So they were let off not because it's legal to offer their copyright-violating product, but because they didn't know that it was against the law.
Regardless, this still sets a strong precedent...do you know how hard it will be for anyone, even the RIAA, to prove what someone may or may not have known? Only with strong evidence can you prove that, like a company wide memo stating "Go ahead and begin production of our newest piece of software even though we know it is illegal according to the DCMA."
You just don't find documentation like that lying around...only a snitch or a mole could produce something like that. So, if a company has solid control and a loyal staff, this is very hard to prove.
So, it seems like a small but important victory to me.
Great. Now we have to start reviewing the reviewers!
"I rate G. Cooke, Tx, a 1 * reviewer. She rates everything 5 *'s and never has a single critical comment anywhere."
Ok, so it was two words. If they start offering tournaments and prizes, they'll draw a few folks.
Hell, I remember going to my one and only Sci-Fi convention and playing in a Commodore 64 Pac-Man-type tournament (clearly I have dated myself) and kicking everyone's butt by about a zillion points. I got...a hat.
But damn that felt good. Strutted around like the cock of the walk for the rest of the con.
Look into the Macromedia Flash MX community. Granted, it is not an open source community, per se, but because of its relative ease, any moron can create a UI for their web site, web app, or even MP3 player. Of course, as you mentioned, most of them are horrible, but there are a few that are really creative and intuitive and easy to use. Check out http://www.flashguru.co.uk for an interesting Flash discussion site that has links to lots of cool Flash stuff.
I think you bring up an excellent point GePS, about limiting copyright terms to less than a generation (which is a variable amount, obviously, but a fixed one could be easily decided upon). It really struck a chord with me when thinking about the sheer number of people born after the 1920's but who have since died or soon will (next 20 years) before good ol' Mickey Mouse, in his first incarnation, will be in the public domain. Some great names would be included in that list.
You would think at least one supreme court judge would see the value of this and come to their senses.
On another note, the crazy thing to me is that while the purpose of the copyright laws is to enable inventors and authors, etc., to profit from their original creations, there is nothing that says that after their works move into the public domain that they can't still profit from them, just that others can as well. This creates competition, which in turn usually creates a best-product-for-the-best-price-wins scenario, which usually benefits society as a whole far better than the original idea. But, I repeat, it certainly doesn't stop authors and creators and even the big companies, i.e. Disney, from still promoting and selling their original brands and products even after it moves to the public domain.
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Regardless, this still sets a strong precedent...do you know how hard it will be for anyone, even the RIAA, to prove what someone may or may not have known? Only with strong evidence can you prove that, like a company wide memo stating "Go ahead and begin production of our newest piece of software even though we know it is illegal according to the DCMA."
You just don't find documentation like that lying around...only a snitch or a mole could produce something like that. So, if a company has solid control and a loyal staff, this is very hard to prove.
So, it seems like a small but important victory to me.
LHMT
Great. Now we have to start reviewing the reviewers! "I rate G. Cooke, Tx, a 1 * reviewer. She rates everything 5 *'s and never has a single critical comment anywhere."
Ok, so it was two words. If they start offering tournaments and prizes, they'll draw a few folks. Hell, I remember going to my one and only Sci-Fi convention and playing in a Commodore 64 Pac-Man-type tournament (clearly I have dated myself) and kicking everyone's butt by about a zillion points. I got...a hat. But damn that felt good. Strutted around like the cock of the walk for the rest of the con.
Look into the Macromedia Flash MX community. Granted, it is not an open source community, per se, but because of its relative ease, any moron can create a UI for their web site, web app, or even MP3 player. Of course, as you mentioned, most of them are horrible, but there are a few that are really creative and intuitive and easy to use. Check out http://www.flashguru.co.uk for an interesting Flash discussion site that has links to lots of cool Flash stuff.
I think you bring up an excellent point GePS, about limiting copyright terms to less than a generation (which is a variable amount, obviously, but a fixed one could be easily decided upon). It really struck a chord with me when thinking about the sheer number of people born after the 1920's but who have since died or soon will (next 20 years) before good ol' Mickey Mouse, in his first incarnation, will be in the public domain. Some great names would be included in that list.
You would think at least one supreme court judge would see the value of this and come to their senses.
On another note, the crazy thing to me is that while the purpose of the copyright laws is to enable inventors and authors, etc., to profit from their original creations, there is nothing that says that after their works move into the public domain that they can't still profit from them, just that others can as well. This creates competition, which in turn usually creates a best-product-for-the-best-price-wins scenario, which usually benefits society as a whole far better than the original idea. But, I repeat, it certainly doesn't stop authors and creators and even the big companies, i.e. Disney, from still promoting and selling their original brands and products even after it moves to the public domain.