208: Pirates of the Frozen Wastes

[mudsoup]

Its refreshing to read something that draws the political agenda, or lack of it,into this arena. We all need to pay more heed to whats going on around us politically.
A very thought provoking article.

 

[ReZerO]

I don't pirate anything myself, but i'm happy with the way the laws are, i don't want more goverment/corperate control over the internet than there already is.

 

[PodX140]

OK. My basic rundown of piracy is this.

You get your teen, maybe even early 20 year old, and he see's a cool song or movie or game ect. He then promptly downloads it. He didn't take any profits from the company. He never had any intention of buying the game in the first place, and not because he could download it, just because he wasn't that interested in it. he see's a free candy and grabs it, cause... its free candy, why not? And so, he tells his friends and gives away a bit of advertising, and sets some good game companies in his sights, for when he can afford their great games/music/movies.

Later, When this guy ages, he realizes that, "hey, i have money now. I want that great game/movie/music company to make more great stuff. For once i will buy this, because i feel that it deserves my hard earned money." But when stuff of slightly less quality comes along he says "well, i wasn't going to pay for it, but i might as well tell my friends about this game, maybe keep track of this company and see if they do make something amazing." In this situation, the company still receives something compared to if it wasn't available to download. They get free advertising, and a new person that tracks their products. And when they release something great now, they gain more profit as our aged man is now tracking them.

It's a win-win situation for everyone. The man doesn't have to worry about being punished for simply taking a free candy, and even giving something back to the company, and the company gets more rep and another consumer for when they make proper products. With this template, both consumer and company are being rewarded, and slowly the products that the company makes will be better and better in order for them to become richer and richer.

However, this template is not perfect, as you will have those that are abusive, who never contribute to their loved companies, because they feel "what does my $80 do?" They are then rewarded with a bankrupt company, and an increasingly worse product choice. These individuals should be punished, as they are currently being. With the way Canada is going, there is no way they can fall, unless the elephant gets really scary and Canada gives in. Well, America has barely ever made a good plan for Canada, and I say forget their complaints, they'll be wishing they had been more careful when they don't have our oil and water in a few years.

Canadian And Proud.

 

[bkd69]

Here's Ars Technica's article on the US Trade Representative's report that added Canada to the list of IP scofflaws:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/canada-joins-china-russia-in-us-list-of-ip-scofflaws.ars

Complete BS, of course. And by that I mean I mean the USTR report, not the Ars Technica article.

 

[Jordan Deam]

Pretty concise and very well-researched article; definitely a good read.

Might want to check "The Needles" link, though, as it gives me a 404.

Thanks for the tip - just fixed it.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

We could do with a lot more countries ignoring the United States' requests. (usually only there to further the U.S. than anything else)

The quote at the end of page two, is pretty much along the lines of thought I was having:
"I think what we can safely say is that the U.S. model is not an ideal one, and that Canada should not really be looking to the U.S. as an example of what to do but perhaps as an example of what not to do."

 

[murphy7801]

let Canada do what wants hardly think the US has any right to criticize anyone really.

 

[jemborg]

We could do with a lot more countries ignoring the United States' requests. (usually only there to further the U.S. than anything else)

The quote at the end of page two, is pretty much along the lines of thought I was having:
"I think what we can safely say is that the U.S. model is not an ideal one, and that Canada should not really be looking to the U.S. as an example of what to do but perhaps as an example of what not to do."

It's unbelievable, even in the U.S. the using of the civil courts to impose outrageous punitive measures instead of just awarding damages is considered unconstitutional. Why should Canadians want to go there?

And even though Obama is a professor of constitutional law I don't see the situation changing.

It's over the top, they got away with patenting or copyrighting (lasts longer) natural phenomena like genomes, instead of just the products that may be derived from said research. It's like saying "I discovered oxygen so therefore you should pay me for breathing". You shouldn't be able to do that with naturally occurring stuff- just your inventions... but they get away with it.

And there is a reason why these rights lapse- because the public domain is important to general creativity. But it's not like the "conservatives" understand balance (that goes for extreme lefties too).

It makes me laugh that these litigators etc. think that preventing software "piracy" (read: sharing) will lead to extra sales that justify the expense of pursuance and the ruined lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

Most corporations generally have a narrow psychopathic mindset when it comes to profits- so I guess it should be expected.

Regards to a Commonwealth cousin from Australia.

PS: Whilst not-for-profit sharing is not a criminal offence in the U.S. they cheerfully want other countries to make it so. Where will the line be drawn we should ask ourselves? If I lend my bought CD to you to listen to should that be considered an offence? Should sale of recording devices be prevented?

 

[KDR_11k]

The US's insistence on international copyright treasties is just a political pressure tool anyway, the US signs international treaties for stricter copyright bills so they can tell their own population "we're only adjusting to international standards" when they again extend the copyright on Mickey Mouse. This way the population of the country doesn't get a chance to protest.

Besides, we all know how signing treaties with the US worked out for Canadian lumber...

 

[BoredKellon]

Great article, and very well written.

 

[antipunt]

cool story

 

[R.O.]

Lots of pirates up there probably even worst than China. Just let them pirate it. If you can't afford to compete you gonna go outta business eventually when things are made that you can't steal or copy.

 

[ntnimara]

it's good to be Greek

also.. Canada sounds like a great place

strong Gaming industry and easygoing anti-piracy action

I somehow expected this to come form somewhere like the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries

 

[RelexCryo]

Pirates of the Frozen Wastes

Canada's videogame industry is the third largest in the world, trailing only behind those of the U.S. and Japan. Yet the friendly, soft-spoken nation is under increasing pressure from its southern neighbor to conform to stricter standards of piracy prevention. Andy Chalk examines whether the U.S.'s heated rhetoric is enough to melt through the hardy igloo of Canadian resistance to copyright reform.

Read Full Article

"Copyright law reform may not sound like much of a minefield, but persuading Canadian citizens to give up the rights that they've enjoyed for years is a risky proposition."

I mostly agree with your article, but I don't totally agree with that statement. It is currently illegal for for the vast majority Canadians to carry handguns in the wildnerness for self defense against wild animals like bears. Granted, you could carry a shotgun, but that is pretty damn incovenient, lugging around all that weight. Which means you have to either incovenience yourself by lugging a big heavy gun everywhere, or go defenseless while camping in the woods.

Canada does a lot of things much better than the United States, and your right when you say we could learn from you. But I think there are some downsides to living in Canada as well. In America, there are less bears, so you generally aren't in much danger while camping anyways. In Canada, not only is the sheer number of wild animals in the wilderness far greater, but carrying a weapon for self defense is a lot less conveninent. If you are someone who enjoys camping, this can be a problem.

The average Canadian might not care about the right to defend yourself against bears with a handgun, but if you are a hiker who enjoys long walks without being encumbered, it would seem like a violation of your rights and very annoying.

 

[Bullfrog1983]

Nothing realy changes whenever the government sets up a "study" or "consultation process" to get the solution to a problem. They pretty much hire a bunch of people they know to cushy jobs where they pretend to do work for a few years until they find out that their "data" was inconclusive. A fair read of the situation, as far as I can tell.

As a Canadian I personally have to align myself with the pirates on this dispute. Yar.

 

[yaydod]

very nice article.
Very good points, i hope the US will get out of their paranoide drug induced minds, but they get MONEY, so .... cant do much agaisnt MONEYYYYYYYY.

 

[iblis666]

Im from the US and I have to say one thing to my neighbors to the north: please ignore us, most all of our politicians are in the pockets of multinational conglomerates that wish to control everyone

btw anyone else not give a fuck about copyrights any more but used to before they fucked everything up?