Oct 21, 2014, 18:16 pm
George Mason University -- which not too long ago put out an entire book about the need for copyright reform -- apparently also wants to present "the other side." It recently held a conference entitled "Common Ground: How Intellectual Property Unites Creators and Innovators." You might assume that this would be along the lines of the point we've been making for years that content creators and entrepreneurs are really on the same side, creating new content and tools that better serve the public. But it was actually a conference that appears to have only invited copyright and patent maximalists, to talk about how oppressed both of them are by efforts to reform those two bodies of law away from the maximalist positions. It was a laugh riot, I'm sure.
A permanently paywalled article alerted me to some of the claims made on one panel, that I've since confirmed from an attendee at the conference -- with the specifically nutty claim coming from the Copyright Alliance's Sandra Aistars, insisting that the efforts for copyright reform are really coming "from criminal elements" and that no one in "any sort of innovative sector" is actually on board with copyright reform. Oh really, now? Apparently all the other panelists quickly agreed with this assertion that there is no legitimate interest in copyright reform, but that it's really all coming from that "criminal element" which Aistars explained was really "cyberlockers and entities like that."
Now, that's interesting. Beyond the broad "entities like that" phrase, which could mean just about anything, I've been fairly active with folks in various copyright reform circles for over a decade, and I can't recall a single situation in which anyone associated with a cyberlocker was even remotely involved in such efforts. To be fair, there was a brief period where Rapidshare hired a few lobbyists, but they weren't involved in any of the major copyright campaigns. But that's about it as far as I can recall, and last I heard, Rapidshare gave up on its DC lobbying efforts. Instead, out here in the real copyright reform world, there appear to be lots of actually innovative companies, along with venture capitalists, academics, digital activists and the public interested in the efforts. To brush off all of that as really coming "from criminal elements" is so delusional as to raise serious questions about the entire Copyright Alliance effort.
It also demonstrates just how ridiculous these debates have become. When copyright maximalists are flat out smearing copyright reformers by insisting that they're all just part of a "criminal" effort, it makes real discussion nearly impossible. Of course, perhaps that's the goal.
Originally Published: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:25:22 GMT
source
A permanently paywalled article alerted me to some of the claims made on one panel, that I've since confirmed from an attendee at the conference -- with the specifically nutty claim coming from the Copyright Alliance's Sandra Aistars, insisting that the efforts for copyright reform are really coming "from criminal elements" and that no one in "any sort of innovative sector" is actually on board with copyright reform. Oh really, now? Apparently all the other panelists quickly agreed with this assertion that there is no legitimate interest in copyright reform, but that it's really all coming from that "criminal element" which Aistars explained was really "cyberlockers and entities like that."
Now, that's interesting. Beyond the broad "entities like that" phrase, which could mean just about anything, I've been fairly active with folks in various copyright reform circles for over a decade, and I can't recall a single situation in which anyone associated with a cyberlocker was even remotely involved in such efforts. To be fair, there was a brief period where Rapidshare hired a few lobbyists, but they weren't involved in any of the major copyright campaigns. But that's about it as far as I can recall, and last I heard, Rapidshare gave up on its DC lobbying efforts. Instead, out here in the real copyright reform world, there appear to be lots of actually innovative companies, along with venture capitalists, academics, digital activists and the public interested in the efforts. To brush off all of that as really coming "from criminal elements" is so delusional as to raise serious questions about the entire Copyright Alliance effort.
It also demonstrates just how ridiculous these debates have become. When copyright maximalists are flat out smearing copyright reformers by insisting that they're all just part of a "criminal" effort, it makes real discussion nearly impossible. Of course, perhaps that's the goal.
Originally Published: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:25:22 GMT
source