Comboman’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Celine Dion Shuts Down Blog Of Ridiculous Pictures

Comboman ( profile ), 21 Jul, 2011 @ 09:37am

Thin-skinned ideed

Dion (or rather her husband/manager) is extremely thin-skinned. They once cancelled a major concert because of a slightly negative comment by a local music columnist.

On the post: Righthaven Loses Again; Has To Pay Legal Fees

Comboman ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2011 @ 07:21am

Legal Reform

Law firms that do pro bono lawsuits should ALWAYS have to pay the legal fees of the defendants if they lose. That would reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits pretty damn quick, and hopefully reduce the number of innocent people/businesses who settle out of court because they can't afford to defend themselves.

On the post: Feds Still Trying To Abuse Trademark Law (?!?) To Stop Motorcycle Gang

Comboman ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2011 @ 07:47am

Public Domain?

If copyrights & patents held by the US government are automatically in the public domain, does the same this apply to trademarks that they "acquire"?

Also, if government seizes the trademark of any organization who's head is a criminal; does that mean they own the trademarks of Enron? WorldCom? Martha Stewart? What about John Dillinger?

On the post: Telstra Having Second Thoughts Over Censorship Plan; Fears Reprisals From Hactivists

Comboman ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2011 @ 07:38am

Priorities

Fear of upsetting their paying customers was not an issue (it's good to be a monopoly), but fear of upsetting hackers who could show up their poor security makes them question their poor decisions. Sad.

On the post: Apple Goes After Open Source Startup For Daring To Use The Term 'App Store'

Comboman ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2011 @ 04:56am

How about....

... Walled Garden of Pure Ideology

On the post: Maori Angry About Mike Tyson's Tattoo Artist Claiming To Own Maori-Inspired Design

Comboman ( profile ), 26 May, 2011 @ 08:14am

"Pakeha Tatooist"

For the record, "Pakeha" is a Maori word for a white New Zealander. Whether it is derogatory or not is a subject of some debate.

On the post: What 4th Amendment? Indiana Sheriff Says Random, Warrantless House To House Searches Are Okay

Comboman ( profile ), 19 May, 2011 @ 09:50am

Indian?

news that one Indian Sheriff, Don Hartman Sr., from Newton County
Is Don Hartman a Native American? or from India? I believe Hoosier is the correct term for someone from Indiana.

On the post: Daily Show Highlights Seal Team 6 Trademark & FCC Commish Joining Comcast

Comboman ( profile ), 18 May, 2011 @ 07:18am

Damn you Jon Stewart!!!!

The Daily Show totally stole my joke! If only I had thought to trademark it.

(BTW, yes I know I gave Army ranks to a Seal Team, that's ...ah...part of the joke. Yeah, it's a comment on Hollywood's lack of attention to detail...yeah, that's the ticket)

On the post: Disney Trademarks Seal Team 6 Two Days After SEAL Team 6 Kills Bin Laden

Comboman ( profile ), 16 May, 2011 @ 08:20am

From the makers of G-Force.....

From the studio that brought you "G-Force" and "Air Bud 12: Death from Above" comes...

_Seal Team 6_

They were just six happy-go-lucky sea lions with a talent for mischief, but when their country needed them, they answered the call.

featuring the voices of
Kiefer Sutherland as Sgt. Barky
Samuel L Jackson as Lt. Snappy
Angelina Jolie as Lt. Splashy
Ernest Borgnine as Lt. Grumpy
and Jack Black as Private Slappy

Coming to theaters Christmas 2011.

On the post: If You Can't Understand The Difference Between Money And Content, You Have No Business Commenting On Business Models

Comboman ( profile ), 25 Apr, 2011 @ 11:23am

Making the analogy work

Maybe his analogy is not so bad after all. Making digital copies of currency is not illegal. The internet is full of copies of money. It only becomes illegal if you print it out and try to pass it off as the real thing in exchange for something else (i.e. "Commercial Infringment"). I'd be totally in favor of treating copyrighted items the same way (legal to distribute digital copies on the internet but illegal to print/burn a copy and sell as the real thing).

On the post: New RIAA Evidence Comes To Light: Napster Killed Kerosene Too!

Comboman ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2011 @ 09:44am

Surprising (but understandable) graph

I'm surprised that the albums-per-person number is still as high as it is. It's basically the same now as it was in 1975 (after which there was a jump as people re-bought albums they already owned on 8-track and cassette) and in 1982 (after which there was a jump as people re-bought albums they already owned on CD). Since people can now rip CDs they already own to whatever digital format they want, there is no more need to re-buy albums (which based on this graph, seems to be what the record business is counting on).

I'd love to see a graph of singles-per-person. I suspect that graph would look very different, with a gradual decline from the 1970's to 1990's (as 45RPM singles fall out of favor and tapes/CDs didn't have a viable single format) then a huge jump when iTunes is released. I bet the RIAA don't want to show that graph in court.

On the post: Is It Infringement To Get Your Favorite Sports Team Logo Tattooed On Your Body?

Comboman ( profile ), 14 Apr, 2011 @ 04:59am

Go after tattoo artists, not fans

The team owners would be a lot more likely to go after the tattoo artists than the fans for PR reasons (suing fans looks bad), legal reasons (fewer people to sue) and financial reasons (tattoo businesses have deeper pockets than individual fans). They could even offer tattoo artists an option to avoid getting sued by purchasing a license to reproduce the logos (just like a cap or t-shirt manufacturer would) and create a whole new revenue stream. I believe a similar setup currently exists for cake decorators who want to produce cakes in the likeness of copyrighted characters (Disney, etc) despite the fact that a cake is not exactly a "fixed medium".

On the post: Is Tethering Stealing Bandwidth?

Comboman ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2011 @ 10:41am

Re: Re: _SIGH_

I prefer this analogy:

You pay the water company to use water in the plumbing fixtures of your house, but some people buy a "tethering device" (also known as a hose) to use water outdoors as well. Clearly that is theft since you're only paying for indoor water.

On the post: Contract Dispute Reveals That Intellectual Ventures Paid Consultant To Get Unions To Fight Patent Reform

Comboman ( profile ), 25 Mar, 2011 @ 07:24am

Re: Union members suffer

Keep in mind that unions are a monopoly on labor in the same way patents are a monopoly on design and copyrights are a monopoly on art. I can't work in many industries without joining a union and paying dues, just like I can't produce many products without paying a patent troll. Unions were created out of the same protectionist, anti-competition mindset that patents and copyrights are, so in many ways, unions are the natural allies of patent trolls.

On the post: New Hampshire Police Charge Man With 'Wiretapping' Because He Made A Phone Call During Traffic Stop

Comboman ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2011 @ 08:53am

Re:

But they WERE waiting for him. Sometimes even paranoids have real enemies.

On the post: GAO Suggests It's Time To Ditch Dollar Bills For Coins

Comboman ( profile ), 08 Mar, 2011 @ 09:51am

Hang onto your singles boys!

Having lived through the Canadian transition from one (and two) dollar bills to heavy coins I can tell you that the only reason there wasn't more complaining is because we were already moving to more debit/credit card transactions at the time; something which makes the banks rich on transaction fees and encourages people to spend more than they have (we all know the effect that had on the economy). So to my American neighbours, I recommend holding on to your singles as long as you can (besides, strippers get angry when you stick coins in their panties).

On the post: Ubisoft Uses 'Copyright' Claim To Block Americans From Seeing Its Own Ad For Ridiculous 'Adult' Wii Game

Comboman ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2011 @ 05:23am

Looks like fun to me

Is the negative reaction to this game due to the general prudishness of Americans? Or because most game-playing nerds could not find a girl to play it with?

On the post: Senator Franken Defends Censoring The Internet Because He Doesn't Think Hollywood Should Have To Change Biz Models?

Comboman ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2011 @ 12:28pm

Protect your royalty checks Al

All those people who are downloading Stuart Saves His Family are stealing from you. ... Both of them.

On the post: Guy Faces Five Years In Prison For Reading Wife's Email

Comboman ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2010 @ 10:21am

Trust issues

Snooping on a spouse's email is a breach of trust, but so is cheating (a much bigger breach most people would say). If one is illegal then the other should be as well.

On the post: Nike Sues Guy Who Ordered Single Pair Of Counterfeit Sneakers Over The Internet

Comboman ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2010 @ 01:09pm

What the hell?

If the shoes were confiscated at the border, he didn't even get a chance to see the shoes he bought before he was sued. Even if he were able to tell the difference, he was never given the chance. I wonder how much Nike paid the judge?

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