Monday, 16 July 2012
House Quietly Reintroduces a Piece of SOPA
Even
after millions rallied against the passage of SOPA/PIPA, the House is
still quietly trying to pass a related bill that would give the
entertainment industry more permanent, government-funded spokespeople.
The Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Subcommittee of
the House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing on Lamar Smith's
IP Attaché Act (PDF),
a bill that increases intellectual property policing around the world.
The Act would create an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property, as well as broaden the use of IP attachés in particular U.S.
embassies. (The attachés were notably present in Sec. 205 of SOPA—which was also introduced by Smith.)
The major issue with this bill—and all similar bills—is that the commissioning of people in the executive branch who are solely dedicated to "intellectual property enforcement" caters to Big Content. The IP attachés are charged with "reducing intellectual property infringement" and "advancing intellectual property rights" around the world, but not to critically engage IP complexities and limitations. From our perspective, this bill is nothing more than the government giving Hollywood traveling foot soldiers.
The presence of people with such a narrow cause as "intellectual property enforcement" fosters a single perspective in the federal government. In an environment where the deep-pocketed copyright lobby is pushing through favorable legislation on both a domestic and international level, this is the last thing we need. As Techdirt and Public Knowledge rightly state: trying to squeeze bits of SOPA past the people—the same people who rejected the bill earlier this year—is an awful idea. Big Content and sympathetic congressmen may think we've stopped watching their actions in Washington, but let's prove them wrong by remaining vigilant about these bad bills.
SMITTX_084_xml.pdf
Adi Kamdar @'EFF'
The major issue with this bill—and all similar bills—is that the commissioning of people in the executive branch who are solely dedicated to "intellectual property enforcement" caters to Big Content. The IP attachés are charged with "reducing intellectual property infringement" and "advancing intellectual property rights" around the world, but not to critically engage IP complexities and limitations. From our perspective, this bill is nothing more than the government giving Hollywood traveling foot soldiers.
The presence of people with such a narrow cause as "intellectual property enforcement" fosters a single perspective in the federal government. In an environment where the deep-pocketed copyright lobby is pushing through favorable legislation on both a domestic and international level, this is the last thing we need. As Techdirt and Public Knowledge rightly state: trying to squeeze bits of SOPA past the people—the same people who rejected the bill earlier this year—is an awful idea. Big Content and sympathetic congressmen may think we've stopped watching their actions in Washington, but let's prove them wrong by remaining vigilant about these bad bills.
SMITTX_084_xml.pdf
Adi Kamdar @'EFF'
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On Me
"A film full of positive energy, an endless source of life".
The legendary Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was a great influence on many musicians and his performances were so highly provocative in their originality that even today they can be considered “revolutionary”.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins met Nicholas Triandafyllidis and commissioned him to make a documentary about his notorious life in and out of the music industry. Screaming Jay came to Greece and he gave his very last concerts in Thessaloniki and Athens, before his sudden death in Paris in 2000.
Having been left a legacy of confidential sessions and footage of his final live performances, Triandafyllidis completed the film with a little help from Jay’s friends: Jim Jarmusch (director of Ghost Dog), Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon (The Animals), Rudi Protrudi, Diamanda Galas, Arthur Brown (The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown), Andre Williams and others.
He remained faithful to their common vision.
Via
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