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"Get a license or do not sample." So held the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in September, in a case that asked whether there is any right of fair use in musical recordings. There is not, the court ruled. Sampling is piracy, and the law bans piracy.

You may think that's OK for pop stars. But forget about them for a moment. Think about your kids. After they get bored downloading all the music they can find, they're going to discover the power - practically bundled into the machine if it's a Mac - to remix the culture they've collected. They could add a bass track to a violin concerto. They could make a home movie and sync Tom Petty to the images. They could splice together a politician's speeches to prove she's a waffler.

That's not totally correct. Second-degree murder is manslaughter in certain circumstances - like in drunk driving (like this). There's a lot of leeway for states to enacts this sort of thing.

[ObDisclaimer: IANAL.]

That's not true, though. You are not legally required by statute to give your name unless a reasonable suspicion already exists. Which means by the time you're legally required to identify yourself, you can already be arrested at any time.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. "Reasonable suspicion" is not the same as "probable cause", the standard required for an arrest. For probable cause, the officer must believe that a crime was probably committed and therefore the suspect should be arrested. Merely suspecting that a crime may have taken place is insufficient to justify an arrest, but it is grounds for a "Terry Stop" to investigate whether probable cause exists in a suspicious situation. "Reasonable suspicion" is not an arrestable offense in and of itself.

Heh, you should read PJ's take on it, as this story is also covered on Groklaw

Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed the singular omissions Brown of AdTI is making here? One might think that he was acting with a reckless disregard for the truth, which counts as evidence of "actual malice." Not that that should be surprising to us, as those on SCO's side of things have been known for defaming people before (see my sig or journal), but it might be a basis for a lawsuit, even though Linus is likely a "public figure" ... Of course, IANAL.

I meant to link to this overview of trademark law.

However, if they try to put this in my car...it will be disconnected quickly.

I don't have cases to cite, but US contract law (and common sense, when you think about it) says that contracts that violate state or federal statutes are partially or fully unenforceable. I would guess Denmark has similar restrictions. See here (No Violation of Public Policy) for more details.

Perhaps you can. I've seen eveolutionary solutions to problems that I never would have expected from a statement of the problem alone. Sure, intelligence (as we know it) seems obvious once you've got it, but I'm not convinced it's the only (or even the best) solution.

Technological mishaps just don't kill enough people to be significant. Even in the US, the sum total of deaths from crime, auto accidents, drug related, the high level of obesity, and you're still far less than the death rate of a few centuries ago.

You don't need a high death rate to evolve; many other things (such as a significant failure-to-breed rate) can do the job for you. Besides, evolution doesn't act on the "big picture" (dispite popular press to that effect). Evolution acts on very small fitness differentials.

-- MarkusQ

• You can be stopped, searched, and arrested anytime you're in public if a police officer doesn't like the way you look. If you're lucky, your case will get thrown out or the cop will be nice. Cops have the right to tear your car apart looking for drugs, and not pay for damage if they don't find any.
• Civil forfeiture means that if you break any of the millions of anal, petty laws in the U.S., you can lose your house, your car, or any other property you own. Watch the first 20 minutes of Traffic to see how it works.
• Software and media piracy can land you in prison for five years and subject you to up to $250,000 in fines, per violation. (Naturally this bill was signed by our Democratic friend, Bill Clinton). It's a steep penalty for something so trivial.
• "Disorderly conduct" is a catch-all crime which can be used to arrest people for a reason of the officer's choosing. Ask any minority about it and you're certain to hear a few stories.
• Many forms of sexual activity (such as oral or anal sex) are banned in several states. Most people in the country (besides the Slashdot crowd) are guilty of one or more of these offenses.
• It is widely known that most powerful politicians can trigger an IRS audit on their political enemies.
• The ATA has made it legal for authorities to detain foreign nationals indefinitely, without presenting evidence of a crime or making a formal arrest.

The DMCA is only one of the many laws which make the USA into a police state. AC's intentions are good but he's got a lot more battles in front of him before the U.S. can be considered safe from authority abuse.

-CT