Under the Copyright Act, an infringer of a copyright is liable for either the owner's actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer or statutory damages. It is within the discretion of the plaintiff, or individual seeking to protect his or her copyrighted work, to elect either actual damages or statutory damages. More often than not, the owner will elect statutory damages where that owner has registered the work with the Library of Congress. The reason for this is that the owner may not be able to establish actual damage to the copyright, to the owner's business, or ill-gotten profits of the infringer in such a way that the total amount is greater than that which is available under the Copyright Act for statutory damages.
That said, it is important to note that courts, within their broad discretion, may look to actual damages suffered when determining what the statutory damages award should be. However, there are limitations within the Copyright Act that control the amount of statutory damages on a minimum and maximum basis. For example, a willful infringement of a registered copyright enables the court to award statutory damages up to a maximum of $150,000. However, where the plaintiff fails to sustain its burden of proving willful infringement, the court may reduce the award of statutory damages to a minimum of $200. Typically, an owner pursuing an infringer will be limited to statutory damages between $750 and $30,000 for the infringement of one work.
While statutory damages are intended to create an incentive for owners to protect their valuable intellectual property, and conversely to deter the unauthorized and unlawful use of another's copyright, the ability to recover costs and attorneys' fees is yet an additional motivation of some owners when seeking to redress copyright infringement. Once again, the importance of a federal registration of a copyright becomes clear because not only are statutory damages available, but attorneys' fees and costs are also available in an infringement lawsuit.
In sum, it is important that an owner understands what damages may be available to redress infringement of copyright. Likewise, an entity accused of copyright infringement should understand not only the legal exposure, but must also understand the financial exposure. With these principles in mind, owners can make educated decisions regarding which works to protect with federal registrations, how often to file such registrations, and whether to file as compilations, understanding that infringement of such compilation will be limited to statutory damages for one work.
Brian A. Hall is an attorney and partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm practicing complex litigation, intellectual property matters, internet law, and copyright infringement matters. Speak with a copyright attorney and learn more about the importance of understanding the intricacies of infringement of copyright.
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COMMUNISM & THE DEVIL WORSHIPPING COPYRIGHT LAWS or THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT VS THE PUBLIC BRAIN EXPERIENCE
5/05/09
Yep!! You heard me right! Copyright laws are straight from the communist party and second cousin to the devil. “How’s that work?” you say? Well when article 1, sec 8 of the constitution was written it started the largest “bailout” in American history. The founding fathers just wanted to protect artists and inventors from the pirates, and that was very noble of them. Now I have nothing against protecting inventors, after all they do a very large service to all humankind. Therefore, this complaint is against the arts only! After all, singers and actors swiped all the accolades when the radio, TV, and motion picture, etc was invented. The public was “blindsided” into believing the artists were the genius behind our new technology.
After a couple hundred years and billions of dollars later, we are still protecting the artists from what? The answer is, protecting them from competing in the business world. Plain and simple they have a free ride with the aid of the communications and entertainment industries unions, guilds, associations, and their contractors. Unions and that’s what I’m talking about! The largest collection of unions in America bonded together by one kind of glue, “copyright protection”! It’s nothing new, “Ayn Rand”, “Red Star over Hollywood”, “Roy Brewer”, “and Communists in America”, “How Communists Seduced the American Film Industry”, and the list of evidence goes on. The proof is there to be had for anybody that wants to view it.
The roots of anticopyright run deep, past the fringe fanatic liberal left, and straight into our ultraconservative moral Christian soul. Let us change the perception that the anti-copyright crowd is always a left wing action. A strong Christian moral right that supports less government and more self-sufficiency can replace copyright laws. Government intervention into the business world has always had some kind of repercussion. With the copyright business being bigger than the auto industry (GDP estimates at 5%) its time we look at the real bailout in America. In this case, the artists have found a way to live like kings off the royalties from some simple country song or just a cartoon drawing of an animal. In some cases the “one hit wonders” can support an entire family for several generations from their simple production.
So, what’s wrong with somebody making big bucks from a one hit wonder? First of all it’s “golden calving”. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw that some people had made a golden calf and were worshipping it, he was angered. As should any man of God, be! It is a shame when you see young girls swooning and even fainting in idol worship of a musician or entertainer. That is what happened when the artists were making the golden calf. The women stood around them remarking on the quality of art, and what great and talented artists they were. In these day’s they would have even gotten a copyright on that calf. Copyright laws suborn IDOL WORSHIP OF GRAVEN IMAGES! Is copyright law part of the Mark of the Beast? Do we treat this kind of idolatry indirectly, going roundabout and with a backhanded ambiguity ignoring, it’s true nature? Is it arrogance and folly to claim copyright over God? (Mark 7: 21-22)
GOD DESTROYED THE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA FOR THEIR IDOL WORSHIP. In the mid 1800’s, Alabama was a prosperous thriving state. Mineral explorations found large deposits of iron ore. The state grew wealthy and Birmingham was once named the “magic city” because of its incredible growth and prosperity. In 1903, the people of Alabama built a 52-foot tall iron statue of the underworld God Vulcan. It was made completely of iron ore from Alabama, and is the largest statue of its kind in the world. In 1903 it must have been one of the most grandiose sights to behold on the face of the earth. The abomination was created to celebrate Alabama’s great iron industry wealth. People didn’t fall to their knees and pray to this god, but the Lord God of us all was still jealous and offended. In just a mere decade, after this Vulcan (largest iron statue in the world) was built the enormous prosperity of Alabama disappeared completely. To this day as the statue sits on a mountaintop perch overlooking Birmingham the people of Alabama remain one the poorest of all the states. A testimony that idol worship goes beyond praying and serving a false god. “Thou shall have no other Gods before me.” Exodus 20:3, Jeremiah 25:6, Deut 6:14 Is the Vulcan the largest demigod graven image in the world? If so what a shame it is here in America! People of Alabama, God is not slack! If you do not remove this demon god from your midst, our father may bring it down by shaking the ground it stands on! As someone that believes in the resurrection of Christ I am inclined to suspect that God punished all of America by sending us the great stock market crash of 1929, which led to the great dust bowl. Remember this isn’t some 2 foot tall statue, or even a 10 foot statue, it was the largest Demigod in the world at the time it was built. It is a monument! “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel” Chaucer
THE PARABLE OF THE SIRENS OF ULYSSES. We all know Homers story, and how Ulysses tied himself to the mast of his ship, even as some men jumped to their deaths for want of the sirens song. Those of us who took heed from such tale know there is a real life to it. Men and women drunk and drugged take their lives by the thousands every year. Many are encouraged and hypnotized to end their life with the assistance of seductive music and art. Come on now, its time to “cheapen “the stranglehold hold art has on us. Remember it could be your children next to commit suicide while listening to some Sicko horrible rock song! HOLLYWOOD GLITZ AND GLITTER IS THE REAL LIFE SIRENS OF ULYSSES!
AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF COPYRIGHTABLE EXPRESSIONS IS NOTHING MORE THAN A REDUCTIO AB ABSURDUM FIGURE OF SPEECH! Copyright advocates have had a thousand years to develop the perspective that there are an infinite number of copyrightable expressions. Using the word “infinite” almost hypnotizes people. They have cloned in the idea that we must have government protection of the arts. That art as a business could not survive without the assistance of the government. Complicated math combined with the abuse of the infinite and eternal identification leaves today’s copyright lawyers unchallenged. You see THERE REALLY ISN’T 6 BILLION NAMES FOR GOD. That’s just another example of word magic. Oh, if you want to start calling God names like Fred, Bill, Susie, or horse and dog then you will find 6 billion names. Call him rumplstilskin for all I care, but it’s not a true name for God. If it is true then we would see some new kinds of art, we very seldom do! Now we have talking French Fries and Milkshakes because artists can’t find uncontested designs. They are scrapping the bottom of the barrel of creativity. And the only thing under the bottom of the barrel is nothing. HOW MANY MELODIES ARE THERE IN THE UNIVERSE? Go to “everything2.com” and see one guy’s answer. According to the author it almost rivals the infinite. Unfortunately he should have made it “how many copyrightable and tuneful, and useful melodies are still uncopyrighted”? Don’t forget to factor in the annual 25 million + hits on the copyright office website (an indication of increased copyright literacy). Multiply exponentially the human population growth rate (approximately 75-80 million per year). Add any increase in Berne convention countries, etc., plus any new systems on recognizing unregistered copyrighted works, any new tech to speed up the copyright application process, all treaties and agreements, and I’m sure many other variables. When it’s all said and done you may not like what you see.(one melody will create an exponential decay of useless songs). IT MAY BE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CREATE NEW MELODIES WITHOUT INFRINGING ON EXISTING COPYRIGHTS! The problem is mathematics, which can be applied to all things, must be demonstrable and logical to be useful. Any formula would be rife with rifts for debate. I guess that’s why the U.S. Copyright Office has not responded to my request for “how many copyrightable and tuneful, and useful melodies are left in the universe”. SO WHY IS CONGRESS PASSING LAWS WITHOUT THE STATISTCS? The Sony Bono copyright extension and all the other new laws are in contempt of science if they didn’t at least try to create a mathematical summary of the number of available uncopyrighted expressions. Just how much does it cost to pay for an inquiry by a team of professionals? The answer will most assuredly be in the reductio ab absurdum, as there isn’t an infinite number of expressions that can be copyrighted. I like using country music as an example. It all has pretty much the same twang and lyrics. I have not heard anything different and new from the country music industry in 30 years. The lyrics may vary a little and the names of the artists are different, but country is still just country. You may say the same of rap music or heavy metal, etc. and contrary to what the industry experts say “You Are Right”! We may never in this lifetime prove or disprove how many expressions of any one category can be used for copyright, but at least we can try. Why should FEAR rule the day as it has done so often before? The ancient Catholics banned translating Latin bibles into native languages because they feared losing power.
One sin begets another! You have let in the golden calf in America. Then the communists took the next sin by unionizing the artists and controlling free enterprise! How many times can they remake King Kong before people stop paying to see it? The answer is forever, as long as the unions make sure it’s the only new release at the cinema. The consequences are we are still living in the dark ages of art. The day the government gets out of the copyright protection business is the day we will see A NEW RENAISSANCE OF ART IN AMERICA. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, thousands of new arts will arise, along with millions of new jobs and businesses. A thousand years of government control in this business has left us weak and dependant. We can prosper and probably make even more money without the government’s protection. YOU SEE PEOPLE WILL PROSPER WITHOUT COPYRIGHT LAW. In fact the artists will probably make more money. They will find ways to distribute their product more effectively. Simultaneous distribution will allow them to maximize their profits. Oh. Sure a small handful of artists might get lost in the shuffle. The true artists will manage by being qualified to create new art on a continuous basis. Manufacturing and distribution will replace the government’s copyright protection. They will control in such a manner as to maximize distribution that will eliminate infringement. No longer will the artists of the gray zone be left out in the cold, having to resort to under the table shenanigans. LAISSEZ-FAIRE- It’s only art. For once let the people run the business without the government!
Millions of pieces of art that manufactures and distributors will not touch because it might be infringing will immediately be available. They do not want to risk the lawsuits! These gray area arts can have a high probability that is not infringing. Unleash this art into the new renaissance of a copyright free world. Open the market and utilize the manufactures, so they no longer serve the pirate industry.
WE ARE LIVING IN THE DARK AGES OF ART. My favorite example is the theatre industry. The theatre industry services have not changed much in the last 100 years. We have the same old dusty dark box seating. Soft drinks that have that chemically treated taste, and popcorn with the “other” butter. They don’t have to compete because copyright laws protect them. The new movies are sent to the theatre for a month or two, then on to the cable, and finally on DVD. If we took away copyright protection for the arts the producers and corporate bosses would panic. We’d have them in the sweatbox! It’s fairly obvious they would opt to release all new movies on the same day to the theatre, cable, and DVD. Let them compete for customers! Free enterprise would prevail! We are in the dark ages of movie theatres because futuristic theatres don’t exist. The theatres would have to offer new amenities to attract customers. FUTURISTIC THEATRES COULD INCLUDE: dining options, theme park simulation, cubicles for those that want to talk while viewing (like an old fashioned drive in theatre, but indoors), download availability, and who know what else?
It’s time for the government to get out of the copyright bailout of artists. Say no to the AM/FM royalties!!!
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION MADE SENSE HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. Today we have millions of people per year accessing the copyright offices website. This mushroom cloud of copyright savvy is accelerating into a real monster. Our courts can’t even handle deciphering what is and isn’t infringement. The judges create an enigma of myriading formulas to work with. They have the abstraction test, the subtraction test, the patterns test, and the totality test. Is it extrinsic or intrinsic, is it contributory, and is it similar? The real question is do the judges even have a remote idea of what they are doing? Can we tolerate infringement suits because 4 notes in a melody are similar? Is the copyright mongering corporations creating derivative works solely to expand their percentage of infringement protection? Example: If your percentage of similarity is 20% then create a derivative work that is 20% different and you have a protection from infringers that is 40%. Do the judges know the difference between the eastern scale and western? It is time to take the founding fathers advice and call “Time Out” to copyright protection for the arts! So many people would like to see an end to copyright law. The ease of copy machines, cd, and downloads render copyright obsolete. Those that defend copyright ignore one very important factor. A world without copyright law doesn’t mean artists will be without protection. People are adaptable, and in this high tech generation it’s probable that we can do it better without the government. Even the judge that presided over the NAPSTER TRIAL proposed a plan to reform copyright laws. A plan that would employee manufactures and developers with public and private administrators to oversee rules and regulations, etc. Patel said, “Our copyright laws have become a patchwork of amendments that are adopted as emergencies arise”. I wonder if Patel was thinking of LUKE 5:36 “NO ONE TEARS A PIECE OF CLOTH FROM A NEW GARMENT AND SEWS IT TO AN OLD ONE. IF HE DOES, THE NEW CLOTH WILL TEAR, AND THE TWO PIECES WILLNOT MATCH”. Honest people waste hundreds of hours searching for copyright permission only to reach a dead-end. They are more than willing to pay the royalty fee but some times can’t even find out who owns the copyright. What a bunch of crock the government has given us! Then they offer to let us pay an orphan fee, money that goes to the government not the author. It’s like a deadbeat dad paying off the gov instead of the kids. Look how heinous our courts have become that you can’t even place a Christmas bow around a statue. In Prise de Parole vs. Guerin edituer Ltee (a Canadian case) the courts ruled that it’s a MORAL violation to alter art with something as simple as a piece of ribbon.
REVERSE ENGINEERING LAWS VIOLATE THE AXIOMATIC AGE OLD AND ACCEPTED CONCEPT “SCIENTIFIC INVENTION, DISCOVERY, AND INNOVATION.” Innovation ceases to exist, because we cannot study what has already been created. We become like the Eloi of the H.G. Wells movie, “The Time Machine.” Obey and never ask the How or Why of things. If invention and discovery are the fruits of civilization then innovation is the stem and stalk that makes the flower grow. If our copyright laws existed 10 thousand years ago we would still be talking the wheel. Our modern airplanes are not solely the product of the Wright brother’s invention.
COPYRIGHT LAWS ARE DEAD
Like a dinosaur on the verge of extinction it is dead. The belief that there is an unlimited, infinite, bountiful supply of untapped art is now over. It has been replaced by the computer that can create an endless supply of art overnight using computer programs and robotics. Mass production and distribution can delivery billions of pieces of art globally in just a few hours to your doorstep. Only a handful of “uncle toms” still believe that copyright protection serves any useful purpose. As more and more art is created the number of infringement related altercations ties up our courts, creating an enormous backlog. How many times can you copyright a picture of a circle and it still have the identifiable appearance of being a circle? Maybe it is 10 billion or 50 billion to the 10th power, so what, they outlived any usefulness way back under a million. Every example is unique. Creating billions of names for God is impossible without offending his personality. Creating billions of circles only offends the nature of its serviceability. So a small group of people gets copyright and the rest of the world can’t make a living drawing pictures of circles without making it a square and calling it a circle? How is that right for us all? The world is a lot more complicated than it was in the 6th century when King Diarmed copyrighted baby calves.
“IF CREATIVITY IS A FIELD, COPYRIGHT IS THE FENCE”-John Oswald
IS CREATIVITY A LEARNED BERHAVIOUR? There sure seems to be some experts that say it is developed. Another thing, is a personal one for me, I call it Universal Thought. Whether or not it’s some kind of mental telepathy or communication from God it does exist. Which means many artists have been given their inspiration, sometimes subconsciously and sometimes directly from the hand of the Father? So it really isn’t your art, its Gods.” For the earth is the lords, and the fullness thereof” 1 Corintians10: 26 Don’t believe in God? There is a unity of thought and perception that is dependant upon the wholeness of life’s experiences. “No man is an island”! (John Donne)
Please don’t let a few desperate sour pusses destroy our heritage by making free music on radio disappear. That’s what will happen if the stations have to pay to play. Many will switch to talk radio or use more talk to serve as filler between songs. Those artists knew what they were getting into when they began a career in music. The free music on radio has been around for almost 100 years; let’s keep it going awhile longer, for the sake of our American culture and heritage. God said, “Give and it shall be given unto you” Luke 6:38 Oh!, and don’t forget PATTERN THINKING. Pattern thinking is defined as one who organizes ideas and things together in a way that allows them to become useful and fitting to the product or endeavor. Our minds form patterns beginning on the day we are born, and we cannot have them without other forces allowing them to interact with us. Many tattoo artist’s trace from a pattern. It may look complicated but they trace it just like a paint by numbers coloring book. Many other artists are using patterns memorized from some earlier study. If you really think about it most artists with the help of pattern thinking are almost all infringing to some degree. THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. In some cases the pattern is set in gold. Did you see Clint Eastwoods movie “Pale Rider” 1985? It was marvelous, everybody loved it!! Yada,yada,yada. Go see it, but before you do check out Alan Ladd’s movie “Shane” 1953, when you are finished watching both movies I think you’ll understand why copyright laws need to change. Makes me wonder if some of the professional writers are using some kind of copyright loophole software to recreate old flicks and alter them just enough to circumvent the infringement bounty hunters. Copyright infringement bounty hunters! Hmmm mmm will we see the reality show someday? Now if the copyright laws were really “tight” we would never have had the opportunity to see Pale Rider. Can you imagine how many other artists less financially backed that can’t risk production like Eastwoods have really good art they would like to distribute? Was there even one scene in Pale Rider that wasn’t in some way similar to Shane? ANTICOPYRIGHT IS NOT THE ENEMY OF CREATIVITY! It’s more likely that copyright forces us to conformity and conventionalism. Pale Rider is the living proof (in the court of public opinion) that infringement type art can be better than the real thing. Some say true creativity comes from the beginning of understanding and is therefore pure from contamination, but don’t expect to see that in the real world. (This article in no way suggests that Pale Rider was/is infringing in any legal definition of the word).
THE PUBLIC BRAIN EXPERIENCE DOES EXIST! We have already created computers that link directly to the human brain that can operate complex machinery. As seen on TV, scientists have proven beyond any doubt that we can link the human brain with the help of the modern computer. It’s only a matter of time before we have the use of downloadable memories that will enhance intelligence. Stage 1: The invention of the computer and internet.(some would say stage 1 is the public brain experience). Stage 2: Scientists linked the brain directly to the computer bypassing voice and keyboard. Stage 3: The ability to insert other peoples memories and ideas by downloading them directly into the brain. Stage 4: The whole shebang goes wifi. Overnight we could turn into Star Treks “Borg” , only we will still be able to laugh and smile and move about without the robotic movements. Now you “Doubting Thomas” types are already saying “where is this stage 3”? It’s people like you that disbelieve in Jesus, and you were the ones that said “man will never fly” But we did fly and we are sailing ships under the sea, we also went to the moon, and we will soon start filling our brains by downloading knowledge from the computer. Will the dark force/power of the GDP quash and destroy our final approach to evolutionary intellectual freedom, and the second coming of Christ? For surely as we reach stage 3 God the Father will say to himself “Now they are ready to be approached as a civilized people”! Mathew 24:34
EXPERTS LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT COPYRIGHT LAWS SECURES FIANANCIAL REWARDS FOR AUTHORS. I challenge these experts to prove it. Validate that protections would not happen without the governments hand. These experts would also have us believe that copyright policy serves as a stimulus for creativity. Again I say, “Where is the proof”? It is just as plausible to say “copyright laws stems and stymies like a brick wall against the road of imagination, blocking many artists and inventors from every finding the final destination”. The lack of clarity that infringement brings has the potential for millions of authors to be left out of the design frame. The gray area of legitimacy sparks fear and resentment against the establishment that is manipulated by the upper class of authors and artists. The privileges wealthy copyright holders have garnered afford them monopoly powers capable of batting lesser artistic creations out of the ballpark. Ruthless tactics designed to preserve old stale art and keep competition down adorn our halls of entertainment. Pray that their time is done. The end result is the established dominant authors are not really the genius they have been likened to. Perhaps they are just old tired worn out has beens, unable to compete with new art and clinging to the government protections like a dog that covets his bone collection. And the copyright office may very well cater to these wolves. I’ve heard that it can take up to a year to get some works copyrighted. This can be construed as a tactic to leave new artists standing in the soup line.
I reiterate that you cannot scientifically prove the necessity of copyright law on our modern society. In all likelihood authors may find greater rewards by learning to protect their works without the government. Quality industrial services in a globalize system of accessibility will prove to be the ultimate protection, and provide greater rewards to the artists. It’s like someone offering to buy 1 million dollars of your product for 5 years of use. Then he offers you an extra 125 thousand if you are willing to take 5 annual payments instead of the lump sum. Anybody that’s owned a small business knows to take the 1 million, because the customer might not come back next year. You’ll have a larger lump sum payout vs. the trickle down royalties that the copyright laws give you.
Remember copyright protection is ONLY A RIGHT FOR A LIMITED TIME. The founding fathers didn’t authorize eternal services.
IN THE END BY BREAKING FREE OF THE HOLLYWOODLAND UNION CONTROLS AND GOVERNMENT INDULGENCES WE WILL UNLEASH A TORRENT OF ART, A RENNAISSANCE LIKE NEVER SEEN BEFORE ON THIS PLANET EARTH, AND THE PROFITS WILL SOAR BEYOND IMAGINATION!
When the transition happens some people will lose out, but new jobs and businesses will be created to replace government control. We will survive and prosper like business as
Usual. The fluency of the art will resonate without copyright, producing enormous profits for authors, yet keeping a natural check and balance by filtering out the old stale art that has outlived its usefulness.
THE COURT JESTER IS NOW THE KING. Well it worked out for the better with Reagan, but that doesn’t mean every singer, dancer, actor that has a hair to become a politician will be as good as him. We’ve given to much power and wealth to the artist community. Reduce their stranglehold on our country and let the real politicians get the votes. Hey! Hey! Vote for me I’ve got Big Muscles. Check out my biceps, just the right size for president eh! “Oh what a wicked web we weave when a first we do deceive”. You sowed us copyright law and now the vines of government abuse will suffocate the lifeblood from our souls. Radio paying royalties will equal “HARDCORE” paid advertising and that will be the end of free radio. It was the free music that allowed radio to survive the television. Now we will see an era of RUSH LIMBAUG and Howard Stern SPAWNS spewing up across the country like little demons returning to their haunt 10 fold. It won’t matter what side of the fence they represent just as long as it doesn’t exceed the company budget. Let us keep the court jesters in their field of entertainment by eliminating copyright laws. Do you want some Bozo as your President or would you have Judge Harvard Yale, a man learned in the science of law and politics? Copyright laws have turned the Bozos into the crème de la crème and they have developed the knack to jump careers into politics at a whim (thanks to the success of Reagan). Don’t expect every song and dance act to be as good as he was! The point is artists were to be an accompaniment to our daily life. The Kings Court, his armies, scientists, workers, etc. were to have a little art in the background, instead of leading us!
AS THE RECESSION ROLLS ON CONGRESS PLOTS TO DESTROY MORE JOBS AND FAMILIES. Millions of unemployed and more businesses on the chopping block of Bill # H.R. 4789. If hundreds or even thousands of radio stations cannot afford to pay the royalties, the next step will be to the poor house. Why take a chance with this bill during the great recession? Just to satisfy a small handful of old washed out artists that cannot compete any longer. They cannot cut new music so they have found the proverbial buried bone in the back yard to dig up. I say, “Bury the old bone”, they are still young enough to learn a new trick or song. Say NO to BILL H.R. 4789
ARE THE ATROCITES OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT LITIGATION HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC EYE BY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS AND SLAP SUIT TACTICS? Before congress acts they must get the whole story. Look at the case of Beatty Chadwick a lawyer imprisoned 11 years for not paying child support. Just one example of the dark side, and a government in need of more safeguards. Has anybody in congress seen a categorical survey of the arts potential? If drawing a picture of a cartoon animal is a category then how many times can you draw a cat without becoming an infringer? It must have some resemblance of a cat, some identification pattern to fit the category. Change your medium to jeweled bumbleebee brooches and the numbers get smaller and smaller. THE CASE OF DMITRY SKLYAROV, he was arrested for creating tools to read encrypted books. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church persecuted scholars who tried to translate Latin bibles into the common languages. In some MUSLIM countries today they still permit Arabic wording only when copying the Koran. Does history repeat itself or not brothers and sisters?? Is there any difference between Islamic fascists that will put a man to death for translating the Koran in another language other than Arabic, and the government copyright laws that arrested Dmitry for translating encrypted books? “Necessity hath no law. Feigned necessities, imaginary necessities are the greatest cozenage that men can put upon the Providence of God, and make pretenses to break known rules by”. Oliver Cromwell What copyright boils down to be simply a monopoly approved by the government. We are fighting a war in Afghanistan because some people have decided they are the property owners (copyright holders) of the KORAN and its translations, interpretations, and enforcements.
IS INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY A CONSECRETED RIGHT SOLELY FOR WEALTY COPYRIGHT HOLDERS? Doesn’t our conscience owe us an equal opportunity for all? Many of today’s copyright holders avail themselves to mass production strategies in lieu of simpler age-old systems. Crafters in flea markets, craft and art fairs, basements, and in the garage create art that is outside the realm of big business, and is frequently found to be infringing. It’s not fair to the street corner musician and all the others that work out of a car, bus and boat to make an honest buck. Simple remakes of ancient art altered and online by clever vendors out for a quick buck, along with a plethora of other types are forcing the issue of right and wrong. Yet the only way people can have this art is through the underground and on the Internet. There is obviously a lacking of brotherly love and charity from the copyright holder. The Grand Architect bids us to the common mans struggle like a crusade and an obligation against ignorance, fanaticism, and error. Because in the end we are responsible for our own actions, which means there is a system beyond government copyright law.
IT DOESN’T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST AMOUNT OF INTELLIGENCE TO KNOW THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO GET OUT OF THE COPYRIGHT BUSINESS. The constitution has already promised that the government will limit its time of involvement into to this private sector business. Obviously, the Founding Fathers knew that there are not an infinite number of copyrightable expressions. The universe is infinite, but I haven’t seen anybody with the ability to make our life on earth anything more than the finite experiences we have. Such a task is only in the hands of God, and he hasn’t yet given it.
“If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively posses as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.
Its peculiar character, too, is that none possess the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He, who receives an idea from me, receives instruction without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instructions of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, Like fire expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation.
Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property.” -THOMAS JEFFERSON
IF THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT GET OUT OF THE COPYRIGHT BUSINESS WHAT WILL HAPPEN? One possible action is people could step in and replace the copyright office anyway. Create a system to help poor people get their art copyright protected by registering it online so the time stamps of the Internet could be a partial protection. Such an action would help put the courts in a backlog and tie up litigations for the next hundred years. Free enterprise copyright assistance already exists thru the attorney, but the mantra of service is lacking and they are only out for the quick buck. A discount copyright clearinghouse for the unregistered could take us to a new playing field. With the help from the FOIA freedom of information act one could copy the entire copyright offices business and figure out how to operate it better than the government does. Thank God for the “Creative Commons” people, they are trying to do the right thing by encouraging authors to share their works. Maybe they should be allowed to take over management of the copyright office? “The freshness of transformation is the freshness of the world. It is our own, it is ourselves”. Wallace Stevens
“WHATS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS ALSO GOOD FOR THE GANDER” or another way to say it is communists’ work from within the capitalist system by embracing copyright laws as a source of money and influence. Maybe they did outgrow true communism after the fall of the Soviets, but the system is still in place for their eventual take over of the U.S.
COPYRIGHT LAWS INSTIGATE AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD! They allow a conglomeration of the arts to gain momentum and unity for no divine purpose. Where as individuals they may be harmless ungodly works, combined they are a monstrosity of evil that feeds solely on the human palate for passion and greed. Look at how black and white television was replaced with color, and radio with TV. We will dispose of cartoons and sitcoms, dramas and anything else as soon as we are bored and ready for something new. History repeats itself! Do not embrace copyright laws out of fear. Seek the truth in mathematics. “The great architect of the universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician” Sir James Jeans Every time you pass a new copyright protection law you are elevating art to a new platform. What started out as a simple courtesy that allowed free speech and art is growing into a giant tree of idol worship. The effects of new copyright laws may be subtle and/or invisible to the eye, but they are there nonetheless. The more obvious are criminals, murders, rapists, street and biker gangs, and organized mobsters using copyright laws to strengthen their evil armies. They work within the laws as a way to further mock our society, reaping profits and admiration alike, all the while serving idolatry, and satanic reason. Why the RICO ACT doesn’t have a blanket clause prohibiting known gangs from owning copyrights is beyond me?
“GIVE AND IT WILL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU” Luke 6:38 What you put into the public domain may come back as new works in some way or fashion.
Now wouldn’t it be something if thousands of radio stations refused to play any more music rather than pay royalties? We could have an enormous boycott of the new law (if it gets passed). How about if everybody in the world stopped buying music completely? More likely that the stations will start using extortion contracts to promote new music. Locals bands will sign on to get their sound out and never get paid a cent in royalties until they make it to the top, then the will hire a high priced lawyer to find a sympathetic judge.
What a shame if this bill gets passed! Free radio and TV is a large part of what we have identified with as a major force of the basic freedoms enjoyed by Americans. You can’t run a train without first laying tracks. This bill is a forerunner to destroying what has been a standard for freedom in America.
Who are the Crowned Martyrs of Copyright? I would start out with Eric Eldred; can you fill in the list for me? We will probably never learn of the people that couldn’t afford an attorney and opted to submit to the demands of the copyright holder’s attorney.
DON’T FORGET THE COLLEGE TEXBOOK RIP OFF SCANDEL! Who doesn’t know that story? Thank copyright laws for that one too.
Copyright law multiplied by exponential growth factors (EGF) = AAD art at death
EGF could include: 1. Human population growth 2. Copyright literacy 3. Mass production 4. Copyright laws. 5. Accelerated copyright evolution 6. Convergence factors 7. New technology
A simple example using the Solfege scale, do,ra,me,fa,so,la,ti,do: If it was copyrighted then any other combinations are infringing, ra,me,fa,so,la,ti,do ra. And the next five combined notes means all copyrighted melodies create a exponential decay of the number of melodies available. It may even be possible for one melody to wipe out hundreds of melodolic combinations.
= 5%of GDP(gross domestic product) by PBE(public brain experience) = the end of copyright. Copyright business is bigger than the auto bailout, the recession, and the war on terrorism. Why? BECAUSE COPYRIGHT IS THE WAR ON TERRORISM. Muslim fanatics have laid claim on the interpretations of the KORAN. This claim is what we know as intellectual property rights or copyright. IF THE AM/FM ROYALTIES BILL IS PASSED THEN THE COPYRIGHT BUSINESS WILL INCREASE ITS PERCENTAGE IN THE GDP. Do you want that? The Public Brain Experience may have rendered copyright as fragile as a butterfly in a child’s hand.
“Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul” MARK TWAIN
Joshua fought the battle of copyright, copyright, copyright,
Joshua fought the battle of copyright,
And the laws came tumbling down.
You may talk about your kings of creation,
You may talk about your men of song,
There's none like good old Joshua,
At the battle of copyright falls.
Now that I’m almost finished with this rant I am just beginning to realize the one kind of people that I like, that would lose out if the Royalties bill is passed will be the small AM stations that play old Rat Pack FRANK SINATRA era music. They don’t have much advertising as most of the listeners are old timers. I believe those little stations just play music for some old friends, not to get rich. To Bad!, it’s always the little “mom & pop” businesses that take the fall.
COPYRIGHT LAWS ARE TURNING ARTISTS INTO GODS!!!!!!! Should today’s singers and actors even be considered as artists? Unlike the actors of old that had to rely on memory, modern entertainers rely on the “take 5”, a repeat of the act until it’s been captured in its perfected state. The current direction of copyright laws obstructs the popular movement in America. Civil disobedience is charged by social interactions as a antithesis to the governments slavist articles. Corporate types sit in deaf deliberation of its anticipated reward. “A corporation has no conscience” Thoreau Government worker drones at the copyright office must surely wash their hands quite often. Will our congress do likewise? Remember copyright protection is a privilege, not much different than your drivers license. That’s because it is a law unlike other laws that is supposed to end soon. Congress and/or the courts can at any time stop protecting copyrights, and they can do it by any means they choose. The courts could even decide to stop hearing infringement suits, any and all or picked by category.
April 29, 09
I thought I was through with this story until last night. In a dream some movie producer or mobster (I couldn’t tell the difference, nor was I awake to enough to ask) advised me that I had left out the most important part of the story. It was:
PUBLIC DOMAIN REMAKES ARE NOT TRUE ART!
We see the numbers of PD art being revitalized , copyrighted, and rising by the thousands, freshly dredged from the public domain. If this were some old PAINT BY NUMBERS” the creativity of it all and copyrighting would garner quite a few laughs. This is more evidence of the ineptness of our government, that karaoke paint by number music is allowed a copyright. Give them a subcategory of copyright, call it a “royalties rights certificate”, call it something that keeps it in the public domain. WHATS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN SHOULD STAY IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN! This PD copying is not art and it’s certainly isn’t an invention. The authors can still sell it without a copyright. You know the old saying “ people will buy anything”! Using some lesser designation for this kind of ART will still afford them some legal protection. PAINT BY NUMBER MUSIC IS NOT REAL ART!!!
In defense of copyright: You can’t copyright everything at once, and even if you could you couldn’t afford it!
Tessellation makes me think of honeycombs, fine floor tiles, and Persian rugs. It’s pleasing to use tessellating thoughts. Our copyright laws make me think of saws with broken teeth trying to cut a knotty hardwood, or running a hand planer against the grain of a nice Maplewood. We need to put the tessellation in copyright laws and soon!
Fin
This article is copyright free. Use any part or all of it or lose it any way you want.
DARN DOG CAN’T FIND ANY REAL FOOD, SO HE DUG UP THIS OLD BONE FROM OUR BACK YARD! Picture of dog with bone in his mouth and inscription on bone reads; “am/fm royalty bill” is missing. Sorry!
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