mattshow 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Homeowner's House Burns Down, He Tries To Rebuild… But Facing Copyright Threats From Original Builder

    mattshow ( profile ), 01 May, 2017 @ 03:38pm

    I'm skeptical of a newly created reddit account, but I've also spent enough time dealing with architects, eningeers, construction companies and the like and their views on the intellectual property in their drawings to totally believe. The professional societies that regulate or advocate on behalf of these professions repeatedly, through published guidelines, tells their members that they absolutely must maintain and protect zealously the copyright in their drawings. Try including a clause in a contract with an architect that says that copyright in any drawings they prepare is transferred to you (the client paying the bills) and watch their head explode.

  • On the post: Louisiana DA's Office Used Fake Subpoenas For Decades To Trick People Into Talking To Prosecutors

    mattshow ( profile ), 01 May, 2017 @ 03:29pm

    "Assertive invitation" sounds like it comes straight out of United's phrasebook

    I bet if you decline their assertive invitation, they'll be happy to re-accomodate you to the nearest holding cell.

  • On the post: Dutch Court Rules That Freely Given Fan-Subtitles Are Copyright Infringement

    mattshow ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2017 @ 01:32pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    I'm arguing that the court has to apply the law as it is written, not how Techdirt would like it to be written.

    You might not think it should be a problem. I might not think it should be a problem. But if the law says it's a problem, then that's how the court has to rule.

  • On the post: Dutch Court Rules That Freely Given Fan-Subtitles Are Copyright Infringement

    mattshow ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2017 @ 08:16am

    Re: Re: Re:

    And is any of that relevant in Dutch copyright law?

    Most of those wouldn't be relevant in an analysis under Canadian or US law (the only two copyright laws I really claim to be familiar with). I can't see how it's de minimis - it's literally a translation of the entire script of the movie.

    Again, I understand not liking the law or the way companies use it, but I just any clear indication the court applied the law incorrectly.

  • On the post: Dutch Court Rules That Freely Given Fan-Subtitles Are Copyright Infringement

    mattshow ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2017 @ 10:53am

    Re:

    On what grounds though? There are plenty of legitimate criticisms to be made of how the industry is handling this situation, but the court's role is not to decide whether it thinks the industry is doing a good job. The court's role is to interpret and apply the law. If, under the law, this is copyright infringement then the court's decision was entirely correct.

    Techdirt may not agree with the law, or with industry's use of it, but if the court correctly applied it then there's nothing to appeal.

  • On the post: Destined For Failure: Woman Sues Search Engines Over Revenge Porn Search Results

    mattshow ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2017 @ 10:05am

    What about the part of the filing where it states that

    "21. That at all times hereinafter mentioned, GOOGLE was and still is a web search engine operated by MICROSOFT."

    Microsoft must have been thrilled to learn this!

  • On the post: Gizmodo Completely Misses The Point Of Cord Cutting

    mattshow ( profile ), 14 Sep, 2016 @ 12:25pm

    The math gets a lot simpler (and the piracy option looks a lot more attractive) when you live outside the US and a lot of streaming options aren't available to you.

    I could subscribe to Netflix, Shomi and Crave for $30 a month... and that's about it. Amazon Prime isn't an option for me. HBO Go isn't an option for me. Hulu isn't an option for me. I can't even get Youtube Red. Then there's

  • On the post: Hollywood Freaking Out That Europe Might Make It Marginally Easier For People To Legally Access Content

    mattshow ( profile ), 02 Sep, 2016 @ 10:29am

    A Digital Single Market makes a ton of sense. Geoblocking is the bane of many people's existence, especially in Europe where so much content is blocked.


    I can't speak the situation in Europe, but as a Canadian, nothing promotes piracy like geo-blocking.

    I genuinely make every effort to legitimately obtain content. I'm finally at a point in my life where I make a decent salary and my student debts are (mostly) under control. I can afford to pay for content and the legitimate channels are convenient. Within 30 seconds of deciding "I'd like to see Jason Statham kick someone in the face", I can be watching The Transporter in high-def on my TV.

    But when content is geo-blocked and I'm sitting in front of my TV/computer/phone, credit card in hand, literally begging to be allowed to pay money to access that content and that request is refused, any guilt or reservations I might have about pirating that content go right out the window. I will pirate it with a smile on my face and not feel a shred of guilt.

  • On the post: Court: Okay For Trial To Move Forward Against ESPN For Tweeting JPP's Medical Chart

    mattshow ( profile ), 31 Aug, 2016 @ 09:34am

    There's a lot of armchair lawyering going on here considering all the details we have come from a very thin article discussing a judgment issued from the bench. We have no idea why the judge ruled that Florida's anti-SLAPP statute did not apply.

  • On the post: Canadian Law Enforcement Want Government To Force People To Turn Over Their Passwords

    mattshow ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2016 @ 08:10am

    Re:

    No idea why I added all those extra Ls to his name.

  • On the post: Canadian Law Enforcement Want Government To Force People To Turn Over Their Passwords

    mattshow ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2016 @ 08:09am

    The legislated human backdoor. Obviously, such a demand raises constitutional questions, even on that side of the border.

    Why does Techdirt insist on pushing this narrative that Canadians have no (or substantially weaker) constitutional protections?

    Just because our constitutional rights are not phrased in exactly the same way or have not been intepreted in the same way as US constitutional rights doesn't mean they don't exist. But every time something like this comes up, Techdirt takes this surprised tone, like the fact that Canada has a constitution at all is shocking.

    Particularly ironic considering US courts have allowed exactly this kind of thing to happen, while no Canadian court ever has. (Allain Phillipon doesn't count - he plead guilty and the trial was never heard by a court).

  • On the post: Canadian Court Says No Expectation Of Privacy In SMS Messages Residing On Someone Else's Phone

    mattshow ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2016 @ 07:50am

    Re:

    The ether comment isn't from the judgment, it's from Vice's reporting on the judgment.

    And Vice is allowed to report on judgments they don't understand for the same reason you're allowed to comment on articles you didn't understand.

  • On the post: Canadian Comedian Plans To Appeal $42k For A Joke That Insulted Someone

    mattshow ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2016 @ 11:03am

    Okay, okay, I know that Canada doesn't have a First Amendment like we do down here...

    Uh, we DO have a constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression. It's section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

    2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

    (a) freedom of conscience and religion;
    (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
    (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
    (d) freedom of association.

    The "right to dignity" comes from Quebec's own, provincial level Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

    Unfortnately my French isn't good enough to read the decision and work out how they managed to decide the right to dignity from Quebec's Charter trumped the right to freedom of expression in the national Charter, but I look forward to the appeal.

  • On the post: USPTO Rejects Whole Foods 'World's Healthiest Grocery Store' Trademark Because Naaaaaah

    mattshow ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2016 @ 08:06am

    It functions only in the United States, England and Canada, which is hardly the entire globe.

    And it barely functions in Canada. One store in BC with another in BC and one in Alberta to follow? That leaves at least 90% of the Canadian population living nowhere near a Whole Foods and probably barely aware that the chain even exists, never mind recognizing it as the "World's Healthiest Grocery Store".

  • On the post: Nick Denton Bucks The Trend Du Jour, Thinks News Comments Are Worth Saving

    mattshow ( profile ), 21 Jul, 2016 @ 07:41am

    Re:

    I was thinking the same thing. I get it, the TechDirt crowd likes comments sections and other blogs/media outlets are less enthusiastic about them. But does the topic really deserve this many stories written about it?

  • On the post: Fake Satoshi Nakamoto Trying To Patent All Sorts Of Bitcoin Related Ideas

    mattshow ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2016 @ 11:39am

    Re:

    That first paragraph was supposed to be a quote. Sigh. My HTML game is weak today.

  • On the post: Fake Satoshi Nakamoto Trying To Patent All Sorts Of Bitcoin Related Ideas

    mattshow ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2016 @ 11:39am

    It seems noteworthy, of course, that at least in the US you're supposed to file for a patent within a year of any public use or description of the invention. If he's trying to patent stuff "from the beginning," he might be a bit late.

    And in much of the rest of the world, there is no grace period at all. I'm not aware of any countries that offer more than a one year grace period (but I'm happy to be corrected there).

    That seems like kind of a huge problem for technology that has been extensively analyzed and discussed for several years now.

  • On the post: New York Times Says Fair Use Of 300 Words Will Run You About $1800

    mattshow ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2016 @ 07:24am

    I really don't understand the outrage here. If the authors believe their use is fair use, then they should have gone ahead and used the quotes without payment. If it's fair use, why are they even trying to get "formal permission"?

    That seems to be the stance the NYT has taken: if you're asking us for permission, then we're assuming you've decided your use is not fair and here's our licensing rate. You can argue that rate is too high, but that has nothing to do with fair use.

    To suggest otherwise seems to suggest that the NYT should have some role in determining what is and is not fair use, which is bonkers.

  • On the post: Canadian Court Says Vice Magazine Must Hand Over Its Communications With A Suspected Terrorist

    mattshow ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2016 @ 03:12pm

    The court's judgment doesn't seem to be available on CanLII at the moment, but it's been posted here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_bUaJvZ9k_BRURaSENEM0IxV2M/view

    I've only skimmed it but it looks like it's a good read for those who are interested in the analysis that goes on when issuing these kinds of orders (in the Canadian context, of course).

  • On the post: Techdirt Reading List: More Crypto Books

    mattshow ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2016 @ 07:28am

    The Simon Singh book is fantastic. I read it years ago and it contributed to me eventually getting a math degree.

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