The licence fee helps to pay for a lot of quality programming
For the £105 we spend we get 2 terresterial TV channels, with a lot of orginal content and *no* adverts, we also get 5 natianal Radio stations, with no adverts and numerous regional radio stations with no adverts.
With the advent of Digital TV the BBC also has around 4 other channels for (BBC News, BBC Choice etc) with no adverts.
Compared to what SKY (our scrambled subscription service that makes us pay to watch adverts) produces I think it is good value.
Its now illegal for Tesco to import the Levis from the US.
Basically a company in Austria mangaged to convince the Europen Court that they should be able to dictate where thier prducts are sold.
This company sold glasses (as in specs) to a company in hungry. A european company then bought the glasses from the Hungarian reseller at a knock down price and imported them back to the EU.
Basically grey imports from outside the EU are illegal.
Sorry if this is not very clear but I have a steaming hangover.
Just had a look at the UK patent office (www.patent.gov.uk) and it has an interesting set of exclusions
This is just interesting:- Articles or processes alleged to operate in a manner clearly contrary to well-established physical laws, such as perpetual motion machines, are regarded as not having industrial application.
Not be 'excluded' An invention is not patentable if it is:
a discovery; a scientific theory or mathematical method; an aesthetic creation such as a literary, dramatic or artistic work; a scheme or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business; the presentation of information, or a computer program.
If the invention involves more than these abstract aspects so that it has physical features (such as a special apparatus to play a new game) then it may be patentable.
If computer programs are not able to get a patent under UK law, how would the UK be affected by a "computer program" patented by the WPO?
And when I refuse to give the key for my encryted data....even if I say I don't have it...I goto Jail for 3 years. (Its up to me to *prove* that I don't have the key)
From what I understand it is up to the goverment to enforce the regulations, specifically the "data protection registrar" who is appointed by the goverment, but is supposed to be independant.
The Registrar can then take companies and individuals to court for breaking the Data Protection Act. Yes individuals can be taken to court (for example if someone asked a police friend to "get some details" for them, the Police Officer would be taken to court not the Police Force)
From what I understand (I have only browsed the act) hefty fines and Jail terms (for directors etc) are the order of the day, so the registrar does actually have teeth.
There is a nice law in the UK (and EU) called the data protection act. Basically it says you are not allowed to keep inaccurate information, pass on information without my prior consent and when asked you must allow me to view this information.
Why doesn't the US do somthing like this? Its not about interfereing with your rights, its to stop business from abusing your information.
> a theory is just a theory it should not be
> accepted as truth.
How true that is, A theory is just that. Evolution, pythagrous, relativity.
The problem comes about when people accept them as facts.
Have you actually read the article in Time? Yes, it includes 4 pages containing print directly copied from the book. But in the last pages of the article, it reports how 'Bill the billionaire' should try listening more to 'Bill the author'. Apparently when the government first presented its case to MS back in 95 Bill refused to even look at the report. It certainly wasn't propoganda, and the smirking picture of Bill made the hair on my Mothers back stand on end.
Slashdot Mirror
Although I belive the patent has now "run out" they basically let everybody use it royalty free.
I wonder if Ford, now that they own parts of volvo, would have done the same?
Generally it is one TV licence per household. So a block of flats would have one Licence per flat.
But each flat could have as many TVs as they want. Also a TV licence would cover any portable (ie battery powered, not mains powered) TVs.
The licence fee helps to pay for a lot of quality programming
For the £105 we spend we get 2 terresterial TV channels, with a lot of orginal content and *no* adverts, we also get 5 natianal Radio stations, with no adverts and numerous regional radio stations with no adverts.
With the advent of Digital TV the BBC also has around 4 other channels for (BBC News, BBC Choice etc) with no adverts.
Compared to what SKY (our scrambled subscription service that makes us pay to watch adverts) produces I think it is good value.
Basically a company in Austria mangaged to convince the Europen Court that they should be able to dictate where thier prducts are sold.
This company sold glasses (as in specs) to a company in hungry. A european company then bought the glasses from the Hungarian reseller at a knock down price and imported them back to the EU.
Basically grey imports from outside the EU are illegal.
Sorry if this is not very clear but I have a steaming hangover.
This is just interesting :- Articles or processes alleged to operate in a manner clearly contrary to well-established physical laws, such as perpetual motion machines, are regarded as not having industrial application.
Not be 'excluded'
An invention is not patentable if it is:
a discovery; a scientific theory or mathematical method;
an aesthetic creation such as a literary, dramatic or artistic work;
a scheme or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business;
the presentation of information, or a computer program.
If the invention involves more than these abstract aspects so that it has physical features (such as a special apparatus to play a new game) then it may be patentable.
If computer programs are not able to get a patent under UK law, how would the UK be affected by a "computer program" patented by the WPO?
And if the person who decrypts the data then tells me they have decrypted data under orders from the police, they can go to jail. Nice.
The US doesn't have the monopoly on scary laws.
The Registrar can then take companies and individuals to court for breaking the Data Protection Act. Yes individuals can be taken to court (for example if someone asked a police friend to "get some details" for them, the Police Officer would be taken to court not the Police Force)
From what I understand (I have only browsed the act) hefty fines and Jail terms (for directors etc) are the order of the day, so the registrar does actually have teeth.
Why doesn't the US do somthing like this? Its not about interfereing with your rights, its to stop business from abusing your information.
> a theory is just a theory it should not be > accepted as truth. How true that is, A theory is just that. Evolution, pythagrous, relativity. The problem comes about when people accept them as facts.
Have you actually read the article in Time? Yes, it includes 4 pages containing print directly copied from the book. But in the last pages of the article, it reports how 'Bill the billionaire' should try listening more to 'Bill the author'. Apparently when the government first presented its case to MS back in 95 Bill refused to even look at the report. It certainly wasn't propoganda, and the smirking picture of Bill made the hair on my Mothers back stand on end.