ColumnsCopywriting Wrongs
Posted 09/24/08 at 05:00:00 PM by Quinn Norton
With a presidential election around the corner, let’s look at how people pervert copyright law to squelch speech. Copyright takedown notices were never meant to stifle whistle-blowers or detractors, yet that’s become a popular use for them. Individual critics are likely to go broke even if they win a case, so people and ISPs tend to back down at lawyer point.
It's a cruel and efficient tactic, of which more after the jump.
ColumnsIP Rights Fairy Tale
Posted 08/27/08 at 03:00:00 PM by Quinn Norton
Not very long ago, in a land not at all far away, there was a little company called Blueport. It held the copyright on a piece of software that the US Air Force liked using for logistics. Blueport protected its software with a time bomb—a bit of code that made the software self-destruct when the license expired. That date was approaching, and Blueport wanted to negotiate a new license with the USAF—and you know, get paid.
Instead, it got a bit of the ol’ shock and awe. The Air Force not only didn’t pay up, it paid big contractor SAIC ($2.5 million in lobbying in 2007) to reverse engineer Blueport’s program and disable the time bomb. The Air Force also paid SAIC to rewrite the program, and by rewrite I mean simply cut and paste any of the original code that seemed useful.
More egregious IP shenanigans after the jump!
ColumnsGetting Away (from DMCA)
Posted 07/21/08 at 01:32:48 PM by Quinn Norton
Who doesn’t love a Caribbean island? Imagine yourself on a beach in Antigua with a drink that comes in a hollow coconut. Beautiful women walk by. The sun begins to set, and you’ve just finished importing your DVD collection to a hard drive. It's good to be free from the DMCA.
Hit the jump for more fair-use vacation ideas!
ColumnsByte Rights: Fair Use Manifesto
Posted 05/14/08 at 07:27:37 PM by Quinn Norton
Our latest columnist, Quinn Norton, explains where she stands on the thorny issues of copyright, fair use, and piracy.
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