ACTA Passed, we failed.

[TheVioletBandit]

I'll be glad once we all get over this annoying (and slightly hypocrtical) "dah intahnet is ehn danger the gubbement is evil" phase and maybe move on to freaking out about something else. Like those aliens. Up to something, I tell ya.

Mandatory Image:

Now, In regards to my atrocious spelling habits lets conduct an experiment.

A. 2+2=4
B. two plus two equals four
C. tu plas tu ekwals four

Now although the spelling in sentence C is very poor(far worse in fact than my spelling errors)and is different than both A and B it's obvious correctness isn't negated by this fact.

And actually Sentence C is complete gibberish. Tu, plas, ekwals aren't real words, therefore there was nothing correct about sentence C.

And I'm going to have with [user]xvbones[/user] on this one; it's the constant boy-cries-wolf that has people not caring about politics. They just get so tired of dealing with people over exaggerating the impact of legislation that it's not worth it to pay attention since life won't be changed for the most part. Why do you think it took so long for SOPA protests to get started? Because people had just been bombarded by over-zealous fools who didn't know what they were talking about, and how the new NDAA is going to turn America into a fascist police state when SURPRISE! Nothing happened[footnote]Just like with the Patriot Act[/footnote].

I fully agree sentence C is complete gibberish. If your creative with language or simply deviate from the norm and spell "because" "cuz" for example it's meaning is completely lost! Only some kind of "super-genius" would be able to crack the code that is semi-phonetic spelling and gather any meaning from it whatsoever! Words, language in general must adhere to a strict set of rules that NEVER change to be understood. Colloquial speech for example is completely unintellectual because of the divergence from the standardized grammar that we learn in school. Why won't people just obey the rules that I like so I don't feel so confused and scared!

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Why is this thread even still going if it starts on a wrong presumption and grows into something worse from there? Yes, they signed the treaty a few days ago (the EU and some other countries at least), no it doesn't have any power yet, just because some representatives symbolically signed it doesn't give it legislative rights. It has to be ratified by the EU or other respective countries before it becomes law (by voting for or against it).
I opened another thread stating all this over here, including links to news about it and what else is going on or how you can prevent it: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.339993-ACTA-the-new-Danger-after-SOPA-help-defeat-it#13763752

Also this... really...

Look? Guys? Will you all please calm down. Some of you are calm. That's awesome. You're all brilliant. Some of you are predicting the doom of everything you hold precious, though.

I'd be inclined to just put up a facepalm picture and be done with it, but that would be rather counter-productive. Instead, just try reading what the Electronic Frontier Foundation has to say about it: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/we-have-every-right-be-furious-about-acta

Or the damn guy/representative that was supposed to investigate issues with the treaty appointed by the EU parliament when he resigned not too long ago:
https://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/ACTA_rapporteur_denounces_ACTA_mascarade

Kader Arif, rapporteur for ACTA in the European Parliament quit his role as rapporteur saying:
"I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement: no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text without an explanation being ever given, exclusion of the EU Parliament's demands that were expressed on several occasions in our assembly."
"As rapporteur of this text, I have faced never-before-seen manoeuvres from the right wing of this Parliament to impose a rushed calendar before public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the Parliament of its right to expression and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands."
"Everyone knows the ACTA agreement is problematic, whether it is its impact on civil liberties, the way it makes Internet access providers liable, its consequences on generic drugs manufacturing, or how little protection it gives to our geographical indications."
"This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. That is why today, as I release this report for which I was in charge, I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this mascarade."

Not to mention that large parts of it are highly ambiguous and large parts of the agreement that would help interpret it are still being withheld.

Did you even read the rest of my post...? ._.'

Edit: It's funny if you didn't because I actually went so far as to encourage you to do this very thing, so you're technically a cool dude, but I did rationalize my decision to be calm, which is perhaps most important. Here I'll type it out for you:

"plz be calm cos ur scaring teh internetz ;-;"

...or something like that.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Which is why I'm trying to get the word out about this little proposed constitutional amendment [http://www.sanders.senate.gov/petition/?uid=f1c2660f-54b9-4193-86a4-ec2c39342c6c] which states that companies are NOT people and therefore do not get the same rights as people, are subject to regulation by the people, forbiding companies from making donations and/or expenditures during elections for candidates (no more buying candidates, something the MPAA head Dodd said happens), puts regulation on campaign spendings, and make all contributors to the candidates public so we can all see who's donating to who.

While it won't really stop them from introducing shitty legislation, at least with this they'll hopefully have a much harder time getting it through, since they can't more or less buy candidates with donations.

If I was from North America I would sign that. This is a very positive thing, too often I hear people bitching about politicians and they think there isn't much anything they can do about it without even trying to do anything. This sort of thing is a positive change so thankyou for raising some awareness you decent person and I hope that petition works.

 

[Dott]

Come June, filesharing online will be illegal.

 

[Andy Szidon]

ACTA does not go into affect until all countries sign it.

 

[Muspelheim]

...Huh. Seems the goverment and the entertainment-lobby really nacht und nebel'd this right over my head. Not a bad job there. *Sigh* I've got a feeling that it's best getting used to it.

The corporate apocalypse, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[oktalist]

All we can hope to do now is damage control

NO. What we've been doing up until now is ALL damage control.

Instead, rather than waiting for our opponents to draft their bills and treaties, and then protesting those bills and treaties, we should go on the offensive. Get together the anti-SOPA companies and non-profits like Google and EFF and draft our own bills and treaties and lobby governments to get them considered. Force the likes of RIAA and MPAA to sink all their lobbying resources into simply holding on to what they've got. Broaden the debate, get people questioning the relevance of these outdated institutions, obsolete companies that amount to little more than content aggregators, gatekeepers of innovation, parasites feeding on artists. Demonstrate how artists can benefit from relaxing copyright law.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/117114202722218150209/posts/4GgaRiSyaTf

http://www.google.com/search?q=SopaIsTheSymptomCopyrightIsTheDisease

 

[Gnoekeos]

Obama proves irreversibly and forever that he is a real piece of shit who just doesn't give a fuck and has SIGNED ACTA: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/us-signs-international-anti-piracy-accord.ars

I know Ireland has signed ACTA too, haven't heard about any other countries as of yet, but it's so late in the game by now that even if we knew we couldn't stop it.

So congratulations everyone! Our combined apathy and inattentiveness has completely fuced over the internet we love and enjoy.

All we can hope to do now is damage control, and stop the Trans-Pacific Parternership, WHICH IS EVEN WORSE THAN ACTA: http://www.ustr.gov/tpp
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110105/02301112524/son-acta-worse-meet-tpp-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement.shtml

And, although it goes without saying, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TbGjt-weA

Combined Apathy and inattentiveness? Did you not see the way people came out against SOPA? Its not the fault of the people who weren't aware that those who knew very well didn't do more to spread the word of the evils of this bill but perhaps that's who you're pissed at. I personaly only heard about it very recently after SOPA was stopped and I could have sworn I heard it was getting signed in February.

 

[Shivarage]

Honestly I can't really fight this battle anymore. The media companies are refusing to adapt, and politely asking isn't going to work. They have enough money to shove these through as quickly as possible, and if this doesn't work, they're pulling every dirty trick in the book with the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act. We may be in the right here, but being on the good guy's side doesn't always mean you'll win. I give up.

I love the irony here of the media companies saying they are losing profit while they have enough to splash out on lobbyists

 

[Right Hook]

When will the "bill x IS SO MUCH WORSE THAN bill y AND WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING WE HAVE EVER HELD DEAR" stuff stop? It is getting rather annoying.

Basically we are screwed, while others have yet to form the same kind of general apathy you have for this sort of thing they eventually will as well. We will be defeated by a never ending torrent of this type of bullshit. It'll get to the point where everybody is tired of screaming and everyone is tired of listening, some giant piece of crap will get through the lines and that'll be that.

 

[Pebkio]

Yeah, ACTA is not that bad, just an agreement on how the world would view protecting hardware and software use. It allows that any law passed by any country who signed to be enforced by any other country who also signed... also how those laws should be handled. It makes bills we might pass later even more dangerous, like the Stop Child Pornography Online Act.

But you know what, people should stop profiting from piracy. How messed-up is that? How far entrenched are we in the belief in capitalism:

"Oh, you stole copywrited material, and I have copywrited material that could be stolen, but you get a lot of visits... here, have some of my money so I can advertise to your pirates. I'm sure they won't just pirate me..."

 

[Andy Szidon]

If you don't know how bad ACTA is, you may want to do some research.

I predict that the more people that still need to sign it, the more likely the said person is to be assassinated or lynched by an angry mob.

 

[TorqueConverter]

Obama proves irreversibly and forever that he is a real piece of shit who just doesn't give a fuck and has SIGNED ACTA: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/us-signs-international-anti-piracy-accord.ars

This just in, Syzygy23 proves irreversibly and forever that hyperbole is the only way to go, right away, about everything, forever.

Yes, assuredly, Obama signing a bill you don't agree with (or, possibly, understand) is proof that he is subhuman filth. There is no middle ground. He did something you (possibly) disagree with, therefore he does not give a fuck and is a real piece of shit.

Assuredly.

(you don't actually know what ACTA is or does, do you)

Obama signed into law the NDAA bill so he's definitely a piece of shit, also he's a POLITICIAN which is just a synonym for piece of shit. If you think he's you new best friend ever and that you need to rush to his add whenever he's criticized, wake up! the romance is over, he's just another pig in the white house. Democrats, republicans, both are just turds in a quickly flushing bole. Calling them a piece of shit isn't so much an insult as it is a sad fact.

Because hyperbole is the only way to discuss politics. Seriously, zero middle ground, it is absolutely necessary to leap straight to 'he is a piece of shit' every single time.

Oh and should anyone attempting to be a voice of reason dare to sound like they might possibly be defending said pieces of shit, the only logical response is to mock them.

Because reason is for suckers, I always say.

Nah, you're right. Wild, virulent hyperbole is the only way to go.

(Do I need to point out that you've misspelled words like 'aid', 'bowl' and 'your'? And that doing so sort of makes me take your wild hyperbole even less seriously? I don't really need to say that, right? That would just be tacky of me. Yeah.)

Ouch, someone really hates the word hyperbole, or loves it? Either way talking about my poor spelling cut me deep (Way to go straight for the throat "Mr. Voice of Reason"). I actually wasn't even mocking you in my last comment, I was simply disagreeing with you. Also, to imply that I think "reason is for suckers" because of the one comment I have made to you on the internet seems a little unreasonable, where is the "middle ground" you spoke of?

Now, In regards to my atrocious spelling habits lets conduct an experiment.

A. 2+2=4
B. two plus two equals four
C. tu plas tu ekwals four

Now although the spelling in sentence C is very poor(far worse in fact than my spelling errors)and is different than both A and B it's obvious correctness isn't negated by this fact. It is I think a type of shallowness and blind arrogance to completely disregard a statements meaning in light of its appearance. Readability I think is the single factor of any importance in regards to spelling, and although my spelling and grammar are far from perfect I believe it's still readable and doesn't warrant insult.

IT'S NOT A BILL.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WILL YOU ALL PLEASE STOP CALLING IT A BILL.

A wise man one said: The internet makes you stupid.

Crawl out of the basement everypony and go outside and make some friends already. Engage these new friends in important topics of the day and save the internet for the only thing it has ever been good at, hilarious shit posts.

Yeah, nevermind the rapid expansion of international culture, rapid spread of the awareness of worldwide news and the incredible contribution to the arts that come with borderless spread of information, music, video and multimedia. And the huge boon of jobs in the creative industries. Or the amazing independent studios and projects that have cropped up only because information can be spread from country to country as easily as from mouth to mouth. The internet's just for lolcats and dumb people! It hasn't improved anybody's lives significantly at all! Radio and television too. What trite. We should all live in the forest and sing camp songs passed down through generations and consist off of mushrooms we pick ourselves and live life free of responsibility and connections to the world. Sounds good!

Yes and more yes. Lets not forget the amazing arrow the knee jokes, world wide furry awareness, pokemon fan fiction and the ability to beat off to porn within the comfort of our own homes. I mean that last one alone was simply earth shattering. I can protest all sorts of strange things I don't understand and couldn't be bothered with in real life. Sorry, I mean IRL. All thanks to the internet. + 1 internet praising meme to you!

Ya know what I really hate? Asians. I mean, sure, Asians have been responsible for many of the largest technological advancements in the past 40 years, including all those lil toys that make sites like this possible. But, they also had panties in vending machines, invented tentacle hentai, and helped spread communism. So because of those things they've done, all their good things are null and void.

Don't even get me started on white people.

Damn white people and their my little pony, Mossy Oak camouflage and cargo shorts.

 

[w00tage]

Well, even if you grant that all that is true, the real issue is whether copyright law is good in the first place. Making something bad universal for the sake of consistency is not improving the situation.

Umm... yes. Copyright law (for individuals) is good. Very good. As someone who creates my own material, I like actually owning my IP. It's where my income comes from. So I can afford to eat 'n shit.

Copyright for corporations might not be so hot, but that's something we'll have to deal with, and when they lash out as with SOPA and PIPA, we slap them back down. International copyright law is great. Mostly. By breaking down borders it means that the few people who don't already abide to trade laws (mostly places like China and Korea), it simply means they have an obligation to do something about infingements. That's a good thing.

Sorry, but I can't accept that at face value. Please explain how copyright law has a direct impact on your ability to create and sell what you've created, and how you make more this way than by open fixed or range-of-rate licensing.

From all that I see (and I work in IP too, patents n'stuff), our existing IP laws only feed a massive base of parasitic middlemen that use that money to pass ever more restrictive IP laws "for our protection", but which really guarantee them more business. IMO, the servants have completely taken over this process and are wagging you, me and everyone else for their benefit.

 

[stutheninja]

Obama proves irreversibly and forever that he is a real piece of shit

Yea, i stopped reading there, Here is what im going to say, Let it go, our three months late to the party, and the fact that you are trying to get people on your side by going with the common "Obama is crap" Thing, only means you are grasping at straws here.

well he did sign NDAA... so say goodbye to your Habeas Corpus

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Well, even if you grant that all that is true, the real issue is whether copyright law is good in the first place. Making something bad universal for the sake of consistency is not improving the situation.

Umm... yes. Copyright law (for individuals) is good. Very good. As someone who creates my own material, I like actually owning my IP. It's where my income comes from. So I can afford to eat 'n shit.

Copyright for corporations might not be so hot, but that's something we'll have to deal with, and when they lash out as with SOPA and PIPA, we slap them back down. International copyright law is great. Mostly. By breaking down borders it means that the few people who don't already abide to trade laws (mostly places like China and Korea), it simply means they have an obligation to do something about infingements. That's a good thing.

Sorry, but I can't accept that at face value. Please explain how copyright law has a direct impact on your ability to create and sell what you've created, and how you make more this way than by open fixed or range-of-rate licensing.

From all that I see (and I work in IP too, patents n'stuff), our existing IP laws only feed a massive base of parasitic middlemen that use that money to pass ever more restrictive IP laws "for our protection", but which really guarantee them more business. IMO, the servants have completely taken over this process and are wagging you, me and everyone else for their benefit.

I'm going to assume you know how international copyright works. When I create a work, it's copyrighted. It's my work. I can sell that work without fear that someone else will sell the same thing as their own. If I wasn't the sole owner, everyone would just sell the same thing over and over and over. Or, god forbid, give it away for free. Without copyright, I'd get no compensation for loss of work over people stealing it. Without copyright, I'd get no compensation for people playing my music over the radio. Without copyright, I'd lose revenue, and I'd give up, and go for another job where I get paid for my work. I'd wager many people would, and our culture would fall into a sort of black hole.

IP laws, I find stupid, though. That someone can take something that isn't theirs and license it? Yeah, that sucks. Copyright for the individual who created the work, and for them to give away their work as they desire - great. Copyright that corporations can buy and trade? No thanks. Jimquisition did a bit on this the other week, I believe; he more or less summed up my opinion perfectly, except perhaps in more of a brash way. So, go watch that, I guess. His "Why Piracy is Something, Part One" or whatever. I'm bored now. Typing is hard. I'm tired. Do with my opinion what you wish, I guess.

 

[Lopende Paddo]

people should learn to read entire threads before they post, because spewing crap is what hitler would do...

 

[Samgasm]

ACTA doesn't seem as bad as it has been made out to be, it appears as though if we don't want laws concerning restriction of the internet to be passed it's going to be more a case of dealing with specific legislators on a country to country level.
That being said after all the noise made about SOPA, PIPA, ACTA etc, I really hope the entertainment industry will make some changes to become more relevant in the way they operate.
This made some sense to me:
http://imgur.com/gallery/cilLg

 

[w00tage]

Well, even if you grant that all that is true, the real issue is whether copyright law is good in the first place. Making something bad universal for the sake of consistency is not improving the situation.

Umm... yes. Copyright law (for individuals) is good. Very good. As someone who creates my own material, I like actually owning my IP. It's where my income comes from. So I can afford to eat 'n shit.

Copyright for corporations might not be so hot, but that's something we'll have to deal with, and when they lash out as with SOPA and PIPA, we slap them back down. International copyright law is great. Mostly. By breaking down borders it means that the few people who don't already abide to trade laws (mostly places like China and Korea), it simply means they have an obligation to do something about infingements. That's a good thing.

Sorry, but I can't accept that at face value. Please explain how copyright law has a direct impact on your ability to create and sell what you've created, and how you make more this way than by open fixed or range-of-rate licensing.

From all that I see (and I work in IP too, patents n'stuff), our existing IP laws only feed a massive base of parasitic middlemen that use that money to pass ever more restrictive IP laws "for our protection", but which really guarantee them more business. IMO, the servants have completely taken over this process and are wagging you, me and everyone else for their benefit.

I'm going to assume you know how international copyright works. When I create a work, it's copyrighted. It's my work. I can sell that work without fear that someone else will sell the same thing as their own. If I wasn't the sole owner, everyone would just sell the same thing over and over and over. Or, god forbid, give it away for free. Without copyright, I'd get no compensation for loss of work over people stealing it. Without copyright, I'd get no compensation for people playing my music over the radio. Without copyright, I'd lose revenue, and I'd give up, and go for another job where I get paid for my work. I'd wager many people would, and our culture would fall into a sort of black hole.

See, that's the part I can't accept. That's the same argument as used by the proponents of these bills, and frankly I see it as a big lie intended to keep lawyers billing forever. There's a growing body of evidence that indicates that any publicity, licensed or not, has a positive effect for the copyright owner, starting with that Japanese open manga convention (I forget the name, but most everything there is out-and-out plagarized, it's a huge deal, and the copyright owners just allow it as good publicity for their works.). I really see the burden of copyright ownership and maintenance as harmful to the growth of your works, because you can't get help publicizing it unless you do it the hardest possible way, which imposes the maximum burden on a startup.

Let's look at an alternative - suppose instead of "MINE MINE MINE YOU NEED A LAWYER AND MONEHZ UP FRONT TO LICENSE IT AND I NEED A LAWYER TOO" copyright law, every use of your material was under a mandatory license where you got a piece of the action automatically, and if you didn't, you could just file a claim in court for the revenue due you. A) your work is free to spread as far and wide as the potential audience, so it has the maximum impact possible B) everyone understands the deal and how easy it is for you to take action under the law, and C) there's no fear or legal costs for anyone working in good faith, they can just go to town making your work more famous.

How would your revenues look then, do you think?

 

[funguy2121]

Isn't ACTA a Treay started by the EU and not US Law.
Obama signing the treaty is a diplomatic formality, it is Congress that makes the derision to go for it or not, and even then its up to Congress to write the laws allowing the US to be compliant to ACTA or not.

If we (The US) back out now after signing the Treaty be nothing, how many treaties we broke in the past?

It can still be undermined, overturned and, if the Supreme Court steps in, declared unconstitutional and nullified. But why are you so upset over this when military personnel can now legally assassinate you?

You are misquoting and misinterpreting the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
One is passed every year outlining the responsibilities and rights of National Security and the Department of Defense. It provides them with their yearly budget and allows out Department of Defense to legally carry out there job for the next year.

The whole arresting people and detainment without legal charges applies only to foreign nationals whose suspect of terrorism or spying outside of the 50 states of the US. Mainly applying to the prisoners were keeping in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, in Camp X-Ray.
As there detainment turned out to be grey area of legality where the US law in concern.

If you are an American citizen you have nothing to fear from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.

Sigh. Do some reading. NDAA applies to citizens. They can legally murder citizens. All you have to do to qualify is to commit a "belligerent act" against America or one of her allies. That's it.