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Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holders Warn (torrentfreak.com)

An anonymous reader shares a TorrentFreak report: Various music and movie industry groups have warned that fair use exceptions are a threat. The groups were responding to proposals put forward in Australia by the Government's Productivity Commission. They claim that content creators will be severely disadvantaged if fair use is introduced Down Under . Several rightsholder groups argue that strong copyright protections are essential for the survival of their businesses. This includes a long copyright term of 70 years, as well as the ability to block access to content based on the location of a consumer. In addition, many believe that fair use exceptions will do more harm than good. For example, music group IFPI warns that fair use will threaten innovation and create legal uncertainty. "Licensing, not exceptions to copyright, drives innovation. Innovation is best achieved through licensing agreements between content owners and users, including technological innovators," IFPI writes.

148 comments

  1. Isn't that a contradiction? by mark-t · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would it be called "fair" in the first place if it wasn't actually fair?

    1. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by CityZen · · Score: 2

      Interpretation: Copyright holders don't want to play fair.

    2. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      They say it threatens innovation. Maybe they need to be more innovative instead of complaining?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    3. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

      The good thing is that this is about Australia and not about some place where innovation is actually taking place. So in the end, it's a storm in a teacup.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    4. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by matbury · · Score: 2

      What's not to like about corporate lawyers? I'm sure they make the creative world a double-plus-good place for everyone :)

    5. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by James+McGuigan · · Score: 1

      Fair is the compromise between the balance of interests of the various people who create, consume and reuse of creative content.

      "Fair" could be defined as anywhere between everything is automatically public domain and fair is giving the content creator absolute power over every tiny aspect about how this work is used until the end of time. Both extremes would affect the possible business models of content creators and the net social utility value that humanity derives from this content.

      "Fair use" is the current attempt to legally define where this balance should lie. The real question of course is how do you put a financial figure on net social utility value, when the copyright industry has a vested interest in maximizing and guaranteeing licensing fees.

    6. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's not to like about corporate lawyers? I'm sure they make the creative world a double-plus-good place for everyone :)

      It's news like this one that makes me wish Isis would target the "right" people.

    7. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      The good thing is that this is about Australia and not about some place where innovation is actually taking place. So in the end, it's a storm in a teacup.

      What, you didn't like Cleverman?

      Actually, the lack of an open-ended fair use system is probably partly to blame.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    8. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US has fair use incorporated in copyright law. The movie and music industry revenue is over $500B annually in the US. Clearly they are suffering from lack of innovation, and their revenue would probably be 10x the US GNP without fair use.

    9. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Well, the RIAA has already claimed that piracy is costing them several times the entire world's GDP, so they're certainly not lacking in creativity :-)

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    10. Re:Isn't that a contradiction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I listen to podcasts and donate through paypal and patreon for some of the shows I like. The one's I listen to whether I pay or don't pay make just enough from donations to live a comfortable life(~30,000/ part-time) and the more effort they put in the better they do. It's almost like working a real job where your pay depends on your effort. This is what certain parts of the industry are missing and more money will not fix things. These lowly podcasts have good quality almost rivaling major records and they have little to no bloat.

  2. Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obviously! Because fair use has so very much stifled the greatest content creation nation on earth, USA. /sarcasm

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Full of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're so full of it. What about licensing brings about innovation? Are they claiming people will only make new things if there's money to be had? I thought we debunked that myth a long time ago. Money is not the only motivating factor of innovation. I'd say it's the least important one, in fact; many people pursue what they do because they enjoy it and/or believe in it. The money's a damn nice bonus, but ultimately the goal of innovation is to improve the work/art in the field. If laws are passed that allow people to borrow ideas and combine them in ways people didn't anticipate, that's the very definition of innovation. Nothing is created in a vacuum, and holding exclusive rights to something for X amount of time only prevents innovation, *not* foster it.

    They're a bunch of artless, lying suits, as we've all come to expect from the recording industry.

    1. Re:Full of Shit by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You must understand that these are people who define "innovation" as "new way for me to charge more rent on the same old stuff".

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    2. Re:Full of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Simply replace the word innovation with the word profits and all is clear. In corp-speak the two are synonymous.

      True innovation, as in creating something new without prior intent to monetise, is not part of the conversation;

    3. Re:Full of Shit by rasmusbr · · Score: 1

      They're claiming that's not enough. What they're claiming implicitly is that your great-grandchildren have to be able to make money off of your work, otherwise there will be too little incentive for you to innovate.

      No, actually what they're claiming is that they have enough lobbyist to enact whatever the hell they want for themselves.

      And by innovation they mean clever ways to sell the exact same old recording that you already own, maybe with some slight changes to the mastering or what not.

    4. Re:Full of Shit by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Are they claiming people will only make new things if there's money to be had?

      Don't you realize that before Intellectual Property laws, there was no innovation, no creativity. People lived grey, drab lives. No music, no art. People couldn't even eat because farmers had no one to innovate their crops.

      Let me tell you, things were bad when people freely exchanged ideas. Artists starved. In fact, few people know that the real reason van Gogh cut off his ear was to make a sandwich. And there wasn't even mayonnaise because nobody had invented it until Miracle WhipTM. So it was a shitty, dry ear sandwich.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re:Full of Shit by Required+Snark · · Score: 1
      Not quite right: "your great-grandchildren have to be able to make money" should be replaced by "their great-grandchildren have to be able to make money." It's not the artists/innovators who are raking in the cash, it's the parasites who control the content distribution. Creators, except for a very luck few, get almost nothing for their work.

      This is a case where fleas are claiming ownership of the dog, and are adamantly defending their right to stop any kind of flea treatment because Profit!

      --
      Why is Snark Required?
    6. Re:Full of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're completely wrong. Some of the greatest works of art the world has ever seen were done for no other reason than to pay the rent. All-time artists like Balzac, Pushkin, Shakespeare had debt collectors on their butts and produced masterpieces to keep them at bay. In fact, your reason would be at the bottom of the list as to why art is created. Even plain old vanity would be ahead of "improving the work/art in the field". Those people are exceptions, an example of that kind of person was William Morris, who was an exceptional and singular person.

    7. Re:Full of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it's like consulting leeches on the health benefits of bloodletting. I cannot blame them for their opinion but it still would be idiotic to let it govern the discourse.

    8. Re:Full of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound like you were expecting something honest from an industry that sues its own customers into oblivion and has everything on lockdown so it can continue monopolistic practices designed to create a protected bubble from which they can endlessly spawn non-innovative garbage that's just called "new".

      Please reference the number of NEW movies made each year for the last decade. It's been an endless series of sequels and reboots. Just how they want it, then they don't have to have talent, just hacks.

      Fuck the RIAA, the MPAA, and all their mob-like cousins in other countries.

    9. Re:Full of Shit by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      Exactly.

      Assumption: You need copyright to make a profit.
      Status: DEBUNKED.

      If the Fashion Industry can survive without copyright then this is pure bunk.

  5. When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...can we just disenfranchise these fucks and hunt them for sport?

    1. Re:When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's these things called hunting "licenses"

    2. Re:When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      didn't this just happen in dallas?

      too soon?

    3. Re: When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not too soon. I'd say spot on.

    4. Re: When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An idiot randomly attacks peope doing the job we pay them to do peacefully and you claim a tie with IP overreach. Fit God's sake man, put down the crack pipe and get a fucking life!

    5. Re: When... by RandomFactor · · Score: 1

      Something about calling it random doesn't seem to fit...

      --
      --- Mercutio was right.
    6. Re: When... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right. I should have said random idiot. His attack was deliberate. The fact he was an idiot was random. That doesn't change the fact the two issues have nothing to do with each other.

  6. You require licensing? We can do that. by Logger · · Score: 1

    If licenseing drives innovation, this is a simple problem to solve. Require all copyright holders to use a license that includes some prescribed fair use clause. Done. Next.

  7. Oh fuck off by ilsaloving · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are plenty of business that survive just fine without freeloading on content that was produced almost a century ago. If you are unable to do that, that's a problem with your business and you *deserve* to go under. In fact, we wish you would so that better businesses can be built upon your stinking rotting corpse.

    Sincerely,
    Everyone.

    1. Re:Oh fuck off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. And now we know that we should NEVER pay for content produced in Australia.

  8. Yeah, right by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Copyright extension to 70 years encourages innovation, because of course the original creator expects to still be alive and deriving revenue from their work 70 years later, right? This get one thing straight: Copyright isn't encouraging innovation, it's guaranteeing a revenue stream for the corporation that commissions the work for hire or buys the copyright from the original creator. Oh, and ALL creative works are derivative to begin with, so don't even try to tell me copyright is protecting "original" work.

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Yeah, right by mark-t · · Score: 2

      Copyright isn't encouraging innovation, it's guaranteeing a revenue stream....

      What revenue stream does the copyright on most open source projects guarantee? They are fully copyrighted (GPL, BSD, MIT, and many others), but are entirely free.

    2. Re:Yeah, right by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Copyright for a limited time encourages further creativity, since you can't count on revenue from previous work for the rest of your life.

      Excessive copyright wastes time and resources on copyright fights that could be applied to better uses. If Mickey Mouse was now in the public domain, there'd more likely be more derivative products than there are today

      Just look at Paramount squishing fan fiction videos that are no threat to the franchise (crappy story lines and excessive lens flair, on the other hand ...)

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    3. Re:Yeah, right by caseih · · Score: 3, Informative

      For those that sell software, copyright guarantees (or so they think) a potential revenue stream through licensing. As to open source software, copyright becomes the vehicle for keeping the software free and open, and prevents it (theoretically) from being stolen by companies who want to make money off of it. At the same time, it does allow the copyright holders of the open source (GPL'd, etc) software to be able to sell their work if they choose under proprietary terms. This is one reason I select the GPL for my personal projects. It gives me the freedom to sell proprietary licenses if the code ever was interesting enough to catch a commercial vendor's attention.

      In any case, the OP's point still stands, and I think he was making the point from the POV of the music industry first and foremost. They see copyright as a rent-seeking mechanism, not one for innovation.

    4. Re:Yeah, right by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      If the finest minds in Hollywood weren't too busy on the anti-GMO and antivax picket lines to understand the term 'heat death of the universe' they would be lobbying for this as the new IP expiration date.

    5. Re:Yeah, right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Copyright extension to 70 years encourages innovation, because of course the original creator expects to still be alive and deriving revenue from their work 70 years later, right?

      Sadly, that is exactly right. You're naive if you think that humans are innovating. The truth is that for almost a century now, it's been corporations who do the vast majority of innovating, and corporations are immortal. So you do the math.

      Most social problems today are due to corporations being legal persons. Most social problems today would be fixed if corporations were not legal persons.

    6. Re:Yeah, right by sir1963nz · · Score: 1

      If the copyright holders can show me how the author rains productive and innovating after they have died, I will happily pay. If they can no not, then I expect them to give me free copies of all their works.

    7. Re:Yeah, right by HiThere · · Score: 1

      I disagree that most social problems today would be fixed if corporations were not legal persons. Many social problems, however, is a different argument.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    8. Re:Yeah, right by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      What they are actually saying is they are being innovative, blocking innovation, by claiming an innovation will prevent 'er' innovation, sticking to the proper English definition of innovation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... Translation, we want to threaten children with imprisonment for copyright infringement in order to grab thousands of dollars from their parents (this shit was written by lawyers and whilst they are a kind of content creators normally associated with larger herbivorous farm animals, they are not the content creators they are claiming to protect).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  9. Re:Just plain false by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Follow the money. Are the people making this "fair use stifles innovation" argument the original artists creating new content, or is the argument being advanced by companies that have bought the rights from long dead artists?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  10. Thanks for Clearing that Up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm glad to know that innovation in movies and music didn't exist before licensing. Thank you for letting me know, licensing giants.

  11. Innovation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

  12. Do they even understand what fair use is? by mark-t · · Score: 3, Insightful
    FTA:

    They believe that it will disadvantage their members, who donâ(TM)t have the means to protect themselves against large corporations that could invoke fair use as a defense.

    Why would they have to protect themselves from large corporations that invoke fair use as a defense? Fair use, by definition does not adversely impact the value of the work in question. If the copyright holders are being harmed in some way by some particular usage, then fair use cannot be deemed to apply in the first place.

    1. Re:Do they even understand what fair use is? by slew · · Score: 2

      Well there are two sides of this coin...

      The recommendation lists these items for fair use...

      1. research or study;
      2. criticism or review;
      3. parody or satire;
      4. reporting news;
      5. professional advice;
      6. quotation;
      7. non-commercial private use;
      8. incidental or technical use;
      9. library or archive use;
      10.education; and
      11.access for people with disability.

      I think the fair use exemptions for "professional advice", "library or archive use", and "education" are kind of the sticking points (where the big corps are against "non-commercial private use" which basically is file sharing).

      For example, if a big company (say google) were to make a library or archive (let's call it books.google.au for arguments sake) where they allow free access to copyrighted material (with side banner ads which they get money for) do they get a fair use exemption? Also a blanket educational exemption is a bit of a problem for say instructional material (or may even the Wiggles). IMO, they really need to clean it the recommendation a bit.

      On the other hand, you can make a case that Australia is being simply opportunist on this and are really just after a free ride. The rationale they give is...

      Overall, given that most new works consumed in Australia are sourced from overseas and their creation is unlikely to be responsive to changes in Australia’s exceptions, adoption of a fair use provision in Australia is likely to deliver net benefits to the Australian community.

      Basically, they are saying expanding fair use won't hurt Australia because authors won't stop producing stuff in English just because Australians are pirating it.

    2. Re:Do they even understand what fair use is? by mark-t · · Score: 1

      I think the fair use exemptions for "professional advice", "library or archive use", and "education" are kind of the sticking points (where the big corps are against "non-commercial private use" which basically is file sharing).

      Sharing something publicly kind of invalidates the notion of being for "private use" doesn't it? That it may be non-commercial is entirely irrelevant.

    3. Re:Do they even understand what fair use is? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      There's an easy solution for them.

      1. Allow lots of fair use rights.
      2. Forbid the cracking of DRM, distribution/possession of tools to crack DRM, or distribution of media with DRM removed.
      3. Release everything only in DRMed form.

      I call it the 'Texas Abortion' proposal: You have your rights enshrined in law, but all means of exercising them are closed to you.

    4. Re:Do they even understand what fair use is? by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 1

      > If the copyright holders are being harmed in some way by some particular usage, then fair use cannot be deemed to apply in the first place.

      I'm sorry to say that this is nonsense. Criticism, satire, and political speech about a document are primary grounds for "fair use" quotations, and they can profoundly damage the value of a copyrighted work by exposing its quality or even exposing fraud by the author.

  13. Copyright Holders Threaten Innovation, Fair Use Wa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Various educational and parody groups have warned that copyright holders are a threat. The groups were responding to proposals put forward in Australia by the Government's Productivity Commission. They claim that fair use will be severely disadvantaged if draconian copyright enforcement is introduced Down Under . Several educational and parody groups argue that strong fair use exceptions are essential for the survival of human culture. This excludes a long copyright term of 70 years, as well as the ability to block access to content based on the location of a consumer. In addition, many believe that copyright holders will do more harm than good. For example, Creative Commons warns that copyright holders will threaten innovation and create legal uncertainty. "Remixing works, not licensing, drives innovation. Innovation is best achieved through letting people do more with the content you create, because everyone can enjoy the resulting remixes," Creative Commons writes.

  14. It's all about corporate greed by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Fair use is essential.

    Corporations exist to disrupt society, not to create it.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  15. Without fair use we wouldn't have... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Weird Al! Since music was mentioned in OP.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Want to increase innovation? shorten copyright significantly. One could put in a provision to copyright law to guarantee a percentage of future profit or minimum return for smaller scale 'inventors'.

  16. Re: Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holde by friesofdoom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Literally the EXACT OPPOSITE of everything in this story is true. These "rights holders" can go fuck themselves after they finish spinning this story.

  17. Fair vs. Free by Sax+Russell+5449D29A · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If fair use is hindering their business, how would free use weigh in? Take open source, for example. Microsoft could easily argue Linux is making it difficult to sell their OS for server use. In fact, I'd imagine that if they somehow managed to eliminate fair use, free would be their next target: making it very difficult through restrictive legislation to produce something for free unrestricted distribution without some sort of monetary aspects attached. Essentially forcing all competition to play on the platform they fully control.

    There's been some very worrying news coming out of Australia in a steady stream. The Big Brother is certainly on a roll there.

    --
    -SR
    1. Re:Fair vs. Free by anegg · · Score: 1

      I think Microsoft already made the argument that free/open source software was a threat to the commercial software industry and needed to be reined in, that using Microsoft's typical FUD wasn't going to be enough, and that they now needed to be fighting standard protocols, using tactics such as "embrace, extend, and extinguish." See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_documents. Given the revealed and suggested tactics, its not hard to imagine that a different attack vector could be funded.

    2. Re:Fair vs. Free by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      It's an easy argument to make. Free and open source software brings in no tax money, commercial software brings in a ton of tax money. Which would you expect government to favor?

    3. Re:Fair vs. Free by Sax+Russell+5449D29A · · Score: 1

      Free open source software lets a wider audience to increase productivity, which in turn has often quite direct positive effects in the economy. This is something the legislators usually don't (want to) take into account.

      --
      -SR
    4. Re:Fair vs. Free by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 1

      > If fair use is hindering their business, how would free use weigh in? Take open source, for example. Microsoft could easily argue Linux is making it difficult to sell their OS for server use. In fact, I'd imagine that if they somehow managed to eliminate fair use,

      They did, using SCO as a disposable legal proxy. Please review the legal history of the SCO copyright cases, captured in the archives of https://www.groklaw.net/. Microsoft's fiscal support of SCO was established pretty early in the process: SCO could not have continued to confuse the intellectual property rights of Linux without the clear Microsoft support throughout most of the case.

  18. Thank copyright for Shakespeare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank goodness Shakespeare had copyright protection back in the day or we would still be waiting on those monkeys to write Hamlet.

    1. Re:Thank copyright for Shakespeare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gimme a break, I'm writing as fast as I can!

  19. Re:Just plain false by John+Allsup · · Score: 1

    Many will be happy to produce content with a balanced copyright law with fair use provisions. Those who would not can simply not produce. That will create room in the market for less greedy producers to fill.

    --
    John_Chalisque
  20. I'd say that it's more likely... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that innovation threatens copyright holders.

  21. Blackwhite by dosius · · Score: 2

    How Orwellian of them to say so...

    --
    What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
  22. Fair use and automobiles by Todd+Knarr · · Score: 2

    So, fair use threatens the survival of their businesses. In other news, the automobile threatened the survival of the buggy-whip manufacturers and the integrated-circuit chip threatened the survival of the makers of vacuum tubes.

  23. Well they were kind of right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "as well as the ability to block access to content based on the location of a consumer"

    Well, the ability to block access to content based on location HAS forced innovation in the form of bringing VPNs to the masses.

    Even the least tech savvy people I know now have VPNs to watch American Netfix.

    1. Re:Well they were kind of right... by chipschap · · Score: 1

      This one is the most amazing of all: that blocking content based on location somehow encourages innovation.

      Of course I don't know why we're even discussing this. This reaction from the big corps is 100% predictable.

  24. The Public Domain Drives Innovation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The public domain drives innovation. A lot of creative works today are based on older works that are in the public domain. For example many of the Disney animated movies are based on older works that were in the public domain. The US Founding Fathers recognized that a limited monopoly for artistic and linguistic works was good for innovation. Copyright holders would like an unlimited monopoly, and at least in the US, that is very much unconstitutional. We need more works entering the public domain. If creative works enter the public domain sooner, within reason to allow creators to profit for awhile from their works, there will be more derivative works and more innovation.

    1. Re:The Public Domain Drives Innovation by NormalVisual · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We need more works entering the public domain. If creative works enter the public domain sooner, within reason to allow creators to profit for awhile from their works, there will be more derivative works and more innovation.

      Which is what we had in the U.S. prior to 1978, when the Copyright Act of 1976 went into effect. I think the terms of the original Copyright Act of 1790 (14 years plus a 14 year extension) were adequate, and further extensions have been a cash grab by creators at the expense of society in general - a very real form of theft. Patents only receive 20 years of protection, so what's so frigging special about copyright? What we have now is an abomination that completely and totally defeats the purpose of the Copyright Clause in the U.S. Constitution, IMO. How exactly does extending protection for works after the creator's death encourage new works by that creator?

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
  25. Copyright threatens inovation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    full stop, it should be eliminated completely.

    1. Re: Copyright threatens inovation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, this is also an absurd position. Copyright is intended to allow content creators and owners a limited monopoly on the distribution of creative works. Without a limited monopoly, it might be difficult to profit at all, and thus discourage innovation. However, fair use and copyrighted works entering the public domain are necessary as well. Copyright shouldn't be abolished, it just needs to be for much shorter lengths of time and ensure that fair use is protected.

    2. Re: Copyright threatens inovation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Boilerplate bullshit. Get off my lawn!

  26. Sounds like the argument agains VHS/Betamax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.

    -MPAA boss Jack Valenti

  27. Re: Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holde by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What fair use threatens is the income levels of the rights management industry. It may have some affect on the actual artists, but not to the extent that it will affect their desire to create.

  28. Fair use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And so was the video cassette tape and the DVD.
    And a long list of others.
    But in all cases as with this one they were dragged kicking and screaming to the money exactly what is happening now.

  29. Compensate.Me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like a great idea!

    Say every time I mention [brand name] on faceb**k.com or other [brand name] web site, i would get compensation. from [brand name]

    Every time my comments about [brand name] are read, or I wear anything from [brand name] I would get compensation from [brand name].

    If I go to a concert from [group name] and my photo is used, I would get compensated from [group name].

    Every time I talked about [group name] , [group name] would compensate me.

    Every time my fan page about [brand name] or [group name] is accessed, [group name] or [brand name] would compensate me.

    Compensation makes the world go round. If I don't get compensation from [brand name] or [group name], then I will stop using [brand name] or listening to [group name], and recommend another [brand name] or [group name].

    Since items from [group name] or [brand name] are licensed, I can get money back since I am no longer interested in being a licensee.

    If say I take a picture using [brand name's] camera, since [brand name] is in the meta-data, I would get compensation for advertising for [brand name].

  30. Threaten innovation? by JustNiz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What bullshit. The established music industry has already completely killed innovation. They want a nice zero-risk predictable business model based on marketing not creativity, because anything creative is new and by definition unpredictable so a necessarily higher financial risk.
    They've been following exactly the same old image-manufacturing process at least since Bill Haley/Elvis/The Beatles.

  31. 1984 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Freedom is Slavery" -- Copyright industry

    1. Re:1984 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1984 is still under copyright. You will be sued, citizen. -- Copyright industry.

  32. It's are afraid! by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    It's afraid of user generated content.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  33. Descendents of Shakespeare come calling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    RIGHT so fair use is such a detriment to innovation that we should retroactively apply our rules today to works by Shakespeare, Bach etc., etc. etc. because you know NOBODY uses their work in 'new & hopefully interesting ways' without paying them or 'wanting to' right? (you know if we could only find their descendent we'd pay them their pound of flesh (OOPS. Guess I have to send over a few pennies to Shakespeare for this unauthorized use).

    You want to see innovation? Let's GUT the copyright rules, put them back to no more than 14 years from time of creation (not 'death of author/creator'), the shear amount of new material & ways to present it would absolutely explode even more so than today.

  34. The purpose of copyright is........ by Proudrooster · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So here is the deal, I will trade you "fair use" for 4-year copyright limits.

    However, you can't have 70 year copyright terms and no fair use. That is called unlimited MONOPOLY!

    The purpose of Copyright was to give the person who created the work a limited monopoly to earn back their money, not money for their grandchildren.

    Imagine if a plumber could charge you per flush for the next 70 years.
    Imagine if an electrician could charge you every time you use a light switch for the next 70 years.

    It is insane. We need FAIR USE!

    1. Re:The purpose of copyright is........ by maharvey · · Score: 1

      Good answer

    2. Re:The purpose of copyright is........ by William+Baric · · Score: 2

      In most countries, copyright is not 70 years, but 70 years after the death of the author. So not only the plumber will charge you for all his life, but his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will also charge you for all their lives. Now pay and suck it up.

    3. Re:The purpose of copyright is........ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine if a plumber could charge you per flush for the next 70 years.
      Imagine if an electrician could charge you every time you use a light switch for the next 70 years.

      There is a non-subtle difference between arts and crafts. If a plumber offered me those terms, I can call the next plumber who don't insist on such, and receive the exact same result - working drains.
      This does not apply to intellectual property. If I don't agree to the terms under which Elvis' music is licensed, I can hire an Elvis-impersonator to preform similar music. But its not the same as hearing Love me tender. The cult pop-star as a phenomenon is deeply ingrained into our culture. Disagreeing doesn't change it. And that culture requires copyrights. You can try to change the culture, but good luck moving the masses - they like status quo. Whining doesn't really help here.

      Also, there is a point of fairness. If I made it, it is mine. With physical objects this is obvious. But with IP, I have the opportunity to share it. Should I have anything to say about how it is used? This is a deep sociological question, and peoples minds are going to be divided on this. I used to think along this /. groupthink way back when. Since then, I've started to write FOSS software, and I've become a fierce proponent of strong copyrights. The thought of someone copypasting my stuff under "fair use" to their code makes me feel hurt. I know it happens even now, illegally, and that is a price to pay for publishing it. But if someone can take my stuff, flip a finger at me and cry "fair use" - then there is something wrong with our society, and I'd probably go do something I am not as innovative in. Like plumbing.

    4. Re:The purpose of copyright is........ by Proudrooster · · Score: 1

      Ugh Software Patents and Copyrights are destroying innovation globally as the patent trolls troll away.

      Have you ever watched The Patent Scam Intro video on YouTube?

      Lawyers and finance at some point become another tax on productivity and growth. They are useful to a point but when spurious, vexatious litigation becomes the norm this is just feeding trolls.

      I would challenge you to watch this video, reflect, and think about how you would draw the line between creators/innovators and the public good.

      I have participated in patent applications as well as copyrighted works, but I feel they should expire.

      Congress tried to recently strike a balance with recently with the Innovation Act, to try and clean up some of the pointless patent lawsuits, but it was blocked by the leader of the judicial committee. It doesn't help that everyone in congress and the senate is a lawyer and is shoveled large amounts of cash from the trial lawyers.

      My main point is that works need reasonable IP protection limits for their creators. As far as FOSS goes, you could use any license or contract you could dream up and not rely on copyright. Just like with contract law, you can write contracts for nearly any terms as long as you aren't violating RICO. Just look at the payday loan industry and/or the terms and conditions that you agree to everyday where you waive your legal rights in favor of arbitration.

      If we could all deal with each other fairly, the world would be a great place. Humanity has demonstrated time and time again that it is incapable of sharing and that there are a**holes which will abuse any reasonable system.
       

    5. Re:The purpose of copyright is........ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm finding it hard to feel sorry for someone who contributes to FOSS and then whines about people actually copying the code. That's sorta, y'know, the point.

      Now if they're using that code without attribution and without a copy (or mention) of the GPL, *then* it's a problem. If they're using a single function? Weeelll, that's probably Fair Use. It'd depend on how complex or important the function is. Fair Use is necessary for the creation of parodies, satire, *reviews*, documentaries, and more. The realm of creative works would be less colorful without those types of media.

      Some random person yoinking an already-available-for-free function is not a big deal. Odds are, if you find someone using your code and not attributing it, you can talk to them and they'll straighten it out. I mean fuck, all you're asking for in that situation is credit. So there's the real question: have you actually communicated with these violators? If you feel strongly enough about it, sue.

      (for the record I have some GPL'd code as well. For things I don't care about, WTFPL all the way)

  35. End end is near. Um... wait. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apparently this "threat" has existed for quite a while. How have we ever survived?

    From: U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index

    Fair use is a judge-created doctrine dating back to the nineteenth century and codified in the 1976 Copyright Act.

    And: Fair use

    The 1709 Statute of Anne, an act of the Parliament of Great Britain, created copyright law to replace a system of private ordering enforced by the Stationers' Company. The Statute of Anne did not provide for legal unauthorized use of material protected by copyright. In Gyles v Wilcox (1740) the Court of Chancery established the doctrine of "fair abridgement," which permitted unauthorized abridgement of copyrighted works under certain circumstances. Over time, this doctrine evolved into the modern concepts of fair use and fair dealing. Fair use was a common-law doctrine in the U.S. until it was incorporated into the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 107.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  36. True! by OpenSourced · · Score: 1

    Licensing, not exceptions to copyright, drives innovation.

    How true! Almost forgotten is the fact that it was only through a carefully structured licensing strategy that William Shakespeare managed to innovate so much.

    --
    Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
  37. Copyright taken too far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's remember that copyright was originally intended to afford sufficient protection to allow an inventor or creator to make a reasonable and honest income from their works. The 70 year copyright is pure bullshit. If a work, of any kind, hasn't made the inventor/creator sufficient income in less than half that time then it's certainly not worthy of further protection.

  38. uh, lawyers, executives, and investors are NOT... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the same thing as "innovators"

    Copyrights and Patents worked so well in the US for so many decades and lead to the boom in innovation PRECISELY because the Constitution embedded them in the nation's most-basic law WITH LIMITED DURATION AND WITH THE WORKS BECOMING PUBLIC AT THE END OF THE PROTECTED TIME.

    Giant corporations, run by boards of business executives and lawyers who have been hired by investors, NONE of whom are innovators or creators are the very sorts of people that copyright law and patent law were NOT created to benefit. These are the leeches of society who look to make themselves and endless fortune by rigging for decades on the back of the innovation of others, often rigging the financial deals so that THEY make far more money from each innovative thing than the actual innovator. Bill gates, for example, was certainly a coder, but HE and Ballmer made far more money from DOS than they guy he bought it from. Movies studios make far more from a movie than the director, writer, actors, etc. Record companies used to make far more from a record than the musicians.

    It's true that corporate leeches enable innovation by investing in it, and that's fine, but it's wrong when they squeeze the actual innovators in order to make more money from the innovations than the actual innovators...... and then the leeches whine when they think they are missing out on "lost opportunity dollars". Nobody should listen to any complaint these jerks make as long as their cut of the cash from any innovation is bigger than the cut they grudgingly pass to the actual creative people. Their basic business model is more harmful to innovation than a basic aspect of IP law is.

  39. IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    We will be so RESTRICTED from artistic and technical INNOVATION that studios will be reduced to producing NOTHING MORE than endless REBOOTS of previously filmed efforts spun-off from ANCIENT COMIC BOOK franchises!

    ALL COMMERCIAL MUSIC will be INDISTINGUISHABLE from style and content of hits released circa 2001!

    DO YOU WANT TO KILL THIS VIBRANT CULTURE WITH FAIR ACCESS?!!!?

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
    1. Re:IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      endless REBOOTS of previously filmed efforts spun-off from ANCIENT COMIC BOOK franchises!

      No collection would be complete without Hitler's Cocaine

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re: IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a moron. The music and now the movie industry are the most short sighted greedy people on earth. Unfortunately the artists suffer due to their greed. I personally no longer support either industry. I use to spend an average of 3 to 5k a year on music and have spent less than $100.00 per year for the last several (about 10) years due to the greed of the RIAA. $&"@ them. Back in the day friends and I would make mix tapes or mix CDs and introduce each other to new bands, new music and generate many more sales for the bands (artists) we never heard of before and in the long run generated way more income for the labels and artists than they lost by sharing a copy of their music with a friend. Now I would be considered a pirate and a criminal so fuck them. Streaming low quality music and buying low quality mp3 AAC etc. files is not what the audiophiles that spend the most money want. Short sighted greed by typical $&@$s killed the industry.

    3. Re:IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      Bob bless Dennis Kitchen.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    4. Re: IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      I would damn you as satire impaired, but this IS slashdot, and there are good odds that you are deeper into the autism disorder spectrum than the usual degree.

      I USED FUNNY ALL KAPZ!

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    5. Re: IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      What's Strine for 'whoosh', mate?

    6. Re: IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      What's Strine for 'whoosh', mate?

      "Foster's"

    7. Re:IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED, ESPECIALLY to COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARDS.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    8. Re:IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2

      +++ATH0

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    9. Re:IF YOU UPHOLD FAIR USE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OH FLYING SPAGHETTI! We are all doomed! The world after all is only 100 years old and all this talk about artists, music, and plays flourishing before enforced copyright law is propaganda by our lizard alien overlords.

  40. Re:Just plain false by sconeu · · Score: 1

    You misunderstand. In their language, "innovation" = "control of everything"

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  41. Same old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only thing threatening innovation is giant corporations forcing anti-competitive and draconian legislation. This feels like deja vu from the US RIAA and MPAA battles of old.

  42. Just the opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Copyright and patents actually stifle innovation. They exist for one reason and one reason only, to make money for the holder of the copyright or patent and protect them. That is all, no other reason, period. Short term limits are what are needed for these, 5-10 years max. If everything was available for anyone to use, then you'd see a massive amount of innovation from all kinds of different walks of life. Instead we have a system in place that locks people and companies out damn near indefinitely.

    1. Re:Just the opposite by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Copyrights and patents have their place. With intangible goods, you have the problem that a lot of money goes into their creation while at the same time they are trivial to duplicate. We have just gone overboard with the time that protection is granted.

      In the beginning, copyright was 7 years and you could tack on another 7 years if you could somehow show that it's necessary. We're talking about the 1700s, though. A time when the steps between writing a book and having it published took months, if not years, to complete. Not to mention that information spread much slower and advertising was by no means as pervasive as it is today. Those 7 years, as long as they appear to us today, were pretty much what you HAD to be granted if that law should you actually have a chance to recover your investment of time and money.

      As time went by, the time from creation to publication and monetizing shrunk while at the same time copyright was extended to ridiculous proportions. Today you can pretty much create, publish and make it known without HOURS, while at the same time copyright length is "lifetime of the creator + 70 years". That is ridiculous! We're talking about the grandchildren of an author still getting money out of what their grandpa did.

      To put it into perspective, "Love me do" by the Beatles was published in 1962. If Paul McCartny AND Ringo Starr dropped dead TODAY, that song would go out of copyright no earlier than the end of the year of 2086, 122 YEARS after its creation. And to put THAT into perspective again, that's like being only able to freely circulate songs that were written before 1892, the year "The Nutcracker" was shown the first time. It is actually THAT LONG.

      But since Paul and Ringo don't show any signs of dying any time soon, it's probably going to be way more than 122 years between the composition and their works finally becoming free to be played. If ever. Because they're not longer just songs, they're "assets". Someone "owns" that song. And for at least 70 years this will be someone who has never done anything for this song coming into existence.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  43. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, etc? by jasnw · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that lots of really fine and innovative work was done prior to the imposition of patents and IP protections. I say drop all protection for everything and let the chips fall where they may. Good people with good ideas will do something with them. The leaches and ten-percenters that live off our currently AFU system will eat dirt and die.

  44. They warn.... by ruir · · Score: 1

    Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holders Warn...and slashdot immediately jumps to the chance of parroting that shit.

  45. You will all complain, then vote for these idiots by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 1

    There will be much digital ink spilled over this, then you'll all mostly go vote for the same idiots over and over...

    Until you start voting new people in, nothing will change...

    And I don't mean one or two, I mean the majority, you need a new government, but you largely won't get one because "the OTHER guys suck, but MY representative is great"

  46. Re:Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, e by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apples and oranges. Those works were seen and heard only by a limited number of people. There was no sound recording when those works were produced, no photographic reproduction. Dropping all IP protection makes as much sense now as imposing draconian anti-fair use rules and unlimited terms. A compromise is the best solution. A government that isn't corrupt would hear both sides and arrive at a conclusion that is best for society as a whole, neither fully satisfying nor fully oppressing either party.

  47. Still not far enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's still not far enough. Even if those go through I will not legally be allowed to
    1) Copy my purchased DVDs/BluRays onto a personal media server
    2) Copy my purchased DVDs/BluRays onto my iPad for travelling

    More and more "digital copy" versions are becoming ultraviolet rather than the itunes/wmp versions that Universal used to do, and ultraviolet is rubbish.

    1. Re:Still not far enough by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Fair vs. fair. You give me the content I want, I play along the rules. You do not, I won't buy it. It is actually that simple.

      I live well without your content. How well do you live without my money?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  48. Essential for the survival of *their* businesses. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    *The* business however will survive just fine.

  49. They got it exactly backward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holders Warn

    Ummm, it's the lack of fair use that threatens innovation.

    Funny how they got it exactly backward.

    1. Re:They got it exactly backward by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      What do you expect from a group that thinks DRM increases the value of content while it's evident that it decreases the content's value? Proof: Everyone would much prefer content without to content with DRM. What's more valuable to you, content that you can put on your media server or content that you cannot?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  50. I'm just waiting for the day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm just waiting for the day, when all musical instrument makers, all hardware makers and all software makers start only licensing the stuff and requiring payments for every keypress and shit. Then the media mafias start changing tune to how unfare it is.

  51. FTFY by Cantankerous+Cur · · Score: 1

    For example, music group IFPI warns that fair use will threaten profits and rent seeking.

  52. Solution is new DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The solution is new DRM. I think it is called crypto locker or something like that. Put all your content in that.

    CAPTCHA to submit post: submit

    1. Re:Solution is new DRM by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      No need to. Others do that for you without asking you, but also without charging for it.

      Admittedly, they charge if you want to access it again... say, that does sound a bit like the content industry, doesn't it?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  53. Re:Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, e by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More free stuff. If its digitizable, I should be able to download it for free and we'll all come up with justifications ex post facto, that will be modded up +5, Insightful and +5, Informative.

    That's how it works. Of course, anybody who hires me better be prepared to pay 6 figures USD and there better be free parking and a decent health care package along with it. Quality software doesn't come cheap.

    - Slashdot basement dwellers

  54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM8PT1eAvY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM8PT1eAvY

  55. Sounds like this is anti-commutative. by Ke7dbx · · Score: 1

    All this is, is about monopoly in the form of Copyright. They want the government to protect their failed business model, plain and simple.

  56. Re:Copyright Holders Threaten Innovation, Fair Use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    “Our members rely on the fair use doctrine every day when producing their movies and television shows – especially those that involve parody and news and documentary programs,” the MPAA stated previously.

  57. So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if it were true, so what? Fairness is more important than innovation. I'd rather live a fair slowly-changing society than in a rapidly evolving and unfair one.

  58. KILL 'EM ALL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need a Dallas*10^9 just for these copyright stooges.

    1. Re:KILL 'EM ALL by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Please, as if that show didn't outlive its stay already in its first run!

      Besides, Hagman is dead.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  59. And while we are at it, how about patent trolls by Sad+Loser · · Score: 1

    This is good news and I was worried that Australia was stitched up by TPP.

    As an Australian and British citizen in an IP creating industry I want something that gives me reasonable protection for my IP (and 20-25 years is about right) but at the same time gives me protection against patent trolls.

    I voted for Brexit on the grounds that the EU is sleepwalking into TPP and I don't want my intellectual property to be governed by East Texas.
    Maybe I should move back to Aus?

    --
    Humorous signatures are over-rated.
    1. Re:And while we are at it, how about patent trolls by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      It's highly probable that the UK will still end up in TPP or a similar trade deal. Leaving the EU throws a spanner in the negotiations that might take a few years to unjam, but that's all it'll do. There's just too much money pushing for such a treaty.

    2. Re:And while we are at it, how about patent trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > As an Australian and British citizen in an IP creating industry I want something that gives me reasonable protection for my IP (and 20-25 years is about right) but at the same time gives me protection against patent trolls.

      Too bad you don't actually *write* or personally *produce* any IP. I'd take your opinion a lot more seriously if you did.

      I publish about 500 genuinely new lines of code a week, and it is *all* open sourced or free software.

    3. Re:And while we are at it, how about patent trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fair use does give you reasonable protection, it just doesn't give you UNreasonable protection which is what these people want. Although you voted for Brexit so maybe I'd be better off trying to explain this to your dog, cat, or toaster.

  60. Yeah, because fair use really hurt America... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

    America has fair use, and it certainly doesn't have a strong music and film industry...

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  61. copyright holders say by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    mine mine mine mine MINE MINE MINE!

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:copyright holders say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, they are copyright holders, not creators. It's like a bunch of "penis holders" protesting that they will never enter into fatherhood if they aren't better respected, and then you find that it's not their own penises they are holding and you shouldn't be expecting all too much from them in the fathering department anyway.

  62. It's the polar opposite by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    If the recent years have shown, fair use might be the only thing that could save innovation. How many new ideas have been thrown out by Hollywood et al? And in comparison, how many old ideas have been remade, rebooted, rehashed and regurgitated in other ways?

    If anyone can regurgitate, i.e. what fair use entails because eventually all those "ideas" will become usable by anyone else again, those great innovative heads can concentrate on creating new and exciting wonders instead of being able to milk the same shit forever.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  63. Consumers say by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Yes, yes it is. Please step on it to test it.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  64. Re:You will all complain, then vote for these idio by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    The system is broken. It can be shown that even if as much as 30% of the people (which is ridiculously many, your chance of motivating any is closer to a high single digit), changed their voting behaviour, the outcome would not change. It might be the other puppet The Party offers, but it still wouldn't get you anywhere.

    Forget voting. If you want to change anything, the ballot box fails. Use the next one.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  65. Re:Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, e by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Aww, someone sees his money printing business threatened, how cute.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  66. Re:Just plain false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, "legal uncertainty". What the fuck is "legal uncertainty" about when a licensing author has no clue whatsoever for how many years he is selling his right to be a part of forthcoming culture to some corporate bidder? Many authors got paid for the expectation of 25 years of rights and got robbed of more than triple that in the legal aftermath after their death. Now that's what I call legal uncertainty.

    Become the Soylent Green of culture.

  67. Re:You will all complain, then vote for these idio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The system is broken. It can be shown that even if as much as 30% of the people (which is ridiculously many, your chance of motivating any is closer to a high single digit), changed their voting behaviour, the outcome would not change.

    That sounds quite counter intuitive. Please show us this, or we will remain slaves for Democracy!

  68. bull by l3v1 · · Score: 1

    "Licensing, not exceptions to copyright, drives innovation. Innovation is best achieved through licensing agreements..."

    I do enjoy sometimes when they keep trying to re-interpret and re-explain what's what, but it does get boring after a while. And, of course, it's all bullcrap. But I wish they all would be transported to a universe where innovation is best achieved through licensing agreements and have fun over there :)

    --
    I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
  69. Bullshit by samantha · · Score: 1

    They are only trying to protect rent seeking schemes that almost exclusively benefit labels and studios and not actual creators. The goal is to maximize access and further creative while rewarding creators. Anything short of that is simply not good enough and introduces too many negatives including limiting how much benefit we can get from our technology and criminalizing everyone who may attempt to fully utilize the abilities of the technology.

    1. Re:Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are only trying to protect rent seeking schemes that almost exclusively benefit labels and studios and not actual creators.

      The really sad thing is that the negative effects of rent seeking schemes on innovations is extremely well documented in economic histories. There were many innovations in pre-industrial times that were throttled by rent seeking schemes, and one of the primary determinants of the modern world was the fact that many rent seeking schemes had disappeared by the start of the industrial revolution.

      In short, history leads to exactly the opposite conclusion to what is being claimed by the organizations opposed to fair use.

      The claims are pure propaganda.

      Further, licensing creates artificial business for lawyers, which means all legal professionals are in a position of ethical conflict of interest with respect to making claims regarding licensing (or working for those who make such claims). There are enough problems with legal ethics in today's world, the last thing any rational society would do is increase those problems, and more licensing will inevitably work to that end. Any rational fair use policy, on the other hand, works to reduce the demand for lawyers.

  70. Before copyrights, there was no music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Err... Bach composed one cantata a week. Mozart composed two symphonies a year of his productive life. Haendel composed four major works per year. Just to mention a few types of works of these composers who made a comfortable living with publishers copying their music without any restraint. Yet, with so many protections, no contemporary musician is nearly as productive - or, truly, as competent - as these few examples.

  71. Time to go on "The Copyright Diet" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thin out your consumption of copyrighted material! Your life isn't going to be that much different if you pass on the next summer blockbuster or yet another Simpsons episode. Copyrighted material ultimately has no value if _nobody's watching_; when it has no value, the copyright holders lose their power.

  72. in related news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    guns improve safety

  73. Typical anti-competitive mentality. by Timothy2.0 · · Score: 1

    "Several rightsholder groups argue that strong copyright protections are essential for the survival of their businesses."

    What this means is they don't want to have to deal with someone else innovating and competing in their little corner of the economy. That's not good for business.
    I'm not arguing for relinquishing the protections content producers have; "fair use" is narrowly defined for a reason: to ensure proper protections remain in place. What content producers don't want is to give legal protections to those operating within the bounds of fair use. That's just inherently wrong.

    I don't get why people think that just because something is X today, that means there's excuse for it to be X tomorrow. There's no reason to expect, and less reason to demand, that.

  74. eat pie by peawormsworth · · Score: 1

    Copyright holders want to eat more pie?

    Let them eat and eat. Let them die.

  75. Copy Rights-Content Protection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    sub: copy Rights -content protection as a means to Excell
    Leading Edge, Sailing boat, trailing modes - onr can see the distinction to preserve Original Articles and need to protect content.
    Scientific Edge on Culture through vedas and Interlinks looks at the Millenium records for inspiration and innovation through
    Concentration-meditation and Dedicated Spirit.All humanily will be the beneficiary . there is a need to evolve societal frame structure to preseve the Spirit to excell.
    I am an inventor and author.May cosmic intellect dawn upon Humanity to search and interlink Noble Cause : Human-Being, Environment, Divine Nature and Harmony.your support is a positive contribution for Science -Philosophy Integration-Peaceful living Index.