Comments on: World’s Fair Use Day

By: Silas Barta

Silas Barta — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:58:55 +0000

@D: I understand the concept of an analogy. Do you (or Stephan) understand the concept of “over-the-****ing top”?

Jeez. Torrenting Harry Potter does not make you Harriet Tubman.

By: D

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:27:56 +0000

@Silas.

Perhaps between the time you took from not understanding the article, to formulating your inane comment, could have been better spent trying to fully comprehend the very basic concept of an analogy?

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:42:10 +0000

I went to some sort of fair use panel here in Ann Arbor last spring. The “experts” were two lawyers and two artist types (the guy from Negativland, who easily made the most sense, and some other completely unmemorable fellow who contributed little). After endless questions from people in the audience asking if the law allowed for this or that specific example, I got up and was able to suggest that the concept of intellectual property was a fraud and Richard Stallman and Austrian economics and so on and so forth. I was mostly looked at like I was from Mars, then the dimmer of the two lawyers (he actually used the non-word “copywritten” more than once and stated the First Amendment “granted” us certain rights) reiterated a bunch of semi-coherent gibberish about “what the law is.” I guess I can’t blame him; being as how he has a direct economic interest in upholding this particular fraud he has every incentive to stick his fingers in his ears and go “NA-NA-NA” at any sort of “is-ought” discussion. But I definitely came away from the whole thing with the idea that fair use is indeed nothing more than a half-assed jumble of arbitrary exceptions with little rhyme or reason to them.

By: Deefburger

Deefburger — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:51:53 +0000

I just applaud the fact that the issue is even being challenged in this way. It can only lead to greater discussion and people getting a better understanding. The general populace has to actually think about this before anything will change. So, the more the merrier.

By: NonAnitAnarchist

NonAnitAnarchist — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:29:22 +0000

Is that really what the Pro-IP position has devolved into?

Then you’ve done well, Stephan

By: Silas Barta

Silas Barta — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:21:47 +0000

Yep, Stephan, that’s right. Prohibiting unauthorized reproduction of an intellectual work that only exists in the first place because of its creator is the same thing as forcing someone to obey your every order for life.

Why didn’t I see the similarity before?