Slashdot Mirror
Countering a DMCA Takedown In the Magnet Wars
An anonymous reader writes "Zen Magnets, a maker of neodymium magnet toys, has been under assault by the much larger and better distributed Buckyballs, maker of a nearly identical toy. After Zen Magnets listed a couple of eBay auctions with a set of Buckyballs and a set of their own, asking customers to decide which was of higher quality, Buckyballs replied with a legal threat. Zen Magnets countered with an open video response, in which they presented the voicemail from Buckyballs and demonstrated their claims of quality through repeatable, factual tests, providing quantitative data to back up their assertions. Soon after, Buckyballs CEO Jake Bronstein got the video taken down from YouTube via a DMCA takedown, despite the fact that the only elements not made by Zen Magnets are the voicemail he left and some images of himself, which are low-resolution and publicly available online. Zen Magnets has decided to file a counter-takedown notice — not effective yet apparently, since the video is still marked as taken down." Slashdot's sister company ThinkGeek sells Buckyballs. No, we don't get kickbacks, but we totally should.
Update: 09/23 13:23 GMT by KD : Reader Coopjust (872796) points out one place where the disputed video has been mirrored.
Update: 09/23 13:23 GMT by KD : Reader Coopjust (872796) points out one place where the disputed video has been mirrored.
News about an unfair DMCA takedown (don't worry, there are thousands of those) or free advertising for Zen Magnets? You decide.
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I have been a customer of ThinkGeek for a long while... and I hope that they really show where their values are and DROP BuckyBalls as product. I've always believed that they took more notice of this type of stuff and tried to stock items that didn't participate in this type of corporate asshattery. I hope I don't get proved wrong...
The worst problem is in areas like Appliances where the company making cheap crap ("Whirlxxxx") buys out their higher quality competition ("Mayxxx"), and then starts producing cheap crap under the "Mayxxx" name.
It has reached a point where it is impossible (as far as I can tell) to buy
a dishwasher
a hot water heater
a washing machine
That will last 20 years like they used to. The current dishwashers have electronics that are damaged by storms every 2-3 years. Some of the "money" parts are hard plastic so they wear out well before 10 years.
It's better in some cases to buy used and spend big bucks getting the item repaired. Then at least you have a solid appliance.
Please feel free to post if you've found a source for reliable (as in 20 year life span) major appliances.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
It is an interesting concept. The trick here would be to prove damages, although it is possible to file a libel tort if the assertion of copyright infringement was knowingly false. Because there was technically copyrighted material involved that was owned by Buckyballs, I don't think this assertion would work in court. Yes, the content is being reproduced under clear fair-use standards, which is precisely why the counter notice was issued. That process is spelled out very clearly in the DMCA and to me is one of the few good things in that legislation (surrounded by a whole bunch of evil text).
Basically an ISP must respond to a take-down notice, but if a protest if filed then the content must be restored and the matter goes to a court for resolution. Of course companies like YouTube may not be entirely friendly about the process and may lean a little more toward taking stuff down rather than restoring it. It may even take a lawsuit against the ISP to "educate" them about what the DMCA actually says. This can get tricky though, as restoring the content which is later proven to be infringing in court can bring penalties that may be increased due to the content being restored. It definitely is time to hire an attorney if this kind of chest thumping starts to happen and you care about whatever it is that is getting yanked around on the net.
I recently purchased 4 sets of BuckyBalls when they were recently on woot. I'm pretty pissed that I did now and want to show my support to Zen Magnets and buy a set of theirs. They seem to have much better quality from everything I have read and seen, and can attest to BuckyBalls "flakes" now coming off in my hand after using the magnets for about 2 weeks.
From what I have heard, this company BuckyBalls made about $500,000 in sales from the woot sale (woot actually bought more from BuckyBalls on the day of the sale because demand was so strong), and $250,000 in sales on the day Google changed its logo to honor the Buckyball. Seems they may have grown too big for their britches and feel a sense of entitlement now.
If I can not smoke in heaven, then I shall not go. -- Mark Twain
I buy Land's End Business Outfitters clothing. After 2 years i lost some socks to laundry room theft, so bought some new ones. The new socks are ... a shade whiter than the old ones. The 2 year old ones that I do still have are otherwise indistinguishable. They also cost $20 for 3 pair ($6.66/pair)
I used to buy Wal-Mart clothing. Socks come $8 for 8 pair I think ($1/pair). The socks are not as nice to begin with. After about a month (maybe 4 washes), they have little lint balls hanging off and are flattened out like paper, and fraying. In less than a year they have holes. Realistically I could justify replacing them each month or at most 2 months, so maybe $8 x 6 = $48/year versus $40 for 6 pair that last me ... probably 3, 4 years? I haven't actually found out yet. And those expensive socks are a hell of a lot nicer. We're talking nicer things for $10-$15/year.
It's the same with the shirts. I bought undershirts that are nice and fluffy... over two years ago, $20 for a 3 pack. They're good as new, but a little yellowed due to my horrible water (they're UNDER my shirt and feel nice), no fraying at all. I have shirts I bought 2 years ago from Land's End; one frayed around the edges, the other 5 are almost brand new. The pants... one has frayed because I kick my shoes off and catch the cuff under my sole; the others I haven't damaged and they need to be ironed. The shirts cost me $25 (wal-mart shirts are $15-$18) and pants cost me $30 (Wal-Mart pants cost me $18-$25, list price on Land's End pants is $40 but Sears has sales).
The stuff I get from Wal-Mart lasts me about 2-3 months before showing holes, frayed/lost threads (bands around pants legs where thread has unraveled!), or complete loss of volume (socks, undershirts become paper-like). I pay 1.5 times as much and get something that lasts 2-3 years at least without fading or fraying, and it looks and feels better because it's dyed with better dyes and woven better (some of my cotton shirts have a smooth sheen and feel like silk!) and made of brushed Peruvian cotton. I'm sorry but yes, more expensive stuff just costs less; these people are indeed short-sighted morons.
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