I would expect a very strong litigation against this particular clause...
I can forsee a Charter challenge (our constitution to our American readers) which guarantees freedom of expression.
I am unsure how constitutional a law can be that makes it illegal to do something that is explicitly legal... however the issue is contentious, as several Canadian laws are like this. For example, it is (strictly speaking) legal to have sex with a prostitute, however soliciting, communicating, or living off of the avials of prostitution is illegal... so you *can* do it, but you couldn't ask, and he/she couldn't spend the money, de facto illegal.
BUT it will be interesting to see what the supremes say.
The *other* interesting provision (which I personally hated) is a service called "turnitin.com". This is a US plagarism service offered to University Professors, BUT that permanantly keeps copies of your essays for future use (checked against).... Methinks now I would be able to issue a "notice and notice" letter to the provider. OR better yet sue the professor/university of illegal distribution. I will have to write my Alma Mater again.
Ahh, but the interesting thing that I would like to see litigated, is that the levy would apply to digitaly downloaded copies of music, BUT no such levy exists for CDs...
Not blank CDs (we have a levy on those), but iTunes downloads are *supposed* to be copies of what is on CD, so they add a levy that doesn't apply to physical copies, and Apple may have a case to litigate under Ch 11... it would depend on what the *product* being sold is defined as.
Remember also that Ch.11 of NAFTA states that any Foreign Corporation (say Apple) can defeat any domestic Law, if found to inhibit " property, ownership, the right to market and sell a product, and the right to earn a profit" by the foreign corporation.
So considering that Apple makes $.01-.02 cents a track, and now they want to charge.25 levy... well Apple gets to sue, especially if this law makes it unprofitable to sell (or unpopular).
Apple will probably win, far more nefarious businesses have usurped popular Environmental law, so expect Apple to have a hay-day with this law.
Nope, the Canadian government is weak, so any unpopular laws are out, and even if it passed, I would expect Apple to sue under Ch.11 to have this law reversed.
As an aside, Ch 11 (IMHO) has largely been terrible for Canadians, so using it for our benefit would be nice. [Please don't cloud the issue with *DRM is good for you FUD*]
"ummm well gee, uh, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washing DC, USA"...
Seriously, maybe I have too much time, but when something/one tries to pull crap like this, I usually try to call them on it.... YES I have had the police called, etc, but once it gets to someone with a Brain, they usually appologise profusely.
HOPEFULLY this leads to them not pushing around less confident people.
I find it interesting that Canadians right now enjoy more 'freedom' wrt music sharing/copying etc. We are allowed to 'share' our music with friends in exchange for a small tax on CDRs and MP3 players.
Also, our AACs from Apple are cheaper ($0.84 today).
The most interesting part? IP is not part of NAFTA, if it was, you could buy music in Canada and re-import it to the US. (Actually if IP was part of NAFTA, Apple CANADA could sue the RIAA to force lower prices as the present situation is anti-competitive) {interesting asside, Apple CANADA would have to do it, Apple USA would have no standing, goofy NAFTA dispute resolution}.
INSTEAD, what I think will happen is that the US will force Canada to sign the WIPO and the world gets DMCA like treatment, as opposed to making the US laws more sane.
So, for all those who asked, no you will not be able to re-import the music back into the US... even if you could get Apple to sell it to you at the lower price you would have to declare the purchase and remit duty on the purchase. Ever buy one of the "imported' CDs from the record store... part of the reason they cost more is excise duty.
Bah, somewhat useless however, with the USD sucking lately, we could be back to 1.05Canadian soon, and we would want to buy your cheap music.... better get that trade deficit fixed soon!
Much of the US Northeast imports power from Hydro Quebec... remember that blackout last year? Remember how it took out Ontario and Quebec too? Now you know why.
Also, California imports massive amounts of power from British Columbia (so much so they had to give a price rebate after the power crisis).
Lastly, the US Pacific Northwest also imports a small amount of power from natural gas plants in Alberta...
P.S. for extra credit, Alberta exports massive amounts of natural gas to the US which in turn is used to generate electricity.
I just saw on TV (TLC I think) that Denmark was building wind generators offshore... Seems like a brilliant idea... use space that isn't really being used otherwise...
The only problem with the current electrical grid is storage... electricity cannot be stored (duh) so peak demand has to = supply or brownouts...
Here is my idea, we build a powerplant (hopefully wind/solar but nuclear is ok too) and hook the generator up to a hydrogen refinery (a la iceland)... that way the power can be stored (ok not perfect efficiency but still pretty good)... then when we need power we feed the hydrogen through fuel cells to generate power on demand...
The benefit is that we can build smaller plants b/c they can run all day long at 100% output b/c the output is stored...
The only downside is cost... but remember the current costs of power generation COMPLETELY ignore the environmental costs, which would be much lower if we used this wind/hydrogen idea
Or worse... what about the New York Times, or for that matter, any other website... they allow the d/ling of copyrighted works (text) by 3rd parties (us)... that is the whole point...
The important definition is not P2P network, but a computer network... the proposed bill does not define a P2P network, just a computer network...
So it seems to me that technically reading a website would be illegial... without the express permission of the copyright holder/ website owner... I am sure that most websites would grant this protection, but it begs the question...
What is the point of legislation to protect a chosen few, that forces everyone else on the internet to gain specific permission to surf the inernet... this is just silly.
Wilfull huh? Guess that will be up to the judge, whether allowing public access to the information highway is willful infringement... I remember something about significant non-infringing use somewhere, but I cannot seem to recall...?
Around the campfire... The Boy Scouts had a little trouble there... and they were only given specific exemption... you probably would not... Do you realise that "Happy Birthday" is copyrighted?
As for the newspaper part... this is a grey area... see your Senator Disney's comments on timeshifting on your TIVO...
Hmm, singing in the shower, yup, if your neighbour hears it, then that would be a public performance, no?
Hmm, now to the part of your part about the boycott... see, now that is silly, why deprive myself of the good works of the artists? I only despise the recording pigopoly, not the artists... so how do I sleep at night? Well, I go to concerts and support the artists that way... in the end they make more money...
Oh and something else I am not doing... well it must be nice to be an AC, b/c that way you can post without doing any research... seems that I am very involved... writing several HUNDRED letters, to my politicians, and yours... so don't tell me, that I lack conviction, when infact I am very concerned for the well being of the artists that I enjoy...
Now I would like to question whether you really understand the difference between prohibition and the current state of copyright laws... are you so deluded to believe that this is about the artists and protecting their works to encourage more? This is more about the rights of an oligopoly to exploit the public... Answer this question before you reply... how long does the rights of an artist need to be protected to ensure that they continue to produce works of merit? Hmmm? Why is it that everytime Steamboat willy gets close to becomming part of the public domain that copyright laws get extended? Hmm can't see old Walt producing more cartoons anytime soon...
The current state of copyright law is a flawed... I support the artists anyway I can...
Ye-ah...ok I'm a criminal? Well... The U.S. constitution, MY Constitution (Non-U.S. citizen), and current Laws state that copyright infringement is, well, not a crime.. you need to learn that...
So umm, yeah I am a copyright infringer, and guess what, so are you... Read the newspaper and ignore the ads, copyright violation... tell a joke you saw last night on letterman (or worse email someone), copyright infringement... Sing a song around the campfire, and not properly pay for the rights... yuppers, you guessed it, copyright infringement... hell singing a song in the shower is a violation of copyright if your neighbour hears it...
So tell you what, I'll keep doing this until the LAW is changed... copyright law is totally screwed, and is supporting a morribund industry... its like prohibition, I know it is wrong, and I am doing it until the law catches up...
_CMK
I have a notebook computer with WiFi access. My potential defense is that it would be impossible to determine if my computer was the one doing the d/ling...
The only way to determine would be to subpoena my hard drive... which is not only encrypted, but I would fight tooth and nail against improper search and seisure. Just because I own a publically accessable hotspot does not allow for a "fishing hunt"... the laws regarding improper searches is much better defined than that regarding internet searches... Consider this... If I owned derilict property that was used for illict purposes (illegial photocopying even) does not make me necessarily guilty of the same offense.
So, my hope is that by being a difficult target, I will be ignored for the first few rounds of the RIAA Gestapo raids...
Why is there no Nixon? There is a Regan, and going to be a H.W. Bush... no Carter?
If no Nixon, will there be a Clinton? CVN-21? I mean Nixon vs. Clinton, which is the lesser of two evils? No, no, I'm not trying to argue politics, but Clinton WAS impeached by congress, no? Nixon only resigned...
This comment really struck me... now I must ask the question... why would you discuss the merits of taking out CHILDREN... the most innocent and helpless of victims?
I never fully understood the columbine mindset, but I could atleast somewhat sympathise... The intent was revenge...I was a geek and was frequently picked upon by my peers in Highschool, so I think I understand somewhat the headspace for taking out a few jocks, and culpable teachers, but 3-4 year old kids?
This was the first time I have ever been really disgusted by a comment on/. The fact that you would consider harming a child who has never done anything to warrant revenge... is well, sick.
I attempted to consider that your intent was to illustrate the *virtue* in a high bodycount... but there is not honour in the killing of innocents
I will now get off my high horse, but that comment was REALLY fscked up!
The New nvidia graphics installer (4369) comes with a new installer that will either d/l the appropriate pre-compilled driver, OR d/l the sources and compile a driver for you... all you need is the kernel-source installed for your current kernel...
Well, atleast this is true for most kernels... I am sure when you get far enough out into the 2.5.XX range there are significant enough canges to break the driver... but if you are willing to stay with a "stable" kernel you will be fine. And really, why game on an unstable kernel?
But, if you want to take the political stance, that is your right (assuming you live in a free country), but I would ask that you send Nvidia's top Brass an email stating why you would not purchase a Nvidia card... I ask this b/c to the sales dept, all they see is a lost sale, not one that could be captured from increased efforts in the linux community.
This has been discussed before on the nvnews.net forums, and essentially Nvidia could open up their driver, or at the very least parts of it...
Consider that the nforce (not the graphics) driver only uses stereo sound b/c the dolby code is properiety and cannot be released. Instead, Nvidia could keep that part closed (binary only d/l) but open the other parts... This is true with their graphics drivers as well... they *could* open up the parts that do not contain the IP of other co's...
So far the best reason for keeping the Driver code closed is b/c there is some "trade secrets" that could be gleaned from an open driver release...
Slashdot Mirror
I would expect a very strong litigation against this particular clause...
I can forsee a Charter challenge (our constitution to our American readers) which guarantees freedom of expression.
I am unsure how constitutional a law can be that makes it illegal to do something that is explicitly legal... however the issue is contentious, as several Canadian laws are like this. For example, it is (strictly speaking) legal to have sex with a prostitute, however soliciting, communicating, or living off of the avials of prostitution is illegal... so you *can* do it, but you couldn't ask, and he/she couldn't spend the money, de facto illegal.
BUT it will be interesting to see what the supremes say.
The *other* interesting provision (which I personally hated) is a service called "turnitin.com". This is a US plagarism service offered to University Professors, BUT that permanantly keeps copies of your essays for future use (checked against).... Methinks now I would be able to issue a "notice and notice" letter to the provider. OR better yet sue the professor/university of illegal distribution. I will have to write my Alma Mater again.
CMK
quoting your sig "this post does not exist"... BUT I have observed it, so yes it does....
As the saying goes... You must be new here, right???
Since when are the slashdot summaries in any way related to the content of TFA?
P.S. for the unobservant, the parent has a 3 digit UID.
Ahh, but the interesting thing that I would like to see litigated, is that the levy would apply to digitaly downloaded copies of music, BUT no such levy exists for CDs...
Not blank CDs (we have a levy on those), but iTunes downloads are *supposed* to be copies of what is on CD, so they add a levy that doesn't apply to physical copies, and Apple may have a case to litigate under Ch 11... it would depend on what the *product* being sold is defined as.
Remember also that Ch.11 of NAFTA states that any Foreign Corporation (say Apple) can defeat any domestic Law, if found to inhibit " property, ownership, the right to market and sell a product, and the right to earn a profit" by the foreign corporation.
.25 levy... well Apple gets to sue, especially if this law makes it unprofitable to sell (or unpopular).
So considering that Apple makes $.01-.02 cents a track, and now they want to charge
Apple will probably win, far more nefarious businesses have usurped popular Environmental law, so expect Apple to have a hay-day with this law.
Nope, the Canadian government is weak, so any unpopular laws are out, and even if it passed, I would expect Apple to sue under Ch.11 to have this law reversed.
As an aside, Ch 11 (IMHO) has largely been terrible for Canadians, so using it for our benefit would be nice. [Please don't cloud the issue with *DRM is good for you FUD*]
"ummm well gee, uh, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washing DC, USA"...
Seriously, maybe I have too much time, but when something/one tries to pull crap like this, I usually try to call them on it.... YES I have had the police called, etc, but once it gets to someone with a Brain, they usually appologise profusely.
HOPEFULLY this leads to them not pushing around less confident people.
I find it interesting that Canadians right now enjoy more 'freedom' wrt music sharing/copying etc. We are allowed to 'share' our music with friends in exchange for a small tax on CDRs and MP3 players.
Also, our AACs from Apple are cheaper ($0.84 today).
The most interesting part? IP is not part of NAFTA, if it was, you could buy music in Canada and re-import it to the US. (Actually if IP was part of NAFTA, Apple CANADA could sue the RIAA to force lower prices as the present situation is anti-competitive) {interesting asside, Apple CANADA would have to do it, Apple USA would have no standing, goofy NAFTA dispute resolution}.
INSTEAD, what I think will happen is that the US will force Canada to sign the WIPO and the world gets DMCA like treatment, as opposed to making the US laws more sane.
So, for all those who asked, no you will not be able to re-import the music back into the US... even if you could get Apple to sell it to you at the lower price you would have to declare the purchase and remit duty on the purchase. Ever buy one of the "imported' CDs from the record store... part of the reason they cost more is excise duty.
Bah, somewhat useless however, with the USD sucking lately, we could be back to 1.05Canadian soon, and we would want to buy your cheap music.... better get that trade deficit fixed soon!
CD-Rs too though... buy many of those? Lots of companies do... so they effectively subsidize Canadian fair use... Schweet!
Bzzzzzztttt... Wrong... Thanks for playing.
Much of the US Northeast imports power from Hydro Quebec... remember that blackout last year? Remember how it took out Ontario and Quebec too? Now you know why.
Also, California imports massive amounts of power from British Columbia (so much so they had to give a price rebate after the power crisis).
Lastly, the US Pacific Northwest also imports a small amount of power from natural gas plants in Alberta...
P.S. for extra credit, Alberta exports massive amounts of natural gas to the US which in turn is used to generate electricity.
Better luck next time
Hey Darl... I bet 'cha can't give up and go home... or maybe... I bet you can't defraud your shareholders enough to face criminal charges...
No offense intended by this reply, the parent was well thought out, but there is a flaw in your arguement...
Basically, you are saying SCO could be granted the copyrights by stating that they are necessary to defend against their being infringed...
But the copyrights are not their's to be infringed... how Novell would like to prosecute this (if at all) is their perogative.
Sco cannot ask for the copyrights, as only a means to defend them.
_CMK
'cept when that storm front comes through and all the power goes down b/c all your neighbours (the local network) goes down... Centralization = safety
I just saw on TV (TLC I think) that Denmark was building wind generators offshore... Seems like a brilliant idea... use space that isn't really being used otherwise...
The only problem with the current electrical grid is storage... electricity cannot be stored (duh) so peak demand has to = supply or brownouts...
Here is my idea, we build a powerplant (hopefully wind/solar but nuclear is ok too) and hook the generator up to a hydrogen refinery (a la iceland)... that way the power can be stored (ok not perfect efficiency but still pretty good)... then when we need power we feed the hydrogen through fuel cells to generate power on demand...
The benefit is that we can build smaller plants b/c they can run all day long at 100% output b/c the output is stored...
The only downside is cost... but remember the current costs of power generation COMPLETELY ignore the environmental costs, which would be much lower if we used this wind/hydrogen idea
Or worse... what about the New York Times, or for that matter, any other website... they allow the d/ling of copyrighted works (text) by 3rd parties (us)... that is the whole point...
The important definition is not P2P network, but a computer network... the proposed bill does not define a P2P network, just a computer network...
So it seems to me that technically reading a website would be illegial... without the express permission of the copyright holder/ website owner... I am sure that most websites would grant this protection, but it begs the question...
What is the point of legislation to protect a chosen few, that forces everyone else on the internet to gain specific permission to surf the inernet... this is just silly.
_CMK
Well, according to the proposed bill, any computer network that allows 3rd party access to copyrighted works would be illegial...
_CMK
Hmm, well Mr. AC, time for a little history...
Wilfull huh? Guess that will be up to the judge, whether allowing public access to the information highway is willful infringement... I remember something about significant non-infringing use somewhere, but I cannot seem to recall...?
Around the campfire... The Boy Scouts had a little trouble there... and they were only given specific exemption... you probably would not... Do you realise that "Happy Birthday" is copyrighted?
As for the newspaper part... this is a grey area... see your Senator Disney's comments on timeshifting on your TIVO...
Hmm, singing in the shower, yup, if your neighbour hears it, then that would be a public performance, no?
Hmm, now to the part of your part about the boycott... see, now that is silly, why deprive myself of the good works of the artists? I only despise the recording pigopoly, not the artists... so how do I sleep at night? Well, I go to concerts and support the artists that way... in the end they make more money...
Oh and something else I am not doing... well it must be nice to be an AC, b/c that way you can post without doing any research... seems that I am very involved... writing several HUNDRED letters, to my politicians, and yours... so don't tell me, that I lack conviction, when infact I am very concerned for the well being of the artists that I enjoy...
Now I would like to question whether you really understand the difference between prohibition and the current state of copyright laws... are you so deluded to believe that this is about the artists and protecting their works to encourage more? This is more about the rights of an oligopoly to exploit the public...
Answer this question before you reply... how long does the rights of an artist need to be protected to ensure that they continue to produce works of merit? Hmmm? Why is it that everytime Steamboat willy gets close to becomming part of the public domain that copyright laws get extended? Hmm can't see old Walt producing more cartoons anytime soon...
The current state of copyright law is a flawed... I support the artists anyway I can...
_CMK
P.S. Get a life and stop posting as an AC...
Ye-ah...ok I'm a criminal? Well... The U.S. constitution, MY Constitution (Non-U.S. citizen), and current Laws state that copyright infringement is, well, not a crime.. you need to learn that... So umm, yeah I am a copyright infringer, and guess what, so are you... Read the newspaper and ignore the ads, copyright violation... tell a joke you saw last night on letterman (or worse email someone), copyright infringement... Sing a song around the campfire, and not properly pay for the rights... yuppers, you guessed it, copyright infringement... hell singing a song in the shower is a violation of copyright if your neighbour hears it... So tell you what, I'll keep doing this until the LAW is changed... copyright law is totally screwed, and is supporting a morribund industry... its like prohibition, I know it is wrong, and I am doing it until the law catches up... _CMK
I have a notebook computer with WiFi access. My potential defense is that it would be impossible to determine if my computer was the one doing the d/ling...
The only way to determine would be to subpoena my hard drive... which is not only encrypted, but I would fight tooth and nail against improper search and seisure. Just because I own a publically accessable hotspot does not allow for a "fishing hunt"... the laws regarding improper searches is much better defined than that regarding internet searches... Consider this... If I owned derilict property that was used for illict purposes (illegial photocopying even) does not make me necessarily guilty of the same offense.
So, my hope is that by being a difficult target, I will be ignored for the first few rounds of the RIAA Gestapo raids...
_CMK
The USS Carl Vinson was launched by its namesake...
So this isn't really the first. Plus Bush Sr. Will probably still be alive in 2008...
Hell if the CVN-21 in 2012 is named after Clinton, he most likely will be alive...hell Hill could be pres at the same time.
I guess this is like stamps, you used to have to be dead, but now anyone can get on a stamp, dead or alive...
_CMK
Why is there no Nixon? There is a Regan, and going to be a H.W. Bush... no Carter?
If no Nixon, will there be a Clinton? CVN-21? I mean Nixon vs. Clinton, which is the lesser of two evils? No, no, I'm not trying to argue politics, but Clinton WAS impeached by congress, no? Nixon only resigned...
_CMK
This comment really struck me... now I must ask the question... why would you discuss the merits of taking out CHILDREN... the most innocent and helpless of victims?
/. The fact that you would consider harming a child who has never done anything to warrant revenge... is well, sick.
I never fully understood the columbine mindset, but I could atleast somewhat sympathise... The intent was revenge...I was a geek and was frequently picked upon by my peers in Highschool, so I think I understand somewhat the headspace for taking out a few jocks, and culpable teachers, but 3-4 year old kids?
This was the first time I have ever been really disgusted by a comment on
I attempted to consider that your intent was to illustrate the *virtue* in a high bodycount... but there is not honour in the killing of innocents
I will now get off my high horse, but that comment was REALLY fscked up!
_CMK
Firewire, is an "Apple Technology"
_CMK
Because the Mac is cheaper... go to dell.com and configure a dual Xeon 3.06 with a DVD burner and the same vidcard/RAM...
Guess what, the Mac is over 1k cheaper! That's why... better performance, and a cheaper price...
_CMK
The New nvidia graphics installer (4369) comes with a new installer that will either d/l the appropriate pre-compilled driver, OR d/l the sources and compile a driver for you... all you need is the kernel-source installed for your current kernel...
Well, atleast this is true for most kernels... I am sure when you get far enough out into the 2.5.XX range there are significant enough canges to break the driver... but if you are willing to stay with a "stable" kernel you will be fine. And really, why game on an unstable kernel?
But, if you want to take the political stance, that is your right (assuming you live in a free country), but I would ask that you send Nvidia's top Brass an email stating why you would not purchase a Nvidia card... I ask this b/c to the sales dept, all they see is a lost sale, not one that could be captured from increased efforts in the linux community.
_CMK
This has been discussed before on the nvnews.net forums, and essentially Nvidia could open up their driver, or at the very least parts of it...
Consider that the nforce (not the graphics) driver only uses stereo sound b/c the dolby code is properiety and cannot be released. Instead, Nvidia could keep that part closed (binary only d/l) but open the other parts... This is true with their graphics drivers as well... they *could* open up the parts that do not contain the IP of other co's...
So far the best reason for keeping the Driver code closed is b/c there is some "trade secrets" that could be gleaned from an open driver release...
_CMK