Tag Archives: Intellectual Poverty

Aaron Swartz and Intellectual Property’s Bitter-Enders

Posted on by

C4SSLogo22

“Since England’s ‘Statute of Anne’ in 1710, the rentiers have been fighting increasingly dubious battles to maintain and profit from the fiction of ‘intellectual property.’ Even at a time when printing presses were rare and electronic media non-existent, enforcement was impossible. The best they could hope for was to discourage copying by ‘making an example’ of a few of the most prominent scofflaws. The dawn of the Internet Age was the Appomattox of the ‘intellectual property’ wars. The equipment for copying data and channels for distribution of that data are now cheaply and globally available. They represent a nearly trivial investment in ‘advanced’ nations, and doable even in the ‘Third World.'”

http://c4ss.org/content/16277

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Copyright Claim Blocks Online Posting of Important Technical Standards

Posted on by

“The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a federal judge today to protect the free speech rights of an online archive of laws and legal standards.  As part of its work, Public Resource acquires and makes available public safety documents such as fire safety codes, food safety standards, and other regulations that have been incorporated into U.S. and international laws.  The association of Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors (SMACNA) claimed an online post of a federally-mandated 1985 standard on air-duct leakage violated its copyright and demanded the post be removed.  EFF and Public Resource asked the court to rule that posting the standards does not infringe any copyright.”

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/free-speech-battle-over-publication-federal-law

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Aaron Swartz’s Girlfriend Explains ‘Why Aaron Died’

Posted on by

“I believe that Aaron’s death was caused by a persecution and a prosecution that had already wound on for 2 years (what happened to our right to a speedy trial?) and had already drained all of his financial resources.  I believe that Aaron’s death was caused by a criminal justice system that prioritizes power over mercy, vengeance over justice; a system that punishes innocent people for trying to prove their innocence instead of accepting plea deals that mark them as criminals in perpetuity; a system where incentives and power structures align for prosecutors to destroy the life of an innovator like Aaron in the pursuit of their own ambitions.”

http://mashable.com/2013/02/05/aaron-swartz-girlfriend-why-he-died/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Trademark bullying: Now they say you can’t use ‘space marine’ in science fiction

Posted on by

“For years, there have been stories about Games Workshop being trademark bullies and sending threats to people who use the term ‘space marine’ in connection with games. But now that they’ve started publishing ebooks, Games Workshop has begun to assert a trademark on the generic, widely used, very old term ‘space marine’ in connection with science fiction literature.  MCA Hogarth, an author who has published several novels in ebook form, has had her book ‘Spots the Space Marine’ taken down on Amazon in response to a legal threat from Games Workshop. She could conceivably fight the trademark claim, but that would cost (a lot) of money, which she doesn’t have.”

http://boingboing.net/2013/02/06/games-workshop-trademark-bully.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

5 Absurd Copyright Takedowns That Make The Law Look Outdated

Posted on by

“Sure, plenty of legitimate DMCA are received and honored by sites like YouTube, Rapidshare and Grooveshark all the time. But every now and then we hear about a takedown notice that leaves us scratching our heads: Is that really a copyright violation? If not, why was the content removed? Is the system that easily gamed? Oh, it was a violation? How weird.  Five prominent examples are listed below, but there are undoubtedly others. If you’ve heard of an outrageous Web content takedown request, let us know in the comments section.”

http://readwrite.com/2013/01/22/5-absurd-copyright-takedowns-that-make-the-law-look-outdated

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Did the Government Drive Aaron Swartz to Suicide?

Posted on by

“In Les Misérables, an obsessed French police officer, Javert, relentlessly pursues Jean Valjean, a man who represents no danger to society but whose minor infraction brought down the wrath of the brutal government, including 19 years of hard labor and lifetime parole.  America, too, has its Javerts. Zealous and ruthless federal prosecutors have the power to torment people for trivial or imagined offenses, threatening them with decades of barbaric confinement. The consequences can be tragic even when case is not seen through to completion. Take the example of Aaron Swartz. Swartz, an acclaimed programming prodigy, who faced 13 counts under the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).”

http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/did-the-government-drive-aaron-swartz-to-suicide/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Don’t Photoshop Obama

Posted on by

google-search-header2

“According to Breitbart, the White House released a photo of Obama skeet shooting at Camp David, with a stern warning:  ‘This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.’  What ensued is this hilarious cascade of photo ops. And here’s an entire website dedicated to the best ‘shop’ of Obama skeet shooting.”

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/131732.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Did Obama Violate Copyright Law Watching the Super Bowl?

Posted on by

“The NFL, using copyright, has prohibited churches from having Super Bowl gatherings on TV sets or screens larger than 55 inches. (And trademark is used to bully people from using ‘Super Bowl’ in publicizing Super Bowl parties.) Well in a series of beautiful photos profiling President Obama’s first term, one of them (below) shows O’Bama and a variety of cronies watching the game in the ‘family theater’ of the White House. Wanna guess the screen is larger than 55″? Wanna guess no copyright charges have been filed?  And people say we live under the ‘Rule of law’, where the law applies to everyone equally. Ha.”

http://c4sif.org/2013/01/did-obama-violate-copyright-law-watching-the-super-bowl/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

The tepid mainstream “defenses” of Aaron Swartz

Posted on by

copyleft-aeroflot-failed_business_model2

“People who support the state’s existence, its right to legislate, and, indeed, its legislated imposition of a copyright scheme, cannot blame copyright itself for tragedies like the Swartz case. Or Richard O’Dwyer, the British student facing extradition for having the wrong links on his site. Or the  37-year-old man imprisoned for 15 years for piracy. Or the Six Year Federal Prison Sentence for Copyright Infringement. Or the Man sentenced to federal prison for uploading ‘Wolverine’ movie. Or the potentially millions of dollars of statutory copyright liability faced by Jammie Thomas for sharing 24 songs.  Or Kim dotcom’s arrest, in a raid by dozens of New Zealand police, orchestrated by the FBI. [..]”

http://c4sif.org/2013/01/the-tepid-mainstream-defenses-of-aaron-swartz/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Former White House ‘intellectual property czar’ jumps to anti-piracy lobby BSA

Posted on by

techdirt1

“Just weeks after leaving the White House, Victoria Espinel will take over as the head of the Business Software Alliance, a group with a shameful past of overaggressive anti-piracy and pro-software patent positions, driven in large part by legacy software companies long past their innovation stage, and well into their ‘litigation’ against innovators stage. The organization tends to take its orders mainly from Microsoft and Autodesk, two proponents of very strong copyright and patent enforcement, because it helps those legacy companies ward off competitors and disruptive innovators.”

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130828/11481424336/former-white-house-ip-czar-immediately-jumps-ship-to-microsoft-driven-anti-piracy-lobbying-group-bsa.shtml

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet