Tag: intellectual property

The RSC needs to put their IP reform paper back up. (Hi, Brian Straessle!)

Let me save Brian Straessle of the RSC some time: I understand that there currently are “several different perspectives” on US copyright law among their members.  It’s just that this one should be adopted by all of them; it’s a refreshingly blunt and remarkably straightforward argument for ending what is frankly ridiculous copyright regulatory regime in this country.  In fact, something along these lines should be introduced in the House, passed, and then waved in the Senate’s face.  Loudly.  Publicly.  With every technical news site in the country cc’ed.

By the way, I don’t blame Brian.  He’d probably agree with me, in his private capacity. But he needs to let his bosses know that the conservative base is going to be against giving the entertainment industry (which HATES us) a free ride when it comes to intellectual property.  It would also be nice if the tech sites had to go hold some Democratic feet to the fire to get IP reform passed.

Walt Disney to acquire LucasFilm (and it’s worse than you think).

This news is undoubtedly going to have people screaming “DO NOT WANT” for some time, but let me really piddle in your corn flakes: you know all those Star Wars parodies?  All those great ones?  You know how they’re all over the place, largely because George Lucas has the laudable quality of being generally tolerant of people playing in his sandbox?

You notice how that doesn’t happen so much with Disney products?

Yeah.  There’s a reason for that.

Moe Lane

PS: Also: hey, how long can Disney keep its intellectual property out of the public domain?  That’s right, kids: forever!  Or they’ll die trying.  Amazing what you can accomplish when you have the resources to buy a couple of Senators and a bunch of Congressmen…

#rsrh Please note this violation of copyright, @sesameworkshop…

…which is really quite brazen:

Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television’s “Sesame Street,” from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the “Million Muppet March.”

The demonstration is planned for November 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election.

Obviously, if the two people who came up with this waste of time manage to get more than a thousand people it’ll be a minor miracle; but trademark violation is trademark violation, and the MMM was certainly remarkably indifferent to respecting Sesame Workshop’s intellectual property here.  So the Sesame Workshop needs to ask itself: which group does it want to annoy?  Liberals (who stereotypically largely don’t have kids), or Republicans (who stereotypically do)?

Moe Lane