Lessig Legal Team Needs Your Copyright Stories

Joe Gratz writes "Lawrence Lessig and his legal team are asking for your help. Kahle v. Ashcroft is a lawsuit that challenges changes to U.S. copyright law that have created a large class of 'orphan works' -- creative works which are out of print and no longer commercially available, but which are still regulated by copyright. To win the lawsuit, we need more examples of people being burdened by these copyright-related barriers to the use of orphan works. Visit the Kahle Submission Site and tell us your story."

Comments

Hmm

[Fullmetal Edward]

faceless people on the internet, best people to use for a witness, safe sex or over turning unjust laws. :)

This just in from Boston (a.k.a. new england)

[Anonymous Coward]

BOSTON--Following the successful mugging of a jogger in Franklin Park, petty criminal Derek Mesker announced Monday that he cannot believe the shit he's found on his victim's Philips 20GB MP3 player. "3 Doors Down? Maroon 5!" Mesker said, scrolling through the songs. "The new Counting Crows?! Man, I'm glad I pistol-whipped that motherfuck." Mesker added that the first thing he did was toss the device's "gay-ass" teal neoprene case.

My opinion

[Anonymous Coward]

Go Ashcroft!!

Stupid open-source zealots have no idea what they're talking about.

Re:One question

[Anonymous Coward]

Its because they are basing their actions on the whiny /. premise that the system is screwed up and therefore needs fixing. If that is your attitude, then of course you are going to look for reasons to justify it. Just think of the incessant bitching about the PATRIOT act here- it doesnt matter that the nightmare scenarios that everybody here warns about just haven't happened. They want something to complain about.

Re:This will NOT make out of print IP public domai

[Halfbaked Plan]

The way I see it, this move would end up being about media companies who own the means of dissemination scarfing up anything that falls out of the original copyright period. Sure, you and I could make copies, but really what will happen is all the songs, images, etc. will end up on cheap commercials.

I have noticed over the last several years that a lot of the great rock tunes of my youth are being licensed for TV commercials by big corporations. Often they turn the whole original context of the song on it's head and it becomes another craven sound-bromide. The Cure's 'Pictures of You' comes to mind. Geez, Robert Smith! Did you need to sell out that badly?

Advertising kills culture, and all I see Lessig's move leading to is the recycling and destruction of culture.

Re:Two sides to every story...

[Moraelin]

I have written a game walkthrough before, and I don't think I would have minded it that much to go fill a form.

I also don't see why should copyright law be usable to essentially bury my FAQ alive. As far as I'm concerned if anyone is still playing that game, and really needs a walkthrough, it might as well be mine. Glad to help.

Would I bother filling a form for every Slashdot or usenet post, though? Well, no, but then I couldn't care less if anyone comes and copies those. I've got no illusions that my occasional trolling is some font of pure wisdom.

If anyone wants to come print my kind of "10 bulleted reasons why your favourite OS sucks" posts in some newspaper or official guide, hey, they're probably crazy anyway. No use reasoning with crazy people ;)