bikey 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (121)

• On the post: Why You Should Be Worried About The ITU's Bizarre Claim To Have A Mandate Over Internet Security

  

  bikey ( profile ), 09 Oct, 2012 @ 03:20am

  ITU

  This takeover may well not be 'of its own making'. Let us remember that AFTA was negotiated under the auspices of the most brain dead of international organizations - the UN International Customs Organization- not because it had any expertise but because it wasn't infected with the success of other countries like WIPO and WTO. I suspect there's a mercan somewhere in the woodpile.

• On the post: Why You Should Be Worried About The ITU's Bizarre Claim To Have A Mandate Over Internet Security

  

  bikey ( profile ), 09 Oct, 2012 @ 03:19am

  ITU

  This takeover may well not be 'of its own making'. Let us remember that AFTA was negotiated under the auspices of the most brain dead of international organizations - the UN International Customs Organization- not because it had any expertise but because it wasn't infected with the success of other countries like WIPO and WTO. I suspect there's a mercan somewhere in the woodpile.

• On the post: Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter The Public Domain? The Data Says… No

  

  bikey ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2012 @ 02:54am

  mickey

  Mickey doesn't need copyright anymore - he's a trademark now, remember? Of course it's crazy, but who will spend their precious pennies to fight Disney. Much easier to get a new mouse.

• On the post: Why Do We Assume Patents Are Valid When Patent Office's Own Numbers Show They Get Things Wrong All The Time?

  

  bikey ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2012 @ 06:06am

  Patents have only been 'presumed valid' since 1982 when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was established to give the final rubber stamp to any and all patents. Prior to that, they were usually found to violate anti-trust law. This legislative presumption can be reversed with a flick of the wrist if only there were halfway intelligent and independent legislators.

• On the post: Speak Out Against Copyright Holders Destroying True Property Rights

  

  bikey ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2012 @ 04:20am

  first sale

  Preventing such control by the manufacturers was exactly why the 'exhaustion principle', now an important principle in maintaining free movement of goods in the EU, was developed in German law 100 years ago. The ability of humans to move backwards is a constant source of amazement.

• On the post: How Copyright Extension Is Harming Classical Music

  

  bikey ( profile ), 28 Sep, 2011 @ 02:37am

  Re: Re: I think the original idea behind copyright was not such a terrible thing

  Yes, publishers (not authors), and yes, it was arguably a good thing, as it provided an incentive to publishers, but it was a short thing, and not designed to facilitate a life of leisure three generations down the road (e.g. Hugh Grant's life of leisure in 'About a Boy').

• On the post: EU Realizing It Got The Short End Of The Stick In Agreeing To Let US Spy On Bank Data

  

  bikey ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2011 @ 02:38pm

  SWIFT access

  Yes, if the EU had an ounce of backbone, the US would have to stick to its own rules, but...

• On the post: Confirmed: Chris Dodd Lies, Takes Top Lobbying Job, Promises To Trample Consumer Rights

  

  bikey ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2011 @ 07:15am

  Re: ohhhhhhh canada we stand on guard for thee

  This is what distinguishes us from the Mongols (who, by the way were at least consistent - they believed urban life was evil and acted on that belief)- they never killed actors or musicians.

• On the post: New Legislation 'To Protect Farmer IP' Would Make It A Felony To Photograph Farms

  

  bikey ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2011 @ 10:10am

  This is the same state that made it a crime to criticize the food a few years ago after Oprah said something nasty about a piece of meat, or was it an orange?

• On the post: New Legislation 'To Protect Farmer IP' Would Make It A Felony To Photograph Farms

  

  bikey ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2011 @ 09:35am

  This is the same state that made it a crime to criticize the food a few years ago after Oprah said something nasty about a piece of meat, or was it an orange?

• On the post: Feds Got Reporter's Phone, Credit Card & Bank Records In Trying To Track Leaker

  

  bikey ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2011 @ 07:13am

  Re: Re:

  No, they won't. They won't vote, it's not worth the walk. Obama's just too pathetic.

• On the post: Mardis Gras Indians Claim Copyright Protection Over Outfits

  

  bikey ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2010 @ 11:08am

  Some reality: Many countries (all of EU for example) protect clothing design by a form of IP which resembles and may overlap with copyright. Legislators lobbied by designers have tried to pass this in the US - 75 times over the last 100 years by some estimates - but it has consistently been rejected. Basically it is a holdover from the 19th century when the US said "We are a developing country and deserve the right to copy stuff from other countries." Even in those countries where clothing design is protected however, you can only infringe by copying the clothing (i.e. making clothing just like the protected clothing). What is protected, as we all know, are the photographs (by the photographer, or owner of the camera where there's a dispute), so back down MGIs, you may bite off more than you can chew.

• On the post: ACTA Set To Cover Not Just Copyrights & Trademarks, But Seven Areas Of IP

  

  bikey ( profile ), 24 Mar, 2010 @ 02:23pm

  Re: ACTA and IC

  I haven't seen the provision but nothing in this post says ICs will be patentable. Even ACTA couldn't pull that off (watch your back Bikey).

• On the post: EU Negotiators Insist That ACTA Will Move Forward And There's Nothing To Worry About

  

  bikey ( profile ), 24 Mar, 2010 @ 02:18pm

  ACTA

  All that shiftiness wasn't enough - WIPO? To third worldy; WTO? It stopped working for the US as soon the other countries understood what was going on (and thank you Brazil for taking charge of the mechanism); bilaterals? Let's see how they hold up.
  Seattle? Too public? Doha? Sufficiently isolated, but now they know what we're doing just by opening computers. What's left but total secrecy, except you have no credibility left and all holes leak to...This is all nothing new for the US, but why on earth does the EU follow it into these nether regions? Dignity? Could we have some please? EU? Hello? Parliament (thank gods for them) calling.

• On the post: Utah Wants To Own State Microbes; May Demand Royalty On Any Products Developed

  

  bikey ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2010 @ 06:36am

  microbes and ownership

  This has nothing to do with crazy Utah, or mormondom. This is what many genetic-resource rich nations have been fighting for to keep from being ripped off by big pharma, monsanto, etc. You might not like the idea that a US state would do it, but it's not a cocamamie idea. Article 3 of the1992 Biodiversity Convention provides:
  Article 3. Principle
  
  States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

• On the post: Let's Face Facts: ACTA Is Called An 'Executive Agreement' To Change The Law With Less Hassle Than A Treaty

  

  bikey ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2010 @ 07:01am

  Re:

  I hope someone is paying you to say all this. Otherwise, do go out and get a real job (and I'm willing to bet good money it won't be as a lawyer) - it's getting a tad boring for the rest of us.

• On the post: Explaining The Copyright Bubble… And Why Big Corporations Want To Keep ACTA Secret

  

  bikey ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2010 @ 03:33am

  secret ACTA

  Good article, good link, but you haven't explained what you set out to explain in your title. TRIPS did the same thing, but secrecy, let alone secrecy at the level of ACTA, was not on the agenda. So?

• On the post: Explaining The Copyright Bubble… And Why Big Corporations Want To Keep ACTA Secret

  

  bikey ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2010 @ 03:30am

  Re:

  Three strikes is about copyright. Three strikes is contained in ACTA. What don't you understand about that?

• On the post: EU Parliament Pressured By France, Removes Clause That Bans Kicking People Off The Internet

  

  bikey ( profile ), 24 Oct, 2009 @ 04:05am

  Re:

  Mr. Ring, Sorry to discourage you but word has it that three-strikes is front and center of the highly secret ACTA. Do you honestly think the US cares more about consumers than the Europeans? Neither give a tinkers whatever, but as long as we cling to 'well at least america...' we're doomed. We are all in this together. And it's not nice, no matter where you are.

• On the post: Network World Highlights BSA's Dirty Extortion Tricks

  

  bikey ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2009 @ 07:20am

  bsa

  Thanks PaulT, Beyond that, ever wonder why BSA (a largely US-based group) is the main lobbying power behind the European data retention directive? See research by German working group on data retention as mentioned on Statewatch's website Oct. 29, 2008, among other places. Insidiousness is alive and well.

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