SOPA: Discuss.

[Illusions]

The point is not to bemoan the loss of the old model but to try to use the new possibilities provided. Gabe Newell (Steam) stated that he thinks that piracy is not so much a problem of price rather than convenience. Make it convenient to buy your wares. Make it easy. Don't make them jump through hoops.

There are things other than video games, television shows, music and movies that exist as intellectual property, and intellectual property that isn't owned by large corporations. If I were to come up with a popular image, should I have no recourse if, for instance, a company decides to reproduce it on posters, t-shirts, etc? I understand that Nintendo can shrug off someone selling something Mario themed, but its less likely for an individual to do so.

[Ominous Gamer]

Curious, how would you fix the current system to help the little guy? US courts are useless for such people, and such cases usually end up fixed (maybe) via public shaming.

[agamemnus]

Wow, you really don't get any of this. What I said was the exact opposite of what you think I said. What I said was; that in the copyright chain ONLY people between the producer and end-user can steal. The end-user does not distribute anything thus is not obliged to pay anything wrt copyrights. A distributor who doesn't pay copyrights is the thief.

Ok, then. That'd be fine, but only theoretically. What about someone who is near-penniless and distributes my theoretical program to everyone? Sure, I can sue him and win for 100 million dollars, but I'll never collect...

Copyright owners could make a lot of money by taking the market back in a smart way. They could come out a lot better even by cutting out the middle men.

But again, I'd agree with you if it weren't for the fact that, for (as an example) copyright owners for (EPISODES of) good TV shows are either the distributors (for independent studios) or they are distributors because they own the studios.

Again, Comcast. Owns dozens and dozens of networks and good shows through NBC Universal, so no incentive to bypass the middle-man. (itself!)

[Hazir]

Ok, then. That'd be fine, but only theoretically. What about someone who is near-penniless and distributes my theoretical program to everyone? Sure, I can sue him and win for 100 million dollars, but I'll never collect...

But he is still the thief.

But again, I'd agree with you if it weren't for the fact that, for (as an example) copyright owners for (EPISODES of) good TV shows are either the distributors (for independent studios) or they are distributors because they own the studios.

Again, Comcast. Owns dozens and dozens of networks and good shows through NBC Universal, so no incentive to bypass the middle-man. (itself!)

Well, that is their problem isn't it? I never asked them to set up a distribution system that entirely ignores the fact that we're living in the 21st century.

[Illusions]

Curious, how would you fix the current system to help the little guy? US courts are useless for such people, and such cases usually end up fixed (maybe) via public shaming.

I'm completely uncertain, as the current system is pretty broken. We don't really have an effective method for determining whether or not something is novel enough to warrant protection (for instance, someone attempting to protect a "Slide to Unlock" feature on a device should be laughed away), and we also don't really have a means to ensure that the little guy can be protected from larger corporations infringing their intellectual property (since the larger companies have vastly more money for litigation). Even if we instituted a loser-pays system, there would likely be ways found to abuse it.

[agamemnus]

But he is still the thief.

He is not the thief. You said so yourself. He is violating copyright law. Everyone else is the thief...

[Ominous Gamer]

Good luck to you guys across the pool with fighting against ACTA

[Lewkowski]

So any thoughts on Megaupload?

[agamemnus]

So any thoughts on Megaupload?

Fat is all.