I've often wondered how they would react if you asked for the same rights that they ask of you - to tape, edit, and broadcast the performance.
How many people have the broadcasting abilities of a cable network, let alone a TV (airwaves) network?
At least you could put it on KaZaA I suppose. But it isn't going to repair the damage done to you if you've been slandered or libeled by the mainstream corporate media.
I'm not sure I understand a few of these. I do have some questions about a couple:
7. Grants copyright protection over "signals", something that is neither creative nor original and outside the scope of copyright protection.
The Consolidated Text departs from the Satellites Convention's "signal centric" approach and attempts to set a dangerous precedent by granting copyright protection for things that do not qualify as creative works, such as broadcast signals. Under both US Copyright law and the US Constitution, only creative works that are original are eligible for copyright protection.
8. Freezes fair use and other limitations and exceptions to rightsholders' exclusive rights.
Article 14 confines any limitations and exceptions to the new rights of broadcasting corporations to only special cases that do not conflict with the broadcasters' exploitation of the broadcasts. Alternative T would only allow countries to maintain their national law limitations and exceptions concerning noncommercial broadcasts if they were in force by the date of the treaty's diplomatic conference.
Now, my prospective, like a lot of slashdotters, is as a US citizen. When the US signs on to a treaty, it becomes law. However, laws cannot override the constitution, and Copyright and Fair Use rights are a part of the constitution. Therefore, at least in this country, this attempt to thwart Fair Use would be unconstitutional, even though it is an international treaty.
However, how this law is treated in other countries can affect us. A major problem with copyright in this country is that its length is being continually lengthened. The top ten list does not discuss length of copyright, but I wonder if it is trying to make copyright last forever, or to start the timer over every time you broadcast something.
Anyway, other countries might limit copyright for a shorter length than our country, but if their copyright and fair use laws are not part of the constitution, this might be changed by this treaty. So while before we could look forward to downloading stuff from other countries when it enters the public domain in that country, now it will be lawfully protected by copyright in perpetuity. But this goes against the spirit of the reason that copyright was created in the first place.
Also interesting is #10
10. Gives broadcasting corporations greater rights than artists are granted over their own performances.
Article 6's right of retransmission provides broadcasting corporations with higher levels of protection over broadcasts than the law gives to the actual creators of the content being broadcast. Canada proposed a reservation to it out of concern that it creates "a situation where the level of protection of broadcasts would exceed the rights of the rightsholders of the content being broadcast." Also, Article 12's right to make available allows broadcasting corporations to prevent other rightsholders (such the performers of the underlying program) from making their performances available for viewing.
It seems ridiculous that a broadcaster would be able to usurp the copyright from its owner simply by broadcasting it. Already there are several people making jokes about this in this discussion. It sounds more like the copyright holder would maintain their rights, but that broadcasters would be given rights to intellectual property that they don't even own.
This makes me think of how big corporations will use songs in their commercials without permission or paying royalties. This has happened a lot to Fishbone who are even an RIAA signed band. So, I wonder, would this give big broadcasters "the right" to violate individual people's copyright?
I wonder, will they get sued by David Letterman for having a top 10 list?
Anyway, the link in the headline doesn't link directoy to the top 10 list.
Gotta love #2: It defies the Laws of Physics.
Re:Here you can find some links
on
Old Toy Modding?
·
· Score: 1
From The Inscrutable 8-Ball Revealed
...At this stage in the disassembly, the authors believed it might be neccessary to drain the blue fluid before cutting the shell.... At this step, the rotary tool was converted from drill mode to cutting mode....
Some people would just smash the eight ball with a hammer. I guess I'm glad I read this before I ever tried that.
I suppose I shouldn't joke about this. Some people would like to take apart a toaster with a hammer. (There's gotta be some joke in here about only tool and nail.)
This is a referance to my joke: But if you forgot safety and go temporarily blind, at least you can turn your Chinatown apartment into one big computer and discover a way to predict the stock market.
Which, in turn, is a play on the movie Pi. The main character in this movie is Jewish, and discusses elements of Jewish Mysticism. Therefore, I don't think that lonesome phreak was being anti-semitic, just referancing the movie.
I didn't think I would have to explain this. I would think this movie is popular among slashdotters.
So while I won't get to see it this year unless I hop in my car and drive east for about 20 hours without rest, I will get to see it in 2012, unless I'm in Chille or Argentina, or something.
The further north you are, the better your chances of seeing it. If you're in Antarctica you won't see it at all.
For one thing, it doesn't start for another day and an hour or so.
(I'll admit that I panicked and rushed outside and took quick looks at the sun, before I came back and read the article and realized we still have about 25 hours until it even starts.
For another thing, slashdot was kind enough to post a link to safety instructions in the headline.
So, what are solar filters? How much do they cost and where can I get one if I want to drive across the country in a mad dash to catch it at sunrise in South Dakota or whatever?
I've been wanting to check out that Wall Drugs that so many people have bumper stickers for for awhile anyway. Maybe they sell solar filters? But if I'm going to drive halfway across the country I want more then just a pinhole thingy.
Who's up for a road trip?
But if you forgot safety and go temporarily blind, at least you can turn your Chinatown apartment into one big computer and discover a way to predict the stock market.
How Long does it take to drive to Alaska? They can see it at Sunrise, no wait, that's sunset.
I guess it would make more sense to drive east and see it at sunrise. More time to get there. How far would I have to drive? from this map it looks like I'd have to be east of Colorado. I wish gas wasn't so expensive these days.
Never thought there would be a reason at this point in history to be envious of people in Iraq. They'll get to see the whole thing.
At least we have 8 years to prepair for the next viewing. This sounds pretty kewl.
Flamebait? Who are they baiting? The anti-pr0n movement? Focus on the Family and their lot?
I'll admit their statistics, like most statistics in the mainstream media, are vauge and useless.
But also consider this. How much of your time do you spend online searching for stuff, and how much of your time do you spend looking at the stuff you were searching for (pr0n or otherwise)? Using a search engine is a means to an end. It would be more suprising to find out that most people spend most of their time searching for stuff, but never looking at it, to say nothing of bookmarks and hyperlinks in non-search-engine-web-pages.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll get back to looking at pictures of hot french toast.
The situation probably is that most people don't know and don't care about Intelectual Property. I once got into an argument with a co-worker over the difference between copyright and trademark, and her argument was basically "What's the difference."
When most people don't understand what patents are for, and what they are, and are not supposed to protect, and when and when not they should be granted, when they don't know and don't care is it any wonder that our patent system is in such a mess?
Yes, a few around here will disagree, but outside the computer geeks and patent lawyers most people are too willfully ignorant to respect or disrespect the USPTO. Never underestimate the power of stupidity. It is the most powerful force in the universe. If only we could build a car that ran on the stuff, the world might be a better place. Either that or we'd have lots of car accidents.
Not to mention that the very article we are discussing is people trying to tape The Day After Tomorrow. Still, dispite how bad the movie was, it was worth the money to see Los Angeles destroyed and New York turned into a giant ice skating ring. Just ignore all the acting and it is a very enjoyable movie.
When I read the grandparent post, I was mainly thinking of people with laptops. Pacemakers didn't occure to me. Maybe because none of my grandparents had them. Of course, being a Talking Toaster makes having a pacemaker a moot point.
I'm suprised I didn't think of credit cards. Just about everyone has an ATM and/or Credit Card these days. Hopefully Principal Skinner doesn't work for the MPAA.
Did anyone notice this little sidebar? Did anyone notice that it was never clarified, not even in the article?
Patents have nothing to do with keeping anything secret. That's what Trade Secrets are for. What patents are about is the exact opposite of keeping innovations secret. They are about publishing innovation so that the whole world (or at least country) may benefit. Patents are an insentive to publish the details of newly developed technology. In exchange you get a temporary exclusive rights to the technology that you developed.
This is basic information for anyone that knows anything about Intelectual Property laws. However, it seems that a few people at the BBC either don't have a clear grasp of this, or maybe forgot to clarify this. Consider that the BBC is a lot more thorough than most of the mainstream media here in the states, and how few Americans are likely to pay attention to our own mainstream let alone foreign media like the BBC. It's no wonder that most people are clueless as to how out of control things are getting with to abuses in Intelectual Property Law, and therefore, why so many people are getting away with it.
Heck, a lot of people doing the abusing don't even realize that what they are doing is an abuse of the system, or at least they act like it.
At a local record store they refer to bootlegs as "Italian Imports."
For instance, suppose you are looking through the Dead Can Dance CDs, it will have a note on the divider to 'ask at the counter for "Italian Imports" for more CDs.'
I've read the article not once now but twice. Are they drafting this legislation specifically for google?
I seem to remember something about it being bad policy to create laws for specific people or companies. OK, I feel less threatened by curbing corporations but it seems kinda funny considering that google is one of the less evil of the corporations out there.
How is this going to affect Hotmail and Yahoo etc.? Do other free email providers already scan email? Maybe they do it but they just don't tell anyone?
The fact that Google is open about it at least gives the idea that they will make an effort to keep their noses clean while doing it. But then I'm assuming that google is less evil than most corporations.
Whatever. I don't consider protecting people from their own stupidity to be a major legislative priority -- all that ever does is end up hurting the rest of us who have some detectible level of brain activity.
To some extent I agree but then it is not for good reason that we have Usury laws in this country. Having a significant part of the population brought to financial ruin does have a trickle effect on the economy as a whole.
But as I said in another post the main problem I see with this legislation is that they are assuming that there is already any degree of privacy to email in the first place. And there is a big difference between regulating car loans, and regulating free email services which you sign up for voluntarily.
There is no privacy in email unless you are using encryption, and if you were using encryption google wouldn't be able to scan it anyway. Will gmail have POP3 access?
It's been said before, but email is about as private as a postcard. Privacy is important but let's not kid ourselves. Until both sender and recepient are using encryption on their own PC (and assuming that their PC is not infected with spyware, or otherwise insecure) there is no privacy when it comes to email. The best we can hope for is relative anonymity. Restricting one end of the email trail will not give us privacy.
So, how are the laws these days when it comes to having a free or open source email client with built in, easy to use encryption? I don't know, I haven't looked into it lately. But assuming things haven't changed much in the last few years, if our politicians really want us to have privacy they should decriminalizing encryption for the masses.
People who know what they are doing can fairly easily set up our own email clients, but until it is trivial for everyone we correspond with it won't do much good. Unless maybe Google encrypted it for you, and both sender and receiver are using gmail.
There is a guy that gives out stickers with copies of the UPC on his Safeway Club Card, which means that there are hundreds (thousands?) of people crediting their purchases to his account.
I think he is a slashdotter and that's how I found his webpage. I don't remember. I might be able to talk, but toasters don't have a whole lot of memory. I should join in and buy lots of embarrassing items. I wonder what his Terrorism Quotient is.
It is already a regular practice for Police to drive around neighborhoods with thermal scanners. When they come across a house that has a lot more heat, they start an investigation to see if they have an indoor garden.
If the range is as far enough to be detected from inside your house to the street, your privacy is compromized.
I really miss playing Oregon Trail on the apple II we had in our classroom.
So get an emulator, that's what I did. It is amazing playing all the neat games I played as a kid, only now I get 16 colors instead of just 3.
Personally I recommend AppleWin for those using evil err Windows OS. I'm sure there are emulators out there for Linux, but I've been too lazy thus far to find and install them.
After you have an emulator all you need is a ROM for Oregon Trail and then have lots of fun contributing to the total extermination of the Buffalo, Deer, and small rodents across our great nation.
OK, I haven't bothered to get MAME working in Linux yet, but in the MAME program I'm using in Windows it seems to only acknowledge 4 brands of joysticks/controllers, and will not recognize the cheap joystick I already own.
Is there a way around this?
Playing on the keyboard is OK, and the X-Arcade controller looks really kewl, but I just can't afford it right now.
Slashdot Mirror
I've often wondered how they would react if you asked for the same rights that they ask of you -
to tape, edit, and broadcast the performance.
How many people have the broadcasting abilities of a cable network, let alone a TV (airwaves) network?
At least you could put it on KaZaA I suppose. But it isn't going to repair the damage done to you if you've been slandered or libeled by the mainstream corporate media.
If you are an anti-spam activist, I don't think obfuscating will protect you from spammers wanting revenge.
He probably has good filters, and plenty of disc space.
I do have some questions about a couple:
Now, my prospective, like a lot of slashdotters, is as a US citizen. When the US signs on to a treaty, it becomes law. However, laws cannot override the constitution, and Copyright and Fair Use rights are a part of the constitution. Therefore, at least in this country, this attempt to thwart Fair Use would be unconstitutional, even though it is an international treaty.
However, how this law is treated in other countries can affect us. A major problem with copyright in this country is that its length is being continually lengthened. The top ten list does not discuss length of copyright, but I wonder if it is trying to make copyright last forever, or to start the timer over every time you broadcast something.
Anyway, other countries might limit copyright for a shorter length than our country, but if their copyright and fair use laws are not part of the constitution, this might be changed by this treaty. So while before we could look forward to downloading stuff from other countries when it enters the public domain in that country, now it will be lawfully protected by copyright in perpetuity. But this goes against the spirit of the reason that copyright was created in the first place.
Also interesting is #10
It seems ridiculous that a broadcaster would be able to usurp the copyright from its owner simply by broadcasting it. Already there are several people making jokes about this in this discussion. It sounds more like the copyright holder would maintain their rights, but that broadcasters would be given rights to intellectual property that they don't even own.
This makes me think of how big corporations will use songs in their commercials without permission or paying royalties. This has happened a lot to Fishbone who are even an RIAA signed band. So, I wonder, would this give big broadcasters "the right" to violate individual people's copyright?
I wonder, will they get sued by David Letterman for having a top 10 list?
Anyway, the link in the headline doesn't link directoy to the top 10 list.
Gotta love #2: It defies the Laws of Physics.
From The Inscrutable 8-Ball Revealed
...At this stage in the disassembly, the authors believed it might be neccessary to drain the blue fluid before cutting the shell.... At this step, the rotary tool was converted from drill mode to cutting mode....
Some people would just smash the eight ball with a hammer. I guess I'm glad I read this before I ever tried that.
I suppose I shouldn't joke about this. Some people would like to take apart a toaster with a hammer. (There's gotta be some joke in here about only tool and nail.)
Only if he's jewish. (Score:-1, Offtopic)
Dear Mods and Meta-Mods
This is a referance to my joke: But if you forgot safety and go temporarily blind, at least you can turn your Chinatown apartment into one big computer and discover a way to predict the stock market.
Which, in turn, is a play on the movie Pi. The main character in this movie is Jewish, and discusses elements of Jewish Mysticism. Therefore, I don't think that lonesome phreak was being anti-semitic, just referancing the movie.
I didn't think I would have to explain this.
I would think this movie is popular among slashdotters.
Here is the map of the transit for 2004.
And here is the map of the transit for 2012.
So while I won't get to see it this year unless I hop in my car and drive east for about 20 hours without rest, I will get to see it in 2012, unless I'm in Chille or Argentina, or something.
The further north you are, the better your chances of seeing it.
If you're in Antarctica you won't see it at all.
Don't be ridiculous. The tax rate on small businesses is so absurdly high that it's only reasonable to try to hide some of that income.
Maybe, but I pay taxes too and I need a receite, or at least to pay by check to get the write-off I need for my small business.
I'M BLIND!!!!
For one thing, it doesn't start for another day and an hour or so.
(I'll admit that I panicked and rushed outside and took quick looks at the sun, before I came back and read the article and realized we still have about 25 hours until it even starts.
For another thing, slashdot was kind enough to post a link to safety instructions in the headline.
So, what are solar filters? How much do they cost and where can I get one if I want to drive across the country in a mad dash to catch it at sunrise in South Dakota or whatever?
I've been wanting to check out that Wall Drugs that so many people have bumper stickers for for awhile anyway. Maybe they sell solar filters? But if I'm going to drive halfway across the country I want more then just a pinhole thingy.
Who's up for a road trip?
But if you forgot safety and go temporarily blind, at least you can turn your Chinatown apartment into one big computer and discover a way to predict the stock market.
How Long does it take to drive to Alaska?
They can see it at Sunrise, no wait, that's sunset.
I guess it would make more sense to drive east and see it at sunrise. More time to get there. How far would I have to drive? from this map it looks like I'd have to be east of Colorado. I wish gas wasn't so expensive these days.
Never thought there would be a reason at this point in history to be envious of people in Iraq. They'll get to see the whole thing.
At least we have 8 years to prepair for the next viewing. This sounds pretty kewl.
Flamebait?
Who are they baiting? The anti-pr0n movement? Focus on the Family and their lot?
I'll admit their statistics, like most statistics in the mainstream media, are vauge and useless.
But also consider this. How much of your time do you spend online searching for stuff, and how much of your time do you spend looking at the stuff you were searching for (pr0n or otherwise)? Using a search engine is a means to an end. It would be more suprising to find out that most people spend most of their time searching for stuff, but never looking at it, to say nothing of bookmarks and hyperlinks in non-search-engine-web-pages.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll get back to looking at pictures of hot french toast.
Don't be so sure. I had an epiphany yesterday after reading this article on the BBC website yesterday.
The situation probably is that most people don't know and don't care about Intelectual Property. I once got into an argument with a co-worker over the difference between copyright and trademark, and her argument was basically "What's the difference."
When most people don't understand what patents are for, and what they are, and are not supposed to protect, and when and when not they should be granted, when they don't know and don't care is it any wonder that our patent system is in such a mess?
Yes, a few around here will disagree, but outside the computer geeks and patent lawyers most people are too willfully ignorant to respect or disrespect the USPTO. Never underestimate the power of stupidity. It is the most powerful force in the universe. If only we could build a car that ran on the stuff, the world might be a better place. Either that or we'd have lots of car accidents.
Well, I guess someone should post a link to a previous ask slashdot about air filters.
Not to mention that the very article we are discussing is people trying to tape The Day After Tomorrow. Still, dispite how bad the movie was, it was worth the money to see Los Angeles destroyed and New York turned into a giant ice skating ring. Just ignore all the acting and it is a very enjoyable movie.
When I read the grandparent post, I was mainly thinking of people with laptops. Pacemakers didn't occure to me. Maybe because none of my grandparents had them. Of course, being a Talking Toaster makes having a pacemaker a moot point.
I'm suprised I didn't think of credit cards. Just about everyone has an ATM and/or Credit Card these days. Hopefully Principal Skinner doesn't work for the MPAA.
Did anyone notice this little sidebar?
Did anyone notice that it was never clarified, not even in the article?
Patents have nothing to do with keeping anything secret. That's what Trade Secrets are for. What patents are about is the exact opposite of keeping innovations secret. They are about publishing innovation so that the whole world (or at least country) may benefit. Patents are an insentive to publish the details of newly developed technology. In exchange you get a temporary exclusive rights to the technology that you developed.
This is basic information for anyone that knows anything about Intelectual Property laws. However, it seems that a few people at the BBC either don't have a clear grasp of this, or maybe forgot to clarify this. Consider that the BBC is a lot more thorough than most of the mainstream media here in the states, and how few Americans are likely to pay attention to our own mainstream let alone foreign media like the BBC. It's no wonder that most people are clueless as to how out of control things are getting with to abuses in Intelectual Property Law, and therefore, why so many people are getting away with it.
Heck, a lot of people doing the abusing don't even realize that what they are doing is an abuse of the system, or at least they act like it.
At a local record store they refer to bootlegs as "Italian Imports."
For instance, suppose you are looking through the Dead Can Dance CDs, it will have a note on the divider to 'ask at the counter for "Italian Imports" for more CDs.'
I've read the article not once now but twice.
Are they drafting this legislation specifically for google?
I seem to remember something about it being bad policy to create laws for specific people or companies. OK, I feel less threatened by curbing corporations but it seems kinda funny considering that google is one of the less evil of the corporations out there.
How is this going to affect Hotmail and Yahoo etc.?
Do other free email providers already scan email?
Maybe they do it but they just don't tell anyone?
The fact that Google is open about it at least gives the idea that they will make an effort to keep their noses clean while doing it. But then I'm assuming that google is less evil than most corporations.
Whatever. I don't consider protecting people from their own stupidity to be a major legislative priority -- all that ever does is end up hurting the rest of us who have some detectible level of brain activity.
To some extent I agree but then it is not for good reason that we have Usury laws in this country. Having a significant part of the population brought to financial ruin does have a trickle effect on the economy as a whole.
But as I said in another post the main problem I see with this legislation is that they are assuming that there is already any degree of privacy to email in the first place. And there is a big difference between regulating car loans, and regulating free email services which you sign up for voluntarily.
There is no privacy in email unless you are using encryption, and if you were using encryption google wouldn't be able to scan it anyway. Will gmail have POP3 access?
It's been said before, but email is about as private as a postcard. Privacy is important but let's not kid ourselves. Until both sender and recepient are using encryption on their own PC (and assuming that their PC is not infected with spyware, or otherwise insecure) there is no privacy when it comes to email. The best we can hope for is relative anonymity. Restricting one end of the email trail will not give us privacy.
So, how are the laws these days when it comes to having a free or open source email client with built in, easy to use encryption? I don't know, I haven't looked into it lately. But assuming things haven't changed much in the last few years, if our politicians really want us to have privacy they should decriminalizing encryption for the masses.
People who know what they are doing can fairly easily set up our own email clients, but until it is trivial for everyone we correspond with it won't do much good. Unless maybe Google encrypted it for you, and both sender and receiver are using gmail.
There is a guy that gives out stickers with copies of the UPC on his Safeway Club Card, which means that there are hundreds (thousands?) of people crediting their purchases to his account.
I think he is a slashdotter and that's how I found his webpage. I don't remember. I might be able to talk, but toasters don't have a whole lot of memory. I should join in and buy lots of embarrassing items. I wonder what his Terrorism Quotient is.
It is already a regular practice for Police to drive around neighborhoods with thermal scanners. When they come across a house that has a lot more heat, they start an investigation to see if they have an indoor garden.
If the range is as far enough to be detected from inside your house to the street, your privacy is compromized.
What was the third color?
At home it was Green. At school it was Orange.
I really miss playing Oregon Trail on the apple II we had in our classroom.
So get an emulator, that's what I did.
It is amazing playing all the neat games I played as a kid, only now I get 16 colors instead of just 3.
Personally I recommend AppleWin for those using evil err Windows OS. I'm sure there are emulators out there for Linux, but I've been too lazy thus far to find and install them.
After you have an emulator all you need is a ROM for Oregon Trail and then have lots of fun contributing to the total extermination of the Buffalo, Deer, and small rodents across our great nation.
And after all that... Death to All Extremists!
OK, I haven't bothered to get MAME working in Linux yet, but in the MAME program I'm using in Windows it seems to only acknowledge 4 brands of joysticks/controllers, and will not recognize the cheap joystick I already own.
Is there a way around this?
Playing on the keyboard is OK, and the X-Arcade controller looks really kewl, but I just can't afford it right now.