Great sleuthing. Now how do we get the bigger outlets to run with the story? This could cause some PR damage for the SOPA supporters.
The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
11–20 of 43 posts
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#12Is there any provision under SOPA with which we can somehow blacklist Lamar Smith's toupée?
runs off to write her Representative
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#13While it's possible that he authored his own political website, I would strongly suspect this is a proxy blame. I am all for blaming Lamar Smith as much as the next guy. My issue is assigning a state to an individual when another individual performed the state changing action. The furthest it is fair to place that assignment is shared with the entire group. edit, apparently downvoting is the same as disagreeing here…
I agree that it's unfair to accuse Congressman Smith of directly and maliciously using pirated content. However, the irony of the matter is that under his own proposed bill, the congressman's site would be blacklisted regardless. One reason SOPA is such a bad idea is because it does precisely what you take issue with by assigning the label 'copyright infringer' to the congressman without any due process.
Exactly, that this law is even discussed and brought to public attention is unthinkable.
With this law the accuser becomes the judge and the executioner. It's like the police shooting first, asking questions later. It's like silencing political opposition in the name of progress. It's like detaining prisoners indefinitely without trial ... oh wait!
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#14I think what's most interesting about this is it is a great indicator of the public perception of copyright. If even the creator of the harshest pro-greed-based-copyright legislation can't uphold the most modest of copyright provisions, I think that's a clear indicator that copyright is in need of reform in the opposite direction he proposes.
He himself can't respect the very laws he champions on his own public facing website.
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#15This really goes to show just how easy it would be to be accused and shutdown as a copyright violator. In this case it was probably an issue of the web designer recklessly searching for a Texas-y background and Congressman Smith unknowingly using the copyrighted image. Sure, it's irresponsible, but it's an understandable mistake to make. Enter sites with untold volumes of user-submitted content. To begin, it's unlike…
Considering that the owner is a US Congressman with extensive knowledge of copyright law (or so I assume) - he should have been paying attention to what happens on his freaking website, which is nothing more than his business card to the whole world. Failing to do so, talking about scale doesn't make much sense, since if a US Congressman, that happens to be the author of SOPA, can't handle it - what chances are there…
Actually, this stuff is absolutely impossible to police completely. Major content producers (networks, studios, etc.) know this in their bones, and carry what's known as E&O - Errors & Omissions insurance - for this exact reason.
Given the complexity of copyright law, the vagaries of content "creation", and the pressure of constant deadlines, these really are errors and omissions. And given the nature of a business that relies heavily on freelance creatives, the risk of an entirely honest missed-licence or a misattributed credit is so pervasive that distributers (who are the first people to get sued) won't accept material from producers who don't have E&O, and who can't indemnify their distribution partners. At the same time, underwriters won't issue E&O policies to producers who make too many "mistakes".
All this puts pressure on producers to make serious efforts to respect the law as mush as humanly possible, while acknowledging that perfect compliance isn't realistic. So pro-SOPA people aren't going to look a this and think "Gosh, maybe we're wrong". They're going to think "This happens all the time, and it's why we carry insurance."
Combining copyright law with the mechanisms to ensure that copyright industries follow their own rules has one effect: it drives up the risk and complexity - and thus, the cost - of producing commercial content. For established producers this is actually seen as a good thing, as it provides them with a barrier to entry, not to mention another line-item they can pass on (with mark-up!) to whoever is hiring them.
Indeed, that's the whole point. In their view, if you don't have the money and organization to sustain the lawyers and insurance policies "needed" to produce content then you should just focus on buying popcorn. When it comes to actually making media you should "leave it to the professionals".
By the way, that popcorn costs twenty bucks. After all, we've got lawyers to pay.
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#16If someone manages to lookup the guys ip, then please do check out on http://www.youhavedownloaded.com/
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Considering that the owner is a US Congressman with extensive knowledge of copyright law (or so I assume) - he should have been paying attention to what happens on his freaking website, which is nothing more than his business card to the whole world. Failing to do so, talking about scale doesn't make much sense, since if a US Congressman, that happens to be the author of SOPA, can't handle it - what chances are there…
Actually, this stuff is absolutely impossible to police completely. Major content producers (networks, studios, etc.) know this in their bones, and carry what's known as E&O - Errors & Omissions insurance - for this exact reason. Given the complexity of copyright law, the vagaries of content "creation", and the pressure of constant deadlines, these really are errors and omissions. And given the nature of a business t…
Hmm maybe if you dig deeper past Lamar Smith, you'll find insurance companies? :-)
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#18Which is worse: someone supporting SOPA because they know nothing about copyright or someone supporting SOPA because they know a lot about copyright?
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#19This really goes to show just how easy it would be to be accused and shutdown as a copyright violator. In this case it was probably an issue of the web designer recklessly searching for a Texas-y background and Congressman Smith unknowingly using the copyrighted image. Sure, it's irresponsible, but it's an understandable mistake to make. Enter sites with untold volumes of user-submitted content. To begin, it's unlike…
Think of the power a law that everyone breaks gives the government! They must love it.
Mostly the executive branch, but others too.
Re: The author of SOPA is a copyright violator
#20While it's possible that he authored his own political website, I would strongly suspect this is a proxy blame. I am all for blaming Lamar Smith as much as the next guy. My issue is assigning a state to an individual when another individual performed the state changing action. The furthest it is fair to place that assignment is shared with the entire group. edit, apparently downvoting is the same as disagreeing here…
> edit, apparently downvoting is the same as disagreeing here too. sigh. guess this teaches me to share my honest thoughts and to continue chasing integers.
Sad, isn't it? Some people even seem to think that up/down votes are primarily for rating opinions. Pretty awful idea, if you ask me. I think HN very much needs some kind of discussion on this, and preferably an official policy discouraging it.
Still, it's worth pointing out (from the Guidelines):
> Resist complaining about being downmodded. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.