arkiel 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Label Sues Spotify Because Some Of Its Users Create Playlists Of Authorized Music In The Same Order It Did

    arkiel ( profile ), 04 Sep, 2013 @ 12:46pm

    Re: Re:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights#In_the_United_States

    This says something about moral rights in the US. Namely, they are not recognized. There's also the Feist v. Rural decision (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feist_v._Rural), where obvious compilations of fact were found to not be subject to copyright.

    And then there's how the plain language of the Constitution has been interpreted (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Clause):The Copyright Clause is the only clause granting power to Congress for which the means to accomplish its stated purpose are specifically provided. The exact limitations of this clause have been defined through a number of United States Supreme Court cases interpreting the text. For example, the Court has determined that because the purpose of the clause is to stimulate development of the works it protects, its application cannot result in inhibiting such progress.

    Of those, those are just easy citations. I -got- all this from attending IP Survey and Copyright classes in law school.

  • On the post: Label Sues Spotify Because Some Of Its Users Create Playlists Of Authorized Music In The Same Order It Did

    arkiel ( profile ), 04 Sep, 2013 @ 12:37pm

    Re: Re:

    Incorrect. In the US, copyright is granted only in furtherance of that underlying philosophy. Facts, obvious arrangements of facts, legal briefs, etc. are not subject to copyright despite being created because protecting them would not lead to more and better facts, arrangements of facts, or legal briefs.

    The arrangement of facts can be copyrightable if it is novel, but I don't think there's actually much room for the requisite creativity in a CD tracklist.

  • On the post: Label Sues Spotify Because Some Of Its Users Create Playlists Of Authorized Music In The Same Order It Did

    arkiel ( profile ), 04 Sep, 2013 @ 11:04am

    The UK recognizes moral copyright, the US does not. The US grants copyright only when it furthers a medium or type of expression. The UK grants copyright just because the creator created it. This is the fundamental difference between the laws.

  • On the post: State AG Says It's OK Ohio Implemented Facial Recognition Program Without Notifying Public Because Everyone Else Is Doing It

    arkiel ( profile ), 04 Sep, 2013 @ 07:52am

    So, there any laws outlawing the wearing of masks in public in Ohio?

  • On the post: Court Says You Can Be Liable For Merely Sending A Text Message To Someone Who's Driving

    arkiel ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2013 @ 08:44am

    I would be incredibly hard to prove this in civil court. It would be hard to prove that the person knew.

    Can't wait for someone to be brought up on felony murder charges for knowingly texting a driver who gets in an felony-scale accident with a murder involved.

  • On the post: Court Says Feds Don't Have To Reveal Secret Evidence It Gathered Against 'Terror' Suspect Using FISA

    arkiel ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2013 @ 07:22am

    If what was said was: "if FISA information is used in a subject's arrest, the lawyer gets access to it," then it seems like parallel construction would 'launder' the information out.

  • On the post: NYPD Chief Says Ending Stop And Frisk Will 'Hurt Minorities,' Result In A Surge Of Criminal Activity

    arkiel ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2013 @ 05:22pm

    Everything that happens at this point is Ray Kelly's fault. He's the idiot that sanctioned a policy that is facially - by which I mean [i]obviously to a layman[/i] - unconstitutional. He is the reason all that time and resource went into an illegal program to the exclusion of a legal program.

    There are many ways to go about crime prevention. He chose the worst possible method amongst numerous legal alternatives. Every person whose death can be linked to the courts determining that Ray Kelly's program was unconstitutional are Ray Kelly's fault, not the courts'.

  • On the post: Undownloading: Further Proof Those eBooks You Paid For Really Aren't Yours

    arkiel ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2013 @ 05:55am

    Its important to remember that ebook licensing is not a property right; its all about disposing of any moral hesitation to pirate subsequent copies of that book.

  • On the post: NSA Defenders Insist Their Lawbreaking Should Be Ignored Because They 'Didn't Mean It'

    arkiel ( profile ), 19 Aug, 2013 @ 09:44am

    Re: the let's-try-that-anywhere-else dept

    Except none of those things implicate the Constitution. NSA dun broke the social contract.

  • On the post: NSA Defenders Insist Their Lawbreaking Should Be Ignored Because They 'Didn't Mean It'

    arkiel ( profile ), 19 Aug, 2013 @ 08:10am

    If accidental actions violate the Constitution, that isn't evidence that the system which enabled those violations should be retained; it is an argument that the system cannot be used without there being Constitutional violations.

    The NSA had a chance to make this work and proved unequal to the task. It shouldn't get a do-over because its sins have been brought to light.

  • On the post: Did The NSA Think The Public Can't Do Math? Attempt To Downplay Data Collection Fails Miserably

    arkiel ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2013 @ 07:54am

    NSA: Haha! We're exposed! Better throw a sports analogy out there to calm down the stupid rednecks!

  • On the post: Obama's Response To NSA Was To Appease The Public, Not Reduce The Spying

    arkiel ( profile ), 10 Aug, 2013 @ 11:42am

    Clearly having a Constitutional lawyer for a president was a mistake. Having a lawyer for a president in general was a mistake. The smartass probably spent so much time wondering whether the program was facially Constitutional or not, he forgot to consider whether or not it was RIGHT.

  • On the post: US Government War On Hackers Backfires: Now Top Hackers Won't Work With US Government

    arkiel ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2013 @ 06:14pm

    Can we just go with Black Hat/White Hat and not this cracker stuff? It'd be nice to read an issue of 2600 without 2k words devoted to an ill-conceived distinction from 'hacker'. :/

  • On the post: Maybe The Answer To The $200 Million Movie Question Is To Not Focus On $200 Million Movies?

    arkiel ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2013 @ 11:48am

    If we're doing the DNA metaphor, Pacific Rim and Transformers share the genes that determine hair, skin, and eye color. Everything else is different. The only similarity is that Yaegers look complicated, though in a that appears functional rather than needlessly complicated. There are no giant robot battles (robot versus giant monster, though). The story is light, the world is vivid, people make some weird-ass decisions. This is a movie that should not (and probably won't, after international and media sells) fail.

    It'll probably top off at more than 200mil eventually. May cap out at 600mil.

  • On the post: 3D-Printer Manufacturer Creates Software Filter To Prevent Firearm Printing

    arkiel ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2013 @ 09:48am

    Any law against 3D printed guns should be cabined to weapons that would not set off a metal detector by themselves. I still have a Second Amendment right to be able to defend myself. I think requiring a piece of metal be present in my weapon is a lot more reasonable than outlawing an entire class of objects just because of the way they are manufactured.

  • On the post: Copyright And The End Of Property Rights

    arkiel ( profile ), 18 Jul, 2013 @ 12:38pm

    My biggest problem with the collapse of property rights into licensture (right now) is that the licensee's rights can be revoked by the licensor for no reason whatsoever. Over on Steam, we've been putting a lot of discussion into whether the TOS contemplates terminating all extant licenses should the service be terminated...

    The reason the above is my biggest problem with licensure is that people are going to treat the things they buy like property regardless of the bullshit a company's lawyers has cooked up.

    Also, You say "end of property rights," and I think "end of moral obligation to buy my goods, commence moral obligation to pirate my goods."

  • On the post: Jammie Thomas Refuses To Make RIAA Propaganda In Exchange For Reduced Payment

    arkiel ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2013 @ 04:17pm

    I think that in some situations, education would help diminish infringement. Of course, no discussion of music piracy would be complete without a run-down of how the RIAA has utilized huge statutory damages (originally designed to prevent companies from infringing rather than individuals) to ruin human lives in an attempt to bolster their bottom line.

    Education does not help in this case, because the RIAA would invariably use the "starving artist" line, which is a lie (at this point, an outright, dyed-in-the-wool fallacy) to cover up publisher excess.

    Education does not help in this case, because the RIAA has been engaging in the basest (most predictable) form of lobby protectionism, emphasizing dying business models and crushing innovators through legislative and judicial process (hello, mandatory Pandora royalty fees!).

    Education does not help in this case, because the RIAA is human garbage, and everyone should avoid giving them money on the general principle that you should not feed ambulatory piles of garbage. There are still ways to hear music and only minimally contribute to that walking shitheap. Radio and Pandora are the prime examples; yes, there are royalty agreements there, but using radio doesn't actually impact how much the RIAA gets, and Pandora, if nothing else, needs to get motivated to work their own shit out aggressively.

    Jammie Thomas made a principled objection to the demands of a cruel, vicious predator. That creature is human according to Mitt Romney, but commands vast resources and comprised of many individuals, and is effectively immortal. Time for the rest of the world to pull out their own Beowulf, St. George, or Gilgamesh and be as brave as Ms. Thomas, and slay this nasty fucking monster.

  • On the post: Whatever Happened To The Exaflood?

    arkiel ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2013 @ 05:31pm

    Obvious next step: compile a list of names of people who perpetuated the exoflood myth. Post their names where they will be indexed, with information about what a manipulative shitheel they are. Keep doing that every time something like this comes up instead of posting general articles about it.

  • On the post: Why Are UK Police Allowing Entertainment Industry Employees To Arrest And Interrogate People With Their Help?

    arkiel ( profile ), 28 May, 2013 @ 02:23pm

    Who is the president of FACT?
    Where does he live?
    Because I happened to hear from someone that he recorded Fast and Furious 6, and also he has about sixty gigs of child pornography on his computer.
    That's just a fourth-hand anonymous tip. Should fly in the UK.

  • On the post: Released Video From Silva Beating Shows His Last Moments; Video Of Actual Beating Still Missing

    arkiel ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 02:36pm

    We really need a judge that'll permit an adverse inference jury instruction when this kind of thing crops up.

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