Biden Promises 'Right Person' As Copyright Czar 492
Hugh Pickens writes "Vice President Joe Biden lauded Hollywood at a gala dinner in Washington, assailed movie piracy, and promised film executives that the Obama administration would pick 'the right person' as its copyright czar. Biden warned of the harms of piracy at the private event organized by the Motion Picture Association of America in the sumptuous, newly renovated Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. 'It's pure theft, stolen from the artists and quite frankly from the American people as consequence of loss of jobs and as a consequence of loss of income,' Biden said, according to a White House pool report. Biden addressed President Obama's forthcoming decision about who will be named the intellectual-property enforcement coordinator, better known as the copyright czar. Under a law approved by the US Congress last October, Obama is required to appoint someone to coordinate the administration's IP enforcement efforts and prepare annual reports. Copyright industry lobbyists sent a letter to the president asking him to pick someone sympathetic to their concerns, while groups that would curb copyright law sent their own letter (PDF) urging the opposite approach. We 'will find the right person for intellectual property czar,' Biden said."
Context, please (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Ecch... (Score:2, Informative)
One of the big things that bothers me is that the american entertainment industry is such a tiny part of the economy.
Indeed. As I've said a few times before, the Self Storage industry is about twice as big as all the movie and music companies combined. Providing the middle class with a place to dumb their excess consumption is more profitable, how fucked is that.
Hope and Change, Fairydust and Rainbows.... (Score:5, Informative)
Feeling suckered yet? Obama knows where to get his bread buttered, and Hollyweird is only happy enough to do it for him.
Re:Ugh, that's depressing... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ugh, that's depressing... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:politics (Score:3, Informative)
I will remind you that it was a Democrat that signed the DMCA into law.
Re:Can we drop all this "Czar" crap? (Score:5, Informative)
There were no "czars" in the Soviet Union, the last one was murdered at the start of the revolution.
Re:politics (Score:3, Informative)
I will remind you that it was a Republican congress that wrote and voted for the DMCA bill.
Re:politics (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ugh, that's depressing... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:politics (Score:3, Informative)
Copyright was a small subject for the Bush administration, they were into energy and military spending.
The congress on the other hand is littered with Democrats who have been propped up with entertainment dollars.
Re:politics (Score:5, Informative)
I will remind you that it was a Democrat that signed the DMCA into law.
Yep. Under a Republican House and Senate.
And it was Introduced by:
Howard Coble, N.C.-R
Henry Hyde, Illinois-R
John Conyers, Michigan-D
Barney Frank, Mass.-D
Also sponsored by:
Sonny Bono, Cali-R
Bill McCollum, Fl-R
Howard Berman, Cali-D
Mary Bono, Cali-R
Bill Paxon, NY-R
Chip Pickering, Miss-R
The bill passed:
The House 297-112, Republicans: 205 Yes, 16 No, Democrats 92 Yes, 95 No
The Senate 99-0, Republicans 54 Yes, Democrats 45 Yes
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/105/house/2/votes/69/ [washingtonpost.com]
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/105/senate/2/votes/137/ [washingtonpost.com]
So yeah, looks like Hollywood spread the donations around to both parties. At least more than half of the House Democrats voted no.
Re:I nominate... (Score:1, Informative)
The solution: Remove government intervention and let things play out on their own.
Re:I nominate... (Score:1, Informative)
It doesn't matter for the parents point to be valid. Consider:
"Violently raping children is NOT the answer to getting the children a better education."
"So the solution is?????"
The lack of a solution to improving education does NOT mean we should violently rape children.
Biden == Corrupt (Score:5, Informative)
It's a fair bet when Biden cries for the artists, this isn't the sort of artist he cries for. More examples of artists (real artists, not corporations posing as artists) being ripped off here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting [wikipedia.org]
The Investment Theory of Politics says the best predictor of government policy is who the donors are. The RIAA donated both to the Dems and the Republicans. Whoever wins, we lose. They're getting the laws they paid for. Not anyone else you can vote for. Obama's campaign made a big deal about how he was funded by small donors, but 2/3rds of his income was from corporate interests.
Here's another example, the one of congress taking rights away from the public and giving them to corporations. In compensation for this you get NOTHING. YOU GET NOTHING! GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act [wikipedia.org]
Biden makes me sick.
Re:Can we drop all this "Czar" crap? (Score:4, Informative)
There were no "czars" in the Soviet Union, the last one was murdered at the start of the revolution.
There were, however, kommissars and that is what USian "czars" are.
Oh noes! Now that Falco song is playing in my head! And I didn't pay for the right to reproduce that song!
Re:politics (Score:3, Informative)
There is plenty of evidence that the DMCA enjoyed bi-partisan support. Anyone claiming its all the fault of Democrats or all the fault of Republicans is just a partisan party hack.
The U.S. government is basically a one-party system anymore.
Re:I nominate... (Score:3, Informative)
I'd give her the Nobel Peace Prize if I were on the committee.
The Peace Prize is (at least in theory) given "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". If you seriously think that PJ's work qualifies in any way, you might want to check your reality distortion field meter...
Re:I nominate... (Score:3, Informative)
I think the point, and you may have conceded it, is that you can listen to the music/videos/whatever in several completely legal ways instead of needing to rely on piracy or getting rid of copyright.
Maybe what is needed isn't to get rid of copyright but forced distribution with standardized fees to some extent. This would mean that if something Google couldn't get a license to allow songs to be posted on youtube or whatever, they could ask the government to create one in which they would pay the royalty to the artist/copyright holder through a government collection panel or something. We already have a model for it with how radio works.
Re:I nominate... (Score:5, Informative)
It's still a lost profit if you steal a rental car for the weekend but never would have paid the rent on it.
*sigh*
Why do people still come up with fundamentally broken comparisons to physical property ? Has the difference not already been explained enough times ?
1. The rental company cannot rent out the car if you've "borrowed" it for the weekend.
2. Wear and tear on the vehicle.
3. Possibility of accident.
None of the above are applicable to copyright infringement.
Re:politics (Score:2, Informative)
What's with the political party fanboyism. It's the two party system, people! When are you going to learn that they are both just out to fuck you.
Re:Can we drop all this "Czar" crap? (Score:4, Informative)
Insightful my arse.
You should learn a bit more about Lenin before you call him a czar. He was a true believer in communism and really tried to implement it in Russia. For example he abolished the passport because in his opinion it was a tool of a police state. On the one hand he forced the people to overcome illiteracy, on the other side he made lot of liberate policies like decriminalizing homosexuality and declaring the unconditional right of separation for national minorities.
He also was afraid of the Communist Party becoming a large bureaucratic bog and he warned of Stalin becoming too powerful.
Re:I nominate... (Score:3, Informative)
To sum it up a Theft produces a reduction in a STOCK.
Since digital material can be reproduced at will in perfect copies there is no stock to steal from...then there is no crime. Added to this to make a profit you need scarcity of source and a imperfect market. That's the reason why the corporate oligopolist of MAFIAA live in a frenzy of terror since when the recording tape has been invented. No wonder they pay big money to twart common sense, 200 years of economic theories and... law.
It has to be pointed out that a imperfect market harms the consumers, competition and progress. Also it has to be pointed out that amongs politicians there are several psicopats that would prefer living as rich in a poors contry rather than working for the common good. Sad news that putting them in power it's your fault.
Re:Ugh, that's depressing... (Score:3, Informative)
Germany $ 1,530,000,000,000 2008 est.
China $ 1,465,000,000,000 2008 est.
United States $ 1,377,000,000,000 2008 est.
Japan $ 776,800,000,000 2008 est.
France $ 761,000,000,000 2008 est.
Italy $ 566,100,000,000 2008 est.
Re:I nominate... (Score:3, Informative)
Uh, no.
The second amendment isn't an endorsement of an armed revolution. It's an endorsement of people to take up arms to defend themselves and not have to wait for the military to step in. Why else would militias be mentioned?
Guns should only be used defensively.
If you have doubts, look at the clause that allows habeas corpus to be suspended in cases of insurrection or rebellion where the public safety requires it.
Re:I nominate... (Score:3, Informative)
Do not forget Federal Income Tax. That is how they got the money to withhold. And do not forget the universal 21 drinking age which was also forced down states' throats with the same fiscal threat.