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Google Pushes Back Against US Copyright Treaty

Posted by samzenpus on from the don't-upset-the-google dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Internet companies led by Google joined groups representing Web users to challenge the Bush administration's bid to toughen international enforcement against copyright pirates. The companies said the US courts and Congress are still working out the correct balance between protecting copyrights and the free exchange of information on the Web and a treaty could be counterproductive. 'There's this assumption that what is good for Disney is what's good for America, but that's an oversimplification,' said Jonathan Band, an intellectual property lawyer representing libraries and high-tech companies. 'There's also what's good for Yahoo and Google.' The US, Japan, Canada and other nations said last year that they would begin negotiations on an agreement aimed at cracking down on counterfeiting of such goods as watches and pharmaceuticals, and the piracy of copyrighted materials, such as software and music recordings. A leaked draft of the deal showed that the treaty could force Internet service providers to cooperate with copyright holders."

10 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. WTF?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "There's this assumption that what is good for Disney is what's good for America, but that's an oversimplification," said Jonathan Band, an intellectual property lawyer representing libraries and high-tech companies. "There's also what's good for Yahoo and Google."

    What about what's good for PEOPLE????!!!!

    1. Re:WTF?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      What about what's good for PEOPLE????!!!!

      That went straight out the window ages ago. Didn't you get the memo?

    2. Re:WTF?! by dgatwood · · Score: 5, Funny

      Quick! Everybody hide!

      :-D

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    3. Re:WTF?! by calmofthestorm · · Score: 5, Funny

      Forget people, think of the CHILDREN! If we don't protect intellectual property rights, there could be MICKEY MOUSE PORN!

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    4. Re:WTF?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Are there virgins anymore?

      Wow. You must be really new here.

    5. Re:WTF?! by Wildclaw · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No, they just inserted the word 'rich' in front of people.

      Sure. What do you expect when you elect people who are richer than average and spend their time in richer societal circles.

      Politicians have a good deal of self interest just like everyone else. If you elect people who aren't "ordinary" citizens, then you won't get people who represent ordinary citizens. It is as simple as that.

      That is why I support randomocracy. Select politicans by random. It is fair and ensures that no societal special interests get any priority.

      Of course, there will always be protesters to the idea, claiming that the average citizen is an idiot and that elections stops those from getting elected. However, looking at some of those who actually are elected right now, you can see that that argument doesn't make a lot of sense. Intelligence is currently not a prerequisite for being elected. Charisma, advertising and connections are.

      Also, if you really want to ensure some qualifications you can always have those elected perform a competency test before being allowed to serve as a politican.

  2. This treaty is being done behind closed doors... by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's all the information I need.

    They know it won't get passed if it's done publicly.

    --
    No sig today...
  3. Many countries have happily ignored... by puppetman · · Score: 5, Informative

    copyrights and patents.

    Germany used to be quite famous for making fakes of machines used in the British textile manufacturing effort (right down to copying the name of the manufacturer). Many European countries didn't bother with patent protection as it interferred with their ability to make cheap knock offs.

    If Einstein had been a chemist, he wouldn't have been working in the Swiss patent office, because at the time, the Swiss believed that you couldn't patent anything chemical. Canada didn't recongize drug patents until the 1960s (if memory serves).

    This rich-country enforcement of patents and copyright is "kicking away the ladder" - most first-world countries conveniently ignored patents during their development, when it was to their economic benefit to be able to rip technology off from more well-to-do nations.

    1. Re:Many countries have happily ignored... by schon · · Score: 5, Informative

      Your examples neglect the most prominent example of this - namely the Hollywood movie industry.

      You know why California is the center of the major studios' world? Because they we getting hammered by enforcement of patents when they were on the east coast.

      Hollywood owes it's existence to it's deliberate evasion of "intellectual property" laws.

  4. Already way off balance by slashqwerty · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The companies said the US courts and Congress are still working out the correct balance between protecting copyrights and the free exchange of information on the Web

    The correct balance would cut copyrights back to 14 years, require disclosure of source code to receive copyright on software, ban business method patents, and ban the use of technologies that prevent a work from entering the public domain. The government is going the opposite direction it should if it's interesting in establishing a proper balance.