Announcement of the Copyright Alert System just over a week ago brought some new readers to this blog, and among these was one who was offended by this post, which is coincidentally the most-read to date. My use of the word slavery in context to BitTorrent sites exploiting labor inspired the reader to call me a racist. You can decide ...
The Wall Street Journal this week offers two interesting articles about online piracy of entertainment media. In this piece by Christopher S. Stewart, we get a somewhat rare glimpse inside the counter-piracy unit at NBCUniversal, which provides some context for understanding the scope of piracy and the investment required to address it directly through takedown notices. And a new article ...
I watched this Amanda Palmer TED Talk “The Art of Asking” over the weekend and found it both remarkable and inspiring. Her frankness and humanity are unassailable. Who can argue with an artist who says, “I put myself and my work out there, I ask to be embraced, and I am embraced”? Kudos to her for doing it. Kudos to ...
Freeloading: How Our Insatiable Appetite for Free Content Starves Creativity In his new book, author Chris Ruen provides a glimpse into his personal transition from consumer of free media to advocate for artists’ rights and a more rational conversation about copyright in the digital age. Ruen shares his own thoughts about common justifications for online piracy, about the mechanics behind ...
Here’s one way the Web is being used by a group of young artists in collaboration with one of the “evil” big media companies: MTVu created a challenge campaign called “Against Our Will,” asking students to submit creative concepts to highlight the problems of modern-day slavery. The winning entry came from students at James Madison university and grew into an ...
