Ben 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (336)

• On the post: How Did Syria Turn Off The Internet… And What Other Countries Can Just Hit The Off Switch Like That?

  

  Ben ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 03:50pm

  Re: Re:

  Don't forget about their extraordinarily long-winded name of a volcano is quite capable of cutting them off as well so at least that one isn't political...

  That was Iceland, and they're only at "Low Risk"

• On the post: Don't Let Retraction Distract From The Simple Fact: GOP Copyright Policy Brief Was Brilliant

  

  Ben ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2012 @ 09:38am

  Really PublicKnowledge?

  I was disappointed by the link to PublicKnowledge and the "contact your representative" -- no tool for finding your Rep (or their phone number); their expectation is for you to call your rep's office rather than sending an email or pointing you to your Rep's web page (if any). In effect all it looked like was a mechanism for them to get your contact information. Very disappointing.

• On the post: IBM Patent Lawyer Says The Patent System Works Fine Because… Hey Look Over There!

  

  Ben ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 10:37am

  Re:

  "'US House of Representatives working perfectly'" says Fox News"

• On the post: IBM Patent Lawyer Says The Patent System Works Fine Because… Hey Look Over There!

  

  Ben ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 09:29am

  Re: Quid pro quo

  Personally, I'd rather the patents they do award actually represent real inventions and not obvious combinations of existing tech. Yes, make sure the patents follow the law -- making a meaningless change to a molecule should not qualify as a new invention (as is done in the drug industry all the time); if a patent claims something, it had better either point to a real life example or clearly show how to implement it. ... and I have yet to see software that rises to the level of innovation that could legitimize granting it a patent.

• On the post: Google & Publishers Settle Google Library Lawsuit By Agreeing To What Google Offered Seven Years Ago

  

  Ben ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2012 @ 03:12pm

  Re: The clueless help identify themselves very visibly

  Note that Google will still be digitizing those books, they just won't make the digital versions available outside of Google. This allows them to include them later if the publishers change their mind, as well as for them to do their own meta-analysis including all books.
  
  But I agree -- I'd also like to know which publishers opt out.

• On the post: Copyright Killbots Strike Again: Official DNC Livestream Taken Down By Just About Every Copyright Holder

  

  Ben ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2012 @ 04:19am

  Does the claim get matched?

  When the AP et al register their content why doesn't it go through the same 'bot process? If UMG uploads first, shouldn't the upload by AP get flagged as infringing? ... and then one can hope after three such strikes AP would be *banned from YouTube* followed by the next group.
  
  If enough groups uploaded individual speeches in different orders then all the maximalist news organizations could hit three strikes very quickly and they'd *all* end up getting banned.
  
  I guess that's a bit of Hope and Change I can believe in...

• On the post: Google Caves To Hollywood Pressure: Will Now Punish Sites That Get Lots Of 'Valid' DMCA Notices

  

  Ben ( profile ), 10 Aug, 2012 @ 11:07am

  valid copyright removal notices

  Wow. And Google has such a great track record on recognizing "valid copyright removal notices" that nothing could go wrong with this! /sarcasm

• On the post: When Every Practical Economic Idea Is Political Suicide, Something's Wrong With Politics

  

  Ben ( profile ), 25 Jul, 2012 @ 11:41am

  Mortgage Interest Tax deduction

  I've always wondered why the deduction is based on the interest paid. Why not a fixed deduction (or credit) like most of the others (take the child tax credit: you have a child? $1000 credit -- not based on how much it costs to raise a child). The supposed purpose of the interest deduction is to promote home ownership, but it seems to me to just promote mortgage "ownership". This would limit the benefits of McMansions, and could be considered a way to pass money to local communities through their property taxes. A compromise that provides a number of benefits, but is unlikely to ever happen.
  
  In general however, these ideas aren't the source of political suicide. The suicide is based on the modern electorate's seeming unwillingness to allow their representatives to compromise.

• On the post: Facebook Engineer Apologizes Via Reddit For Accidentally Blocking Imgur Across Facebook

  

  Ben ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2012 @ 11:17am

  Re: Re: As if this will ever happen ...

  BP didn't release a photo of a dog dressed up for the 4th of July.

  Of course not. They're British. It would have been for the 5th of November with the dog wearing a Guy Fawkes mask or something similar.

• On the post: Lord Finesse Learning How The Streisand Effect Works: Tons Of People Re-Upload Dan Bull's Video

  

  Ben ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2012 @ 04:39pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  I'd vote for the "Oh god we are seriously fucked" with or without the laughing.

• On the post: Court Says Negligence Claim For Allowing Downloading On Your WiFi Is 'Untenable'

  

  Ben ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2012 @ 03:06pm

  Re: Barges are sunken

  You realize, of course, the tugboats didn't sink -- the barges sank, but they sued the tugboat owners.
  
  Yes, very colorful except for the fog and the rather bland paint job of the tugboats :-)

• On the post: Copyright Royalty Board Found Unconstitutional; Appeals Court Magically Makes It Constitutional Again

  

  Ben ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2012 @ 12:22pm

  But what of the Branch question?

  That clause requires judicial appointments to be made only by the President, the courts or the heads of executive branch departments. However, the CRB is appointed by the Librarian of Congress, which you might notice is a part of the legislative branch, not the executive branch

  So, they make the Librarian of Congress a "Department Head" and all is resolved? Except the Library of Congress (as the name implies) is still part of the Legislative branch, not the Executive, so it should be still unconstitutional.

• On the post: Countries That Don't Put In Place Copyright Regimes The US Likes May Be Deemed 'Cybersecurity Concerns'

  

  Ben ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2012 @ 09:41am

  Re: Re:

  The opening scene from HBO's The Newsroom sort of encompassed that sentiment (starting around 1:35, but especially the last minute)
  http://youtu.be/88XP4fAyV6o

• On the post: WIPO Is Quietly Signing An Agreement To Give Hollywood Stars Their Own Special Version Of Copyright

  

  Ben ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2012 @ 08:33am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: "it's a real problem"

  IT is a real problem...for the child actors

  
  No... IT is a real problem...for the children of actors (or even the children of child actors)
  
  FTFY. Considering how long copyright lasts, and the fact that it is inheritable, I think that is more accurate.

• On the post: Supreme Court Overrules Fine For Naked Butt On TV; Punts On 1st Amendment Question

  

  Ben ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 08:21am

  Due Process

  From the ruling:

  The fundamental principle that laws regulating persons or entities must give fair notice of what conduct is required or proscribed [...] is essential to the protections provided by the Fifth Amendment?s Due Process Clause

  Contrast this with the tortured redefinition of "Due Process" that the executive branch came up with to justify targeted drone strikes/assassinations. i can only hope this was intentional on the part of SCOTUS.

• On the post: Darth Vader Is The Most Successful Star Wars Character Ever, But Still No Return Of The Jedi Residuals For Actor

  

  Ben ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 09:22am

  Re: Re: Re: Quantum mechanics

  ... and a really hot cup of tea.

• On the post: Is Photographing A Meal 'Taking Intellectual Property Away' From A Chef?

  

  Ben ( profile ), 30 May, 2012 @ 10:00am

  It's called Food Porn

  It's called Food Porn and there are twitter feeds that cater just to that.

• On the post: Olympics Can't Handle An Official Parody Twitter Account, So Twitter Takes It Down

  

  Ben ( profile ), 24 May, 2012 @ 11:46am

  Re:

  And this is exactly why the ancient Olympic Games were ended -- over control of brand deity marketing. Hermes -- "official sponsor of the 5 stadia run", with the other gods complaining about not having their marks visible as well; Apollo was known to be especially incensed.

• On the post: Which Would You Rather Have: The Planet, Or A Patent?

  

  Ben ( profile ), 24 May, 2012 @ 08:31am

  Re: Climate Engineering

  We're already "climate engineering" by dumping millions of tons of CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere each day. Setting up an experiment to determine if there is a way to mitigate the affects of the existing influences on climate by engineering another (presumably more controllable) influence would seem to be a "good thing" (tm).

• On the post: Facebook Trading Near Its IPO Price Means It Was Priced Right, Not That It Was A Disaster

  

  Ben ( profile ), 18 May, 2012 @ 12:32pm

  Re: Re: A loss

  Facebook certainly didn't get $104 billion. The owners of owners of the preferred stock did, divided however it is divided. Facebook itself has shares which, iirc is now valued at around $18b; that is expected to be used to provide stock grants to employees and the like, along with being a reserve to raise capital.

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