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Rumors of a 'Whisper Campaign' Forming Against Fair Use

Posted by Zonk on from the not-stronger-quicker-easier-more-seductive dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Ars Technica reports that a group of companies and organizations it calls 'big content' is currently engaged in a worldwide 'whisper campaign' against Fair Use. 'The counter-reformation in question takes the form of a "whispering campaign" in which ministries in different countries are told that plans to expand fair use rights might well run afoul of the Berne Convention's "three-step test." The Convention, which goes back to the late 1800s, was one of the earliest international copyright treaties and is now administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).'"

1 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Leeches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I thought that was the entire basis of Scientology? Evil spirits wandering around and re-inhabiting random vessels.

    I'm not the same AC as this guy, but it's funny he mentions them in the context of a "whisper campaign" against fair use.

    Sonny Bono was a Scilon and a Congressman. In 1998, he didn't just argue for copyright extension, he got the Mickey Mouse Protection Act named after him: The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA).

    The Scilons, via Bono and via the rest of their Hollywood connections, were strong advocates for the DMCA. Within months of its passage, they were using DMCA threats to out critics and open them up for further harassment. They've used the DMCA as a legal cudgel against everyone from Google (they tried to prevent Google from linking to critics' sites) to Slashdot (the only time in Slashdot history that the Editors have been forced to delete a post).

    Using back channels to lobby for the end of fair use would be a major legislative victory for the Scilons; the only reason they don't sue on the basis of the phrase "seventy-five million years ago" is because they'd be laughed out of court. Under cult doctrine, "the purpose of a lawsuit is not to win, but to harass", and if fair use (using quotations from cult materials for purposes of parody, expression, or criticism) goes away, they'd have standing to file such suits.

    That AC's closer to the truth than he knows. It wouldn't surprise me one damn bit to see the Scilons behind this.