of copyright royalties, I encourage… nay, I applaud theft of my “brainy stuff”. If its going to promote expansion, innovation, and stimulation of the Sciences and Arts, HELL YA, everybody take!!! I’m going to get paid regardless.
I’ve seen posts on election results, outright anger, opinions that truly belong to Rush Limbaugh, and I’ve seen this start off – meaning with the article itself, from a coherent base to a ceaseless ramble going off on tangents that lose the point completely.
This brief espouses reform for copyright in both Science and Art. This means that instead of waiting lifetimes for innovation, people will actually get the chance to use their very expensive educations – if it’s in science (possibly art) to take someone’s idea and make it better, more “useful to Society”, to quote what several posts have attempted in defining Art.
There is alot of hate here for “Pirates”. In fact piracy of… “music software has broken down boundaries even further. Not only can people hear and experience a wider range of inspirational existing music, but now musical creation has become more widely available.
Just as there are those whose musical stasis prompts them to ask questions about who the next “Dylan” or “Led Zeppelin” or “Beatles” will be, there are those who wonder how today’s severely fractured market and wealth of distractions will ever produce another 25-million-album seller like Michael Jackson (or even $35K a year). Those that blame this lack of multimillionaire chart dominators solely on piracy, rather than on underlying cultural shifts, economic woes, a multitude of new distractions and other disruptions are merely settling for a convenient whipping boy, rather than actually working on fixing their problems.” From TechDirt directly…
It’s not just the Music industry, but it covers the entire spectrum; Movies; Books (in fact all media); Broadcast (all of it), and I could make a list of 20 more copyrightable forms – including all forms of caching, storage, and having something posted on YouTube.
The point is that this is a start. Australia has been and is looking at copyright reform – although they have some way of going about it, it’s being looked at – that is a start. EU has been looking at it – that’s a start.
The MPAA is not as powerful as they once were. In the last three years the major movie studios cut their payments to the MPAA in half. The RIAA however, has seen 40% in staff cutbacks, the MPAA has managed to keep the same number of employees; they work for lower average salaries. It is the MPAA who has the stable lobbying budget.
The bigger picture is fair use.
The bigger picture is who controls what, and how they’re/it is going to do it – and, for the most part, that ‘what’ is the internet… because, quite simply put – EVERYTHING IS ON, OR WILL BE ON THE INTERNET!
Look at the continuing success of failing Bills and Acts in both Europe and North America. By at least “taking a look” at copyright and the reformations it needs, means that leaders are paying attention – they see in some degree, that creativity and innovation is being yolked through domineering, copyright/patent infringing teams lawyers and the corporations they serve, and these things have to change – if anything is to advance societal goals… “contribute”.
Copyright includes even linking to sites now – although that is being constantly tested and examined. Civil and Criminal cases are being brought against individuals for just this very thing. Officials are actually trying to extradite people for copyright violation because of linking to websites. However, a ruling stating that “watching a video that someone else uploaded are not infringing on the reproduction right under copyright” is a great place to start when looking at copyright.
You see, that is the bigger picture. This Brief is just a start, but it begs the address of the overwhelming question of fair use. If it takes destroying a “Corporate Monopoly Castle” one brick at a time, then that’s the way it has to be done. The internet has altered the landscape of use, usage, and the definitions of right and wrong, where it concerns not violating the copyright owner?s exclusive rights that it simply cannot be ignored.
I quote yet another article from TechDirt; “The archives of Baseball Digest ‘the oldest and longest-running journal of matters baseball-related,’ which has been published continuously since 1942. For various reasons (sounds like they didn’t renew…) the issues from 1942 until 1964 are in the public domain. Everything after that… not so much.” Baseball, perhaps America’s greatest past-time, is a victim… go ahead… take a look when you have the time.
Copyright Law Is Keeping Useful Info Off Wikipedia, the world’s fifth largest website, and it all falls under the buzz-word “Piracy”. Piracy finds its way into just about every legitimate avenue on the Internet. Afterall, what is copyright violation if it’s not Piracy? It’s like calling someone a Socialist if they believe in Universal Healthcare – do you even know what Socialism is? Piracy = Communism… again… meaning just what?
Copyright infringement can?t be considered theft in the same way that stealing a Book from a Library or Bookstore, or a CD/DVD from a store shelf is theft. If you copy the song, download a PDF Title, or say… Magazine, you have it, and so does its creator. Even MPAA?s CEO, Chris Dodd, has admitted that the days when piracy was associated with theft and copyright infringement had gone.
Limits and definitions need to be defined, if not re-defined, because the current system simply will not stand up to the incredible evolution of today’s innovators and creators. The current copyright laws are stiffling these very things. If I let you in on a little secret that Cold-fusion is actually Ambient-fusion and that I have it, I should now own that idea, but do you think that I’ll get a copyright for publishing, or even the patent for the discovery? Not a chance. The Gov’t is probably already stalking my ISP just to see if I can back this claim up.
Hard media will be here forever, but the internet is where the innovation and creativity is occurring, and this is what is being debated here. Copyright of IDEAS… do you owe someone for something? Are you owed?
In my opinion, the Leaders are paying attention to the Citizens, and attention, even if it is long overdue, is appreciated.
The Brief is about Science and Art, and what loosely constitutes fair use. That is my interpretation… don`t shoot the messenger.

I would like to finish with thanking Mike Masnick for the continual TechDirt posts I receive through their daily eMails. There is alot of `TechDirtery`included in my post. You`re a good man Mike, and a great writer… Cheers…

yes, and because of pirated copies of Windows OS and other programs, Bill Gates NEVER made billions of dollars and can ski down slopes of money in the winter.

Sorry, not buying it.

As someone who writes in his free time, I can tell you this, if someone takes my ideas and runs with them, all the more to them.

If they can do it better, good job.

If not, that means that I’m better.

Copyright is not about protecting artists. It’s not even really about anything over than monopolistic control over channels of distribution.

With the advent of the Internet providing such a ridiculously EASY circumvention of their precarious control, many large labels are COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

There is NEVER a “company too large to fall”

LET THEM ALL GO BANKRUPT!

I’m not arguing otherwise. The desire to express something via art, music or otherwise wouldn’t dissipate even if all the money in the world vanished.

It’s extremely difficult for people to respect your opinions, much less have a constructive conversation, while you’re busy hurling insults and accusations their way.

Funny you bring up communism as they’re infamous for being very forceful with their views.

Lol, trichordist. I’d give that site a shred of respect if they didn’t moderate all of my comments to hell. That site’s nothing but a circle jerk for Lowery et al and the only dissenting comments they allow are taken totally out of context and twisted and spun so as to make them fit their narrative.

And if you’re persistent, Lowery will threaten you personally.

I’d really love for some population of TD commenters to decend on trichordist.

It starts with a huge amount of pure dumb luck, and a huge helping of deception and a distinct lack of restraint.

After that, it’s diamonds, gold, caviar and wine from there.

The bottom line? There’s not a damned thing you can do to actually BECOME a plutocrat. The chances of you or I becoming a multi-billionare is somewhat less than your chances of being struck by a meteorite, struck by a lightning bolt, and bitten by a rabid red fox with unusual facial markings all on the same day.

In other words, the concept that you can somehow work hard and earn your place among plutocracy is cute but it’s cruel to allow people to continue believing that.

There is an extremely powerful multi-layered class barrier, including a labyrinth of tax breaks, tax credits, tax rebates, and other fiscal snowjobbery, many many shibboleths and specialized peacock signalling and cultural secrets and calling cards that prevent anyone from joining the ranks of the truly powerful multi-billionare plutocratic elite, even assuming you somehow won a multi-billion-dollar lottery ticket. Nearly all of that would vanish instantly as taxes, and the rest would drain out as debt and of that, the rest will leech out in various ways.

The plutocrats are here to stay, ladies and gentlemen, unless we have a very organized global cultural and economic revolution that does away with every last layer of their social, economic, and memetic control.

I hope that helped to explain how multi-billion-dollar plutocratic top 0.005% manage to maintain power so easily.

“Translation: I hate techdirt and think you’re all a bunch of thieving pirates.”

Man, being honest sucks, huh?

I think the green AC is not only smelling his own farts , he is eating his shit too. Everything he said is so backwards he must be dyslexic.

It’s remarkable to call something pro-liberty when it only takes away liberties.

Hey since you’ve weighed in Mike, and hopefully are still watching, can you answer the other question? Do you have specific evidence that the MPAA/RIAA leaned on the RSC, or are you speculating?

The source told us content industry lobbyists exerted pressure on RSC leadership to repudiate the memo.

Awesome, thanks. Now we can continue hating them. 🙂

Torrent provided. Here’s the Magnet link!

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:007A9589E1FB84AFE546264ACEFEBA0A0E1A852B&dn=rsc_policy_brief_–_three_myths_about_copyright_law_and_where_to_start_to_fix_it_–_november_16_2012.pdf&tr=udp%3a//tracker.openbittorrent.com%3a80/announce

“must have hit pretty close to home to trigger that kind of irrational and illogical anger.”

Where exactly is this anger you speak of?

“copyright protects the individual from exploitation by given the individual the power to negotiate…”

Yes, you “negotiate” with a record label to either give them the copyright to all your work, or walk away with nothing. That’s some awesome “protection from exploitation” right there.

If that’s true then I hope that he continues to speak out against the rampant abuse which copyright enables in its current form. I respect a politician who doesn’t cave in to lobbyist pressure, particularly when so many of his constituents are weak-kneed.

It’s hard to imagine that Hollywood has much sway with the R’s after kicking in tons of money and star power toward the savage beatdown they just took. More likely Goodlatte and Smith blew a blood vessel when they heard and put the kibosh on it.

Anyway, nice to see that blockhead Masnick playing the hapless Charlie Brown to Republican Lucy holding the football for him to kick. Good Grief… another spectacular, embarrassing flop for the (ahem) journalist Mike Masnick.

This one is a new low in the annals of what you laughingly call “journalism” Masnick. Even by your own flabby standards, this utter piece of shit sets a new standard for dishonesty, bias and deceit. You must be so proud. Loser.

Hey that’s good enough for me. IMHO I would have liked to see you state that up front. tThe trolls would still have berated you, but when do they not? The normal people can decide whether they trust you.

Geeze. I can tell if this became as wildley known as SOPA was (meaning “force public to pay attention”) there is no doubt congress and the president would be flattened, both sides of the aisle, under the chairs and following every move made. The press might even have to admit that it’s not “to complicated to understand or explain” to avoid reporting on IP issues. This restores my faith that the < under 30’s are alive and awake, with clear objectives in mind. I’m glad this article spiked such a strong reactions. It’s about time to debated issues of real consequence.

GRANTED, not owned.. do you understand what the word granted means ?? and it is not a monopoly of ‘copyright’ but a monopoly of THAT PARTICULAR WORK, and if you wrote it or made it, it is YOUR MONOPOLY, not the governments.

the government does not have a monopoly on copyrighted material, the person who created the work has a monopoly on it (if he chooses to exercise it or not), the creator can enforce the copyright of his work, the government cannot, (unless the creator or owner of said copyright lays charges to uphold the law). the laws that GOvernments are duty bound to uphold and enforce.

so once you understand what ‘granted’ means, and that it is not the general term “copyright” that you have, but a SPECIFIC COPYRIGHT of YOUR WORK, and as it is your work you have a monopoly on it..

it’s a government GRANTED monopoly, on a work by someone who owns the copyright for that particular work, not a “government monopoly”, that (as I said before) is just stupid.. im sure even you dont want to be seen as stupid.. … then again… you might.. !!!!

An article where details have been confirmed by sites like Ars Technica? Ha ha. You’re the one who’s neck-deep in dishonesty, bias and deceit. You’re dripping with the stuff.

You’re just mad someone managed to post some sense which your paymasters couldn’t pull in time.

darryl, darryl, darryl. When you learn how to differentiate commas from periods, maybe someone will take you seriously. Until then you’re a little shitstain that even monkeys wouldn’t throw poop on, because you’re in a shitty little class of your own.

Yes, and you’re the reincarnation of Socrates.

How about you go to Ars Technica and tell them that too?

The great misinformation campaign that was spread to students (happened to me when I was 15) was that industry practice was to pay artists only 20% of CD sales, give or take.

So, no, it’s not people “stealing music online”; it’s horrible industry practice.

#inconvenientertruths

you actually think linking to that shite makes you seem credible in any way? If the drivel you spill is not enough to let people know you are a no nothing, truth revisionist, linking to that site is the icing on the cake. WTF are you trying to pull? Nobody but your crony buddies buy it, and they only buy it because that’s the company line.

“copyright is pro-liberty, pro-individual, pro-choice”

This new IP-max lobbyist propaganda line is the more ridiculous thus far. Cut the chase and make it “freedom is slavery” directly. You publishers will save time…

Stop spamdexing Google with links to your shitty blog.

“copyright is pro-liberty, pro-individual, pro-choice when you remove copyright you remove liberty and freedom from the individual.”

Last time I checked, a person without copyright is still a person, can still vote, make money, eat, sleep, drink, work, ETC like the rest of us.

If anything, copyright is ANTI-Liberty.

But, you and your kind don’t see it that way, do you?

Darryl, seriously, shut up already.

Also, please for the love of all that is holy and unholy, LEARN HOW TO FUCKING WRITE. I hate reading your rants, it’s an assault on my brain. I look at your comments and I literally hear every English teacher I’ve ever had start to weep.

Also, don’t go calling others a “stupid moron” when that same thing applies to you. If not more so.

A monopoly is very much what copyright is. But to save you time here’s what constitutes a monopoly.

“A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity (this contrasts with a monopsony which relates to a single entity’s control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with oligopoly which consists of a few entities dominating an industry).”

That others are able to produce works is irrelevant. And largely a talking point you’re only bringing up to attempt to put a spin on the definition of “monopoly”.

The point is moot anyway though, you repeating yourself over and over isn’t going to change the definition of a monopoly, nor will it make copyright any less of a government granted monopoly.

And oh yeah, other sources and sites have reported on the issue, with substantially more credibility than yourself and a handful of AC trolls, and all have already stated what Mike has. That industry lobbyists hit the Republicans hard with demands to pull the insanely sensible report.

oops – didn’t realize they weren’t actually Reps, but didn’t address them as such, just “Gentlemen” when I wrote.

That could be the case.

Getting deceived would at least be more honorable than getting blackmailed or bribed.

Not true

Nice attempt at damage-control-through-revisionism. You fail. Thefunny part is you’re spreading several contradicting lies at the same time in this thread. Poor little shill. Hard day for you.

Stop “daring” it’s childish and does not work for kids over 5 years old. RSC published the brief on their site and retracted.

If anything that means we as americans, should listen to you even more since everything seems to run alot better in the Great White North.

It is not a government document. It came from the Republican Party.

Where did you get “ballistic” and “demanding”? You made that part up, right?

If you can’t challenge the substance of the story any more, attack his word choice. If that fails, maybe you can go after his punctuation!

The historical evidence of how corporations and industry have been known to have a disproportionate control over government. That is evidence and there is plenty of it.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100630/14391410029.shtml

Even more recent evidence exists of this

https://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121115/16194521069/california-puc-cracks-down-innovative-ride-sharing-operations-as-another-batch-taxi-drivers-sue-uber.shtml

(among all the other examples of how competing taxi-cab companies have faced resistance in other states for self-serving anti-competitive purposes).

The list goes on and on and on. The evidence is a very long long history of corporate control over government, that is evidence.

And as we all know the MPAA/RIAA, when it comes to copyright issues, never goes ballistic or is ever demanding . . .

You got us there!

Depends… Look it up. Also, that varies depending on jurisdiction.

Reminds me directly of a certain person with the initials R.L., on a form of RF modulation with the initials A.M. Although to be fair, they all did it.

David Lowery: Irrelevant then, irrelevant now.

Just as a point, there’s possibly very good reasons for this playing out just the way it has. For example…

1. House GOP Conservative Caucus prepares & releases report on copyrights.
2. Predictable Hollywood explosion occurs (MPAA/RIAA).
3. One of their big talking points is and has been “Why are you guys trying to create an issue where none really exists? We’re the victims here.” Not saying it’s right, but that’s one of the lines the lobsters get paid to push.
4. So, the report gets taken down and the House GOP Conservative Caucus makes sure (absolutely sure) that the emails ‘explaining’ the move go out far and wide. There’s a reason for doing that.
5. Now, one of several things will happen:
— No reaction to the emails. Then the RIAA/MPAA are proven correct, and it’s a non-starter.
— Some/moderate response (some blowback). Ok, the MPAA/RIAA ‘lobsters’ are trying to sell us a line and this thing really isn’t a dead end/blind alley.
— Developing/Substantial/serious response (increasing blowback). Not only are the MPAA/RIAA ‘lobsters’ are trying to sell us a line, the whole copyright issue is a political ‘growth medium’ and it’s something we really need to get on top of. Bingo!!

Look at it from the viewpoint of using the internet to perform market research….

You want to make a difference? – Take the time to contact your Congresscritter over this issue. Almost all of them have email accounts on their website. But,as a piece of advice, KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL.

That’s it guys, screw the individual to give corporations more control. I love the irony of how anti-record labels you are, but are ok with internet companies screwing musicians worse than any label ever did.

Just let me know when The Pirate Bay starts negotiating contracts with artists, pays them advances, and is accountable for wrong doing.

You are so blinded by your own greed that you are willing to sacrifice your own independence, freedom and liberty to chase it into oblivion.

wow, just wow.

of course, that’s why you’ve provided a citation? oh, no… you don’t have one? hmmmmm… well that’s funny. we’ll let’s just say that you’re making it up until then, ok?

Just let me know when The Pirate Bay starts negotiating contracts with artists, pays them advances

OK, let us know when TPB is a record label.

When the RIAA and MPAA aren’t corporations anymore, you let us know. If anyone’s sacrificing independence, freedom and liberty – it’s people pushing for insane laws that – just as RIAA and MPAA track records have shown – don’t even bother to fact-check whether they nab the right person.

You’re an idiot if you think that power to the RIAA and MPAA would result in independence, freedom, liberty or choice. But what would you know? You’ve got a hurricane head up your ass!

This has absolutely nothing to do with Hollywood or Corporations. They may be the one with the most money. As a freelance commercial photographer, I register my images and if Hollywood ever used my image without my permission they have to pay me statutory damages…the very thing they want to keep based on the current copyright law. You are fools. I need to protect my work from blood sucking corporations that want my work for nearly nothing, the very thing you are perpetuating. It is the only thing that puts food on my table for my family. This isn’t about your effin’ need to have a song or a movie…this is about the smaller artists/creatives that need the same protections as the big guys and any and all creatives included (writers, song writers, poetry authors, your kids artistic work, a monkey’s artwork for an animal sanctuary, etc. etc.) in order to survive and make a decent living. You all are so shortsighted…small feeble minded thinking. You don’t care about anyone but your selfish materialistic selves.

So why was the biggest response from not independent or freelance “creators” but the folks with the deepest pockets and strongest lobbying forces?

When your enforcement stops involving such ridiculous records of collateral damage, such as demanding takedowns of videos because of singing birds of all things, maybe people won’t think you’re a stuck-up industry cocksucker.

EXACTLY.. why masnick wants to HELP big media, and hurt the small person is beyond me, except for the greed thing.

it is clear that masnick has never been a player in the game, but likes to think he has his fingers on the pulse..

if fact, he has his fingers in the pie..

So masnick, all your work is exactly what big hollywood wants to be able to exploit the little guy, you SHOULD be trying to help the little guy..

Is it because you Mr Masnick are yourself a failed phot ??

how is allowing apple to steal off samsung or samsung stealing off apple going to help you or me ??

we dont get more products, we dont get more IP (they are after all using the SAME IP), therefore there is a REDUCTION in innovation, not an increase..

if you force people to abide by patent and copyright, they cannot just steal and give us yet ANOTHER version of the same thing.. NO, they have to innovate SOMETHING DIFFERENT to compete..

so what you want is give the big companies and big media a free hand to steal others material, instead of developing their own..

so we dont get more products with new and innovative technologies, we get one company making something and every other company copying it, the CONSUMER gets many different versions of the same thing,, too bad if you wanted a choice !!!!!!

I guess we are just lucky you are so bad at your job and ineffective.. but it does explain why you have gained so little support for your cause considering the time and effort you have expended on it..

(you might work hard, but you dont work smart).

it is also due to everything you do is a copy of someones else’s work.. you virtually NEVER create an original work, you cut and paste, and comment..

are you capable of original thought, or are you simply guided by google search ??

so your argument, means that due to modern technology there should be even greater copy protection and copyright laws..
not less !!!!!!!

also governments did not make up IP, IP is what you KNOW, or know how to do.

before there was copyright and patent laws, you had to keep your development secret, but it you believe there were not industrial spys back when… then you are living in a dream world..

exactly the same problems and issues were present then as are now, therefore patent and copyright was developed to help counter that…

they system now does work far better than no system at all, and without a system of protection (that still occurs today, especially mility IP) it’s secrecy that is employed.

remove copyright and patent laws, and everything will be lock down so tightly that you will never be able to work out how they do it..

sealed units, encripted and protected code, potted electronics, shaved IC’s so you cannot know what they are, locked PLCC’s.. all the things the military have to do now to ensure protection of IP..

we’re lucky to have laws to protect our knowledge and idea’s.

because if you have to live your life relying on the knowledge and idea’s of others, you might as well check out of life.

or

do you really believe what you know is of no value to you ??

I know for a fact that I know a great deal of things that can and has made me a great deal of money, just from what I know..

you have a right to bear arms to protect your house and property, do you not think you should have the right to protect what you know ?? your IP…. ????

Yeah, you may be right. I wish he would sign in so we can tell who we’re dealing with for sure.

How is letting Apple or Samsung fight it out in costly legal battles, then giving other people to rush to patent random things in order to sue ordinary people who can’t pay up for their broadbrushing patents beneficial to anyone?

When has copyright enforcement been anything but the RIAA and MPAA suing children, grandmothers, and a long list of the wrong people?

How about this, darryl; walk down your Australian streets and loudly proclaim that you support stronger copyright enforcement, the limiting of culture going into your country, the licence for patent holders to sue anyone without limit. We’ll see how much support you garner then, you shitstain.

gassing innocent content creators in the pirate ovens

lol! +1 for insanely over the top Nazi reference.