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FTAA Treaty Threatens Innovation
The Importance of writes "IP Justice has published a white paper on the intellectual property aspects of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty, which is an attempt to create a single free trade agreement for the Western Hemisphere. Read the press release. The analysis is pretty devastating. The proposed language of the agreement has a number of serious flaws, including (but certainly not limited to) enhanced criminal penalties, a super-DMCA provision, reduced scope for fair use, and database protection elements.
The proposed treaty is supposed to be complete by January 2005 and go into effect December 2005. Now is not too early to let your representatives and others know what a bad idea the intellectual property elements of the treaty are."
Oh, no. Anything but free trade.
All your mind are belong to us..
just great.. now we will have mexican's filing patents for velcro.
anime+manga together at last.. in real time.
It's sad to see massive amounts of garbage like this getting stuffed into what is supposed to be a Free Trade treaty. In typical fashion, special interests are attaching their wish lists to an initiative that seems to have a good chance of becoming law. Hopefully this nonsense will get stricken out and the real work of expanding trade within the Americas can proceed...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
At least we have time to formulate an appropriate response to this. Remember, folks, Congress can move pretty damned fast when they want to (remember the DNC vote?)
SCREW THE ADS! http://adblock.mozdev.org/ Proud user of teh Fox of Fire - Registered Linux User #289618
Remember: When you contact your representative, do NOT e-mail. Congressmen do not take e-mails seriously. E-mailing tells the congressman that you don't care enough about the issue to actually sit down and put effort into your contact.
There is only one way to actually get your congressman's attention: A good, old-fashioned letter, with $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills paper clipped to it. Please keep this in mind and act accordingly.
1. Expanded Criminal Penalties Would Send Non-Commercial Infringers to Prison
a) Threatens to Mandate Prison for P2P File-Sharing
Wow. Now, I'm not in the camp of people that says "FREE STUFF FOR EVERYONE, SCREW IP!" and I actually support (reasonable) penalties for the people who get caught (after all, they ARE breaking copyright law, whether they atually cost the company anything or not). This, though, is just crazy. Why should Joe Schmoe, who is sharing a bunch of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit MP3s, spend time in PRISON for doing so?
It would be understandable if he were making copies of the CDs and selling thousands of them, but it says non-commercial infringers.
Scary.
-- Dr. Eldarion --
What does Final Fantasy Tactic Advanc... Oh, nevermind.
The Tools Of Ignorance wanna be a tool?
As far as I know, at least Brazilian government has been trying to do a reasonable job defending their interests (and those of the rest of Latin America, IMHO). But the guys negotiating may need to have their attention called to certain problems taht they do not understand (and would then not give too much attention to). So, please Brazilians, send letters to your Congressman, the press, or whoever else you thyink is appropriate!
Loading pages can take up to 20 seconds on a DSL connection, with the occasional error page. Not good.
The "free trade" agreements seem to support incumbent businesses at the expense of innovation, which is the opposite of their intended use.
I'm no free trade nut - I think there's plenty wrong with unfettered free trade - but in the scope of problems it can address, let's use it to address them, and not further protect entrenched ways of doing things.
It's not wasting time, I'm educating myself.
b) Article 4.2 Permits Additional Criminal Procedures and Penalties Against Non-Commercial and Non-Willful Infringers c) Articles 4.3 and 4.4 Permit Seizure and Destruction of Property and Assets d) Article 4.6 Permits Criminal Charges Without the Need for a Private Complaint soooo, basically, if middle-class stockbroker Bob Schmoe doesn't know his son is downloading mp3s and warez, the feds can just hop in and seize his comp, and put him away without ever having to hear from some company? Whatever happened to "Stop, thief!".... bleh...
You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect. Miyamoto Musashi
Well, I never knew.
When posting something like this, a bit more details and less inflamitory language would be nice.
How is it a Super-DCMA law? How exactly will this treaty effect us.
Just reacting like this tends to be counter productive.
Ted
Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
Innovation depends upon the flexibility to create new responses to an environmental situation or need. Treaties that fix rules around the environmental conditions restrict those responses, and ergo, they restrict innovation. One might also argue that many of our laws restrict innovation--like immediate execution for DNA-proven rapists and murderers as a response to prison overcrowding--but hey, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
...tizzyd
I think this has a snowball's chance in hell of actually being ratified. This isn't the terrorist-frigtened congress of 2001, you aren't going to be able to slip this under people's noses this time like with the DMCA. I can guarantee that only one of those 33 countries will be pushing this. Guess which one.
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
Boy, political discussions are so much easier now that we have that one to fall back on. I'm going back to my nap.
"hey, why don't we ... kick you out of the band, and keep all your songs? OK sure! That sounds fair."
It devastates me that there would be a further restriction on fair use... not in that I think protections aren't necessary, but it is already way too hard to do things like "clearing" a sound clip (getting permission). Anything worse would make techno either illegal or even slower to produce legitimately, stifling the creative process.
stuff |
Why bother? Honestly, what is the outcome here? I have written to my congresspeople probably on the order of 10-15 times each about an item specifically regarding the myth of intellectual property and its associated devestation. I have recived neat and grammatically precise responses each time, full of absolutely nothing of value or substance regarding the issues. Not even my representative's opinion on the matter. You don't get congress to go against measures like this (i.e., measures that assure corporate "donations") unless there is a *really* massive demonstration. The kind that the American public has not shown any sort of willingness or poise to do in oh-so-many years.
I will write my congressperson again this time, only with a heavy hand, and a large dose of bitterness in knowing that I don't have the pocketbook required to make a real impact.
Corporate politics is ruining what's left of the U.S., and is pulling a lot of other nations down with it.
--rhad
Slashdot needs to interview Natalie Portman.
When are people going to learn that using an apostrophe in a word DOES NOT MAKE IT PLURAL????
The proposed language of the agreement has a number of serious flaws, including (but certainly not limited to) enhanced criminal penalties, a super-DMCA provision, reduced scope for fair use, and database protection elements.
Well, it really isn't free trade, then. If you want to call it free trade, then make it free trade and not some half-assed political pile of shit.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
This all part of the elite's effort to
to emasculate the once strong middle class
in the United States. The Reagan/Clinton/Bush
dynasty has succeeded in smashing the unions
of the lower middle class is now dismantling
the politcal and ecominic clout of the upper
middle classed. This means YOU, Mr. College
educated white collar service worker. Remember,
you can be replaced by an H1-B or outsourced.
Your best bet in this whole thing is to get
into management of illegal aliens. That's the
only way can compete with big capital these days.
The days of an honest day's work for an honest
dollar are over. Your choice is slavery or
surrendur. Make it up now.
If you live in the USA, contacting your representative will be fruitless. The Senate ratifies treaties without consulting the House. Try contacting your Senator instead.
If Fair Use is redefined in this manner, it seems like the FTAA could be interpreted to outlaw public libraries. If you check out a book as opposed to buying it, under the FTAA's new economic-based model of assessing Fair Use, a library would be liable for causing financial damage to the publisher.
Kudos to our corporate overlords for their foresight and wisdom.
"... significant willful infringements of copyrights ... that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain shall be considered willful infringement on a commercial scale. ..."
Let me get this straight....there is no direct or indirect financial motivation, yet this is somehow equated with commercial infringement?
I'm all for throwing the real IP pirates in jail -- the ones who copy CDs and DVDs, press 1000's of counterfeits, then sell them for a huge profit. Making money like this really is piracy (in a newer, less-traditional use of the word anyway). But to equate that kind of crime to that of the college student sharing a few tunes on their computer for free....mind boggling!
"The market alone cannot provide sufficient constraints on corporation's penchant to cause harm." -- Joel Bakan
My favorite quote:
As of October 2003, an estimated 60 million Americans use P2P file-sharing software in the US alone and the number of overseas users is even higher. This level of civil disobedience sends the crystal clear message that intellectual property laws are in stark contrast with the will of the people and should be changed to clearly legalize P2P file-sharing. Without the consent of the governed, FTAA's policies have no legitimate place in an international treaty between democracies.
That's the most succinct way I've yet heard to describe the people's demand that Hollywood drag themselves into the current century!
In typical fashion, special interests are attaching their wish lists to an initiative that seems to have a good chance of becoming law.
Congressman 1: "Then it is unanimous. We are going to approve the bill to evacuate the town of Springfield in the great state of..."
Congressman 2: "Wait a second, I want to tack on a rider to that bill. Thirty million dollars of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts."
Congressman 1: "All in favor of the amended Springfield-slash-Pervert bill?"
(jeers and boos)
Congressman 1: "Bill defeated."
That is the ONLY way the will take what you say seriously.
Folks, fuck the FTAA. Not only do we get fucked as far as IP-rights and other digital concerns go, farmers, trade unionists and other workers across the hemisphere will suffer. The FTAA is essentially an expansion of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which cost thousands of jobs in my region (upper midwest US) alone.
There's some great information out there on NAFTA and the FTAA (even though the FTAA is still mostly secret...); read up on it, and come on down to Miami November 19 and 20 to help us shut down the FTAA ministerial. You've seen photos of activists in Europe fighting the new patent laws; take the stuggle off-line and into the streets! Thousands of folks, from hacktivists to anarchists to teachers to your aunt, are mobilizing for the demonstrations. Join us in Miami and help put a stop to the FTAA and its infringements on rights in most every sphere of life, from agriculture to the internet.
Some resources:
ftaaresistance.org , infoshop.org, autonomen.net/madftaa/miami, tallahassee.indymedia.org.
NAFTA threatens environmental protection will FTAA be any better? NAFTA threatens public services will FTAA be any better?
Lower barriers to trade is a good Idea, but the FTA, NAFTA, and FTAA has little to do with trade, and everything to do with making governments subservient to trans-national corporations.
I think the image attached to the post is a little misleading. The treaty affects all of north america, not just the US.
A small point, but well worth noting IMO.
When will we realize that these so-called "free trade" agreements aren't the least bit free? This draconian 220k document is only a small part of a much bigger document that only exists to undermine national sovereignty, workers rights, enviromental protections, and freedom in the name of profits.
Most of these "free trade" meetings go on behind close doors with every shady corporate and government goon in attendance, and no one else. NAFTA was thousands of pages in length, and was so long that no one has ever read it in its entirety -- yet it was rushed through our Congress. This FTAA is even worse, and we need to bring attention to it and stop it.
IP Justice Presents the Top 10 Reasons to Delete the IP Chapter of the FTAA Agreement:
1.
Threatens to Imprison Millions of People for P2P File -Sharing of Music
One option proposed for Article 4.1 of the intellectual property rights chapter in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Treaty would mandate that countries must send noncommercial infringers such as Peer2-Peer (P2P) file-sharers to prison. By changing the standard that triggers criminal penalties from commercial infringements to "significant willful infringements," people will be sent to prison for infringements that have no financial or commercial motivation or gain. An otherwise law-abiding person who swaps dozens or hundreds of songs over the Internet would be subject to imprisonment under this lower standard. An estimated 60 million Americans use P2P file-sharing software in the US alone.
2.
Restrains Trade and Prevents Competition
Mislabeled as a "free trade" agreement, the FTAA Treaty will actually harm free trade and restrict competition in the market. Anti-circumvention prohibitions, such as those contained in the FTAA Treaty, prevent people from bypassing trade barriers like DVD region code restrictions. They also create monopolies for entrenched corporations over the manufacture of compatible or interoperable devices. These provisions prevent consumers from purchasing after market replacement parts in industries completely unrelated to copyright. For example, Ford could embed a chip in a tire in order to require consumers to only purchase Ford tires. In the US where anti-circumvention laws are already in place, they have been used to sue a competing manufacturer of printer cartridges and a competing manufacturer of garage door openers for providing compatible parts.
3.
Chills Freedom of Expression and Scientific Research
Anti-circumvention laws outlaw tools including software and technical data that could help someone to bypass technological restrictions on digital media. Computer programs and research papers that assist in circumventing these restrictions are illegal under provisions against trafficking in circumvention technologies. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) outlawed circumvention in the US , creating a chilling effect for scientists and computer programmers who publish information about the vulnerabilities of media companies' technologies. Many researchers have been threatened with prosecution for their research and one Russian PhD student spent 6 weeks in jail on charges of trafficking in circumvention devices for the legitimate software he had written. Prominent scientists have publicly stated that they will not travel to or publish their research in jurisdictions that have passed anti-circumvention laws out of fear of liability. Scientific conferences are relocating to countries outside the US , where the organizers and speakers will not be subject to imprisonment for disseminating technical papers that describe the weaknesses of certain technologies. The FTAA Treaty threatens to expand these anti-circumvention provisions and extend them to all signatory nations, in violation of both the US Constitution and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantee of freedom of expression.
4.
Stifles Innovation and Inhibits Free and Open Source Software Development
Anti-circumvention provisions in the draft FTAA agreement limit the ability of innovators to develop media devices that are compatible with existing devices. Companies and individuals are prevented from building new and innovative technologies that would enable lawful uses of media, such as playing a DVD movie on nonproprietary software. Large multinational corporations can build on their monopolies and force small innovators out of the market. Open Source and Free Software developers, a major source of innovation in the software industry, are explicitly discriminated against in one proposed clause to Article 21.1, which provides less protection to software that is not being produced for commercial gain
Why is slashdot now some sort of leftist politics for kids site now?
It isn't necessarily leftist, when pointing out non-free aspects of a "free trade" plan. Nothing is stopping me from arguing on Slashdot to make it even more free. You know, I just did.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
Just through it in with the other __AA abreviations.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
Last time I checked, the US Constitution didn't expressly prohibit companies to copyright facts and scientific data. The whole article sounds a little too overblown to me (sounds almost like Indymedia stuff), but if they mention the US Constitution, they should make darn sure they know what they're talking about.
Although forbidden by the US Constitution, FTAA's copyright section would allow companies to copyright facts and scientific data.
Can you imagine the lobbying power that would line up behind this sort of a clause? Just off the top of my head, this sort of stipulation could allow phamaceuticals to create a monopoly on "facts" (e.g., the chemical makeup of, say, a drug that fights HIV) to generate astronomical profits while legally eliminating the competition of "generic" drugs.
I'm not sure those FTAA provisions would pass here in Brazil. There simply isn't much political support for it. In the current state of matters, President Lula is trying to become kind of a leader for Latin American countries, and has already partnered with President Kirchner of Argentina in FTAA-important matters. Brazil was one of the founders of Mercosur (Common Market of South Cone Countries), and intends to, first, strenthen Mercosur, and then negotiate with US as a unified block. This makes sense, since each of the Latin American economies has, individually, not much power of bargain.
First, FTAA must be approved by all countries willing to participate. In some countries, like Bolivia, there's no popular will to do that, and the population may resort to violence if the government insist to push unwanted policies. If FTAA manages to do that, and I seriously doubt it will be succesful, it's very likely it will fall sooner or later. And if this happens, I hope it will be soon.
My neighbor's
Coming next: The Bush White House announces "Take a Muslim to lunch week" ...
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
For those who remember, the FTAA was the reason for the massive protests in Quebec City in 2001. It was the biggest shindig since the Battle of Seattle. Ah, the memories of getting teargassed while peacefully protesting... damn that CS gas is wicked stuff.
http://members.tripod.com/infobank1/
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. -Oscar Wilde
The FTAA has been in development since 1998, and its not even supposed to be completed until 2005, there's still a lot of room for changes in it. Luckilly, Brazil has led the push for more reasonable IP rights including compulsory liscensing for drugs, allowing governments to produce pharmacuticals at lower prices. Also, the Brazilian govt. is pushing to leave out of the FTAA the more contentions parts of IP laws as well as restricitons on providing services and allowint the WTO to deal with that. Finally, the breakdown of the WTO talks in Cancun will hopefully lend credibility to the push for more fair and moderate regulations. So maybe the sky isnt quite falling yet, as the IP Justice people think. For a different take, check out the official website here
That's a VERY relevant point- and one which you might also want to write about to the schools in your area. There are a large number of industry-wide processes that will be affected by this, and if you alert those industries to this possibility (including the national associations that libraries/librarians belong to) the message will go a lot further than one letter to a senator.
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
From the whitepaper:
A second possible option for Article 4.3 is even more extreme. It would give all judicial authorities the power to seize goods suspected of infringement and any materials and implements suspected to be used in the commission of the offense, as well as any traceable asset. This is much broader than the first option proposed for Article 4.3 where a suspicion is insufficient and there must be an actual finding of infringement before a judge is permitted to order the seizure of a citizen's personal property. By permitting the seizure of property based on a suspicion alone, this second Article 4.3 clause ignores US citizens' Constitutional Due Process Rights that guarantees personal property cannot be taken without due process of law.
With some creative interpretation, it wouldn't be too hard for them to bulldoze your house, Palestine style.
RTFFTAAA?
(Read the flippin' FTAA article)
If these so called Free Trade agreements were really about free trade, they would be a lot less complicated. They would just be about reducing tarrifs. What these "Trade Agreements" are really about is granting special rights and privilages to corporations, sometimes even making them above the law, at the expense of our national sovereignty.
For example, with NAFTA Canada sued the United States saying that banning asbestos is an infringement of Free Trade.
A few years ago before the WTO became a household word (err Acronym) they were trying to pass the Multilateral Agreement on Investment which would have given coporations an explicit Right to Profit above and beyond a citizens rights and privilages.
And just look at the current example. In the name of Free Trade they are trying to make fair use of our own legally purchased IP illegal, such as bypassing DVD Region codes.
It is not a matter of U.S. vs. Mexico or whatever. NAFTA has been bad for the general population of all three countries, and now they want to extend it to the entire western hemisphere.
It is all about the special interests.
This signature used to contain a cute kitty virus with ansii art. Please set the slashdot editors on fire. Thank you
I've been worried about this for some time.
That is, if DMCA and Software Patents comes here (Brazil) I will be very happy about it. Because then I'll be able to patent every single little stupid thing and charge everybody for it...
how long until
Anti freedom? Somehow I think the ability to do what I want to what I own is a basic freedom. How exactly is showing that a treaty will make that illegal anti-freedom? What doublespeak you speak.
Hooray for Everything celebrates the best Hemisphere in the world
</Simpsons>
-kgj
a comprehensive regional trade agreement between all 34 democracies in the Western Hemisphere, including the US, and covering a population of over 800 million people
Given the US already has allowed the feared draconian legislation (DMCA, Patriot Act, etc) to take hold within its own borders, it's the 500-million citizens of other countries that should be scared.
Anybody want a peanut?
Canadian foreign affairs contact
somebody mod parent DOWN on the post above this.. this guy is some kind of racist moron who thinks this is a forum for him to post his slurred crap.
Sure there is a bit of western Europe and Africa in there, but the majority of the landmass belongs to the American continents.
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
AC comments get piped to
The capitalists and their running dogs are at it again!
This is an issue affecting all American countries. Why is it in Slashdot's "US" section?
You were late! Not early! If you were early, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED FP!!
Your rights to the free flow of information may be severely curtailed.
The story on tonight's Eyewitness News at 11.
Uh. I've just been handed a programming update.
Tonight's news report will be preempted by an extra special,
exclusive interview with Barbara Bush, America's Mom.
Coming up after tonight's episode of Fear Factor.
Keep it right here on News Center 4.
Or else.
Fuck you and your anti-freedom socialist bullkshit...
LOL. If you look at my posting history, I'm the probably the least socialistic person in Slashdot history.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
The Americans WEREN'T crazy for holding on to their guns... whoda thought?
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
This fits right in.
If FTAA stood for Free Trade Association of America, I'd probably be freaking out a lot more.
[o]_O
I can't believe that nobody has mentioned the upcoming protests against the FTAA in Miami. There's tons of websites regarding the upcoming mobilization. I got these links off of FTAA Resistance:
Stop FTAA.org - a great resource for information on the FTAA and how to organize against it. this page is slightyly outdated, but they are working to update it.
FNB NO FTAA - this is the 'official' organizing site for the anti-FTAA Food Not Bombs. FNB chapters from all over the U.S. will come together to do what they do best... defy authority through tasty (and free) vegan food. Add your chapter's support or see what is needed on the wish list. (www.autonomen.net/fnbnoftaa)
FTAA Medical - although not the official site, this is still a great resource for the incredible team of street medics that will be gracing us with their presence during the FTAA Ministerial in Miami. (www.artlessentropy.org/ftaa)
Free Carnival Area of the Americas On October 1, 2003, a volunteer-run artist workshop opened in Lake Worth, Florida, to make large puppets, stilts, bicycles, banners, drums, props, costumes and to practice radical cheerleading and participatory theater.(http://www.mediamouse.org/fcaa/ )
Latin American Solidarity Network [clic aqui por version espanol]
Mexico Solidarity Network (http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/)
People's Consultation on the FTAA (http://www.peoplesconsultation.org/)
Infoshop - your family resource for all things anarchist (www.infoshop.org)
Indymedia - a great source for real news. find your local outlet. (www.indymedia.org)
Enough Is Enough! - (http://www.ftaa-soa.net.ms)
Colombia Mobilization - (http://www.ColombiaMobilization.org)
I hope that anybody who has any kind of problem with the way these "free" trade treaties are being put forth, I would recommend you get your butt to Miami on November 20th.
I mean, hell, if anything, you'll be in south Florida in November. What else better do you have to do?
The guy is telling latins to do something about it...
when superior alternatives are available?
Wouldn't it be great if the country was set up for the well-being of its citizens and not its corporations? Oh well.
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
Oh, it's free trade, all right. As in, the corporations are free to trade your ass into wage-slavery for their own profits.
Or: the affluent 1% of the world are free to trade the environment to make a bit more money, while widening the econimic gap between them and everyone else.
Or: governments are "free" to trade basic human rights (such as the right to live) for corporate money.
You get the idea.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
To get the hell out of the western hemisphere before this law goes into effect (or at least out of the US.) This treaty is just plain wrong on so many levels. Reminds me of Athens, 411 BC. The democracy voted itself out of existance. The United States, 2004. The democratic republic sold out its future for want of a better present.
There's a growing sense that even if The Future comes,
most of us won't be able to afford it.
-- Lemmy
You know, if you want to insult someone, at least do a spell check... Come on now, what the hell is "bullkshit"... troll!!
And look who's anti-freedom...
Do me a personal favour and kill yourself... you tight assed, right wing fuck... it's people like you that want to make the US what it once was... (an arctic wasteland)... so spare those of us who believe in true freedom... kill yourself, maybe all the shit you're full of will at least help the crops.
At least finally someone is waking up. .I've been talking about this very thing for years..
All I ever got ' its not my countries laws bla bla bla'.. what no one understands is once you sign up with the WTO you MUST conform to the lowest common denominator...
We need to be OUT of the WTO totally.. tell you congressman that... TOTALLY OUT... before it gets worse.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
It would be nice if these kind of things came up against a referendum of 51% or more before this kind of stuff is passed. If any advertising dollars are provided each contributor must give an equal sum to opposition PR campaign. The biggest lobby has always been the banks, with profits doubling every year (in canada) since the first agreement between the US and canada in 88.
These kind of people shouldn't have this kind of influence over the polictical process. The consequenses of current trade rules have hurt average citizens in north america immeasurably. With unresponsive goverments these kinds of unjust actions taken against their populations are increasing.
Either the population will get informed in the present or a brutal is a certainty when the 'eron' ecconomic circle finally collapses.
Many Latin American countries are pushing hard to see this treaty come to be. Among the most vocal proponents are Colombia and others in the Andean economic group. They are in fact worried that much of the politial will moving this forward has evaporated since the United States became involved in Iraq. One of the major factors preventing this from being a more widely acepted treaty is the concern over US farm subsidies as mentioned earlier.
Anti-CAFTA Protest
Date/time: Tues. Oct. 21, 6 pm
Assemble: S. Post Oak & W. Alabama
March: to Westin Galleria Hotel, 5060 W. Alabama
http://www.nocaftahouston.org/
This is not a free trade agreement.
It is a privatization bill.
_________ BOTTOM LINE _________
Those with captial will own all intellectual
property forever.
"This is the FTAA. Come out with your hands up or we'll be forced to use innovation."
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
It is scheduled for 2005 indeed. Only everyone knows it won't be finished by 2005.
(8-DCS)
Now is definitely the time to contact your representative.
Let them know that if they don't fight this, you will replace them with someone else who will.
-- This sig for rent.
There are a few... the EFF released a position paper two years ago, and there's the Indymedia tech teams, the Shift Control Collective, OPG and others here and there. That said, I'll be going to Miami to participate in anti-FTAA actions when their ministerial meets this November with non-geeks, who are there for their own reasons.
Why is this? I don't think it's politics, because there are both left-wing and right-wing folks against the FTAA. Partially, I think it's because grassroots lobbying doesn't work on trade issues in urban areas where the geeks live. In part because geeks aren't organized around these issues.
Most geeks also seem to think that protesting is a waste of time. In most cases, I agree, but protests in Quebec City against the FTAA two years ago raised the issue's profile in the news. The draft text of the documents, previously secret if you weren't one of the corporate "consultants" to the ministerial, were released as a result of Canadian activists who occupied a goverment building. When they shouted, "This is what democracy looks like!" they weren't engaging in rhetoric - democracy is pointless if you can't see the laws, and their direct action to force openness on the part of their government was crucial.
Reply to this post if you want to do something.
"The State is that great fiction by which everyone lives at the expense of everyone else." -Frederic Bastiat.
There's an easy way to tell if a group is going to use IP BS to screw you over. All we have to do is watch our ass against the *AA groups - RIAA, MPAA, FTAA...
Of all the millions and millions of years in the past, these painfully confused, acidic, political, down years are merely a flash in all the millions of good years we had. Maybe these are where the story comes to a close.? Perhaps people don't belong here and don't deserve life, liberty and all the good things. I'm pretty sure though that it isn't the earth people saying so. I guess we'll find out how puppy the the people are considered to be. If I had money, I would bet on the money. Lust to dust.
Ross Perot was essentially correct. NAFTA and the US involvement in the WTO has been accompanied by massive transfer of US technological infrastructure overseas. This has been facilitated by substantial government deficits, massive immigration and transfer of US capital and real estate assets(as well as an increasing trend of the US government to vote on the basis of political donations rather than popular will). The problem was less apparent in the 90's because there was a brisk trade associated with facilitating the early parts of this transfer.
The latest "Free Trade" bills also contain provisions that expand L1 non-immigrant visas. These trade deals more or less mandate the US cannot effectively control its borders.
The only candidate for president seriously addressing this issue is Dennis Kucinich(www.kucinich.us).
have signed the petition!
- si gn.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/noftaaip/petition
PETITION
!!@!!
That jumped out at me too. Had to read it twice to make sure that's what it said.
I want to know who wrote this. If the author[s] were sent to jail for a while for a crime they didn't commit, it would surely help them understand this better.
Still, new "free" trade law increases penalties for wathing any DVD anywhere you want.
It appears that there is a Free Trade of the Americas website. They also have links to who to call if you feel the need to sound off. I trust we all know what to do with this information. :)
Why yes I am paranoid! Thanks for asking!
George Bush runs around the world preaching free trade, open markets, blah, blah, blah when he is one of the most protectionist, isolatated Presidents in recent memory. Just thinking of Canada, he US imposes duties on milled softwood, grain. It also offers heavy subsidies to argiculture and steel. It also howls when somebody in Canada proposes a Canada-first energy policy for natural gas and hydro.
Be an hemisphere if you want to, I'm so happy that Europe is not melted (hope it last..) in that pudding :-)
Biological weapons, seems a certainty..
Why bother? Honestly, what is the outcome here? ... You don't get congress to go against measures like this (i.e., measures that assure corporate "donations") unless there is a *really* massive demonstration. The kind that the American public has not shown any sort of willingness or poise to do in oh-so-many years.
... provided we have the will and the sense to try.
Moveon.org was able to get together a very large public outcry against the FCC's recent attempt to further diminish diversity in the American media. Although the fight is not over, this 11th hour effort has managed to get congress to vote overwhelmingly to revoke Baby Powell's attempt to use the FCC as little more than a frontman for the media cartels. It appears likely some (though not all) of Baby Powell's appalling sellout to the media cartels is going to be reversed, in a manner that is extremely rare in Washington.
This was done as a belated reaction to an already done "insider" deal among Washingto Republican Burocrats (the FCC vote was divided precisely along party lines).
We have over a year to get our act together. Doing so would allow us to speek with at least as loud a voice, quite possibly as effectively, but only if people actually GET OFF THEIR ASSES and actually do it. If, on the other hand, everyone follows your advice, nothing will get done and the tyranny of evil, corrupt men will continue to erode our freedom of expression, our freedom of thought, our freedom to innovate, and ultimately our freedom to live, until there is nothing left.
This is what was meant when the founding fathers said "Freedom requires eternal vigilance," and quite frankly, this is the acid test our generation is failing miserably.
The question is really this: will we continue to fail miserably, until there is no freedom left in our lives, or will we stand up and be counted? Given the degree of forwarning we have on this particular issue, any failure to stand up and be counted will be our own, not "the system's" or "those corrupt people over there." No, it will be our apathetic selves who are at fault, and the freedom we would in that event be so unfit for and undeserving of is almost certain to diminish as a result.
If dispirited and demoralized liberals could finally grow a backbone and stand up when the chips were down with the radical right's recent media power grab at the FCC and get congress moving in record time to stop it, surely we technophiles, who transcend such traditional left-right, liberal-conservative, democrat-republican lines should be able to do at least as well
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
"Nothing roused such British anger as protectionism, and they sometimes gave vent to it in violent language, as during the Opium War against China. But free trade only became revealed truth for them after they became sure of being the strongest power, and after they had developed their own textile industry under the umbrella of Europe's toughest protectionist legislation. In the difficult early days, when British industry was still at a disadvantage, an Englishman caught exporting raw wool was sentenced to lose his right hand, and if he repeated the sin he was hanged. It was prohibibted to bury a corpse without prior certification from the parish priest that the shroud came from a British factory."
Eduardo Galeano wrote this about the British trade policies of the early 19th Century in his 1973 book The Open Veins of Latin America
Sure, IP restrictions are evil and so forth, and there will be many rants here about how terribly the nerds, visionaries and innovators will be oppressed, but that's a whole lot of narrow, selfish thinking by said nerds, visionaries and innovators (there goes my karma). This discussion misses the larger picture and focuses only on what the enlightened, educated, US-based majority of the readers care about and/or can be affected by: bigger, stronger RIAA's and MPAA's, and draconian corporations hoarding more and more knowledge.
What's left out is that the spirit of the whole treaty is basically to make the Central and South American nations subjects to the rule of the US economy and the corporations that feed off it, much like what NAFTA has done to Mexico and Canada. It will create one huge Export Processing Zone all the way from Mexico to the Southern tip of Chile, where such peachy corporations like Nike, Adidas, Ralph Lauren, Walmart and so on will practically enslave thousands of displaced farmers while other corporations rape their land for natural resources. It's already happening in countries all over the world, with more localized treaties and deregulations, where the governments don't care, are blinded by the money or have their arms twisted by the might of their patrons. Free Trade in this context is a euphimism for economic conquest by transnational corporations.
Canada has a unique position in all this, because unlike the other (soon to be) subjugated countries, we have a high standard of living and an educated, skilled workforce. Hence, we don't have sweatshops - instead, our manufacturing left for the sweatshop factories of Mexico and the Export Processing Zones in the Phillipines and China along with that of the United States. Still, we're very much slaves of our big brother, constantly battered over fishing, softwood lumber, grain and so on. No political action that contravenes the US ideology goes without the consideration of what it will do to our economy. Legalize weed? Sure, sounds good, but can't you see Dubya over there shaking his head? Don't want to go to war with Iraq? Just you wait 'til the next time we set lumber tariffs.
Even as you read this, your pants are strangling your loins! Aaa!
Oh yes, the "free trade" agreement where Canada has to ship whatever the US wants no strings attached, but the US slaps huge lumber tariffs on our stuff to protect (as in "protectionism") their industry? Yeah, real free. I still hate Mulroney for signing on to an agreement that we could never get a fair shake on. Grr.
This is the just the tip of the iceberg with the FTAA, affectionately known as "NAFTA on Steroids." It would wreck havoc on the hemisphere, bringing living standards, wages, environmental protections, etc. down everywhere. This isn't about free trade, it's about a corporate-driven race to the bottom.
Conveniently, the next meeting to plan it is in Miami next month, giving us the convenient opportunity to deliver our thoughts on these matters in person. For more info on the FTAA and the Miamo demonstrations, check out the Citizens Trade Campaign.
Red All Over: Rambling Missives from an Aspiring Revolutionary
2/3 Senate approval is not required.
http://www.ftaa-alca.org/alca_e.asp
dark grey text on a dark blue background, yeah that really shows their commitment to communication
I can't but help imagine the reactions our Founding Fathers would have to this, and other similarly proposed acts of our federal goverment. These people died, they DIED, to free themselves of this kind of rule by a governemt not subject to the will of the people. These men had a vision and this is certainly NOT it. I mean, imagine if Franklin had a covered wagon. Say he wanted to fix a broken wheel, and the best and cheapest wheels came from "region 3", but were made incompatible with his wagon on purpose by the manufacturer. But say he possessed the capibilites to make it work somehow through his own modifications. But then making this wheel work violated the law and he was SENT TO PRISON FOR MAKING IT COMPATABLE. What rubbish. If this kind of shit flew back in the late 1700's we'd be reading about it along with the outragous tea taxes, et al. At what point did we let power slip from our humble hands to our corporate/government overlords? It just seems like day after day we become one step closer to living like serfs again paying the already rich for the right to simply exist. I for one am fucking sick of it. But what can I do? I don't have the money or connections to be influencial. The mainstream media doesn't give a fuck. They're busy keeping people outraged with pointless shit like "The Pledge Debate." While clueless people get all wound up over 2 fucking words, the Government cronies (Democrats and Republicans, fuck em both) are using the fog to pass drastic societal changes right under our noses. AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE! Outside of a few places, like Slashdot, NO ONE cares, much less even knows about it. When did we become so apathetic? When did we decide that Brittney kissing Madonna or the 6 remaining fuckers on Survivor were more important than our inalieable right to live as free men and women? Will we ever revolt and take back what is rightfully ours, as our forefathers did for us? Or are we now just a bunch of mindless pathetic consumers that gobble up anything seen on tv as fact and all we are meant for is to spend spend spend. I fear we have become the latter...
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty, which is an attempt to create a single free trade agreement for the Western Hemisphere
First thing that popped into my head when I read the above sentence: "Greater American Coprosperity Sphere". Obviously comparing this with Japan's policies 1940 is not exactly fair*, but it was almost like a word association.
*: Though it may well end up having a simliar effect in the long run, who knows.
THere is no point to oppoosing this or any other particular law change. If something (who knows what) is not done to stop the direct translation of money into legislation, it won't matter. Fix the root cause, the rest will come into line. If you don't, any other stops won't really matter...
The heights of genius are only measurable by the depths of stupidity
Um, the DMCA was passed into law on Oct 28, 1998. It had nothing to do with the terror attacks, and the frightening thereof.
When Congress was passing the Bono Act and the DMCA, the news media were busy covering the Kosovo conflict and the Lewinsky affair.
Will I retire or break 10K?
"First you get the sugar... Then you get the power... Then you get the women." - Homer S.
This trade agreement will allow the Mexican president to finally push for his plan to unite south and central america for the purpose of creating a center of technology and manufacturing in Yucatan.
His desire to bring in money to Mexico will allow him to garner the investments of the southern nations to build a technological area in Yucatan for American corporations to be able to compete against China, and Asian countries.
The destitute south americans will come far and wide, to work for the pennies of large american corporations, as jobs are so scarce. Currently the meager population in the area will see this as a god send, but as soon as the corporations set up shop and dilute the economy with lower wages, like our own fast food economy we have up here in the US. they will start to realize that the new jobs that the corporations offer, will have folks working so much for so little pay that they will end up as slaves to corporations.
Americans may not have a problem with people in south america becaoming hourly slaves, but the pennies that they earn will allow the American corporations to further cut legitamate American jobs for the hugh influx of south american cheap workers that can easily compete with Asian countries.
American workers and Labor, will likely break apart durring a depression that will be created by this. We have no more strong Labor representatives in the U.S. and will likely suffer for it in a few years.
The issue with moving work out of the US more and more, will likely have a detremental impact on our democracy. As more and more people fall by the way side into socail programs, we may end up with a country run by corporations, who have moved so much of the wealth away from the middle class, that only the large lower class will remain, subsidized by social programs.
This will be the new impoverished economy of socialism, and I can easily see people want to leave the country in 10-20 years if this keeps happening, for a better life elsewhere. A country where the cost of living fairs better with the wages recieved.
We might of won the cold war over Russia, but the more I see the radical changes that this white house is creating, the more I feel we are moving to a Fascist state were we wan't to conrol other countries through the idea of possible prosperity, but not it's certainty.
We may just becaome a combination of socialism and fascist united states. Socialism for the impoverished poor, fascist... for the elite corporate. Who know's but this definitly makes me wonder, and afraid.
Mabidex
Apparently many people here believe that by cutting out tariffs, you have free trade and everyone prospers. If the US is heavily subsidising, say corn, and Mexico erases any tariffs on imported corn from America, what is going to happen? Of course, the heavily subsidised American corn will flood the market, even if Mexico could somehow make it more efficiently. The only way Mexico can balance this out is through import tariffs.
These things have nothing to do with "special interests". Although I am in no way advocating a super-DMCA, intellectual property rights certainly need to be addressed in a free trade treaty. Would you want your patent in the US or Canada to be stolen in some other country just because they don't even have a patent system?
I've largely e-mailed my Congress-critters, and found them to be as responsive as I would have expected from a letter. I may have done better than some, due to the fact that I am from the Northern Virginia suburbs, an especially "tech savvy" area. The Congress-critters know this, and try to be responsive.
This must be a communist plot to provoke a revolution in the western hemisphere. I have no other explanation. This lead unavoidably to civil war or some kind of insurgence.
Every time when you think the corporate/fascist alliance have all they want in place, they seem to go yet one step further. Note: I am not a communist, not even a socialist (I despise the socialist idea to take away the individuals own responsability and freedom) but I begin to think that Marx was right about some things, a.o. about the unavoidable self destruction of capitalism.
10 years after what looked like the final victory of capitalism, it is becoming clear that it may not have been so final. True madness is going on that must lead to a catastrophe. The greedy bastards are just going one step too far, so far that they'll loose everything (and rightly so).
I just talked to the US Trade rep responsible for the IP section of the FTAA. She says she's new to that position, and so didn't know a lot about it, but that the general policy for negotiating the language the U.S. wants is to simply mirror domestic law. And sure enough, at least for one of the points, that seems to be the case, namely criminalization of "significant" non-commercial copyright infringement and imprisonment as a penalty. For proof, compare this (from the FTAA):
"[4.1. Each Party shall provide criminal procedures and penalties to be
applied at least in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or infringement
of copyrights or neighboring rights on a commercial scale. Each Party shall
provide that significant willful infringements of copyrights or neighboring
rights that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain shall be
considered willful infringement on a commercial scale.
In criminal procedures, remedies available shall include imprisonment and/or
monetary fines sufficiently high to deter future acts of infringement and
with a policy to remove the monetary incentive to the infringer. Each Party
shall further ensure that such fines are imposed by judicial authorities at
levels that actually deter future infringements.]"
to this (Title 18, Section 2319 of the US Code):
"Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(1) of title 17 -
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the
amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists
of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic
means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies or
phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total
retail value of more than $2,500;"
You can search the U.S. Code here.
So, by her logic, the FTAA section isn't the issue. The issue lies in U.S. domestic federal law. I saw similar language about decoding scrambled satellite TV signals. It looks like IP Justice is skewing this.
However, it is shocking that what millions of people call "sharing music" has been criminalized, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Do we want this kind of government?
Guys- send faxes instead of letters. Ever since the anthrax deal after 9-11, letters have to go through a lot of time-consuming scrutiny before they get to someone who (theoretically) reads them. Despite our pooh-poohing our reps., faxes and e-mails are much more important now, given the security concerns about the dead-tree post.
Some people resent the fact that the USA isn't run via a "every man for himself doctrine". They believe that if you can't pull yourself up out of whatever you were born into or what circumstance you've come upon then you should just go fuck yourself and go lie in a gutter and die.
The less selfish and more intelligent Americans see the basic need for National Healthcare for every citizen, and also the need to reign in the massively corrupt private healthcare system which has failed us.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
I read the report - it's low grade material. For example, the report suggests that the FTAA demands that countries fill their prisons with IP violators. The language of the agreement says prison and/or fines, giving courts far more latitude. It's a pity - sound criticism of the FTAA would be valuable, but we aren't getting it from this sensationalized report. I suspect the authors are opposed to IP rights in general.
Specifically, quoting the Chapter on Intellectual Property Rights, Section 3, Article 8:
Chopping out the tiresome definitions in the middle, this reads that the author or representative has the exclusive right to permit or prohibit communication of the work to the public when said members of the public have the ability to space or time shift the performance.
You want your TiVo to record the latest episode of The Simpsons for you to watch at a later date? Better ask Fox for permission once the FTAA goes into effect... Of course, this flies directly in the face of The US Supreme Court case SONY CORP. v. UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS, INC., 464 U.S. 417 (1984) in which time shifting was found to fall squarely under fair use and not a violation of copyrights. Reading the full text of this chapter is sure to give me nightmares for quite some time.
This page: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/ftaa_contacts _list-en.asp contains the list of people to contact with regard to the Canadian position on the FTAA.
I've already e-mailed Catherine Dickson, the leader of the Intellectual Property Negotiating Group.
If you're Canadian, perhaps you should as well.
That Jesus Christ guy is getting some terrible lag... it took him 3 days to respawn! -NJ CoolBreeze
In Cali we're stuck with Boxer and Feinstein for senators, who are special interest whores and totally clue free on constitutionality issues.
The whole idea of free trade is bullshit and is a meme that needs to be destroyed.
If pure free trade actually existed it would be warlordism. Might makes right and everybody does what the group with the most powerful weapons says. It is far more profitable that way.
In reality every market has rules (written and unwritten) that stop negative competitive behaviour (e.g. protection rackets, lying, murder, anything that pulls the competition down) and allows positive competitive behaviour (e.g. improving a product, reducing prices, advertising your product, anything that builds your company up relative to the competition). The problem is in deciding what is negative competitive behaviour.
--
Open source and freeware is simple statistics. With 6,000,000,000+ people in the world it is a statistical certainty that somebody somewhere will have both the means and the motivation to create commonly needed software. And once it's been created it can be copied millions of times.
... on Pi. And it covers all the digits. :-)
Retirement, here I come.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
It's not just that IP rights thing,
look at NAFTA Chapter 11.
It's an anti-expropriation section that means that you cannot pass environmental laws that bans any product. If you do, a tribuneral will rule against the country in question and make them pay what the plaintiff assumes is his potential full market income of the product.
That's much worse.
If you ban a toxic chemical, say California, the US federal government would then have to pay the Mexican firm that produced that thing, which could have been, but never was sold in California, what that company assumes would have been total revenue in California.
Genuine free trade, even in the Western hemisphere, has a few hurdles to overcome.
Forget the whole "Intellectual Property" issues for a moment.
Think about having free trade address the supply and demand of markets for pot, coke and opium.
Then there are subsidies that individual governments are fond of giving to specific constituents (eg, steel in the US, farm products just about everywhere).
Then there are the regulations that each country imposes on commerce such as minimum wage, health taxes, environmental protection, etc.
I'm not saying regulations are bad or good - only that trade between nations with different regulations is likely to be distorted from what would be called "free". Some like minimum regulation, some like more regulation. But uniform regulation (and subsidy policy) across trading partners would be best.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
Unfortunately, not even the Senate has the authority to negotiate policy on the FTAA. Why? Because on August 6th 2002 they gave up that right when president Bush signed into law 'Fast Track' trade promotion authority, granting the president the ability to negotiate trade treaties as he sees fit, independant of Congressional input. All Congress gets to do now is vote 'yes' or 'no' on the finalized text of agreements such as the FTAA.
The best action against this corporatization of national policy is to take to the streets. The FTAA's next Ministerial meeting is in Miami on November 20th and 21st. Get some friends in a car, drive there, and make your voice heard by the people making the decisions. Write articles. Put them in your local weeklies and on websites and in flyers and posters and handbills.
The FTAA isn't a national issue because there isn't enough public outcry. There isn't any public outcry because people don't know whats at stake. Educate yourself and others. Support Indymedia.
One of the things that folks miss:
r eckenfel d_on_land_value_taxation.html
6 5090826/ vdare/002-9673790-1809637
The WTO/FTAA agreements have clauses in them that more or less mandate that a country have a lawyer/paperwork intensive tax system similar to the USA.
This was put in to keep countries from competing on the basis of their tax policies. The problem is that that there is a serious body of literature suggesting that other taxes are less economically destructive than income taxes.
http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/b
This combination of low tarriffs/high internal taxes and regulation seems rather deadly to the US economy. So why does this perist? The Bush administration defense gurus seem to think that increased trade is necesary for reasons of international security http://www.nwc.navy.mil/newrulesets/
Basically any self-reliant nation is suspect.
This experiment in globalization has been associated with the destruction of the American middle class:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/04
"The average two-income family earns far more today than did the single-breadwinner family of a generation ago. And yet, once they have paid the mortgage, the car payments, the taxes, the health insurance, and the day-care bills, today's dual-income families have less discretionary--and less money to put away for a rainy day--than the single-income family of a generation ago."
Globalization is basically a play by US/EU elites at global hegenomy that is sapping their strength and legitimacy in their home territories. Elite that make these kinds of moves typically don't retain their status as elites forever.
This could not be interpreted to outlaw public libraries. Fair Use provides an exclusion to the prohibition of *copying*, and therefore allows you to do things that would otherwise be illegal under copyright law. Libraries don't copy books, they lend them. No part of copyright law disallows this, and libraries therefore don't rely on Fair Use to enable them to do it.
ObDisclaimer: IANAL.
Megacorp: "I have a perfect business plan and if my plan doesn't fit in with the vagaries of the free market, I'll coerce the government into legislating in my favour until it does."
Also, until 1912, Tarriffs made up a major portion of US taxes--but in other respects, the US was much closer to a libertarian utopia than what we have now. Are you suggesting the US was a laughing stock nation until trade taxes/restrictions were serously cut?
The data suggests otherwise--the disposable income of families with children have dropped markedly since trade has loosened.
"The average two-income family earns far more today than did the single-breadwinner family of a generation ago. And yet, once they have paid the mortgage, the car payments, the taxes, the health insurance, and the day-care bills, today's dual-income families have less discretionary--and less money to put away for a rainy day--than the single-income family of a generation ago."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/046
Al Gore invented Velcro, dumbass.
I've read the whitepaper and I've got appaled that such a threat appears not being discussed here in Brazil (US and Brazil are co-presidents of the negotiation board for the FTAA).
The Brazilian mainstream press gives no word about these IP matters, what looks like a cover-up! Is this happening there in US?
While laws like the DMCA can be found un-constitutional and tossed out by the Supreme Court (hey, they occasionally do the right thing), treaties, once ratified, are equivalent to constitutional amendments. And while an amendment must be approved by both houses of Congress and 34 of the 50 states, a treaty need only make it through the Senate.
The most humorous part of this article was the part where who ever posted it states. "Now is not too early to let your representatives and others know what a bad idea the intellectual property elements of the treaty are." Haha, as if our representatives care about anything other then hard cash. In my opinion these insane intellectual property laws will become more and more draconian, until people start rising up against them.
I'm sure you can win because court is about justice, not money
Tech Public Policy stuff
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
Ok, how about the end of photocopiers?
Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks: temporary loans from the Public Domain, not real property ("intellectual" or otherwise)
Big government with big solutions and big, broad laws is not the solution. The problem that faces the upcoming generation is how to reconcile the problem of the generally Godless and amoral global community with all of the associated problems of destroying morality and the rights of individuals that most Americans cherish and take for granted (i.e., the right to ridiculously strong encryption, even though you have nothing to hide). I suspect, though, that the older, soon-to-be-passing generation will do its fair share of damage to the civil rights of everyone on the planet. Let's just hope the rising generation is smart enough to see what is going on, to be deeply alarmed, and to do something about it!
Making copies for non-commercial purposes is already a criminal act in the USA.
Title 17, Chapter 5, Sec. 506 - Criminal Offences.
(a) Criminal Infringement. -
Any person who infringes a copyright willfully either
(1)
for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or
(2)
by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000,
shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, United States Code.
Title 18, Section 2319 - Criminal infringement of a copyright
Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(2) [as referenced above] of title 17, United States Code -
(1)
shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of $2,500 or more;
(2)
shall be imprisoned not more than 6 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (1); and
(3)
shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
...don't let this nonsense give free trade a bad name!
This FTAA crap, just like NAFTA, is NOT a free trade agreement. You can tell just by examining their length. NAFTA is, IIRC, several hundred pages long. A free trade agreement can be written on a postcard:
"We the undersigned pledge not to erect any barriers to imports including but not limited to tariffs, duties, quotas, or outright prohibitions, nor engage in artificial support of exports by such means as subsidies and targeted tax breaks. We will continue to use, or adopt if necessary, floating currency regimes."
And that's it. Heck, you could even leave out the export clause, as subsidizing exports only benefits your trading partners at the expense of your own economy (eg: if Country X wants to send us free stuff, why complain?).
NAFTA and FTAA are *managed* trade agreements. The various signatories make concessions to each other, and maybe trade is free-ER when they're finished, but maybe not.
What really bakes my noodle is that the inevitable negative consequences of managed trade agreements give free trade a bad name. A few jobs head south to Mexico, and Joe American starts clamoring for protectionism again. A few Mexican firms dump some toxic chemicals, and Jane Hippiechick heads to Seattle to throw rocks at Starbucks during the WTO meeting. And no one ever stops to LEARN a damn thing about what's really going on.
I can relate to that...
8-PP
This treaty will not be effective within the borders of the Republic of Lodragan...I will continue to provide computer services to the people (my immediate family) within the 1/8th acres of this great (but very small) principality, using whatever algorithms I see fit regardless of the so-called 'IP' rights. The citizens of this republic will use P2P technology between each other with impunity.
The GREAT OZ has SPOKEN!
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
You people in the USA might not know this. But the FTAA (know as ALCA in the spanish-speaking countries) has a LOT of other bad sides.
The FTAA would finish the destruction of our national industries because in a so uneven relationship of markets and industries, our little, poor countries will have no chance to compete and to *trade*. We will just open the door to american goods in detriment of our underdeveloped industries. Remember, we are the third world.
I also have to note that the states aren't making any sense with this, because america imposes very heavy anti-trade subsidies to its own goods (primarily farm production) which clearly wipes out any free trade or competition to our exportations.
Please, the good-will people, start checking out the consecuencies of your government's policies if you dare to care about poor people, human rights and democracy. You would say what this has to do with free trade? Well, as the dominance of big foreign corporations increases in our countries, the quality of life, the faith on democracy as a way of increasing the QoL, and the primary rights to be educated, be cured, or simply to eat, are going down. And this could be verified just by looking at the last 30 years history.
For those wondering, I'm from Argentina; the lately bankrupted country.
yadda yadda