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NFL, MLB Accused of Bogus Copyright Claims
P Crewe writes "A complaint filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association accuses the NFL, MLB, and a number of studios of deceptive trade practices, saying that their far-reaching copyright claims systematically misrepresent the rights of consumers to use copyrighted material. 'According to the complaint, such warnings "materially misrepresent" US law. Fair use is given short shrift, and as a result, consumers are left with the impression that any use that the rights-holders do not expressly approve is illegal. "Consumers have the right to use the content in legal, non-infringing ways," CCIA spokesperson Jake Ward told Ars Technica. "Putting these warnings on broadcasts, videotapes, and DVDs is both misleading and threatening."'"
While this little clip attempts to prove a point, actually watching it is akin to being tied to the back of a bulldozer as it drives 50 miles down an unpaved road.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
I loved the episode where agents of ABC stormed the house and shot up the VCR when Peter tried to record an NFL game.
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
Some of the members of the CCIA can spare a dime or 2 to grease the same palms. Google, for instance. I heard somewhere that Google has like, $0.53 cents they can spend on lobbying. I may be off, though, yanno. It might be slightly more.
You will be baked, and there will be cake.
"The American media should be more than aware of the fables like Chicken Little, and Crying Wolf."
We're aware of them, but Disney copyrighted them, so we have to wait for a special edition re-release of the DVD to actually see the stories.
"Oh boy! Are we going to try something dangerous?"
If we could just get a few thousand people to send this letter once a week for a year, that B.S. would stop:
Dear Major League Baseball,
I was talking to my friends last night and they brought up the subject of a game they saw last week, [X vs. Y]. I remembered reading at the start of the game on TV that any depiction of the game requires the express written consent. May I have permission to talk about this game with my friends?
Sincerely,
[Child's name], age 10
Dear Major League Baseball,
Last night, my friends started talking about [X vs. Z]. May I have permission to talk about that game with my friends as well?
Sincerely,
[Child's name], age 10
...and so on. For just $21 a year---little more than the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks---you can help rid the world of copyright tyranny.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
That's a string bet -- not allowed. Take back your raise, sir; the bet stands at "back of a bulldozer".
Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
Disney teaches Copyright
Haha!
"The public domain is a disgrace to the forces of Evil."
That line alone made the video worth watching. However... if... I had... to... watch... much more... of... that... I think... I... would... go... insane... and start... killing... people... just to... make... the pain... stop.
"What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
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MLB can copyright everything that it wants. The baseball season is always irrelevant to me by mid-May.