1st Dread Pirate Roberts 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (48)

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Hilarious Talking Points On Ridiculous Copyright Terms

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2014 @ 01:35pm

  Re: Re: Re: Can someone help clarify?

  You don't really mean that they are taking brib- (I mean) campaign contributions, do you?

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Hilarious Talking Points On Ridiculous Copyright Terms

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2014 @ 01:31pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Yes, and after that limited time (is life + 70 years really a limited time???) the work transfers into the public domain. What a mess copyright has become.

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Hilarious Talking Points On Ridiculous Copyright Terms

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2014 @ 01:28pm

  Public Domain

  Simone Dinnerstein can copyright her interpretation of Bach's Goldberg variations, because it's in the public domain. If I could tell white keys from black keys and record my own version, I could do that as well, but only because it's in the public domain.
  
  Copyright, thanks to everyone's hero, Sonny Bozo (I mean Bono), goes on far too long.

• On the post: Latest CAFC Ruling Suggests A Whole Lot Of Software Patents Are Likely Invalid

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2014 @ 06:45pm

  Re:

  Does this negate DRM ?
  
  This has nothing to do with Digital Restrictions Management, although the DMCA is often used to fight circumvention attempts.
  
  Digital Restrictions Management is a choice made by the author/owner/packager/etc. to try and limit what actions you can perform. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
  
  When Avatar came out some time ago, DVDFab broke the blu-ray restrictions within a couple of hours. It only takes one person to put a movie on the Internet, and then all you are doing is inconveniencing people who might have no intent of doing something like that.

• On the post: NSA On Snowden's Claims Of Passing Around Nudie Pics: We Totally Wouldn't Allow That… If We Knew About It

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2014 @ 10:45am

  Re: Must have something yanked?

  Must have had a post yanked, huh?

• On the post: NSA On Snowden's Claims Of Passing Around Nudie Pics: We Totally Wouldn't Allow That… If We Knew About It

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2014 @ 10:44am

  Har! I want that FOIA request

  Request copies of all NSA employee (and contract employee) emails containing attachments which would be considered NSFW under Federal Government policy. The requested time period would be during the tenure of Edward Snwden. Attachments should be provided in the original resolution.

• On the post: FedEx Indicted For Failing To Look Into Its Packages To See If Any Online Pharmacies Were Sending Drugs

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2014 @ 10:39am

  Get the DEA to ride shotgun

  It sounds like we need some "Ground Marshals" to ride shotguns in these trucks where customers jump in demanding the packages. You can't deliver a 20-gauge ammo to the abdomen, but you can deliver 20-gauge steel to the wrists.
  
  Huh, maybe they'll start singing once they get arrested.

• On the post: Lawsuit Filed To Force NYPD To Respect Citizens' First Amendment Right To Record Police Officers

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2014 @ 10:35am

  That's the curse of public service

  How many times do we have to keep telling you guys? As a public servant performing your taxpayer-funded duties in public view, you are subject to being recorded by the public. Just accept that, and go back after all those gangs dealing drugs and guns.

• On the post: Supreme Court Tells Conan Doyle Estate To Take A Hike: Consider Sherlock Holmes In The Public Domain

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 18 Jul, 2014 @ 09:02am

  I guess they'll have to start working for a living

  Well, I guess this means they'll have to start working for a living.
  
  Watson, come here! I need you!
  
  Yeah, I know. Wrong Watson.

• On the post: Copyright Office To Aereo: Quack All You Want, We Don't Think You're A Cable Service

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2014 @ 01:03pm

  Re:

  Tsk, tsk. There might be minors reading this page.

• On the post: Copyright Office To Aereo: Quack All You Want, We Don't Think You're A Cable Service

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2014 @ 12:39pm

  Re:

  I say that should go back into business, but sell the antenna and storage space to the viewer, say $99 for 8 hours, and $119 for 20 hours.
  
  Then, take a page from SpiderOak (spideroak.com) and encrypt everything. Aereo won't know what is being recorded, or what people are watching.

• On the post: Copyright Office To Aereo: Quack All You Want, We Don't Think You're A Cable Service

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2014 @ 12:31pm

  Miranda

  We, the Supreme Court of the United States, find that Miranda was not read his rights following his arrest. However, this Miranda ruling does not apply to any similar situation other than that which is currently under review by this court.

• On the post: DOJ Claims Judge Who Trashed 'Made Up Plot' Should Be Removed For Being 'Hostile' To The Gov't

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 08:45pm

  Re: Re: Judge Wright for the Supreme Court

  The expansion of the court is not as radical an idea as it may seem. From the time of its establishment, the size of the Supreme Court was largely dictated by the number of lower courts. As new states were added to the Union and the population grew, new trial courts and circuit courts were created – and new justices added. For example, when a 10th circuit was added in 1863, a 10th justice was added at the same time. When the circuits were reduced in 1866, the number of justices was reduced. Ultimately, the creation of the current nine-number court in 1869 was part of a Congressional decision to create parity with the number of circuits.

• On the post: White House Spokesperson Insists Obama Is The Most Transparent President In History, Because… Visitor Logs!

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 08:48pm

  He's Transparent all right

  Yes, he's transparent. I can see right through that promise.

• On the post: DOJ Claims Judge Who Trashed 'Made Up Plot' Should Be Removed For Being 'Hostile' To The Gov't

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 08:42pm

  But we're protecting you from WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

  It's all done in the name of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. That's why Federal Marshals can swoop in and seize records on the Stinger.
  
  Are you guys all pinko communists? Don't you care about protecting your country?? :-)

• On the post: Why Does Rep. Marsha Blackburn Want To Block You From Having Competitive Broadband?

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 08:38pm

  It's called Bri (I mean) Campaign Contributions

  Used to be that if you accepted money, that was a bribe. Now it's been legalized.

• On the post: The Duct-Tape Approach To Fixing Broken Copyright Law Happens Again With Phone Unlocking

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 08:36pm

  Let's go back to original copyright terms

  Why don't we just shorten the term of copyright to what it used to be? The government has a nice history at
  
  http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1a.html
  
  May 31, 1790
  First copyright law enacted under the new U.S. Constitution. Term of 14 years with privilege of renewal for term of 14 years.
  
  Heck, I'd even be happy with the 1909 change.
  
  July 1, 1909
  Effective date of third general revision of the copyright law. Admission of certain classes of unpublished works to copyright registration. Term of statutory protection for a work copyrighted in published form measured from the date of publication of the work. Renewal term extended from 14 to 28 years.

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2014 @ 10:21am

  Re: Re:

  Without a copyright, you HAVE no rights.

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2014 @ 10:20am

  Re: Re: >"people bypass the copyright system using alternatives like open source"

  Har! BSD software is copyrighted, and the copyright license must be included when you copy the software:
  
  Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the .

• On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

  

  1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2014 @ 10:17am

  Re:

  Copyright is definitely needed. Without it, the authors own the works essentially forever. With copyright law, we get fair use (e.g., education), and eventually it drops into the public domain (with copyright extensions, it's essentially forever.)

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