Intellectual Poverty

HBO executive: Rampant piracy of ‘Game of Thrones’ is a ‘compliment’

"Contrary to popular thinking, the rampant piracy of 'Game of Thrones' has not harmed the network that airs it, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told Entertainment Weekly on Sunday, just hours before the show’s season three premiere. 'I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but [piracy] is a compliment of sorts,' Lombardo reportedly said. 'The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network.' The show’s creator, George R. R. Martin, said as much earlier in March." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHBO executive: Rampant piracy of ‘Game of Thrones’ is a ‘compliment’

Don’t Expand the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Destroy It!

"Aaron Swartz faced 13 counts under CFAA, up to 35 years in prison, for copying too many files from the online academic resource JSTOR. This threat of overwhelming state sponsored persecution has been regarded as the reason for Swartz tragic suicide January 11th, 2013. The collective outrage generated from Swartz’s story has brought activists together in an effort to gain support for legislation that would reform and clarify CFAA, referred to as Aaron’s Law. It appears that the House Judiciary Committee is not interested in Aaron’s Law’s spirit of reform and clarity, instead they prefer to see CFAA expanded and strengthened." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDon’t Expand the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Destroy It!

How to Defeat CISPA Once And For All!

"From SOPA and PIPA to ACTA to CISPA to the TPP and now back to CISPA, internet activists have been caught up in a deliberately bewildering game of whack-a-mole with freedom-crushing legislation. Now, ISPs are doing an end run around the whole legislative process altogether and voluntarily collaborating with the entertainment industry to spy on their own customers. Join us today on The Corbett Report as we explore a real, grassroots, alternative solution to the problem of internet censorhip that can help to end this government/corporate control over our communication once and for all." Continue reading →

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‘Pirate Bay’ for 3D printing launched

"The company that developed 3D printed gun parts has announced plans to launch a new firm, dedicated to copyright-free blueprints for a range of 3D printable objects. The firm, Defcad, is the brainchild of Cody Wilson, law student and self-styled crypto-anarchist. Mr Wilson said the revolution which many predict 3D printing will bring about will only happen if it can be freed from corporate ties. The blueprints available on the site will be for 'important stuff', he said. 'Not trinkets, not garden gnomes but the things institutions and industries have an interest in keeping from us; access, medical devices, drugs, goods, guns.'" Continue reading →

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Supreme Court rules ‘first sale doctrine’ applies to lawful copies of a copyrighted work

"The US Supreme Court sided Tuesday with a former Thai student who made $90,000 reselling text books bought abroad and sparked a copyright row with a publisher. Supap Kirtsaeng, who arrived in the United States in 1997 to study math at the University of Southern California on a scholarship, had asked his friends and family to buy the books, published by John Wiley & Sons, which were cheaper back home. John Wiley & Sons filed a complaint in 2008 alleging illegal importation and resale without the payment of exclusive distribution rights protected by copyright. Lower courts had sided with the publisher, imposing a $600,000 fine on Kirtsaeng." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court rules ‘first sale doctrine’ applies to lawful copies of a copyrighted work

Federal judge: ‘Clipping’ news articles violates copyright law

"A US federal judge has ruled that the online news 'clipping' service Meltwater violates copyright law by using excerpts from Associated Press articles, the parties said Thursday. 'Investigating and writing about newsworthy events occurring around the globe is an expensive undertaking and enforcement of the copyright laws permits AP to earn the revenue that underwrites that work,' the judge said in a 91-page opinion. 'Permitting Meltwater to take the fruit of AP’s labor for its own profit, without compensating AP, injures AP’s ability to perform this essential function of democracy.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal judge: ‘Clipping’ news articles violates copyright law

Forget the Cellphone Fight — We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own

"Copyright is impacting more people than ever before because the line between hardware and software, physical and digital has blurred. The issue goes beyond cellphone unlocking, because once we buy an object we should own it. We should be able to lift the hood, unlock it, modify it, repair it … without asking for permission from the manufacturer. This is a property rights issue, and current copyright law gets it backwards, turning regular people — like students, researchers, and small business owners — into criminals. Manufacturers have systematically used copyright in this manner over the past 20 years to limit our access to information." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForget the Cellphone Fight — We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own

Supreme Court upholds mom’s $220,000 fine for downloading music

"The US Supreme Court refused Monday to take up the case of a woman ordered to pay a $220,000 fine for illegally downloading music off the internet. The country’s top court upheld without comment the verdict against Jammie Thomas-Rasset in the long-running, high-profile digital piracy case. Thomas-Rasset, a mother of four from Minnesota, has been fighting a court battle since 2006 over violating intellectual property laws in her use of the file-sharing program Kazaa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court upholds mom’s $220,000 fine for downloading music

U.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle

"In New Zealand, data-content entrepreneur Kim Dotcom is under attack for copyright violations. In the US, Pfc. Bradley Manning faces 20 years in prison for confessing that he sent archives of military and diplomatic files to WikiLeaks, which subsequently released the information to the world. Now it seems Dotcom is losing his battle and may end up being extradited to the US and Manning may end up with close to a lifetime in prison. But on a deeper level, the suffering of these two individuals (warranted or not) will not diminish the changes being ushered in by the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle

Aaron Swartz is Dead, Now White House Adjusts Rules

"In what has to be one of the more cynical moves in recent US political history, the White House has announced (see above) that more information freely distributed is better than less information available on via subscription. This turn of events come about six weeks after the death information activist Aaron Swartz, who supposedly killed himself when faced with severe prosecution over the intent to distribute 'non-legal' publicly-funded information to the public. Swartz faced over 30 years of jail time for his 'crime,' and apparently committed suicide over his prosecution, we learn, after all, that such 'laws' are fungible and can be changed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAaron Swartz is Dead, Now White House Adjusts Rules