...that we are not collectively obligated as a culture, people, nation, country, etc to help anyone.
'Simple human ethics' don't really exist and are NOT universal. 4000 years ago if another country had a disaster such as this, one might think it would be a great time to invade, pillage, plunder, and conquer while the their chips were down. During that time period no one would've thought of that act of invasion as unethical - it was called a 'strategic advantage'.
I guess my point is that we are not collectively responsible for anyone else, nor are we personally responsible for anyone else either. However you are right that most faiths (various flavors of Xianity at least) call on individuals to help others in time of need. Based on the concept of free will, we can do whatever we want and ignore those in need if we should so choose. Therefore it is an option and not mandatory
This is kind of like the yellow speed limit signs on exit ramps here in the US. We really should follow them because we are to assume they are the safest speeds, however they are completely optional and for our own discretion. Sorry for the lame analogy but its 4:17am at my location on NYE and Ive had some drinks;-)
I know it sounded contradictory and I apologize for not explaining things clearly. I did want to point out that there is a difference however.
If you would like to learn more about Christian Libertarianism visit this URL: http://www.theadvocates.org/christian
Well... yes I would trust a faith based org more than the US gov! The beauty is that I can decide which org to give my money to. I can do research, I can decide which org is going to fit the needs of the people the best, and which one aligns closest to my faith and ideals. And best of all, if I think an org isn't measuring up, then they don't get my money; the Vatican wouldn't be one of the orgs that gets my money for instance;-)
Or... if I feel so inclined I could even start a charity org of my own. I'm currently a member of and have been a member of multiple non-profit goodwill/charity and community orgs. However the best way to help others isn't to blindly give money (that's the easy way out) but to get involved and do something yourself! Time and effort is much more valuable than money.
For those who might be interested in a Christian Libertarian perspective you might consider this site: http://www.theadvocates.org/christian/
Yes - I am aware of that. If you notice we all fall short of Him though (in other words we don't measure up).
One other thing to notice is that Christ wouldn't advocate the use of the government for charity work. That should be done by individuals and the church.
And lastly, the idea of open government and democracy didn't exist when He did, so therfore the Bible doesn't really discuss concepts like democratic freedom and a government of the people.
As a Christian Libertarian... I half agree with you and halfway don't.
My faith says that yes, we should help our brother in time of need, however my political philosophy says the government shouldn't be the ones to do it.
Legally, internationally, politically we are under NO obligation or responsibility to do such - nor should we be. However since we do have an abundence of wealth, I don't see a problem with the government having am emergency aid fund, or even low interest loans for foreign countries in times of crisis. But this should be used rarely and saved for large scale disasters such as this.
I don't think that the US Gov should dispense money to anyone out there who has a papercut however. The country shouldn't be overly philantropic.
As a Christian, yes I feel obligated to help anyone who needs help when they do - it is just the right thing to do. I would rather give my money to a private fund that I know, respect, and trust to properly distribute my donations. The government is usually the LAST place to trust in terms of spreading goodwill.
Uhh.... in the US you cannot copyright and sell an idea, only the expression of the idea;-) Oh - people can use the charachters in your story too if they are not 'well deliniated' enough.
In fact I was at the end of the pier that parallels the jetty at Jetty Park.
Here is a link (if you zoom out you can get a better idea of where I was in relation to the AFB): http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx ?T=1&S= 10&Z=17&X=2702&Y=15712&W=3&qs=%7ctitusville%7cfl%7 c or long: -80.58652 and lat: 28.40918 if you want to do it manually.
I flew in on Monday to Orlando... it was great.. the humidity was very low thus the haze was at a minimum. From 10,000ft (AGL) over Ocala I had a very very very clear view of the VAB out at NASA. It was awesome (especially after coming from 16F weather in Nashville).
I was calling my friends back in Nashville letting them know I was in sandals and shorts on the beach while they were in parkas. I don't think they appreciated it;-)
I have to tell ya this semester on/. has been great.
I've kept my copyright law notebook next to my computer and for once in my life I can say that reading on a daily basis/. has actually helped me study for my exam next week;-)
Anyway - to the point:
When a court weighs its decision on whether someone is liable for someone else's infringment here are the formulas they use:
The case is considered criminal if the infringment is willful for commercial advantage or private financial gain by the sale of 10 or more copies OR if the total retail value is more than $2,500 within a 6 month period. Anything less is considered civil infringment.
The penalties for criminal infringment? $250,000 for a person $500,000 for an entity AND/OR Imprisonment - 5 years for first offense 10 years for second offense
A few other points of interest - Courts weigh the concept of fair use based on the following factors: 1- Charachter of the use 2- Nature of the work 3 - Amount (quantative) and substantiality (qualitative) of the infringment 4 - Effect on the commercial market place
USSC has given more consideration to #4 but it is all a case-by case determination.
Also in Sony v Betamax they decided that recording a broadcasted stream for the purpose of time shifting is fair use. Oddly enough, that means that you should be able to hit "Record" on any streaming radio station on the Net, rip all of the songs to MP3/Ogg/wav/etc and as long as you do not redistribute or use it for commercial use, it should be completely lawful! Free music for everyone just by listening to the radio - wooo hoo.
In case anyone is curious I go to school here: http://mtsu.edu/~record/ just outside of Nashville.
My major is the Recording Industry Management (RIM) program and I will get a BS within the next 6 months. I am a part time live audio engineer doing sound at concerts and such. My personal website is: http://www.UltraSonicDesigns.com
That's what Perot did. He got like 18% or 26% (depending on who ya ask) of the vote. All of the fiscal conservatives decided he was the best choice. This left the moral conservs voting for Bush and the liberals voting for Clinton. That's one of the reasons Clinton won (among a few others).
It was interesting though to compare the debates of Perot/Bush(H)/Clinton with the debates of Kerry/Gore/Bush(W). Perot actually forced these guys to discuss and address economic policy which neither party likes to do.
I think that there is an exceptionally tight oligolopy on political parties in this country and it needs to be changed. The two major parties do nothing more than personality marketing on feel-good issues. This is why I now vote Libertarian www.lp.org every chance I get.
A friend of mine back in the day used to be a dealer for traffic light systems for Orange and Seminole Counties, FL (Orlando).
There is a device on most intersections in the area that detect EMT and fire vehicles and turn all of the lights on that side of the intersection green as to clear traffic. These sensors hang in between the stop lights.
Another friend of mine claimed that he could flash his hi-beams at night and cause the sensors to think he was an ES vehicle. After speaking with the dealer I found out this guy was full of crap.
Apparently the system works like this: Each vehicle has a strobe on top of the roof. When the siren/lights are activated, the strobe turns on automatically. The strobe flashes in a specific pattern and "activates" the sensor as it approaches the intersection. Behind the strobe however is an IR emmiter which sends a coded signal to the light which apparently identifies the vehicle and then gets logged in the system.
This allows them to track the time and number of the vehicle that went through the stop light turning everything green. It also lets them search for unauthorized uses in the system.
A somewhat unrelated point: Seminole co is the second richest county in the state (other than Palm Beach). They have too much money. These peckerheads like to install traffic lights at intersections even if they are not needed...why? "to slow the traffic down" It pisses me off more than anything. The Central Florida area already has enough traffic problems and these waterheads are trying to slow things down... I guess they won't be happy until we are turned into the industrialized Star Wars planet of "Coruscant" and no one can move anywhere on the ground. http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/coruscan t/index.html
Well... you obviously don't understand basic economics and libertarian ideas.
First off, if government schools were abolished the US (state/local/fed) could cut TRILLIONS of dollars from governmental budgets. This would in return be passed along to tax payers and the economy would be flooded with TRILLIONS of extra disposable income!
Since we all know how wasteful and ineffecient the government is, this money could be used for private education. Don't believe me? I grew up in Florida (near Orlando). I lived in Seminole county and during my senior and junior years of hs (1999-2000) the county's cost to educate me was just shy of $12,000 a year! The private school down the road didn't charge that much, much less the local community college. The point being there was a LOT of waste and the education wasn't even as good as lower cost facilities that were non-gov.
In regards to the "Worthless" comment - I have not read that page and unfortunately do not have the time to although I bet it would be an interesting read. A couple of points on that however, just because one man of one state LP calls lower income people "worthless" doesn't mean that everyone with libertarian ideas feels that way. For example I understand that there will always be those that are lesser than others because that's the way the world works. I also know that libertarian ideas, limited government, a strong free market economy, and personal responsibility will raise the standard of living for everyone in said society. I am not a crass person, I made a point of feeding the homeless for 15 years in downtown Orlando once a month so it's not like I ignore the idea of lower income people. I do think however that in a free market economy everyone has to pull their own weight and not rely on that of the government to help them; maybe that is what the author was trying to say, I dunno. Private charity is a different issue altogether.
Have you ever read any of the economic studies from www.Cato.org ? If not you should - most economists agree that less government involvement is best.
It is REAL tempting to go over to our competitors ads and just sit there and click them over and over and over again. Since I hold myself to high moral standards I wouldn't ever do that sort of thing - especially since it could just as eaisly be done to us!
The problem they are saying here is that it is VERY VERY VERY easy for competitors who are unethical to attempt to screw the competition in a very big way! Google doesn't want click wars between competitors because obviously that would leave a very foul taste in their clients' mouths.
Small bizs in this country are not interested in general promotion because it is not cost effective. Not to mention that it is always a hit or miss with your intended target audience.
This is where the idea of direct marketing comes into play!
I can tell you that we have to pay roughly $10 per lead.
These leads are only people who have clicked on our ad, visited our website, and submitted a request for information. All of the clicks that don't submit an info request get factored into our $10/lead figure.
http://www.LubeDepot.com is the site if you are wondering and we are setting up Amsoil synthetic oil accounts...
You might be right however... we haven't covered any current/recent cases in my course yet and I am not 100% up to date on cases that affect by the DMCA.
Unfortunately your ignorance shows when you attempt to blame this all on Bush. Clinton was the one who signed the DMCA into law. And Bush signed the PA.
That's why I now vote Libertarian (www.lp.org) a party with solid ideas and platforms. IMO both major pol parties of this country are corrupt and blatently going against the ideas of the Constitution and such. Bush might be a lot more moral than Clinton was, but I don't like his policies much better.
If you would like to e-mail him feel free to: http://mtsu.edu/~record/mulraine.html (there is his bio as well).
Actually, lists of names (databases) are not copyrightable unless you can prove some sort of unique (read: creative) orginization to these names. Parts of the phone book - white pages usually - are not copyrightable because an alphabetical list does not meet the minimal degree of creativity required to have copyright. If the arraingment of the facts were creative and original to the autohor, it would probably be protected. However, some parts of the book are copyrightable because they include maps, community information, and other things that are provided by the publisher that DO meet the minimum degree of creativity.
This entire principle is based off of the "Idea/Expression DIchotomy" where expressions can be protected but not ideas.
A few other things of note: The Merger Doctrine discusses the idea that there is so little expression beyond the simple idea that the small amount of actual expression is not protected. An example of this would be medical forms, cereal box contest text, and blank forms..etc
Maps are usually protected based on the selection and arraingment of the facts. The depicition and types of graphics play a role in it as well. The multiple creative decisions in displaying the facts usually will add up to increase the level of creativity to a minimum.
If you are into case law there are a few cases that apply here: Nash vs CBS and Feist vs Rual Telephone Company.
Time Shifting is considered Fair Use! Under the Sony/Betamax case they determined that you can record something being broadcast intended for general reception for the purpose of time shifting it (watching/listening to it later).
This is how one can record their favorite tv show during the day and come home at night, rewind their tape, and watch it then.
Oddly enough, this also means you are allowed to hook up to Apple's iTunes radio stations (or anyone else streaming 128/44 audio), and record it onto your computer for use at a later time. This of course assumes you do not distribute it (except for maybe a few friends and family members) and that you do not use it for a commercial purpose.
So therefore, one could simply listen to Internet streamed radio and build an entire collection of MP3s based off of the "Industry" giving it to them for free.... pretty nifty eh?;-)
The interesting part of this is that the DMCA prevents copyright circumvention. However Fair Use is still a right as well as Time Shifting. So even if you break their protection schemes for the purpose of time shifting, you should still be in the clear.
My law professor keeps saying that "things are many many many shades of gray in this business..."
BTW - I am attending MTSU's Recording Industry Management program earning a BS as an audio engineer. Copyright Law is a course that is required and I take the final for it next week. http://www.MTSU.edu/~record/
... and I can tell you that in order to copyright somthing there must be a minimal amount of creativity involved. For example, you can copyright the expression of facts, but not the facts themselves.
FYI I am an audio engineer earning a BS at MTSU's Recording Industry Program and Copyright Law is a required course: http://www.mtsu.edu/~record/
Regarding your comment to all of those Euro types out there:
I agree that something is messed up with our labeling of liberal/conservative ideas.
Modern day liberals are NOTHING like classical liberals and modern day conservatives are not really conservative. Why would business types and those with strong faiths be on the same party? Or why would civil rights advocates be aligned with enviromentalists? Neither combinations really make sense.
Our bi-polarized system (one dimensional) is faulty. People who tend to think as of themselves as 'left' or 'right' are only existing in a limited and narrow mindset.
I would propose that a more accurate way of describing political idealology would be a 2D system. Envision an angled square (a diamond shape). In one corner is "conservatism" and the opposite corner is "liberalism". Then diagonally across would be "authortarian/statist" (big government) and opposite of that would be "libertarian/minimalist" (small gov).
For a better example visit here: http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html and take their quiz. When it scores your results you will see what I am talking about.
Personally I think this method of evaluating ideas makes a lot more sense than simply "left/right" as it factors in your beliefs on the issues as well as your beliefs on how the issues should be handled.
Following that show was a very interesting program on Siberia last night... did anyone happen to catch it as well?
If I ain't married by the age of 30 (7 more years) I'm gonna fly to Siberia and pick myself up a 14 year old wife and bring her back to the US! Siberian women are HOT!
Slashdot Mirror
The link to the movie "Jackal" is here:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0119395/
null
...that we are not collectively obligated as a culture, people, nation, country, etc to help anyone.
;-)
'Simple human ethics' don't really exist and are NOT universal. 4000 years ago if another country had a disaster such as this, one might think it would be a great time to invade, pillage, plunder, and conquer while the their chips were down. During that time period no one would've thought of that act of invasion as unethical - it was called a 'strategic advantage'.
I guess my point is that we are not collectively responsible for anyone else, nor are we personally responsible for anyone else either. However you are right that most faiths (various flavors of Xianity at least) call on individuals to help others in time of need. Based on the concept of free will, we can do whatever we want and ignore those in need if we should so choose. Therefore it is an option and not mandatory
This is kind of like the yellow speed limit signs on exit ramps here in the US. We really should follow them because we are to assume they are the safest speeds, however they are completely optional and for our own discretion. Sorry for the lame analogy but its 4:17am at my location on NYE and Ive had some drinks
I know it sounded contradictory and I apologize for not explaining things clearly. I did want to point out that there is a difference however.
If you would like to learn more about Christian Libertarianism visit this URL:
http://www.theadvocates.org/christian
Well... yes I would trust a faith based org more than the US gov! The beauty is that I can decide which org to give my money to. I can do research, I can decide which org is going to fit the needs of the people the best, and which one aligns closest to my faith and ideals. And best of all, if I think an org isn't measuring up, then they don't get my money; the Vatican wouldn't be one of the orgs that gets my money for instance ;-)
Or... if I feel so inclined I could even start a charity org of my own. I'm currently a member of and have been a member of multiple non-profit goodwill/charity and community orgs. However the best way to help others isn't to blindly give money (that's the easy way out) but to get involved and do something yourself! Time and effort is much more valuable than money.
For those who might be interested in a Christian Libertarian perspective you might consider this site: http://www.theadvocates.org/christian/
Yes - I am aware of that. If you notice we all fall short of Him though (in other words we don't measure up).
One other thing to notice is that Christ wouldn't advocate the use of the government for charity work. That should be done by individuals and the church.
And lastly, the idea of open government and democracy didn't exist when He did, so therfore the Bible doesn't really discuss concepts like democratic freedom and a government of the people.
As a Christian Libertarian... I half agree with you and halfway don't.
My faith says that yes, we should help our brother in time of need, however my political philosophy says the government shouldn't be the ones to do it.
Legally, internationally, politically we are under NO obligation or responsibility to do such - nor should we be. However since we do have an abundence of wealth, I don't see a problem with the government having am emergency aid fund, or even low interest loans for foreign countries in times of crisis. But this should be used rarely and saved for large scale disasters such as this.
I don't think that the US Gov should dispense money to anyone out there who has a papercut however. The country shouldn't be overly philantropic.
As a Christian, yes I feel obligated to help anyone who needs help when they do - it is just the right thing to do. I would rather give my money to a private fund that I know, respect, and trust to properly distribute my donations. The government is usually the LAST place to trust in terms of spreading goodwill.
Uhh.... in the US you cannot copyright and sell an idea, only the expression of the idea ;-)
Oh - people can use the charachters in your story too if they are not 'well deliniated' enough.
Yeah... I was there..
x ?T=1&S= 10&Z=17&X=2702&Y=15712&W=3&qs=%7ctitusville%7cfl%7 c
;-)
In fact I was at the end of the pier that parallels the jetty at Jetty Park.
Here is a link (if you zoom out you can get a better idea of where I was in relation to the AFB):
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.asp
or long: -80.58652 and lat: 28.40918 if you want to do it manually.
I flew in on Monday to Orlando... it was great.. the humidity was very low thus the haze was at a minimum. From 10,000ft (AGL) over Ocala I had a very very very clear view of the VAB out at NASA. It was awesome (especially after coming from 16F weather in Nashville).
I was calling my friends back in Nashville letting them know I was in sandals and shorts on the beach while they were in parkas. I don't think they appreciated it
I have to tell ya this semester on /. has been great.
/. has actually helped me study for my exam next week ;-)
I've kept my copyright law notebook next to my computer and for once in my life I can say that reading on a daily basis
Anyway - to the point:
When a court weighs its decision on whether someone is liable for someone else's infringment here are the formulas they use:
Contributory Infringement = knowledge + participation
Vicarious Liability = benefit + control
The case is considered criminal if the infringment is willful for commercial advantage or private financial gain by the sale of 10 or more copies OR if the total retail value is more than $2,500 within a 6 month period.
Anything less is considered civil infringment.
The penalties for criminal infringment?
$250,000 for a person
$500,000 for an entity
AND/OR
Imprisonment - 5 years for first offense
10 years for second offense
A few other points of interest -
Courts weigh the concept of fair use based on the following factors:
1- Charachter of the use
2- Nature of the work
3 - Amount (quantative) and substantiality (qualitative) of the infringment
4 - Effect on the commercial market place
USSC has given more consideration to #4 but it is all a case-by case determination.
Also in Sony v Betamax they decided that recording a broadcasted stream for the purpose of time shifting is fair use. Oddly enough, that means that you should be able to hit "Record" on any streaming radio station on the Net, rip all of the songs to MP3/Ogg/wav/etc and as long as you do not redistribute or use it for commercial use, it should be completely lawful! Free music for everyone just by listening to the radio - wooo hoo.
In case anyone is curious I go to school here:
http://mtsu.edu/~record/ just outside of Nashville.
My major is the Recording Industry Management (RIM) program and I will get a BS within the next 6 months. I am a part time live audio engineer doing sound at concerts and such. My personal website is: http://www.UltraSonicDesigns.com
That's what Perot did. He got like 18% or 26% (depending on who ya ask) of the vote. All of the fiscal conservatives decided he was the best choice. This left the moral conservs voting for Bush and the liberals voting for Clinton. That's one of the reasons Clinton won (among a few others).
It was interesting though to compare the debates of Perot/Bush(H)/Clinton with the debates of Kerry/Gore/Bush(W). Perot actually forced these guys to discuss and address economic policy which neither party likes to do.
I think that there is an exceptionally tight oligolopy on political parties in this country and it needs to be changed. The two major parties do nothing more than personality marketing on feel-good issues. This is why I now vote Libertarian www.lp.org every chance I get.
A friend of mine back in the day used to be a dealer for traffic light systems for Orange and Seminole Counties, FL (Orlando).
n t/index.html
There is a device on most intersections in the area that detect EMT and fire vehicles and turn all of the lights on that side of the intersection green as to clear traffic. These sensors hang in between the stop lights.
Another friend of mine claimed that he could flash his hi-beams at night and cause the sensors to think he was an ES vehicle. After speaking with the dealer I found out this guy was full of crap.
Apparently the system works like this:
Each vehicle has a strobe on top of the roof. When the siren/lights are activated, the strobe turns on automatically. The strobe flashes in a specific pattern and "activates" the sensor as it approaches the intersection. Behind the strobe however is an IR emmiter which sends a coded signal to the light which apparently identifies the vehicle and then gets logged in the system.
This allows them to track the time and number of the vehicle that went through the stop light turning everything green. It also lets them search for unauthorized uses in the system.
A somewhat unrelated point:
Seminole co is the second richest county in the state (other than Palm Beach). They have too much money. These peckerheads like to install traffic lights at intersections even if they are not needed...why? "to slow the traffic down" It pisses me off more than anything. The Central Florida area already has enough traffic problems and these waterheads are trying to slow things down... I guess they won't be happy until we are turned into the industrialized Star Wars planet of "Coruscant" and no one can move anywhere on the ground. http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/corusca
Its nukin futs!
You forgot XM!
Well... you obviously don't understand basic economics and libertarian ideas.
First off, if government schools were abolished the US (state/local/fed) could cut TRILLIONS of dollars from governmental budgets. This would in return be passed along to tax payers and the economy would be flooded with TRILLIONS of extra disposable income!
Since we all know how wasteful and ineffecient the government is, this money could be used for private education. Don't believe me? I grew up in Florida (near Orlando). I lived in Seminole county and during my senior and junior years of hs (1999-2000) the county's cost to educate me was just shy of $12,000 a year! The private school down the road didn't charge that much, much less the local community college. The point being there was a LOT of waste and the education wasn't even as good as lower cost facilities that were non-gov.
In regards to the "Worthless" comment - I have not read that page and unfortunately do not have the time to although I bet it would be an interesting read. A couple of points on that however, just because one man of one state LP calls lower income people "worthless" doesn't mean that everyone with libertarian ideas feels that way. For example I understand that there will always be those that are lesser than others because that's the way the world works. I also know that libertarian ideas, limited government, a strong free market economy, and personal responsibility will raise the standard of living for everyone in said society. I am not a crass person, I made a point of feeding the homeless for 15 years in downtown Orlando once a month so it's not like I ignore the idea of lower income people. I do think however that in a free market economy everyone has to pull their own weight and not rely on that of the government to help them; maybe that is what the author was trying to say, I dunno. Private charity is a different issue altogether.
Have you ever read any of the economic studies from www.Cato.org ? If not you should - most economists agree that less government involvement is best.
It is REAL tempting to go over to our competitors ads and just sit there and click them over and over and over again. Since I hold myself to high moral standards I wouldn't ever do that sort of thing - especially since it could just as eaisly be done to us!
The problem they are saying here is that it is VERY VERY VERY easy for competitors who are unethical to attempt to screw the competition in a very big way! Google doesn't want click wars between competitors because obviously that would leave a very foul taste in their clients' mouths.
EXACTLY!
Small bizs in this country are not interested in general promotion because it is not cost effective. Not to mention that it is always a hit or miss with your intended target audience.
This is where the idea of direct marketing comes into play!
I can tell you that we have to pay roughly $10 per lead.
These leads are only people who have clicked on our ad, visited our website, and submitted a request for information. All of the clicks that don't submit an info request get factored into our $10/lead figure.
http://www.LubeDepot.com is the site if you are wondering and we are setting up Amsoil synthetic oil accounts...
Well the law is only good if it is enforceable ;-)
You might be right however... we haven't covered any current/recent cases in my course yet and I am not 100% up to date on cases that affect by the DMCA.
Unfortunately your ignorance shows when you attempt to blame this all on Bush. Clinton was the one who signed the DMCA into law. And Bush signed the PA.
That's why I now vote Libertarian (www.lp.org) a party with solid ideas and platforms. IMO both major pol parties of this country are corrupt and blatently going against the ideas of the Constitution and such. Bush might be a lot more moral than Clinton was, but I don't like his policies much better.
If you would like to e-mail him feel free to:
http://mtsu.edu/~record/mulraine.html (there is his bio as well).
Actually, lists of names (databases) are not copyrightable unless you can prove some sort of unique (read: creative) orginization to these names. Parts of the phone book - white pages usually - are not copyrightable because an alphabetical list does not meet the minimal degree of creativity required to have copyright. If the arraingment of the facts were creative and original to the autohor, it would probably be protected. However, some parts of the book are copyrightable because they include maps, community information, and other things that are provided by the publisher that DO meet the minimum degree of creativity.
This entire principle is based off of the "Idea/Expression DIchotomy" where expressions can be protected but not ideas.
A few other things of note:
The Merger Doctrine discusses the idea that there is so little expression beyond the simple idea that the small amount of actual expression is not protected. An example of this would be medical forms, cereal box contest text, and blank forms..etc
Maps are usually protected based on the selection and arraingment of the facts. The depicition and types of graphics play a role in it as well. The multiple creative decisions in displaying the facts usually will add up to increase the level of creativity to a minimum.
If you are into case law there are a few cases that apply here:
Nash vs CBS
and Feist vs Rual Telephone Company.
Both of these cases involve the above ideas.
Time Shifting is considered Fair Use!
;-)
Under the Sony/Betamax case they determined that you can record something being broadcast intended for general reception for the purpose of time shifting it (watching/listening to it later).
This is how one can record their favorite tv show during the day and come home at night, rewind their tape, and watch it then.
Oddly enough, this also means you are allowed to hook up to Apple's iTunes radio stations (or anyone else streaming 128/44 audio), and record it onto your computer for use at a later time. This of course assumes you do not distribute it (except for maybe a few friends and family members) and that you do not use it for a commercial purpose.
So therefore, one could simply listen to Internet streamed radio and build an entire collection of MP3s based off of the "Industry" giving it to them for free.... pretty nifty eh?
The interesting part of this is that the DMCA prevents copyright circumvention. However Fair Use is still a right as well as Time Shifting. So even if you break their protection schemes for the purpose of time shifting, you should still be in the clear.
My law professor keeps saying that "things are many many many shades of gray in this business..."
BTW - I am attending MTSU's Recording Industry Management program earning a BS as an audio engineer. Copyright Law is a course that is required and I take the final for it next week. http://www.MTSU.edu/~record/
... and I can tell you that in order to copyright somthing there must be a minimal amount of creativity involved. For example, you can copyright the expression of facts, but not the facts themselves.
FYI I am an audio engineer earning a BS at MTSU's Recording Industry Program and Copyright Law is a required course: http://www.mtsu.edu/~record/
Let's just say He is the truest form of libertarianism ;-)
Which is exactly why most "conservatives" should vote Libertarian! http://www.lp.org/issues/
Hmmm.... I wish you hadn't have posted AC. I would like to know more about you and your ideas... very intriging.
Regarding your comment to all of those Euro types out there:
I agree that something is messed up with our labeling of liberal/conservative ideas.
Modern day liberals are NOTHING like classical liberals and modern day conservatives are not really conservative. Why would business types and those with strong faiths be on the same party? Or why would civil rights advocates be aligned with enviromentalists? Neither combinations really make sense.
Our bi-polarized system (one dimensional) is faulty. People who tend to think as of themselves as 'left' or 'right' are only existing in a limited and narrow mindset.
I would propose that a more accurate way of describing political idealology would be a 2D system. Envision an angled square (a diamond shape). In one corner is "conservatism" and the opposite corner is "liberalism". Then diagonally across would be "authortarian/statist" (big government) and opposite of that would be "libertarian/minimalist" (small gov).
For a better example visit here: http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html and take their quiz. When it scores your results you will see what I am talking about.
Personally I think this method of evaluating ideas makes a lot more sense than simply "left/right" as it factors in your beliefs on the issues as well as your beliefs on how the issues should be handled.
Following that show was a very interesting program on Siberia last night... did anyone happen to catch it as well?
If I ain't married by the age of 30 (7 more years) I'm gonna fly to Siberia and pick myself up a 14 year old wife and bring her back to the US! Siberian women are HOT!