Bergman 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (3321)

• On the post: Mercedes Locks Better EV Engine Performance Behind Annoying Subscription Paywalls

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 07 May, 2023 @ 06:36am

  Yes, it would. To void the warranty, they’d need to prove that your modification - or even just opening the casing - broke what you’re seeking warranty coverage on.

• On the post: Whoa: UK’s CMA Blocks Microsoft’s Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2023 @ 03:37pm

  I'm curious

  If the company is owned by people in the USA, and the company is incorporated in the USA, and they want to buy a company that is owned by people in the USA and incorporated in the USA, how exactly does a UK or EU regulator have any say whatsoever in whether that can happen? If the FTC were to order a German company to not acquire another German company, would the German government block the acquisition, or would the German government laugh and ignore the FTC?

• On the post: Teslas Are A Privacy Nightmare: Staff Regularly Shared Camera Recordings, Made Memes & Jokes At Customers’ Expense

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 11 Apr, 2023 @ 06:52am

  True, but a transmission that is itself illegal cannot be authorized in the FCC-approved sense.

• On the post: Appeals Court Reverses Awful Decision Finding That Holding Up A Sign Telling Drivers There Are Cops Ahead Is Not Free Speech

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2023 @ 03:30pm

  If every order a cop gave was unlawful to disobey, it would violate the 13th amendment. Just imagine: a cop likes your car or house so he orders you to sign over the title to him, and you’re not allowed to refuse - cops might enjoy living in that world, but no one else would. And I doubt the cops would either once they realized their superiors could order them to return their salaries and keep working for free, and they wouldn’t be allowed to refuse…

• On the post: Appeals Court Reverses Awful Decision Finding That Holding Up A Sign Telling Drivers There Are Cops Ahead Is Not Free Speech

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2023 @ 03:26pm

  Quotas of all kinds in law enforcement are ALREADY banned. It doesn’t seem to stop cirrupt cops from doing it anyway.

• On the post: Setting 1st Amendment Myths On Fire In A Crowded Theater

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2023 @ 12:13pm

  It’s worth noting that if there actually IS a fire in that hypothetical theater, NOT alerting people to it, or even stopping someone from raising the alarm, would make you guilty of at least manslaughter if anyone died in the fire instead of escaping.

• On the post: Can A Robot Lawyer Defend Itself Against Class Action Lawsuit For Unauthorized Practice Of Law

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 13 Mar, 2023 @ 09:43am

  The lawsuit is likely going absolutely nowhere. One thing people forget about computers is that a human somewhere programmed it. Every single thing a computer tells you to do is actually being relayed to you electronically from a real human, technically speaking. In the case of the robot lawyer, it was a programmer working at the behest of a legal team, who ARE certified to pass the bar. You might be able to sue the programmer for doing a poor job, but the robot is an inanimate tool following the instructions of a real lawyer.

• On the post: Facial Recognition Pitches In To Help Cops Arrest A Maryland Man For A Crime He Didn’t Commit

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2023 @ 03:18pm

  Cops love wonky facial recognition for the same reason they love those $2 drug field test kits that have a false-positive rate over 50% - their goal isn’t to catch actual criminals, their goal is to fill the holding cells to prove their job is vital to society. If a court later drops 99% of all the charges police generate, that’s on the courts, not the cops.

• On the post: Facial Recognition Pitches In To Help Cops Arrest A Maryland Man For A Crime He Didn’t Commit

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2023 @ 03:17pm

  The problem with that is that police departments- have no money of their own. Those very large awards you suggest would be paid with other people’s money - losing money that was never yours and never would be yours doesn’t hurt at all.

• On the post: Facial Recognition Pitches In To Help Cops Arrest A Maryland Man For A Crime He Didn’t Commit

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2023 @ 03:15pm

  *udder 🤣

• On the post: Calendar App Maker Confirmed Behind ‘The Day Before’ Trademark Dispute

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2023 @ 08:34pm

  This sort of thing is why I find trademarked product names like Hoverboard so alarming - if someone ever actually invents a hoverboard that actually hovers - rather than being like the trademarked one which is basically a powered skateboard - they won’t be able to use the term that describes what their new product actually does. Gene Roddenberry is hailed as a visionary for many things, but ine of the lesser known ones was that he insisted in his contracts that the names of Star Trek devices like tricorders, phasers, etc, nit be trademarked - he didn’t want his sci-fi story to prevent someone from actually giving the world a working tricorder!

• On the post: Lego Confirms Zelda Lego Set By Trying To DMCA Leaks Of It To Hide It

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2023 @ 12:00pm

  It’s not currently considered copyright infringement to falsely assert ownership of an intellectual property and have it taken down - if it was, it would limit the false takedowns considerably, since a takedown of something you know you do not own would meet the criteria to be hit with a $150,000 statutory penalty for each false assertion of ownership. A company that sent out thousands of false DMCA notices scattershot style could end up paying hundreds of millions in statutory damages with that small change to the law.

• On the post: Some Guy Thinks A Legal Doc Website’s Failure To Report On His Settlement Is Somehow Defamatory

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2023 @ 07:06pm

  John D. Thomas - strong of ego, dumb of ass.

• On the post: No Immunity For Cops Who Shot Man Multiple Times, Then Searched His House For Evidence Of ‘Assaulting An Officer’

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2023 @ 04:57am

  Because judges have absolute immunity. Even if it can be proven that the judge knew the warrant application was so egregiously deficient it couldn’t result in a valid warrant - and granted it anyway - judges cannot be sued for official acts. Period.

• On the post: Twitter Sued For Not Paying Rent On Its SF Headquarters And Its London Offices

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2023 @ 01:24pm

  There’s a quote about corporations that goes “Corporation. Noun. An ingenious device for attaining individual profits without individual responsibility.” Musk’s Tesla stick has nothing to do with Twitter. It would only be relevant if Musk was the one filing for bankruptcy, not Twitter.

• On the post: Lawyers Blocked From Entering Madison Square Garden By Vindictive Owner Use 1941 Law To Bypass Bullshit Ban

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2023 @ 12:27am

  The 1941 law violates the 1st amendment, which is why courts will uphold employees being punished for the actions of - as you put it - 3rd party corporations. Among the rights the 1st amendment protects is freedom of association, which also includes the right to not associate.

• On the post: Lawyers Blocked From Entering Madison Square Garden By Vindictive Owner Use 1941 Law To Bypass Bullshit Ban

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2023 @ 12:24am

  Private lenders who refuse legal tender payments end up losing money - refusing a legal tender repayment of a loan discharges the debt on the spot in the amount offered.

• On the post: Lawyers Blocked From Entering Madison Square Garden By Vindictive Owner Use 1941 Law To Bypass Bullshit Ban

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2023 @ 12:22am

  Perfectly free to refuse cash, except when they aren’t free to refuse cash. While very little MSG does involves debts, if anyone refuses a legal tender payment of a debt, the debt gets discharged in the amount offered.

• On the post: Random Musk Fan Tries To Get Trademarks On Tesla’s Behalf, Which Is Not How This Works

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2023 @ 11:12pm

  The thing that makes that Tesla fan most demonstrably unhinged, is that if he is actually granted the trademarks he seeks, he’d have to IMMEDIATELY sue Musk and Tesla to stop them from making claims about how watertight their products are, lest he lose the trademarks.

• On the post: ITC Blocks Import Of Apple Watches Based On Claimed Infringement… But The Patents Have Already Been Declared Invalid

  

  Bergman ( profile ), 27 Dec, 2022 @ 03:18pm

  Wait…

  If not actually having s patent on something doesn’t foreclose an ITC ruling, does anything actually prevent someone from going to the ITC to get injunctions against things as basic as login-password sign-ins or using electrons to convey data?

Next >>