How much money are these Tech Giants giving to both Parties?
Good. Now we need to make sure that our politicians know the cost of ever bringing it back up.
Good. Now crumple it up and throw it in the can.
They’ll probably attach it to some defense spending bill or something.
The Senate version PIPA (S. 968) is still in play.
Appalling.
This is absolutely wonderful news. This thread needs to be in breaking news. Especcially since this is Free Republic!
It looks like we might have won this battle.
US plans to legislate against internet piracy appear to have been effectively shelved after Barack Obama came out against
Obama finally stopped fence sitting and fell off the fence into the largest pile of cash
They are LIARS ........ Watch em !! They ain’t done with this BS.
My opinion...
Tort reform
Copyright reform
Patent reform
Three big reforms that we’ve been promised since 1980 that have yet to show up. Instead, we’ve just gotten shafted time and time again... Copyrights extended for all intents and purposes forever, violating the ‘limited time’ clause of the constitution, and negating the value exchange of protecting a piece of ‘useful arts’ in exchange for public domain rights later.
The patent office says that the sitting on a swing and swaying it sideways method patent can be overturned if someone takes the issue to court, but will not cancel the method patent on their own.
And tort reform.. US courts presently have the power to seize any amount of money without restraint for any purpose or reason. That still has not changed...
Did you link to the correct article? I can’t find the text in your post... (hope it’s accurate!)
To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community
From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director
Date: January 16, 2012
Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 [Eastern Standard Time is UTC-5 hours]...
The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECTIP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate—that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.
This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and it’s a decision that wasn’t lightly made.
If this idiocy got shut down then that’s a good thing; at least Obama’s good for something every once in a while (this is probably the first). Online piracy is a problem, but it’s one that needs to be fought with something other than a shotgun.
On top of which, the basic premises - that one can effectively block individuals within a geographic area from obtaining access to sites they really want to access - is false; the only people who get stopped are the kiddies and those who just surf and don’t dig into things. For those who want to get access to pirated stuff, there’s always some way to get around the barricade - the Chinese firewall isn’t completely leak-proof. As a simple example, there is always the judicious use of an anonymizing system such as the Tor network - if US government agents use it to obscure their internet tracks, then it’s almost certain that motivated individuals seeking pirated IP can do the same thing, and once someone brings something onshore that way, then the blocks proposed by this legislation become pointless in any event. Essentially, this is the i-Maginot Line.
Mayhaps Step 1 of the crackdown is to announce that the plan is “shelved”.
Uh, there is still PIPA and the blackouts are against that as well.
These are dangerous bills, and I am glad to see them look less likely to pass.
Obama is on the right side for once.
Don't we have any real conservatives to run in Lamar Smith's district? Or at least people with enough brains to know that you don't spend political capital to advance the enemy's agenda?