Tag Archives: Don
Ross Pruden’s Favorite Techdirt Posts of the Week
Choosing my favorite posts this week has been a challenge because a single week of Techdirt posts is a lot to read and digest for me. Truth be told, I’m the world’s slowest reader . I’d like to think it’s because I have to frequently stop and re-read to grok the full import of each post… after all, there’s always a nugget of insight to be gleaned on Techdirt. Not a week goes by without a delightful debunking, comic flip-off, outrageous abuse of trademark protection, or some new lesson in law or economic theory. While I often see the original articles on Techdirt in other places, I never miss a chance to read the commentary here on Techdirt.
Let’s kick things off with two excellent comic flip-offs:
A musician names his album, “Kevinspacey”. The real Kevin Spacey has his lawyer send a cease-and-desist letter because “Kevin Spacey” has been trademarked. (You could even do that? Huh. Another lesson learned.) And the musician’s response? Relabel his album, Evinspacey . I already want to buy the album and I know nothing about it.
Writer makes an comment about Stetson hats. Stetson sends him a letter insisting he add the ® symbol when using their brand name. What was the writer’s response? Stetson® hats suck . Hopefully, this will show the trademark attorneys that, sometimes, the best move is no move at all.
As for trademark abuses, Access Copyright claimed a trademark on the copyright symbol itself . Is there no end to the madness? Is our very DNA going to trademarked one day? As if that isn’t bad enough, Disney slapped a trademark on Seal Team 6 . As Mike put it, “I wonder if the Navy SEALs themselves will file a protest. I would imagine that you generally don’t want to be on the other side of a dispute with Navy SEALs.”
I learned more about the law this week as Mike explained how he had to file a Freedom of Information request about ICE’s anti-piracy videos . These are the kinds of posts I really look forward to because they illustrate the law in action, something few non-lawyers ever have a chance to see: …[T]he three Freedom of Information requests — filed using the new system from MuckRock.com, an open government tool that seeks to publish documents retrieved via such requests and which recently built a tool to make it easier to make such requests (which I’m now testing) — are as follows:
1. A FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security, concerning the details of any licensing agreement with the City of New York or with NBC Universal directly.
2. A request under NY State’s Freedom of Information Law concerning details of any licensing agreement with Homeland Security concerning the same videos.
3. Separately, a second request to NYC, concerning communications between the Mayor’s Office and NBC Universal or the MPAA concerning the details behind those videos as well.
The NY State law says that the city must respond to my request within five business days. DHS has a longer period of time to respond.
It sounds small, but posts like this are a welcome reminder to me that the law isn’t a nuisance to us, but is also there to serve us; filing a FOI request is iconic of that power.
In the same vein, I was very glad to see the stories about Amazon and Google not rolling over at the government’s whim. First, Amazon says they won’t pay taxes in other states unless the government says they have to : …Jeff Bezos is claiming that such attempts to collect sales tax are unconstitutional without Congressional approval: And in the U.S., the Constitution prohibits states from interfering in interstate commerce. And there was a Supreme Court case decades ago that clarified that businesses — it was mail-order at that time because the Internet did not exist — that mail-order companies could not be required to collect sales tax in states where they didn’t have what’s called “nexus.”
And that’s a very clear decision.
This is, of course, entirely accurate. I’ve often wondered how Amazon was going to handle states demanding back taxes on sales within their borders. Always seemed like a sticky issue to me, and one which keeps cropping up in different ways. For example, Virgin’s Megastore on the Champs Ellysees in Paris, France stayed open on weekends and the French government was fielding complaints from local shop owners who said they couldn’t possibly compete with a big superstore like Virgin being open on Sundays. So the French government threatened Virgin with a big fine (if memory serves, it was about $100,000 a day) if they stayed open on Sundays. What did Virgin do? They stayed open. I can’t recall how long they stayed open like that, but it seemed incredibly intrusive to me that the government would step in to prevent one business from competing in that way. In Amazon’s case, it’s the states who want a cut of Amazon’s sales because they feel it’s stealing business away from their state. But hey, too bad . Find a better way to draw customers to make purchases in state so you can keep your taxes. Don’t go whining about how Big Bad Amazon is a moustache-twirling tax evader. Quite on the contrary, Amazon is saying they would pay taxes for interstate commerce: Bezos also points out that Amazon would be perfectly happy with Congress stepping in and creating a sales tax system that works across states. You have to hand it to Amazon. They know the law, they know their rights, and they’re enforcing it. I welcome that. But the reason why this article is my favorite article on Techdirt, but not my favorite article on Slashdot, is the commentary: “This is, of course, entirely accurate.” Were it not for that single trailing line, that I know is coming from a well-read lawyer, I might have read that Slashdot article and been clueless. Is Bezos exaggerating? Is he twisting the law to suit his needs? Who would know the answer? Techdirt is, bar none, a supremo bullshit detector.
Also great to see is Google’s claim that they would fight PROTECT IP if it were passed because it would be disastrous to free speech. Most of the time I find that I’m against some new proposed law but I can’t quite express why. As ever, Mike does it effortlessly: …those in favor of PROTECT IP don’t seem to understand the technology that they’re regulating. So they don’t realize that they’re trying to create a “simple solution to complex problems,” and don’t recognize that they’re effectively breaking the internet and infringing on free speech rights. It’s not because they don’t like free speech. It’s because they don’t understand what they’re doing, and lobbyists for the entertainment industry insist this is needed to “fight piracy.” The problem is that this won’t “fight piracy” and will have massive unintended consequences. It’s good that Google is willing to make this an issue. I also got a weekly dose of lessons about statistics and economics from Techdirt as these two articles show. First, we have the superb, How To Lie With Statistics: France Pretends Hadopi Law Is Working . I lived eight years in France so I know a little something about how French culture works — watching Hadopi unfold has been, for me, one part anguish and two parts interminable laughter. France seems to have a long history of its citizens electing their representatives… then rebelling against them. Yes, this is of course an imperfect over-generalization, but there is a measure of truth in it. On the one hand, the French respect authority, but on the other hand, they like to rebel against it. Hadopi is a classic case of a government program enforcing its top-down will on a people determined to disregard it. So it’s no surprise to me that the actual data from Hadopi might be overstated. As Mike put it: The government and various agencies are running around touting the claim that, according to their survey the HADOPI law has convinced more than 50% of users to stop file sharing. Problem is, that’s not what the data really says. The real data shows that of people surveyed only 7% said either they “or someone close” had received a warning letter. Now, of those 7%, 50% claimed that they would stop infringing. Now, if you’re playing along with the home game, you should have quickly realized that the actual percentage of people surveyed is more like 3.5% — and I could argue that it’s even lower for a few key reasons: The key question asked wasn’t whether the individual would stop file sharing, but whether or not they or someone close to them had. Suddenly you have a big statistical problem, because — to take an extreme example — let’s say that everyone in a town knows the one big file sharer who shares content online, but no one else in the town does. And, that guy knows and makes it clear that if he gets an injunction, he’ll stop. Now, since everyone knows this guy, the reports from that town would be that 100% of people receive letters and 100% of those recipients would stop using P2P, even if that wasn’t true at all. Including the “or someone close to you” makes the effective data pretty close to useless, because there’s no way to separate out the overlap. The whole thing is based on a survey, which is notoriously unreliable in getting accurate data. People quite frequently answer what they think others want them to say, rather than what they’re really thinking. And, when asking them if they’ll stop engaging in illegal activity, many are simply going to say yes, even if they have no intention to follow through. That first point reminded me of confirmed kills in war. If twenty people each saw the same person get killed and report that same person as a separate kill, the estimated dead can be a grossly inflated number. Yet one more lesson I learned about how to question statistical claims. Seems like the best way to assure a solid number is to have statistics done by your most skeptical opponents.
The piece on Limewire was also a gratifying read. Recorded music sales are up after Limewire was shut down , so that must mean mission accomplished, right? Well, actually, no. Doesn’t look like that at all. In fact, Nielsen doesn’t even mention LimeWire’s shutdown in its note about this, attributing much of the increase to the Beatles finally coming to iTunes. And, actually, if you look at the same Nielsen reports going all the way back to 2006, they show music sales going up each year. It’s just that more of it is single tracks, rather than full overpriced albums. And finally, three “classic” Techdirt articles. First, I loved how Mike wrote about Jonathan Coulton, an unsigned musician, who made $500,000 last year . How many exceptions must we list before we show that it’s possible to make your own success if you understand business models and give fans what they want?
Second, the story of how Apple essentially gave the iFlow app developers an eviction notice : …Apple is now requiring us, as well as all other ebook sellers, to give them 30% of the selling price of any ebook that we sell from our iOS app. Unfortunately, because of the “agency model” that has been adopted by the largest publishers, our gross margin on ebooks after paying the wholesaler is less than 30%, which means that we would have to take a loss on all ebooks sold. This is not a sustainable business model. The iFlow developers go on to say they felt they did everything they could to ensure Apple was okay with their product, but then find out later that iBooks had been in development, and that Apple must have known about this conflict all along. Instead of Apple telling them outright, Apple effectively “jacked up the rents” so that it made no financial sense to stick around anymore. Rightly so, the iFlow app makers are furious. However, as Mike notes: “…[T]his really shouldn’t be too surprising. When you’re making a bet on a closed system and relying entirely on that, it’s inevitable that there are going to be issues. It’s one of the reasons why we keep hearing more and more developers wanting to move away from developing native iOS apps towards developing more open standard apps, such as in HTML 5. Not only does it make it easier to build cross platform apps, but it also means they’re not completely at the whims of a single company that’s been known to reverse direction with little notice.
Finally, the story of the faux children’s ebook that rocked the web . I personally received a copy of this ebook and was laughing so hard that, before I’d even finished reading it, I was already forwarding it to every parent I knew. Only after I’d hit the SEND button did it occur to me that I might have committed copyright infringement. While reading the Techdirt piece, I was happy to see that the hardcover book had reached #1 on Amazon, but also dismayed when I read, “Despite all of this, Akashic appears to believe that it’s still in its best interests to go after those hosting copies of the PDF or graphics, and have them take it down.” Wha??? Nobody even knew about this book before the pirated copies were distributed. Obscurity… piracy… obscurity… piracy… I choose obscurity!
These three posts were classic Techdirt because they pound at the heart of why businesses work or don’t work in this new Digital Age: pre-internet, neither Coulton nor the children’s ebook could have been as successful, and the iFlow developers made a fatal judgement about building their castle in someone else’s walled garden. These stories all illustrate the insane power of the internet, but also how a clear understanding of how business models function in the changing marketplace provide an indispensable advantage over one’s competition. Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
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A year after mine disaster, safety bill fails in Congress
A year after 29 coal miners were killed in West Virginia, a safety bill has failed and a backlog of safety cases has grown. As he delivered a eulogy last year for 29 men killed in the worst coal mine disaster in four decades, President Obama bowed his head and repeated a plea he had heard from mining families: “Don’t let this happen again.”
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Corvino: Help a hero
You may not know his name. You should. Frank Kameny has sometimes been called the “Rosa Parks” of the gay movement. Like most analogies, this one is imperfect. Parks’ civil disobedience was backed by an organized movement; Kameny had to forge a movement. Parks is in the history books; Kameny-like LGBT history more generally-is still largely overlooked. And while Parks retreated to a quieter life not long after her iconic bus ride, Kameny’s vocal leadership has spanned a half-century. [1] When Dr. Franklin Kameny was fired from his government job in 1957 for being gay, there was no national gay civil rights movement. It took pioneers like him to make it happen. Before pride parades, before Harvey Milk, before Stonewall, there was Frank. I’ve known Frank for many years, mostly via e-mail. He’s been to my home for dinner (incidentally, he likes peach schnapps). Regrettably, I’ve never been to his, though it was designated a D.C. historic landmark in 2009 in recognition of its-and Frank’s-tremendous role in civil rights history. The house and its indomitable owner need help. More on that in a moment. First, a few highlights of his amazing life. A Harvard-trained Ph.D. and World War II veteran, Frank was fired in 1957 from his job as an Army Map Service astronomer for being a homosexual. Unsure of his future employability and outraged by the injustice, he fought back, petitioning his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961. (They declined to hear it.) That year he co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington-a “homophile organization,” based on the original society in San Francisco. Soon thereafter, in 1963, he began a decades-long campaign to revoke D.C.’s sodomy law. He personally drafted the repeal bill that was passed 30 years later. Frank would likely correct me here: it was “30 years, one month, four days, and 11 hours.” He has that sort of relentless eye for detail. In 1965, he picketed in front of the White House for gay rights. Signs from that demonstration, stored in his attic for decades, are now in the Smithsonian’s collection. In 1968, he coined the slogan “Gay is Good,” an achievement of which he is particularly proud-probably because it captures his moral vision so simply and powerfully. In 1971, he became the first openly gay person to run for Congress (he lost). He was instrumental in the battle that led to the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973. He has continued to fight over the years against employment discrimination, sodomy laws, the military ban-injustice in all forms. And he has served as a moral elder for generations of movement leaders. The astronomer-turned-activist is now 85 and as spirited as ever. Thankfully, he has lived to see some of the fruits of his labor. In 2009, when President Obama signed a memorandum extending certain benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, he handed his pen to Kameny. That same year, the Federal Office of Personnel Management issued an apology to Kameny on behalf of the U.S. government. Without missing a beat, Kameny promptly sent a letter stating that he was expecting five decades of back pay. (He received no reply.) Frank continues to send off pointed letters in pursuit of justice. He is fond of reminding me and other “young” activists, whenever he hears us complaining amongst ourselves, “Don’t tell us. Tell them. Contact the people who can do something about it.” And that’s what I’m doing right now. To put it simply, Frank needs financial help. His modest Social Security check-his only income-is inadequate to cover his needs. An organization called Helping Our Brothers and Sisters (HOBS) has intervened on his behalf. From their website http://www.helpingourbrothersandsisters.com/donate.html [2]: “HOBS has worked with Dr. Kameny for more than a year, insuring that his basic life needs are met. “To honor our greatest living gay rights activist, HOBS provides Frank with taxi vouchers. We work to ensure that his utilities are paid (phone, electric, water). We have worked with many other fine organizations in coordinating his needs. “We are in constant communication with DC Government Officials, attempting to make sure city services are available to Dr. Kameny. We also gathered the donations in 2010 to pay Frank’s real estate taxes, of $2,000+.” All donations to HOBS this month go to Frank. Meanwhile, a Facebook page has launched in conjunction with this effort, entitled “Buy Frank a Drink [3].” The idea is not literally to buy him drinks, but to spare $10 (or whatever you can afford) for him. Frank has worked tirelessly for decades to make our lives better. It is simply not right that he should spend his twilight years in financial need. I’m asking you to visit the HOBS website now and buy Frank a (figurative) drink-or 10, or whatever you can-to thank him for his monumental efforts. And I’m asking our national organizations to get behind this campaign, for a man who made their work possible. He surely deserves that, and much more. John Corvino, Ph.D. is a writer, speaker, and philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. His column “The Gay Moralist” appears Fridays at 365gay.com. He will be speaking on February 9 at Washington and Lee University in Virginia; read more at www.johncorvino.com [4]. [1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-Frank-Kameny-gay-activist-top.jpg [2] http://www.helpingourbrothersandsisters.com/donate.html [3] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buy-Frank-A-Drink/154981487882949#!/pages/Buy-Frank-A-Drink/154981487882949?v=wall [4] http://www.johncorvino.com/
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NHL Players Association votes overwhelmingly for Don Fehr to lead group
NY, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – The NHLPA announced that Don Fehr will be its new executive director. Fehr, who has been an unpaid consultant already with the organization, will lead the NHLPA into heated discussions as the CBA expires after the 2011-2012 season.
“We are pleased that the leadership position at the Players’ Association has been filled, and we look forward to working with Don in his new role,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a released statement.
It comes as no surprise that Fehr was voted in by the NHLPA, he’s been working as an unpaid consultant for the group. He is expected to start his job immediately.
“I am both humbled and honored by the expression of confidence that the players’ vote reflects,” Fehr said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working closely with the membership and the Executive Board.”
Fehr, 62, represented baseball players for 33 years with the MLBPA as an executive director from 1983-2009.
The CBA expires following the 2011-12 season. The last talks in 2004 resulted in a lockout season and cancellation of the 2004-2005 campaign.
The sides eventually agreed on a salary cap and the league has seen tremendous growth.
However, players are dismayed with the current agreement that requires a portion of players’ paychecks to be held and vanquished into a fund in escrow to ensure salaries don’t bloat above the percentage of set revenues.
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Report: British High Street Shops’ Asian Workers in Sweatshop Conditions
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – A report by two anti-poverty campaign groups released Sunday charged British High Street shops of exploiting their Asian workers by making the employees labor in sweatshop conditions. The groups named the retailers and brands as Marks & Spencer, Next, Monsoon, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge.
Aside from poor working conditions of Indian workers, the groups War on Want and Labor Behind the Label, said the retailers pay poverty salaries and go against labor laws to pare costs to a minimum.
According to the campaigners, some workers get less than $90 (GBP 60) monthly salary and work until 2 a.m. to meet orders for clothes shipped to Britain. Some employees work 140 extra hours a month, but receive only half the mandated overtime rate.
It is the second time that Marks & Spencer has been accused of sweatshop allegations. Marks & Spencer recently released its danced-themed TV commercial with talent show judge Dannii Minogue, models Twiggy and Lisa Snowdon, singer W Brown, comedian Peter Kay and football commentator Jamie Redknapp endorsing the clothing brand.
The ad carries the slogan, “Don’t put a foot wrong this Christmas” and ends with the tagline “Quality worth every penny. The $90 paid by Marks & Spencer to Indian workers monthly is more than 50 percent below the living wage of $189 (GBP 126) in India.
Sam Maher, author of the report and campaigner at Labor Behind the Label, said in a statement, “Workers interviewed from these factories spoke of living in a climate of fear, where violence and systematic exclusion from rights was a daily reality. These conditions and their poverty wages are inexcusable. Brands sourcing from Gurgaon must take action to stop violence against unionized workers and make sure they pay prices that allow for a living wage.”
Monsoon declined to comment on the report. Debenhams and Marks and Spencer said they take seriously allegations of worker exploitation which goes against their companies strict ethical standards. The Arcadia Group which owns two major labels said it welcome the probe into poor labor standards involving their Asian factory workers.
Marks & Spencer reported a $948.75 million (GBP 632.5 million) pre-tax profit for the year ended in March 2010.
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