George Lucas Loses UK Copyright Battle

Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court

A Lucasfilm spokeswoman said: “We believe the imaginative characters, props, costumes, and other visual assets that go into making a film deserve protection in Britain. The UK should not allow itself to become a safe haven for piracy.”

What “piracy”? The court ruled the legal Copyright had expired.

George Lucas and his Hollywood supporters also argued the ruling posed a “significant threat” to the UK film industry as film-makers would be deterred from using UK propmakers for fear of copyright infringement.

What FUD. Next time, Lucas, get a fully-vetted contract on paper signed by everyone involved. You lacked the paperwork and left it all wide open for the court to rule on what was being covered, not a contract.

Quote Of The Day: Anonymous/LulzSec

Anonymous & Lulz Security Statement

Your threats to arrest us are meaningless to us as you cannot arrest an idea.

Judge Chin Has Great Timing!

Frustrated judge pushes Google digital book deal

A Manhattan federal judge set a September 15 deadline for Google Inc, authors and publishers to come up with a legal plan to create the world’s largest digital library, expressing frustration that the six-year-old dispute has not been resolved.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

What happened on that date in 2008? Let’s see one headline that appeared on September 16th:

Nice timing, Judge Chin. How very apt.

When Japan Whines About Copyright, Show Them This!

From time to time there are stories from Japanese companies whining about how their movies, TV shows, and manga are being “stolen” by Americans and fansubbed and Boo-hoo-hoo.

Whenever they open their yap, shove this right down their throats!

It’s a story from composer John Scott and how Japan ripped off his Copyright for his Final Countdown movie score.

Countdown To Sony Being Stupid And Busting Me

Sony Removes its ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ Trailer From the Web

Before it was removed, though, that particular YouTube posting had been viewed more than 1.4 million times as of noon PDT on Tuesday.

So, the video I embedded in this post is now gone.

Note that I didn’t upload it to YouTube. I found out about it from everyone talking about it on the Internet.

Isn’t that the damn purpose of a movie trailer?

Since Sony clearly can’t see the value of fan-driven word-of-mouth, I expect them to make my other post disappear: Shot By Shot: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Red Band Trailer.

Because, you know, crappy lo-res snaps helping to spread the word for free about their major 2011 movie will threaten all of Sony’s income!

I’m making this a sticky so we can all play this game at home. This sticky is posted June 1st, let’s see how long that post stays up.

Update June 5, 2011: I’ve unstuck this post from the front page. Unless Sony is planning a full-blown lawsuit — doubtful — they would have DMCAed WordPress by now. It didn’t take that long for them to do that with YouTube.

Writer Christopher Fowler Gets A Sony Reader

Going Off-Page

Transferring files is not instinctive, and requires that you create a library, register for Adobe and log onto your chosen store – three contradictory steps.

The Derelict Library

So I tried other ePub sites, and got as far as paying my money only to be told that the rights to my territory were restricted – sort it out, UK publishers, you’re losing money from willing readers!

Welcome to the shit people have been putting up with for years, Chris!

If It’s Mobile, It’s Not Private

Got an iPhone or 3G iPad? Apple is recording your moves

Yet according to Comments there, this is not news.

What I found interesting in the Comments was a link to a presentation about webOS.

iOS PADD App Copyright Speed Trial

CBS legal threat forces Star Trek-like DiagnosticPADD from App Store

Presiding is Judge Cane.

In The Event Of An Emergency: Police State

UPDATED: And so it begins. Emergency Financial Mgr. fires entire government of Benton Harbor, MI.

Ah, the beginning of the beginning of the end.

Nazis Gotta Nazi

TSA security looks at people who complain about … TSA security

“Expressing your contempt about airport procedures — that’s a First Amendment-protected right,” said Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. “We all have the right to express our views, and particularly in a situation where the government is demanding the ability to search you.”

“It’s circular reasoning where, you know, I’m going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse, that’s evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it’s simply inappropriate,” he said.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

“Inappropriate” is hardly the fucking word I would use.

And hey, look! The rumor was true after all! Anyone who thinks this is wrong is now a domestic extremist!

Strip and bend over to appease the cowards.

Welcome to the United States of Guantanamo.

Previously here:

How Do You Feel Now? Safe?
He Thinks TSA = “Transparent Sexual Abuse”
What Did YOU Do Today For FREEDOM?
The Government Steps Into Illegitimacy
Was Dagny Taggart Right To Shoot After All?
Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death
The Travel Nazis Known As TSA Can Go To Hell
A Reminder: Change Is Non-Linear
An Eternal Truth Now (Temporarily) Forgotten