Copyrights extend for 50 years after the copyright owner's death. This means the original copyright owner's heirs will get any royalties off the copyrights. So Billie Holiday's recordings, for example, may still be copyrighted.
Let's hope that the porn industry isn't pinning *all* credit card chargeback issues on the "GAK factor." They certainly cannot claim what they have little or no evidence to prove, even if it is plausible.
Mind you, the total of the disputed charges was never enough to exactly bankrupt me, so I've patiently put up with it over time, esp. because the bank eventually reversed most of the charges.
However, the bank has become a lot more intransigent lately, and I've recently moved anyway, so now was a good time to make a change.
Great idea! I hate to get political here, but maybe we should forward this and other excellent ideas here to the Nader campaign. I would be willing to bet that an issue like this could gain great traction this year.
First, this problem doesn't just apply to porn sites. There are a lot of non-porn sites out there that carry out the same fraudulent practices. Further, the "GAK factor" may exist to some degree, but when someone disputes a charge with their credit card company, the charge is investigated and usually sent back to the merchant for verification. If the merchant can provide evidence that the charge is indeed legit, then the charge stays.
Yes, hits, but are they quality hits? Most software developed by IBM is crap, and I wouldn't trust my business with using it. By the way, I'm a former IBMer, and I know how they make their sausage.
What happened to IBM's brilliant plans for Java and XML? Oh, that's right, IBM gets itself whooped up over the next hot, big thing, gathers 1000's of warm bodies to look at it and basically come up with a bunch of nothing, then after all the business cases are finalized (halfway into most of the projects), they get the hell out of Dodge.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to ICANN's proposed TLD expansion for the following reasons:
"Limited domain choice" is a LIE - To suggest that there are no or few domains left to choose from is denial or ignorance at best and "lyin' thru the teeth" at worst. Sure, most good or great names are already taken, but a great many of those are not being used at all (or used in a worthwhile manner) by their owners! Call them squatters, but I dare say that most of these domain owners would part with their property for a paltry sum. Further, there's a great [inevitable] churning going on in the dot-com marketplace, whereas many of the dot-com's in business today won't be around in a couple years (see f**kedcompany.com). So if you want a specific dot-com for your business, and it's already taken, patience and/or a good cash offer are your friends.
Domain "land" values will become depressed - Isn't this obvious? Triple the availability of beachfront property, and the value of the original properties' owners will plummet. Why shouldn't a clever domain namer reap the reward from their own creativity?
Domain marketing effectiveness will become diluted - For those fledgling companies that cannot easily afford purchasing their domain name in all the new TLDs, how do they deal with the dilution that will rip their marketing efforts to shreds? The answer is: They're dead meat.
The biggest benefactors are the domain registration companies - Who makes the real money from this TLD expansion? Again, obvious.
A trademark-related litigation feeding frenzy will ensue - Many big corporations will certainly be able to grab all the new TLDs for their company, but what about the companies who are unable to do this before someone else squats on them, and what about the smaller/medium companies who cannot afford to handle this? So, you either have voluminous litigation arising out of trademark disputes, or trademark violation that goes uncontested, thereby hurting fledgling businesses. It's going to be a g-d mess!
A big land grab will negate the expansion - After all is said and done, won't we have the same "problem" we started with? At some point will arise again the perception that there aren't enough good/great domain names to choose from, which will again be a LIE.
TLD expansion is a shitty solution chasing after a near-nonexistent problem.
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Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
I'm in the process of switching banks now.
Mind you, the total of the disputed charges was never enough to exactly bankrupt me, so I've patiently put up with it over time, esp. because the bank eventually reversed most of the charges.
However, the bank has become a lot more intransigent lately, and I've recently moved anyway, so now was a good time to make a change.
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to ICANN's proposed TLD expansion for the following reasons:
TLD expansion is a shitty solution chasing after a near-nonexistent problem.
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
Steve Magruder, Technopolist
A small mind is a terrible thing to use.
Thanks for the comedy relief, Jon! It made my day.