eclecticdave 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (148) comment rss

  • On the post: Tiffany Still Confused About How Liability Works; Appeals eBay Decision

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2008 @ 05:41am

    Re: ebay dug their own hole

    So what you're saying is, if a on-line auction operator, or any website that allows user interaction for that matter, sets up the site and takes a completely hands-off approach then that's OK ...

    ... but if they try to make their website a better place by at least filtering out the low hanging fruit of dodgy content, then they immediately become liable for anything else that slips through the net?

    That's nonsense - there's no such thing as a perfect filter, so your approach would see every website operator turning a blind eye to any and all criminal activity occurring on their site.

    A website operator shouldn't be liable for criminal activity being perpertrated by the site's users, but at the same time they shouldn't become liable the instant they try to curtail such activities!

  • On the post: Totally Misunderstanding Movie Downloading In France

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2008 @ 04:20pm

    Re: Empty multiplex situation....

    > Can I just go and sit inside a movie if I knew it is empty without paying ticket?

    ...

    > I am so naive :-0

    Of course, you realise it costs the multiplex money to screen a film and provide air conditioning etc. Anyway, presumably (I don't know for sure) if no one buys a ticket for a particular screening, they just don't bother showing the movie?

    So feel free to sneak in and stare at a blank screen for a couple of hours if you want to ...

  • On the post: Psystar Looking To Charge Apple With Antitrust Violations

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2008 @ 04:40am

    Re: Apple violates its own EULA

    When Mike said Apple ignored the provision, I don't think he meant Apple was somehow violating their own EULA (which as you rightly point out is nonsense).

    I think the point was, if Apple had reason to put OSX on non-Apple software, that weakens any claim they might make that OSX in some way needs to be on Mac hardware.

  • On the post: EU Plans To Extend Copyright; Turns Copyright System Into Welfare For Musicians

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2008 @ 01:45pm

    > Why shouldn't the creator of the ... property profit from it's exploitation?

    See what I did there? Read this sentence without the word 'intellectual' in it and you will see just how nonsensical you sound.

    Do you pay the architect and builder of your house every time you use it? What if you rent it out or otherwise make money out of it - do you expect to pay a royalty?

    Of course not, the creators of physical property profit from this clever thing called "selling" it, not from anything that subsequently happens to it. Why should "intellectual property" be any different?

  • On the post: Less Well Known Musicians Embracing 'Pay What You Want'

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2008 @ 08:10am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    "But if someone is a talented artist ... I don't want her chances for success or failure to depend on whether or not she is *also* a talented business person. That's why things like management companies, labels, etc. came into existence in the first place."

    Exactly right, but have I missed something here? Did anyone say the artist has to do the business side themselves? Even if the big labels aren't interested in this, surely one can still employ an independent manager?

  • On the post: Trent Reznor's Path To Accepting And Embracing New Business Models

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2008 @ 04:37am

    Re: Re: Free Music?

    Sorry, somehow I missed PaulT's comment above, who make pretty much the same point. Apologies for the noise!

  • On the post: Trent Reznor's Path To Accepting And Embracing New Business Models

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2008 @ 04:33am

    Re: Free Music?

    You've heard about free/open source software right?

    Some Free Software developers do indeed give speeches and some do offer merchandise. However the majority of the money made in this segment is through selling support.

    For example, although you might be able to get a bug fixed or feature added for free if you're prepared to wait for someone to get around to it, you also have the option of paying someone to do it if you need it "now". In other words you're paying for the immediacy and in the case of a new feature, for some say in how it works.

    Now you can't sell support for music of course, but in terms of immediacy, how about if you sold real-time podcasts of live concerts? I can easily imagine fans who aren't able to be there in person would pay to hear the concert live, *even if* the same download is available for free a couple of hours later.

  • On the post: Is It Fraud If You Collect One Penny Legally Over And Over Again?

    eclecticdave ( profile ), 29 May, 2008 @ 05:34am

    Torch The Place!

    Clearly this guy missed the ending of "Office Space". All he needed to do was torch Paypal HQ and he would have been in the clear!