Friday, 20 May 2011
Access Copyright Claims Trademark On The Copyright Symbol
Okay. This is just insane. Via Howard Knopf, we learn that Canadian copyright licensing agency Access Copyright is claiming to hold the trademark on the classic copyright symbol: ©. You can see it in their new website:
While there are three TMs in the image, at least two of them (top logo and in the righthand column) appear to be on the copyright symbol itself. You can see one directly here:
Mike Masnick @'techdirt'
App Developer Fights Pirate With Politeness
Most major music and movie industry outfits go out guns blazing against those who dare to copy their content. They often label these people, who also make up a great portion of their legitimate customers, as thieves and criminals. App developer and owner of the website Word of the Day decided to take another route, and crushed a potential pirate with politeness instead.
Piracy presents content creators with a mind-twisting dilemma. No one wants to see the work they have to live off being copied for free, but in today’s age not being pirated is probably even worse. Being overlooked in this way generally means that the public is not interested in what you have to offer.
The situation gets even more complicated when one realizes that ‘pirates’ are often legitimate customers too. As previously highlighted, music pirates are the ones who spend the most money on legitimate music. In a way, speaking out against pirates is speaking out against one’s biggest fans.
So how does a content creator approach such a multi-layered species when he or she spots one in the wild?
If we look at Chris Baker, app developer and owner of the The Fucking Word of the Day website, confrontational politeness might turn out to be a good choice. Yesterday, Chris spotted a potential pirate on the xSellize forums, who posted the following request:
“Can someone please crack The F-ing Word of the Day app. Please.”
Although many content creators would have cringed upon reading the message, perhaps tempted to shout the pirate down, Chris opted for a more peaceful reply to the poster “HiDefinition”.
“Hello! I’m the creator of the *** Word of the Day website and more particularly the F-ing Word of the Day App. First of all, this is a huge compliment! As a person who pirates content, I’ve always placed the moment people are pirating MY goods as the exact time of my arrival, as it were.”
Chris Baker goes on to explain that, although he has a decent job in New York, he’s by no means rich. The app and website are his pet projects and he works on them during his free time in the hope that the public might learn something. Then he continues with giving the prospective pirate his virtual blessing.
“What’s my point in all this? Go ahead and pirate the app. It cost me 1500 bucks to have programmed. It’s not even a month’s rent for me. But if you think the site is cool, and you want to pay for one eighth of a Stella Artois for me, hook me up with 99 cents. The rapture will be here soon, I could use the drink.”
The above might not have been the response HiDefinition had been hoping for, but it did make an impact. Suddenly, the prospect of getting a pirated App without paying didn’t seem as appealing as it did before.
HiDefinition replied:
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting the developer to comment. Sorry, about that. You know I was only looking to get the IPA for free only because I have no credit, credit cards, or any kind of banking services. However, your attitude has seal[ed] the deal for me. It might end up costing me a couple extra dollars in nominal fees to figure out how to pay for it but I’d be glad to contribute towards that Stella fund raiser you’ve got going on.
“Besides, I really appreciate your response and I fully support your work. I hope no one actually cracks your app [and] for sake of respect, consider my request revoked. Thanks again Chris and have a good one bro!”
It appears that with his polite reply, Chris eliminated at least one potential pirate. But that wasn’t the end of the matter. Instead of eagerly waiting for HiDefinition’s 99 cents, Chris offered to buy the App for him, asking for a positive rating in return.
Chris then concluded:
“I hope this comment thread goes down as one of the more unexpected things that happens to you online. I like the unexpected. And I like making people happy, even when something stupid like learning vocabulary is involved.”
The thread is memorable for sure, and shows that the blazing guns strategy might not always be the best one, especially not for indie content creators. This doesn’t necessarily mean that ‘pirates’ should be cuddled, but it might be a good idea to try a more balanced response every now and then.
TorrentFreak got in touch with Chris, who shared his remarkable encounter on Reddit, and he told us that he expected people to pirate his app and that it’s not a problem.
“I knew people would try to pirate my app and I’d rather have people trying to pirate my app than not pirate it. If no one is trying to pirate you, you’re irrelevant,” Chris said.
In fact, Chris admits that he too has pirated software since he was eight or nine. Whether it is the moral thing to do is not up to the developers he believes, it’s something every ‘pirate’ has to decide for him or herself.
“The morality of pirating an app will be a topic that gets debated forever,” Chris told us. “If a starving kid steals a loaf of bread to feed himself, is that wrong? If a starving designer pirates a copy of a 700 dollar version of Photoshop, is that wrong?”
“A creative storyteller could produce narratives that make you see both sides to each story,” he concludes.
Ernesto @'TorrentFreak'
Piracy presents content creators with a mind-twisting dilemma. No one wants to see the work they have to live off being copied for free, but in today’s age not being pirated is probably even worse. Being overlooked in this way generally means that the public is not interested in what you have to offer.
The situation gets even more complicated when one realizes that ‘pirates’ are often legitimate customers too. As previously highlighted, music pirates are the ones who spend the most money on legitimate music. In a way, speaking out against pirates is speaking out against one’s biggest fans.
So how does a content creator approach such a multi-layered species when he or she spots one in the wild?
If we look at Chris Baker, app developer and owner of the The Fucking Word of the Day website, confrontational politeness might turn out to be a good choice. Yesterday, Chris spotted a potential pirate on the xSellize forums, who posted the following request:
“Can someone please crack The F-ing Word of the Day app. Please.”
Although many content creators would have cringed upon reading the message, perhaps tempted to shout the pirate down, Chris opted for a more peaceful reply to the poster “HiDefinition”.
“Hello! I’m the creator of the *** Word of the Day website and more particularly the F-ing Word of the Day App. First of all, this is a huge compliment! As a person who pirates content, I’ve always placed the moment people are pirating MY goods as the exact time of my arrival, as it were.”
Chris Baker goes on to explain that, although he has a decent job in New York, he’s by no means rich. The app and website are his pet projects and he works on them during his free time in the hope that the public might learn something. Then he continues with giving the prospective pirate his virtual blessing.
“What’s my point in all this? Go ahead and pirate the app. It cost me 1500 bucks to have programmed. It’s not even a month’s rent for me. But if you think the site is cool, and you want to pay for one eighth of a Stella Artois for me, hook me up with 99 cents. The rapture will be here soon, I could use the drink.”
The above might not have been the response HiDefinition had been hoping for, but it did make an impact. Suddenly, the prospect of getting a pirated App without paying didn’t seem as appealing as it did before.
HiDefinition replied:
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting the developer to comment. Sorry, about that. You know I was only looking to get the IPA for free only because I have no credit, credit cards, or any kind of banking services. However, your attitude has seal[ed] the deal for me. It might end up costing me a couple extra dollars in nominal fees to figure out how to pay for it but I’d be glad to contribute towards that Stella fund raiser you’ve got going on.
“Besides, I really appreciate your response and I fully support your work. I hope no one actually cracks your app [and] for sake of respect, consider my request revoked. Thanks again Chris and have a good one bro!”
It appears that with his polite reply, Chris eliminated at least one potential pirate. But that wasn’t the end of the matter. Instead of eagerly waiting for HiDefinition’s 99 cents, Chris offered to buy the App for him, asking for a positive rating in return.
Chris then concluded:
“I hope this comment thread goes down as one of the more unexpected things that happens to you online. I like the unexpected. And I like making people happy, even when something stupid like learning vocabulary is involved.”
The thread is memorable for sure, and shows that the blazing guns strategy might not always be the best one, especially not for indie content creators. This doesn’t necessarily mean that ‘pirates’ should be cuddled, but it might be a good idea to try a more balanced response every now and then.
TorrentFreak got in touch with Chris, who shared his remarkable encounter on Reddit, and he told us that he expected people to pirate his app and that it’s not a problem.
“I knew people would try to pirate my app and I’d rather have people trying to pirate my app than not pirate it. If no one is trying to pirate you, you’re irrelevant,” Chris said.
In fact, Chris admits that he too has pirated software since he was eight or nine. Whether it is the moral thing to do is not up to the developers he believes, it’s something every ‘pirate’ has to decide for him or herself.
“The morality of pirating an app will be a topic that gets debated forever,” Chris told us. “If a starving kid steals a loaf of bread to feed himself, is that wrong? If a starving designer pirates a copy of a 700 dollar version of Photoshop, is that wrong?”
“A creative storyteller could produce narratives that make you see both sides to each story,” he concludes.
Ernesto @'TorrentFreak'
Popol Vuh remixed by Moritz von Oswald, Âme, Stereolab, Mika Vainio and more
Revisited & Remixed (1970-99)
The second disc (Cosmic Side) compiles remixes by various artists from the worlds of house, techno and the electronic avant-garde. Mika Vainio‘s masterful take on ‘Nacht Schnee’, and Haswell & Hecker‘s ‘Aguirre I / II’ , both appear in edited form, the full versions having been released on limited edition 12″ by Editions Mego back in 2008. Other remixers include Innervisions supergroup A Critical Mass (Âme, Henrik Schwarz, Dixon), Moritz von Oswald, Thomas Fehlmann, Mouse On Mars and Stereolab.
“Popol Vuh guided me into a world of wonder and awe,” says Stereolab’s Tim Gane. “At its core the music is very spiritual, they just sound far out and mysterious. The clanging guitar chord of ‘Wehe Khorazin’ will stay with me all my life. At that moment you really do travel a million miles. “
Roland Appel, co-producer of the Revisited & Remixed project, adds: “To be involved in a project like this means always to require as much as possible knowledge about the music or band or artist , who created the original. I thought that I know a lot about Popol Vuh. But I learned that there is much more behind this project than music. It’s almost a cosmos and I think that’s the reason why the music and the project Popol Vuh is such an inspiration for so many people, including myself.”
Tracklisting @'FACT'
Blatter says Qatar may be stripped of FIFA World Cup 2022
FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is standing for re-election for a fourth term, has admitted that there is a ground swell of popular support to re-hold the 2022 vote won by Qatar. Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup finals controversially last December.
The Independent quoted Blatter, as saying that a FIFA inquiry into claims made by The Sunday Times that there was corruption in the vote could lead to the FIFA executive committee (ExCo) voting again.
Re-voting would represent the biggest U-turn in the governing body's history.
hile Blatter was not thought to have cast his own vote for Qatar, he knows that any move to go back on the decision would cause huge ructions within world football.
While the 75-year-old did not say what he thought the likely outcome of FIFA's investigation would be, he refused to put any limit on the measures they could take if they uncovered wrongdoing.
In an interview with the Press Association, Blatter said that the notion that the 2022 vote would be re-held was "alarming" but conceded it was one that had a groundswell of popular support and was "circulating around the world".
Taking the World Cup from Qatar would be a huge blow to the prestige of FIFA, which has been widely criticized for its decision to award the biggest sports event in the world to a country of 1.6 million people with little football culture and temperatures of around 50C in June and July.
Qatar spent by far and away the most on its bid, committing 27 million pounds on communications alone in one year. To put that in perspective, the next biggest budget in the 2022 race was Australia who spent 28 million pounds in total. (ANI)
@'Yahoo'
The Independent quoted Blatter, as saying that a FIFA inquiry into claims made by The Sunday Times that there was corruption in the vote could lead to the FIFA executive committee (ExCo) voting again.
Re-voting would represent the biggest U-turn in the governing body's history.
hile Blatter was not thought to have cast his own vote for Qatar, he knows that any move to go back on the decision would cause huge ructions within world football.
While the 75-year-old did not say what he thought the likely outcome of FIFA's investigation would be, he refused to put any limit on the measures they could take if they uncovered wrongdoing.
In an interview with the Press Association, Blatter said that the notion that the 2022 vote would be re-held was "alarming" but conceded it was one that had a groundswell of popular support and was "circulating around the world".
Taking the World Cup from Qatar would be a huge blow to the prestige of FIFA, which has been widely criticized for its decision to award the biggest sports event in the world to a country of 1.6 million people with little football culture and temperatures of around 50C in June and July.
Qatar spent by far and away the most on its bid, committing 27 million pounds on communications alone in one year. To put that in perspective, the next biggest budget in the 2022 race was Australia who spent 28 million pounds in total. (ANI)
@'Yahoo'
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