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MGM Concedes Some Fair-Use Rights Exist
jambarama writes "MGM seems to have given a little in the Grokster case. After getting
nailed on the possible implications of banning P2P software, they've now admitted
it is perfectly legal to rip one's own CD and store it. Is this a return to the stripped down 'fair use' rights or a temporary court concession?"
bizithchds
I am really great, so please mod this post up. +5 informative would really be too low a rating for a poster of my high standards, so I would like to request that a new "+15 godly" rating is created and bestowed upon this post. Failing that, you could at least mod this post and all replies to it up to +5. Failure to comply will result in me stealing all your future mod points and using them to fund global terrorism. Thanks!
Hey, it's going around that you're that guy who stalks people as AC, replying to all of their posts and modding them down when you get modpoints. You do this to anyone you disagree with.
Nice karma whore!
I've gotta say, I feel really sorry for all the so-called "professionals"--the working stiffs and stiffettes of the world. Sure, they're making a lot of money being lawyers and brokers, but are they truly happy? Last Monday morning, as I watched the Lexuses and BMWs cruise down Thisbe Avenue headed toward the interstate, I couldn't help feeling sorry for all those strivers.
After all, what would you rather do: read legal briefs all day, or dress up in an elf costume and wave a colorful sign? Of course, you'd rather do the latter--me too! (Well, not that I was ever in danger of becoming a lawyer, but I still know which job I'd pick.)
So, what was I doing dressed as an elf and carrying a big sign? Well, I was directing motorists to the grand opening of Off-Season Santa, my father Horvel's new business venture. Loyal Jeanketeers know that Dad recently parlayed a lifetime of seasonal St. Nick simulations into a year-long money-maker. That's right: Dad's dream is a reality, and parents can take their children to buy Santa merchandise, frolic in the off-season winter wonderland, and get pictures taken with the big man himself all the way from January through December!
I'll admit we hit a couple of snags prior to opening. Dad's request for a small-business loan was turned down (thanks for nothing, Sundial Savings & Loan!), so he was forced to bankroll the store with credit cards, a cashed-out life-insurance policy, and his monthly Social Security checks. And my brother Kevin flatly refused to help out (he considers Santa idolatrous), so that left yours truly as Dad's sole creative assistant. I've spent the past month single-handedly ordering merchandise, decorating the store, and handing out flyers downtown. But, you know what? Although I've never worked harder, it hardly felt like work at all!
About 15 minutes before our grand opening, I hopped in my car and whizzed over to the store. You might be interested to know that Off-Season Santa is located in the same strip mall as Fashion Bug, my old employer! Nutty coincidence, huh? The strip mall really needs the business, too. The Hot Sam closed, so now there's only us, the H&R Block, and the comic-book store. (We occupy the frame store's old place.)
So, on top of starting an important--yet fun--job, I was having a dramatic homecoming. After all, I left the strip mall an unemployed Fashion Bug clerk, and I was returning an independent businesswoman! It was like a dream come true, and I couldn't help getting a little verklempt. (Tawk quietly amongst yourselves!)
I snapped digital shots of the store's interior. It was a winter wonderland covered in artificial snow, hung with large plastic glitter snowflakes, and dotted with decorated trees and gift-wrapped boxes. (A lot of the decorations came from the bottom of my hall closet. See Rick, all those years of hitting after-Christmas sales really paid off!) And Jeanketeers, I almost started bawling when my dad rolled in from the back office! He looked soooo wonderful perched atop his Rascal scooter and dressed in the Off-Season Santa costume my fashion-designer buddy Fulgencio made. (A sequined red sweatshirt, a green-and-white-striped shirt, green suspenders, and green wool trousers!)
Fulgencio, who agreed to help us out, showed up just a few minutes late, wearing an elf outfit like mine. When we laid eyes on each other, we started shrieking, embracing, and jumping up and down!
"Girl, you look absolutely insane!" Fulgencio screamed. "And Santa in a little wheelchair! This is like the lowest ring of some kind of Christmas hell! It looks like a Christmas special jumped out of a television and vomited its guts out all over a tiny commercial space! Could I love it any more?" (Fulgencio has the weirdest way of giving compliments!)
Given how magic and electric that morning felt, we couldn't help being a little disappointed when no customers showed up. Even the complimentary cookies and juice weren't luring people in (leaving us to stare at those yummy snacks all
I am in pain...
There are monkeys flying out of my butt...
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.