[kwlug-disc] Parliament adjourned ... bills dead (again!)?

[Chris Frey]

On Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 08:02:42PM -0400, unsolicited wrote:
> >But if I was pressed, and I could not answer with "all equal", then I
> >would say that if bias must exist at all, that it should always be
> >in favour of the poor.  This means that the rights of rich corporations
> >come after those of both the artist and the consumer.
> 
> So, if a rich creator is 'ripped off' by the poor masses, it's OK?

The "creators" are often not rich.  Some of them eventually land in
the green fields of milk and honey, like U2 or Bill Gates.  But most
don't.  (I know, I know, Bill Gates supposedly doesn't program much
these days... that's my point.)

But it is more ok for the rich to be 'ripped off' by the poor than
vice versa.  In fact, it can be to the rich person's advantage.

For example:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0411/focus-tim-oreilly-media-e-book-antipiracy-steal-this.html

Keep in mind we're talking only in the hypothetical realm, where bias
cannot be avoided.  I'd rather avoid it if possible.


> Poor and copyright, in this context, is an oxymoron.
> 
> Address 'poor' separately.

Poor, in this context, is someone who would feel the pain if they had
to go to court to defend themselves.  Especially against someone
who was "rich" and could go to court with no pain.


> And although I appreciate the idea of the poor having access / redress 
> to enforce their copyright, such would be considerably inconsistent 
> with how similar is dealt with elsewhere. e.g. The poor wronged must 
> still somehow come up with the funds to hire a lawyer, go to court, 
> etc., etc. And, somehow, persevere when the wrongdoer delays to starve 
> them out. [Yes, there are some programs, but I don't believe them to 
> be entirely adequate.]

And court is indeed where this should be dealt with.

I'm saying that the inequality of TPM stems from the fact that the
rich don't have to go to court as often as the poor, in order to
protect their rights.  i.e. they get free and automatic protection
built into the very devices they sell to play their media, which they
also sell.

With that in mind, I haven't heard of any TPM system that *helps* the
poor when it comes to defending their rights.  It is all on the side
of the distributors or corporations.  If there is such a TPM system,
I would like to know about it.  But until then, dear Mr. Candidate,
please get TPM out of copyright law.

- Chris