I thought about whether I should use the RDF in the original copy of the article, but decided against it because I wanted other people to be able to copy it to other message boards.
Likely they would have the same trouble with it kuro5hin did, and whoever was trying to make the copy would be sorely confused.
Some online communities do not allow you to embed metadata in your posts. I licensed
Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license, and originally included the RDF in the markup.
But when I submitted it to Kuro5hin, the preview showed the RDF meta data literally (visibly) in the text, I think to indicate that Scoop was rejecting it. That is, Kuro5hin didn't accept HTML comments in the markup.
Also, Creative Commons advises posting the
Some Rights Reserved image as the license notice, but I couldn't do that because kuro5hin (very sensibly) doesn't allow images. That's why I posted the license notice at the end of the article the way CC says to do for a text file.
Now, I'm sure Scoop could be updated to allow RDF, but how many online communities are there, and how many will need their software updated?
I'd like to ask your help with getting all the peer-to-peer network users to read my article "Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads".
You can help by Googlebombing my article this way - post links anywhere on the web that say my article is about
free music downloads
It's about much more than that, such as what the US Constitution says about copyright, and what you can do to get us out of the mess we're in, but if you can help boost my article's rank for the query "free music downloads", you can encourage the p2p users who I intended to address with my writing, to come read my article, get informed and get working to change the copyright laws.
My article ranks about #17 at google for the query "free music downloads", yet it got 4400 referrals from it during January. How many people would read my article if it got to #1?
I don't think this would have anything not already familiar to one has studied the law, but it would help you to understand the controversy in more depth.
My objective in writing
Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads was to give the legions of peer-to-peer music downloaders a basic lesson in history, copyright law and political activism, in hopes that they might use their considerable numbers to bring about copyright reform.
I give all the links that the article title promises in order to get p2p users to come read it, and link to it from their own websites. But my real objective is to give them an education while I have their attention.
From the article it sounds like everyone wanting their finger in the pie is some kind of big-iron enterprise suit.
Did you know uCLinux, once a project fork, got adopted into the main kernel during 2.5? Do you know what uCLinux is for? Running Linux on microcontrollers that don't have memory management units. It's for systems that run completely out of physical RAM with no memory protection.
You see, there are systems for which the power, heat, cost, weight and space of an MMU would be objectionable.
I'm concerned about how the Linux kernel can continue to serve everyone's disparate needs. If the uCLinux folks are running Linux on an ARM7TDMI chip that's smaller than a postage stamp, are they going to be able to use code from the same project that's running a cluster of Oracle databases on a cluster file system?
Another concern I have is old hardware. Will 2.7 still run well on old boxes that would otherwise be destined for the landfill?
One of the great strengths that Linux has always had is that it runs great on hardware that's too slow to run Windows or (nowadays) Mac OS on. My PowerMac 8500 was once one of the fastest desktop computers money could buy, but now its 150 Mhz PowerPC 604 is too slow to run Mac OS X. Linux, however, runs great and it has been serving as an IP masquerading gateway, file server and all-around Linux desktop box.
While I explore the idea of eliminating copyright in the article, I state that I don't think it should be completely abolished. My position is that the fourteen year term of the United States' first copyright act is about right.
In posts here and elsewhere, I bring up the idea that one can eliminate copyright not so much because I really think it ought to be eliminated, but to inflame the passions of the readers, in hopes of getting them to actually go read my whole article, which is admittedly very, very long.
In
Change the Law I explain that while the US Constitution allows for copyright, by no means is copyright required by the Constitution.
You can get copyright reformed or even eliminated tomorrow, if you could just get enough votes in Congress to pass a law to that effect. If you don't think that could happen, consider that there are more Americans sharing files over the peer-to-peer networks today than voted for George Bush in 2000.
Also, in
Should Copyright Even Exist? I relate Richard Stallman's ideas on software freedom to digital music files, and suggest that the public interest might actually be better served by expressly permitting the public to take advantage of the error free and nearly zero-cost nature of digital file copying. (Keep in mind that I wrote the article with p2p users in mind; for many of them this section of my article may well be their first introduction to what Free Software means.)
None so far, but that's because I haven't traveled much the last few years.
I'd like to be able to bring back DVDs with me when I do travel, because I know there are some not available to me here, and when I do, I want to watch them.
One would think that all the DVD player manufacturers will now start making region-free players, but that might not be the case because they have contracts with the DVD-CCA that forbids them from doing so.
I've so far avoided getting a dedicated DVD player just because they have region coding, preferring to use a software-based open source dvd player.
But it's sure not as convenient or as pleasant to watch DVDs on my laptop as it would be on my TV with a dedicated player. For one thing, my laptop doesn't have a remote control.
I don't mean to be obnoxious, really I don't, and one look at the article makes it plain I'm not doing this for my own personal profit. I really do feel that what I have to say is important for others to hear.
But if I'm wearing out my welcome, I'll avoid such posts anymore.
You can help by suggesting other sites which would welcome me posting a link to my article, sites that aren't likely to be frequented by the Slashdot crowd.
The new
Fitehouse General Public Music License (PDF) is based on the GPL and requires release of the "source" to the music - the raw, separate tracks, what is actually recorded in the studio but only very rarely made public.
Fitehouse just released their new EP The Bomb with both tracks available as MP3 download, and one track, the anti-RIAA anthem "Running Scared" licensed under the FGPML.
The raw studio tracks for Running Scared are also provided as uncompressed WAV files. (Please be nice to their server.)
This apparently culminates their eight month postcard campaign which both highlights Fitehouse as a band and also comments on the current crisis in music.
I only just came across these guys today, but I downloaded their EP and like their music.
Is it time to get the DMCA repealed? Do you think the RIAA has
gonetoo
far?
Do you think it's wrong that Disney can get a law passed to keep Steamboat
Willie from passing into the public domain - a law that makes it impossible
for anyone to expect a newly copyrighted work pass into the public domain
during their lifetime?
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel
Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests
should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who
deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are
enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George
Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active,
you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In
Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right,
like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve
a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its
usefulness.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to
write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current
state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the
RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let
them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for
each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to
raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be
peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and
in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed
in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is
free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright,
I need your help.
I'd like to get an MP3 player for my Ford Taurus. A problem with the Taurus is that the built-in car stereo isn't shaped like a normal car stereo, it's this large oval thing in the dashboard. There's no where a normal car stereo unit could mount.
It has controls for a CD changer (which we don't have). I'm pretty sure Ford built the stereo this way so you couldn't buy a stereo from anyone else but Ford. I find it very annoying.
I admit to not having looked into it too carefully - but is there an MP3 player I can mount in my Ford without making it all ugly?
Is it time to get the DMCA repealed? Do you think the RIAA has
gonetoo
far?
Do you think it's wrong that Disney can get a law passed to keep Steamboat
Willie from passing into the public domain - a law that makes it impossible
for anyone to expect a newly copyrighted work pass into the public domain
during their lifetime?
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel
Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests
should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who
deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are
enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George
Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active,
you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In
Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right,
like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve
a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its
usefulness.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to
write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current
state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the
RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let
them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for
each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to
raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be
peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and
in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed
in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is
free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright,
I need your help.
I'm looking for new computer speakers for listening to music.
In particular, I'm looking for stereo, not surround sound - for playing CDs, mp3s and oggs. I'm also looking for speakers that have excellent audio fidelity when played softly.
I asked about this on
alt.music.mp3 and so far the best recommendation is I think the
Logitech Z-2200. But these are very high power speakers (200 watts) - I will never turn them up that loud.
The other suggestion that makes a lot of sense to me is to use regular stereo speakers hooked up to a conventional audio amp. That's what I'm thinking of doing now, as I have a good amp that I'm not using right now.
Sometimes I wonder whether what I write is really appreciated. And then someone says something like what you just did. That makes it all feel worthwhile.
Don't underestimate the value of what this guy is proposing. If the average American doesn't know about this issue, it's because we're not doing our job to educate them.
That's why I wrote my article - I think that there are enough people using peer-to-peer networks that if they were all to be educated a little politically, and encouraged to make copyright reform an issue, that they can make the candidates take them seriously.
However, as popular as my article is, it's not getting read frequently enough to expect all sixty million American file traders to read it in time for the elections. That's why I keep posting the link here, there and everywhere.
Is it time to get the DMCA repealed? Do you think the RIAA has
gonetoo
far?
Do you think it's wrong that Disney can get a law passed to keep Steamboat
Willie from passing into the public domain - a law that makes it impossible
for anyone to expect a newly copyrighted work pass into the public domain
during their lifetime?
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel
Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests
should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who
deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are
enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George
Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active,
you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In
Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right,
like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve
a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its
usefulness.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to
write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current
state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the
RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let
them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for
each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to
raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be
peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and
in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed
in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is
free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright,
I need your help.
My father, proud of his scottish heritage (we're Crawfords, part of Clan Lindsay) told me this story:
The chieftan of Clan McDonald owns a restaurant named McDonald's, located somewhere in Scotland.
When the American fast food chain of the same name sued him for trademark infringement, the chieftan threatened to forbid the fast food chain from doing business in Scotland.
After checking with its attorneys, the fast food chain quickly dropped its case.
The stock of companies offerring Linux products and services may have been
unfairly devalued as well. Stockholders in any of the affected companies -
either SCO or its competitors - may wish to avail themselves of the Security
and Exchange Commission's
Investor Complaint Form
to ask that something be done about this. You may not even be aware that
you have standing to complain: if you invest in any mutual funds that
hold shares in SCO, IBM, Red Hat or any other company that offers Linux
products or services, then you have a right to ask the SEC to investigate.
Check with your mutual fund to find out which securities are in its
portfolio.
It's also available in
UBB Code format for the message boards that use it.
While the lawsuits being
defended by IBM and
filed by Red Hat are
likely to put an end to
The SCO Group's menace to the Free
Software community, I don't think simply putting the company out
of business is likely to prevent us from being threatened this
way again by other companies who are enemies to our community. I
feel we need to send a stronger message.
If we all work together, we can put
the executives
of the SCO Group in prison where they belong.
If you live in the U.S., please write a letter to your state
Attorney General.
If you live elsewhere, please write your national or provincial law
enforcement authorities. Please ask that the SCO Group be prosecuted for
criminal fraud and extortion.
It also suggests complaining to the securities and exchange commission, which you're entitled to do if you've lost investment money as a result of any wrongdoing that SCO might have committed.
Is it time to get the DMCA repealed? Do you think the RIAA has
gonetoo
far?
Do you think it's wrong that Disney can get a law passed to keep Steamboat
Willie from passing into the public domain - a law that makes it impossible
for anyone to expect a newly copyrighted work pass into the public domain
during their lifetime?
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel
Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests
should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who
deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are
enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George
Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active,
you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In
Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right,
like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve
a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its
usefulness.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to
write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current
state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the
RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let
them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for
each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to
raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be
peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and
in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed
in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is
free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright,
I need your help.
Slashdot Mirror
Likely they would have the same trouble with it kuro5hin did, and whoever was trying to make the copy would be sorely confused.
But when I submitted it to Kuro5hin, the preview showed the RDF meta data literally (visibly) in the text, I think to indicate that Scoop was rejecting it. That is, Kuro5hin didn't accept HTML comments in the markup.
Also, Creative Commons advises posting the Some Rights Reserved image as the license notice, but I couldn't do that because kuro5hin (very sensibly) doesn't allow images. That's why I posted the license notice at the end of the article the way CC says to do for a text file.
Now, I'm sure Scoop could be updated to allow RDF, but how many online communities are there, and how many will need their software updated?
You can help by Googlebombing my article this way - post links anywhere on the web that say my article is about free music downloads
It's about much more than that, such as what the US Constitution says about copyright, and what you can do to get us out of the mess we're in, but if you can help boost my article's rank for the query "free music downloads", you can encourage the p2p users who I intended to address with my writing, to come read my article, get informed and get working to change the copyright laws.
I discuss this at more length in my kuro5hin diary.
My article ranks about #17 at google for the query "free music downloads", yet it got 4400 referrals from it during January. How many people would read my article if it got to #1?
Thanks for your help.
My objective in writing Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads was to give the legions of peer-to-peer music downloaders a basic lesson in history, copyright law and political activism, in hopes that they might use their considerable numbers to bring about copyright reform.
I give all the links that the article title promises in order to get p2p users to come read it, and link to it from their own websites. But my real objective is to give them an education while I have their attention.
Did you know uCLinux, once a project fork, got adopted into the main kernel during 2.5? Do you know what uCLinux is for? Running Linux on microcontrollers that don't have memory management units. It's for systems that run completely out of physical RAM with no memory protection.
You see, there are systems for which the power, heat, cost, weight and space of an MMU would be objectionable.
I'm concerned about how the Linux kernel can continue to serve everyone's disparate needs. If the uCLinux folks are running Linux on an ARM7TDMI chip that's smaller than a postage stamp, are they going to be able to use code from the same project that's running a cluster of Oracle databases on a cluster file system?
Another concern I have is old hardware. Will 2.7 still run well on old boxes that would otherwise be destined for the landfill?
One of the great strengths that Linux has always had is that it runs great on hardware that's too slow to run Windows or (nowadays) Mac OS on. My PowerMac 8500 was once one of the fastest desktop computers money could buy, but now its 150 Mhz PowerPC 604 is too slow to run Mac OS X. Linux, however, runs great and it has been serving as an IP masquerading gateway, file server and all-around Linux desktop box.
While I explore the idea of eliminating copyright in the article, I state that I don't think it should be completely abolished. My position is that the fourteen year term of the United States' first copyright act is about right.
In posts here and elsewhere, I bring up the idea that one can eliminate copyright not so much because I really think it ought to be eliminated, but to inflame the passions of the readers, in hopes of getting them to actually go read my whole article, which is admittedly very, very long.
You can get copyright reformed or even eliminated tomorrow, if you could just get enough votes in Congress to pass a law to that effect. If you don't think that could happen, consider that there are more Americans sharing files over the peer-to-peer networks today than voted for George Bush in 2000.
My article goes on to suggest steps you can take to make this happen, ranging from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.
Also, in Should Copyright Even Exist? I relate Richard Stallman's ideas on software freedom to digital music files, and suggest that the public interest might actually be better served by expressly permitting the public to take advantage of the error free and nearly zero-cost nature of digital file copying. (Keep in mind that I wrote the article with p2p users in mind; for many of them this section of my article may well be their first introduction to what Free Software means.)
I think that if I can get all sixty million US p2p users to read Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads by November, copyright reform could become a hot issue in this year's elections. If you agree, see What You Can Do To Help.
Thank you for your attention.
It's been on the first page of hits at google for the query content scrambling system for a couple of years now.
I'd like to be able to bring back DVDs with me when I do travel, because I know there are some not available to me here, and when I do, I want to watch them.
I've so far avoided getting a dedicated DVD player just because they have region coding, preferring to use a software-based open source dvd player.
But it's sure not as convenient or as pleasant to watch DVDs on my laptop as it would be on my TV with a dedicated player. For one thing, my laptop doesn't have a remote control.
But if I'm wearing out my welcome, I'll avoid such posts anymore.
You can help by suggesting other sites which would welcome me posting a link to my article, sites that aren't likely to be frequented by the Slashdot crowd.
He asked, really he did!
Fitehouse just released their new EP The Bomb with both tracks available as MP3 download, and one track, the anti-RIAA anthem "Running Scared" licensed under the FGPML.
The raw studio tracks for Running Scared are also provided as uncompressed WAV files. (Please be nice to their server.)
This apparently culminates their eight month postcard campaign which both highlights Fitehouse as a band and also comments on the current crisis in music.
I only just came across these guys today, but I downloaded their EP and like their music.
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active, you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right, like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its usefulness.
I suggest steps you can take to bring about copyright reform, ranging from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright, I need your help.
Thank you for your attention.
It has controls for a CD changer (which we don't have). I'm pretty sure Ford built the stereo this way so you couldn't buy a stereo from anyone else but Ford. I find it very annoying.
I admit to not having looked into it too carefully - but is there an MP3 player I can mount in my Ford without making it all ugly?
Thanks!
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active, you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right, like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its usefulness.
I suggest steps you can take to bring about copyright reform, ranging from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright, I need your help.
Thank you for your attention.
While I can order them from the U.S., it would be better if I could order them from an eCommerice site in Canada. Do you know of any?
In particular, I'm looking for stereo, not surround sound - for playing CDs, mp3s and oggs. I'm also looking for speakers that have excellent audio fidelity when played softly.
I asked about this on alt.music.mp3 and so far the best recommendation is I think the Logitech Z-2200. But these are very high power speakers (200 watts) - I will never turn them up that loud.
The other suggestion that makes a lot of sense to me is to use regular stereo speakers hooked up to a conventional audio amp. That's what I'm thinking of doing now, as I have a good amp that I'm not using right now.
However, as popular as my article is, it's not getting read frequently enough to expect all sixty million American file traders to read it in time for the elections. That's why I keep posting the link here, there and everywhere.
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active, you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right, like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its usefulness.
I suggest steps you can take to bring about copyright reform, ranging from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright, I need your help.
Thank you for your attention.
The chieftan of Clan McDonald owns a restaurant named McDonald's, located somewhere in Scotland.
When the American fast food chain of the same name sued him for trademark infringement, the chieftan threatened to forbid the fast food chain from doing business in Scotland.
After checking with its attorneys, the fast food chain quickly dropped its case.
Please copy and distribute Let's Put SCO Behind Bars. It has a Creative Commons license. From the page:
It's also available in UBB Code format for the message boards that use it.From the page:
It also suggests complaining to the securities and exchange commission, which you're entitled to do if you've lost investment money as a result of any wrongdoing that SCO might have committed.Thank you for your attention.
How about making copyright reform a central issue in the upcoming election?
Very likely most politicians don't know if the DMCA is fit to eat, feel Disney and the RIAA are important campaign contributors whose requests should be given priority, and music downloaders are simple thieves who deserve every bit of punishment they get.
You can change that. But it's going to take some work. There are enough people sharing music in America - more people than voted for George Bush - that if you get off your collective asses and get politically active, you can get laws passed to get the RIAA off your back.
In Change the Law, I explain that copyright is not a Constitutional right, like free speech. Instead copyright is allowed (but not required) to serve a useful purpose, a purpose which I feel has long since outlived its usefulness.
I suggest steps you can take to bring about copyright reform, ranging from speaking out to practicing civil disobedience.
One thing I'd like you all to do today is to write your elected representatives to ask their opinion of the current state of copyright law given its widespread abuse by organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, and to urge them to work towards copyright reform. Let them know your vote will depend on a positive response.
When you're done writing that letter, write to the other candidates for each office in the upcoming elections, to ask them the same question.
Sixty million American peer-to-peer file traders have the potential to raise a lot of Hell with the politicians. I want every candidate to be peppered with questions about copyright reform at every campaign stop and in every press interview. I want the repeal of the DMCA to be discussed in the Presidential debates.
People marched in protest when Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested. Dmitry is free now - but the law under which he was jailed is still on the books.
If you agree with me that something needs to be done about copyright, I need your help.
Thank you for your attention.
Michael D. Crawford
crawford@goingware.com