Tag Archives: Intellectual Poverty

Author Demands Copyright Takedown Over Interview Given 20 Years Ago

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techdirt1

“Author Bill Bryson, known for his ‘humorous books on travel,’ along with his publisher Transworld (a division of Random House), are apparently claiming that Bryson holds the copyright on an interview he gave 20 years ago to Mike Gerrard, who published it in the literary magazine Passport (where Gerrard was the publisher). Thinking people might be interested in that interview, Gerrard (smartly) dusted it off and republished it as a Kindle e-book (it sounds like a Kindle Single, but that’s not made clear anywhere). Amazon has since taken the book down.”

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131019/03042524937/author-claims-copyright-over-interview-he-gave-20-years-ago.shtml

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EasyDNS Founder: Whatever Happened to “Due Process”?

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“What gets me about all of this is that the largest, most egregious perpetrators of online criminal activity right now are our own governments, spying on their own citizens, illegally wiretapping our own private communications and nobody cares, nobody will answer for it, it’s just an out-of-scope conversation that is expected to blend into the overall background malaise of our ever increasing serfdom.  If I can’t make various governments and law enforcement agencies get warrants or court orders before they crack my private communications then I can at least  require a court order before I takedown my own customer.”

http://blog.easydns.org/2013/10/08/whatever-happened-to-due-process/

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Ben Swann Reality Check: Monsanto and Crony Capitalism

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“Ben Swann Reality Check takes a look at three controversies surrounding food company ‘Monsanto’. Plus, is Monsanto one of the best examples of America’s crony capitalist system.”

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US farmers challenging Monsanto patent claims appeal to Supreme Court

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“Seventy-three US farmers, seed companies, and public advocacy groups appealed their case against Monsanto Co. to the Supreme Court on Thursday.  The case seeks to challenge Monsanto’s aggressive claims on patents of genetically-engineered  seeds and aims to bar the chemical and biotech company from suing anyone whose field is contaminated by such seeds.  Monsanto has in the past sued over 100 farmers for patent infringement and won cases against farmers who were found to have used seeds without paying the company royalties.”

http://rt.com/usa/monsanto-patents-lawsuit-supreme-court-487/

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Kim Dot Com resigns from Mega to pursue plans for NZ political party

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“Internet mogul Kim Dotcom said on Thursday he was resigning from his new venture Mega to focus on fighting extradition to the United States and his plans for a New Zealand political party.  The 39-year-old, who was arrested when armed New Zealand police involved in the US probe raided his Auckland mansion, confirmed that he had resigned as a director of Mega at an August 29 board meeting. Dotcom said he was still working on development of a web-based music service called Megabox. The extradition case has dragged on in the courts and is subject to numerous appeals, with Dotcom estimating earlier this year that his legal bills could exceed US$50 million.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/05/kim-dot-com-resigns-from-mega-to-pursue-plans-for-his-new-zealand-political-party/

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DOJ ‘Elevated Its Charges’ Against Aaron Swartz Because Of Internet Community

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“Details of the Justice Department’s treatment of an Internet activist who committed suicide has stoked fresh outrage on Capitol Hill, with the chairman of the House Oversight Government and Reform Committee demanding answers from Attorney General Eric Holder about the findings of a probe into the death of Aaron Swartz.  In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pursued by Wired investigations editor Kevin Poulsen, the Secret Service today released 104 pages of heavily redacted documents kept on Swartz. The documents confirmed that the government’s interest in Swartz was piqued after a 2008 manifesto he wrote describing his beliefs that open access is a human right.”

http://pjmedia.com/blog/report-doj-elevated-its-charges-against-swartz-because-internet-community-rallied-on-his-behalf/?singlepage=true

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Policing Prosecutors

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“A hungry man stealing a loaf of bread from a market to feed his family is treated differently than a con man bilking senior citizens for personal gain. Aaron Swartz knew he was breaking the law when he downloaded those articles.  What he did not know, was that if a prosecutor wanted to make his life hell, she could credibly see to it that he was locked up until his mid 50’s.  We should make sure that punishments fit crimes, and that when we collectively threaten to remove a human being from society for a generation or two, they actually did something worthy of such a profound punishment.”

http://onegen.org/blogs/83-trending-topics/200-policing-prosecutors.html

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CEO of Danish CopyrightAlliance: “Control is Freedom!”

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CEO of Danish CopyrightAlliance: “Control is Freedom!”

“Maria Fredenslund, the CEO of the Danish CopyrightAlliance, in a debate in which she argues for increased control of the Internet in the name of copyright, proclaims that ‘control is freedom.’ She lauds the ‘highly controlled and regulated society we live in’ and insists that ‘control gives us freedom.’ You see, ‘Control and regulation creates innovation … and personal liberty.’ She criticizes the Internet as being ‘undemocratic’ because there is not enough ‘control’ of it.  And people say I am exaggerating when I use the term ‘fascism’ to describe IP.”

http://c4sif.org/2013/04/ceo-of-danish-copyrightalliance-control-is-freedom/

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AT&T and T-Mobile embroiled in legal fight over the color magenta

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“T-Mobile is suing AT&T for trademark infringement. To summarize a 20-page civil action suit: T-Mobile says Aio co-opted the color magenta.  ‘Out of all of the colors in the universe,’ AT&T chose – not purple, not pink – magenta, as Aio’s company color, according to the complaint T-Mobile’s lawyers filed.  ‘AT&T’s subsidiary’s use of magenta to attract T-Mobile customers is likely to dilute T-Mobile’s famous magenta color trademark, and to create initial confusion as to the source or affiliation of AT&T’s subsidiary’s business,’ the complaint continues.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech-Culture/2013/0830/AT-T-to-roll-out-a-nationwide-no-contract-service-called-Aio

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ABA Attempts To Claim Copyright On Bank Routing Numbers

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techdirt1

“It appears there’s been a followup to our earlier story on the American Bankers Association claiming that bank routing numbers are covered by copyright, and threatening a website that had created a useful way to look up those routing numbers. The website, run by Greg Thatcher, was doing a public service, getting such info from the Federal Reserve’s website, and making it much easier for people to find the numbers.  Thatcher is now being represented, pro bono, by Andrew Delaney of Martin & Associates, and his response letter to Nigel Howard, the ABA’s lawyer who sent the threat letter, is one of the most beautiful responses to a bogus threat letter you’ll ever see.”

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130830/11154124367/best-response-to-copyright-threat-ever-lawyers-explain-why-aba-is-full-st-claiming-copyright-routing-numbers.shtml

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