No Lending! September 27, 2007
The internet is abuzz with news about Amazon’s DRM free MP3 store. Early reports are positive. High bit rate MP3’s at or below iTunes prices with the top 100 songs costing only $0.89. There is even support for Linux in the works.
On the down side you can’t re-download tracks you buy so you need to back up your music. Also, you can’t lend your music to friends like you can with a physical CD. That is understandable given that the tracks are digital files as opposed to a CD.
Amazon’s “no lending” policy reminded me about a scan of a physical CD label that a reader sent me a while back (click on image to read the copyright notice). Two things caught my attention about the label on this 2-track UK release of the most excellent band Maroon 5. First, the copyright notice got way more ink on the label then the actual artists. That speaks volumes about how high the entertainment industry regards the “artist”. Second, the copyright notice forbids “lending”. I guess you can lend someone almost anything you own, except CD’s from the UK.
Cable Lobbying Group Crushes Consumer Choice, again September 22, 2007
I was elated when I heard the EPB (Electric Power Board) In Chattanooga announce their Fiber to the Home initiative. But there was a dark cloud looming overhead from the very moment I heard the news. I knew the powerful cable and telephone lobby groups would never let an alternative to their broadband services see the light of day if they could prevent it. They have attacked every attempt ever made to drag America out of the digital ghetto.
So this morning when I read on the Irresponsible Journalism blog about this article in the Times Free Press titled “Cable TV group files lawsuit against EPB plan” I was not surprised. I was furious, pissed off beyond belief, but not surprised.
The Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association (TCTA) filed suit in Chancery Court of Davidson County Friday. They want us to know “EPB Chattannoga’s FTTH is NOT a Good Idea“. I looked briefly at some of their material and it absolutely reeks of the same spin they feed congress. According to the TCTA’s “facts” “There is plenty of competition..” and “Fiber to the home offers no additional services to Chattanooga“. I tend to think of a 100mb Internet connection as a new service I would like to have! Apparently the TCTA thinks keeping up with the rest of the world is a bad idea. You can read the grounds for the suit from the article but it makes no difference. A legal roadblock was as inevitable as the sunrise.
Many people in the UK have dozens of Internet Service Providers to chose from and hundreds of different service plans as reported in this post on Public Knowledge. If you want to make yourself sick look at the spreadsheet mentioned in that PK piece, and that was in 2004! The more up to date figures are truly soul crushing if you live in the US. In Japan many people have 100mb connections for less than half of what Comcast charges for “Up-to” 1.5mb.
Those cute little turtles on Comcast’s TV commercials don’t represent DSL. They represent the USA. Our giant cable and telephone corporations are a disgrace to the nation. They are incapable of providing the same level of service and low cost enjoyed by the people of 15 or 20 other nations around the world and refuse to allow anyone else to pick up their slack. So screw you, TCTA, for screwing the people of Chattannooga.
Boycott Regal Cinemas August 9, 2007
Fair Use Day is joining the call for a boycott of Regal Cinemas .
Jhannet Sejas was celebrating her 19th birthday with her boyfriend when she took a 20 second video clip of the movie “Transformers” to show to her 13-year-old brother. Minutes later the Marymount University sophomore was hauled off to jail for illegally recording a motion picture.
This is not the kind of world I want to leave to my children. This isn’t the kind of world I grew up in. This isn’t the kind of world they deserve to live in. Things should get better for our youngest generation of people. This is just sad and ridiculous. What will a boycott accomplishment? It will send a clear message. Treat us like criminals and we will stop coming to your theater.
We have the responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This young lady did not intend to distribute 20 seconds of a video for monetary gains. She just wanted to show her brother. Do ya think he will want to spend money to see it now?
You can find Regal Cinemas in your area here
More on the story…
Free Culture @ NYU Boycott Regal Cinemas
Slashfilm.com Teen Arrested for Recording 20 Second Movie Clip
Washingtonpost.com Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom
BoingBoing.net Boycott Regal Cinemas for suing over 20-second clip
Consumerist.com Regal Cinemas Facing Boycott After Pressing Charges Again Teen “Pirate”
….No, but I did get sued by a Holiday Inn last night July 25, 2007
If you use images of a Holiday Inn from this web site for any reason you can get sued. This is another example of idiotic copyright notices that ignore copyright law and seek to restrict any and all use of even the worst quality material. The images have text that read “No use without permission of InterContinental Hotels Group.”
This post is an example of fair use. It’s criticism of stupidity.
(previously on fair use day Copyright is broken)
We couldn’t very well call ourselves fairuseday without a post on this May 1, 2007
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More on the story…
BoingBoing Digg users revolt over AACS key
BBC DVD DRM row sparks user rebellion
Slashdot Censoring a Number
C|Net Unhappy Digg users bury site in protest
YouTube Oh Nine, Eff Nine (nice musical version!)
… and many many many more
Forbes Digg’s DRM Revolt
Wikipedia HD DVD encryption key controversy
Flickr set Censorship … meh
xkcd Code Talkers
EFF 09 f9: A Legal Primer
Ars AACS LA: Internet “revolt” be damned, this fight is not over (hahaha, you’re damn right it’s not!)
TLF Digg, Network Neutrality, and the Long Tail
Freedom To Tinker Why the 09ers Are So Upset
BoingBoing Juggling monkey makes ape out of AACS
Userfriendly.org HD-DVD Sudoku
ThinkGeek Meeting notes from a recent hypothetical meeting in the AACS-LA* office.
READ CAREFULLY, Attack of the EULA February 1, 2007
Apparently some people think they can force you into an agreement that strips you of your rights no matter how idiotic the terms are. Then there are other people like The Small Print Project who “make mincemeat of End User License Agreements”. If these types of “agreements” are truly binding then we are fortunate to have the Reasonable Agreement at our disposal. It goes like this, and yes, it does apply to this post,
READ CAREFULLY. By reading this blog-post, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (”BOGUS AGREEMENTS”) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
The idiotic terms mentioned above prohibit hyperlinks to or even mentioning the URL of the site and state that “Visitors have no rights whatsoever in the site content. Use of website content for any reason is unlawful unless it is done with express contract or permission of the website“. I don’t think US Copyright law agrees with that outright lie.
