So, maybe you heard, or didn’t—or you don’t really care—that Playboy is suing Boing Boing (parent company Happy Mutants, LLC) for contributory copyright infringement. There are a couple of serious points to make about this case, but I want to address the funny part first because it actually informs the not funny parts. The funny began when I read TorrentFreak’s* article ...
In past articles I’ve suggested that anti-piracy should be a form of activism practiced by anyone who stands up for women’s rights. And perhaps now that empowerment of women is the social tidal wave of the season, this proposal will get some traction. There is the ugly truth that some pirate sites serve as verticals for broader organized crime activity, ...
One of the reasons someone like me mucks about in copyright law is that all law is an exercise in language. Especially because English comprises more words and, therefore, more shades of meaning than any language in the world, the logophile who enjoys a good fuss, bother, muse, agitation, or dither over deployment of le mot juste shares a kinship ...
Picking up on the piracy-doublespeak theme of my last post, let’s highlight a favorite talking point among piracy advocates and apologists, the one that goes like this: If the major producers were just smart enough to make works available conveniently and affordably, people would stop pirating. That was always a lie. And it’s been proven a lie by the filmed-entertainment ...
I guess it’s pick on Andy at TorrentFreak week. (Sorry, Andy. ) But a recent blog of his titled No Level of Copyright Enforcement Will Ever Be Enough For Big Media begs a response. Citing TF’s decade of experience covering the piracy battles, Andy repeats a familiar narrative that because piracy will never stop, and because pirates will continue to ...
