Spamtrap’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Dutch Collection Society Backs Down Slightly On Video Embeds

Spamtrap ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2009 @ 06:07am

Missing the point

Oh, we will still have bloggers. Programs like Google's AdSense have just taken a shot in the shorts though and Google has lots of nice lawyers to "discuss" this issue with the Dutch.

On the post: Journalist: Oh No! Student Journalists Will Destroy Journalism!

Spamtrap ( profile ), 27 Sep, 2009 @ 12:05pm

How dare they!

How dare these student journalists publish something when they are Nomenklatura!

On the post: Toronto Copyright Townhall: Canadian Record Industry Mobilizes In Panic, Everyone Loses Out

Spamtrap ( profile ), 01 Sep, 2009 @ 08:41am

One Answer

One answer I've come up with is that sure, we'll give them the copyright laws they want if, and only if, they'll pay taxes on their "intellectual property" so long as they hold the copyright. This is only "fair" as these people are expecting us to enforce their property rights.

On the post: Since When Is Sharing So Bad?

Spamtrap ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2009 @ 04:52pm

Re: Re: Shortsighted

In the case of public domain or FOSS, none of these are commodities that I have paid for sole use or possession.

On the post: The Original Sin Of Newspapers: Not Innovating

Spamtrap ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2009 @ 04:37am

RE: Original Sin

If the there is any great sin committed by the collective media it is their disassociation from their readers. They apparently expect to write anything at all regardless of association with reality and expect us to buy it. My measure on any newspaper is will they communicate with their readers? Try sending an e-mail to a writer whose article you recently read. If there is no method to do so, they can be dismissed as disassociated.

On the post: B&N Claims It Must DRM Public Domain Books To Protect The Copyright On Them

Spamtrap ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2009 @ 11:50am

This reminds me of the famous quote from the Tet Offensive when a commander made the wonderful observation that "We had to destroy the city to save it". To quote Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us".

On the post: Were We Smarter About Copyright Laws 100 Years Ago?

Spamtrap ( profile ), 21 Jul, 2009 @ 05:00am

Intellectual Property

I've often thought the quick answer to "intellectual property" is to tax it. They're taxing everything else. Why should this be omitted? I suspect a fairly modest tax would see a sudden surge in the public domain.

On the post: Why The New Webcasting Rates Are A Death Sentence For Webcasters

Spamtrap ( profile ), 12 Jul, 2009 @ 06:21am

Haven for Talk Radio

While RIAA may be able to kill off playing music over the Internet, this may open the track for talk radio to take to Internet radio when the One re-instates the unfairness doctrine under some new nom de plume like the "Save The Children From Opposing Ideas" act.

On the post: How Patents Are Harming Small Companies Too

Spamtrap ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2009 @ 04:52am

Tax IP

The only way to sort out a lot of this mess is to start taxing patents and copyrights. Yes, you heard me. Tax them. That way, good & profitable patents and copyrights can continue so long as they pay the renewal fees and the rest can go to public domain.

On the post: If This Is The Sort Of Writing That Strong Copyright Creates… I'll Pass

Spamtrap ( profile ), 15 May, 2009 @ 04:00am

Copyright Forever?

Oh, I'm all for a forever copyright...for a price. Let's say the creator gets the first 7 years for free. After that, they must pay a progressively increasing renewal fee for each and every work. The creator gets their forever copyright on successful, paying works. The rest would go to public domain as the original copyright expires. Congress would love this as they contemplate the income from copyright renewal fees. We would actually come out ahead as a great many works would simply be abandoned to the public domain.

On the post: New Zealand Newspaper Threatens Blogging Critic With Trademark Infringement Claim

Spamtrap ( profile ), 07 May, 2009 @ 04:00am

Lawyers

"Once again, it appears that there are a lot of lawyers out there who still think that sending such cease and desist letters is a good idea."
.
The blame here should be affixed to the New Zealand Herald. They called in the lawyers. Cease & desist letters are what lawyers do. By the time a client shows up, they are convinced this what they need. Far be it for a lawyer to pass by a fee even if they know it is a stupid, counterproductive idea.

On the post: Discovery Channel Sues Amazon Over Ebook Patent

Spamtrap ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2009 @ 09:08am

Prior Art

Excuse me but DRM infested e-books were is distribution years prior to 2007; i.e. Acrobat, e-Reader, etc.

On the post: Lawyers Use Juror's Twitter Messages As Basis For Appeal

Spamtrap ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2009 @ 03:10am

Trial Practice

It will make interesting debate. Trial lawyers today seem to emphasize the selection of essentially ignorant juries. In some regards, this practice is an abuse of our legal system. Both defense & prosecution are seeking an easily swayed jury. However, in past times, this was not the case. The community was too small to find a jury with no knowledge of the case; much less someone who was unaffected by the event. My opinion about the entry of the Internet into jury deliberations is that it may be that citizens are reclaiming their legal system rather than leaving the process to judges & lawyers who often have their own agenda. The effect will be mixed; neither totally good nor bad. Of course, it will be for the appeals process to sort out the mess.

On the post: Why Government Backed Businesses Will Always Be Inefficient

Spamtrap ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2009 @ 03:28am

Oxymoron Government Efficiency

People who believe government has any insight in running a business should recall my favorite bad example; the infamous bordello, the Mustang Ranch. What does a cat-house have to do with government, you ask? Back in 1990s, the operation was seized by the feds for tax evasion. The government attempted to continue the operation to recover some of the money they claimed they were owed and finally shut it down just before Clinton left office because they lost money. That's right. The federal government could not run a cat-house and turn a profit. We expect these people to run large financial corporations and our auto industry?

On the post: AT&T And Comcast Willing To Cut Off File Sharers

Spamtrap ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2009 @ 04:11am

Comcast & File Sharing

I'll give you a good one. Comcast hands out free copies of MacAfee to subscribers. Last year I went to install a free copy of MacAfee on a friend's computer. The installer downloaded OK but when the installer went to download the rest of the software from MacAfee, the Comcast network would stop the download. Eventually, I had to resort to the trick of turning the cable modem off and back on so Comcast would allow me to complete the installation. Hello! Right hand meet left hand!

On the post: ASCAP Working To Shut Up Free Culture Supporters

Spamtrap ( profile ), 26 Jan, 2009 @ 10:11am

Is this the same ASCAP?

Is this the same organization that cannot seem to find very well known performers to send their royalty check to? Is this the same organization that collects royalties whether the artist is signed up with ASCAP or not?

On the post: There's Only So Many Ways To Combine Chords…

Spamtrap ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2009 @ 11:28am

Silence

Reminds me of those two fools a year or so ago. Both issued CDs at different times with silent tracks; literally a track with nothing in it. One sued the other because his silence was more profound and evocative than the other.

On the post: Is Obama's Broadband Plan Anything More Than A Free Gift To Incumbent Providers?

Spamtrap ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2009 @ 02:43pm

And what did you expect?

And what did you expect? Our soon-to-be president comes from one of the national capitols of crony capitalism.

On the post: How About Five Year Renewable Copyrights With A Use-It-Or-Lose-It Clause?

Spamtrap ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2008 @ 08:08am

Use It or Lose It

Sounds like a reasonable proposal to me. So long as the copyright is generating income, I see no reason why the government shouldn't collect essentially what is an "intellectual Property Tax". If it's not generating income, there is no reason for the copyright to exist. I'd like to see this concept extended to patents as well.

On the post: Supreme Court Decision On Guns May Cut Promoting Progress Out Of The Constitution

Spamtrap ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2008 @ 02:32pm

Constitution grammar

Over and above the discussion regarding the 2nd Amendment, there is the issue that all copies of the Constitution & Bill of Rights are not identical. The punctuation is not identical on all the hand made copies produced contemporaneously.

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