Let’s clear one thing up right off the bat. Consumers are not entitled to high-quality TV programming.  It’s a business. If that business doesn’t make sense, the shows won’t be produced. I know that seems obvious, but as with so many arguments made by technology companies seeking to hijack the distribution of works for themselves, this latest one  seems to ...

After a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a number of blogs and articles appeared with headlines announcing that it is now a federal crime if, for instance, your kid uses your Netflix password.  While that kind of headline is good for traffic and buzz, it’s also typically exaggerated and misleading—at least insofar as this recent decision is concerned. ...

So, this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation launched its new infographic (stress on graphic) still pitching the idea that it is the IP provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement that are of the gravest concern.  The EFF states on their site that the infographics are covered by a Creative Commons license* and that anyone is free to use or remix the assets with ...

As stated in my post announcing a voluntary agreement between MPAA and domain-name service Donuts, both rights holders and digital rights proponents should applaud this kind of B2B approach to mitigating online piracy.  That doesn’t mean I thought the latter parties actually would applaud it. And with the stalwart predictability of a honey badger, Mitch Stoltz of the Electronic Frontier ...

By now, you know that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)—a really big-ass global trade agreement among twelve nations including the United States—is at this point pending delivery to Congress for debate and presumptive ratification.  And this means we can expect to see various organizations and corporate interests dial up the rhetoric regarding key provisions in the deal. Although the TPP is a voluminous package ...

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