Comments for American University Intellectual Property Brief

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Comment on Anonymous Targets BMI Website by muebles de oficina

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Comment on Keep Off Kardashians! The Gap Fights Back, Retaliates to Kim K’s Suit Over Alleged Misappropriation of Her Celebrity Persona by @griffinbarnett

@griffinbarnett — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:19:22 +0000

Interesting post. It seems so silly to me that The Gap would be liable for tarnishing Kim Kardashian's reputation merely by using an actress who kind of looks like her…they didn't actually appropriate her likeness in the true sense because they didn't create an ad using actual images or footage of Kardashian herself. Can a company seriously be held liable for tarnishing someone's persona when they didn't actually appropriate that person's likeness? Such a finding would be astonishing to me. It will be interesting to see what happens next in this case.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Stanisław Giers

Stanisław Giers — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:09:10 +0000

Furthemore interesting for me is the timing of all these legislations and US actions, I wanna know what is the true objective of these laws ? are there other laws like that beeing prepaired as we speak ? Who knows its might even be a puzzle each of these pieces seems harmless, Sopa , PIPA or ACTA wouldn't cause damage alone would they ? But what do we have if we combine these laws together ? what is the meaning behind the FBI prepairing measures to spy on us on Facebook ? These 40 or more arrests before the said laws even got officially adopted ? These are prepairations beeing made , but for what ? I love to speculate and Im a bit of Science-Fiction writer read my Blaze Master Mysterium of the Universe or Galaxia The stories of Illusion its on the net free, tell me what you think. These laws reminds me of this book burning campaigns in Nazi Germany just prior to the second World War , am I going to far ? if I say the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS PREPAIRING A III WORLD WAR ? or adleast someone in American establishment wishes to do it, even by means of Coupe Etat ,seems far-fetched ? But than again read it slowly analize the information take you're time with getting ackquited with all the fact and material avaible, and answer yourself don't you think that you're country is beeing pushed into starting an world conflict ? Would you the Citizens of America take responsibility and sacrifice youre life because of some system whores lust and greed ? Lets hope this all is just my fantasy I wouldn't mind beeing laughted out by you, wouldn't mind if it was just my fantasy as long as it really is just my fantasy !! But what if I just said the truth ? than we need to start taking these matters more seriously !!! NOT JUST AS A MERE TREATIES BUT AN ELABORATE CONSPIRACY, THIS IS A TERROR FROM WITHIN AMERICA ITSELF THE FOURTH COLLUMN BEWARE

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Stanisław Giers

Stanisław Giers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:17:11 +0000

Ok to make it easier to understand , in my opinion most people don't understand the Acta's true nature the danger lies exactly in these paragraphs most people use to defend the treaty. Let's not make any mistakes we aren't living in a good wonderfull utopia but in a world where illegall market practices or dirty tricks are a common matter and Acta is one of them. I used the Example of the Japanese Show Shakugan No Shana to show "copy right" material that might be censored by media companies, lets say Warner Brothers sued StudioS Shaft(The studio that made Shakugan No Shana) over certain elements used in the show that it finds similiar to one of its productions or claims are similiar and therefore the show constitutes a counterfeit of theire own material ? Who would win ? The tiny or medium sized Japanese studio Shaft ? or an enormous media corporation Warner Brothers , who would have more convincing lawyers and more economical pressure ?Now we all know Shakugan No Shana belongs to Studio Shaft its theire material but that dosen't have to mean Studio Shaft will get cleared of the charges in fact the Ceo of Shaft might get arrested and the studio's tools confiscated by the law enforcment because "they violated Copy right" Acta actually makes it possible because Warner Brothers posses an economical advantage. See how easilly it allows any major US Media company to censor the web or even remove regional movie makers, the very same can under the Acta be made in other fields like medical or farming industry motor industries etc. What can a huge company like Warner Brothers do as well to Shaft it can send a letter ordering the Ceo of Shaft to sell the company to Warner Brothers for cents blackmailing it into making an economically bad move because if they won't comply Warner Brothers can shut them down legally, face it no one could oppose it…Now my intention intention isn't to offend the Warner Brothers this is just a hypotheticall situation that will most likelly never happened but could happen if Acta passed, I believe if you start thinking deep you'll find out that every small venture may be effectivelly blackmailed by the use of the provisions written by the Acta, in fact the prospect of invigiliation may be used against us to black mail us into paying fee's for whatever we do posts or eat, this is a serious issue that might be a reality by 10 or 20 years if Acta gets passed thats why its important to protest against it and if possible negotiate true agreemnts , Acta is a trojan hourse, under the pretext of protection it will allow big companies to blackmail small companies and put an effective censor tape on all forms of media.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Stanisław Giers

Stanisław Giers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:47:08 +0000

…and returning to the more logical part of this discusion, I agree with Anon on the copy rights issue, what does it protect in the web ? Acta like both Sopa and Pipa are laws that protect a small Hollywood minority ? and what about us ? What about us Polish fans of anime lets use Shakugan No Shana as an example in USA we have this show licensed by FUNIMATION and FUNIMATION dosen't operate in POLAND now FUNIMATION released the third season on theire you tube channel legally but still I cannot watch it because I live in Poland not in America, Since Funimation allows the show to be streamed on theire sites adleast the subbed version it would mean it agrees for people to watch it both on You Tube and theire own streaming sites however this privelage is only avaible for the viewers in US why ? Why not make shows like Shakugan No Shana avaible to the entire world not just to people that do buisness with Funimation since the show is already streamed on its services. The same questions can be asked about any other movie or cartoon or music, also there are countries mostly in africa that can only watch these kinda shows via You Tube or downloading them there is no market and some of these viewers might not even be able to buy an official DVD despite liking the show. On the other hand not many movie industries can rival with hollywood and release movies on DVD however subbed versions of some Polish movies are avaible on the site or in torents or other illegall uploads. Genuially good camvids are a rarity its hard to find a reasanably good camvid movie online so most people wait before its releassed on DVD to upload it therefore Hollywood gets to make adleast billions of dolars on a good movie before it gets stolen
and puted online. So my question is who looses more if Acta is passed ? The pirates will find a way to operate even if they had to hand the dvd to each other for making copies and passing them along . Its not a problem, the problem is when someone uploads a Polish movie and the Hollywoods orders it to be taken down, even if its done by the Polish movie company that owns it if Holly wood will want it to be taken down the law enforcment will take it down, this creates a situation where everyone will have to pay companies to use the internet or post a movie, we will have to pay fee's for our own stuff….also this Idea can be expanded into all fields because Acta is a law that will force all the countries of the world to pay taxes to US COMPANIES a copy rights fee for producing theire merchandise because if the US INDUSTRY WILL HAVE GOOD LAWYERS THAN THE COURTS WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE EVERYTHING A TRADEMARK BELONGING TO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, or a patent of these companies in fact Poland users might get sued for the very fact of using the INTERNET BECAUSE IT TOO CAN BE CONSIDERED AN US PATENT !
This is the real danger Acta produces and the real scam some lobbyists are trying to pull on us ! That's why Acta has to be burned and the people who created it arrested for using illegal economical tacticts, for trying to monopolize the world's industry

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Stanisław Giers

Stanisław Giers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:14:59 +0000

SOPA, PIPA and ACTAA these words are known to anyone that surfs the net, these laws abused could allow companies and institutions to censor the web. That's why its a good thing people didn't lay arms and are prepaired to fight this war..Two laws SOPA AND PIPA apear to be dead but the remaining one may still do damage...First of all Goverments and companies do not have any right to block everythi...ng blindly to censor the internet according to theire ambitions both sides should be treaten equal...ly they should create a list of multimedia content that may be distributed legally like older movies, or music this list should be updated every year allowing people to share stuff freely without imposing restrictions on our freedoms. This anti piracy campaign might actually be targeted not to thes......e that steal theire stuff but to these that share stuff lke anime or movies from different countries. Closing our worlds and views in hermetic structure we will not go back to middle ages to be lured into wars based on racism ideologie. IF AACTA means we will not be able to share any anime's because I live in Poland and not in USA than that means AACTA will have to go down in the same way SOPA AND PIPA DID. The Copy right holders must understand the dynamics of this new society we create, Goverments and capital institutions cannot deprive our means especially if its not even economically justified because most companies make money only on new things or some works are meant to be borrow and uploaded on different sites because thats the best marketing stategy and the most easier way to open new markets without engading in a costly and usseless marketing campaigns that wouldn't be able to lure people to which this work is adressed. Therefore Prohibition is a stupid law,by creating open indexes with multimedia works which are allowed to be distributed online by people law enforcment would act more effeciently targeting only these that hit the media corporations financially....Finally there should be emphatism made by the copy holders and creators to help people create theire own multimedia content that could be distributed by these means giving both suides reasons to joy, mutual resopect and even co-operation in creating multimedia content (anime for example) which could even promote buisness or institutions or comrcial movies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWoiKtQVn2E See for yourself that we the users of the net are able to create content that can even rival official releases and by sharing these with each other freely we may prevent piracy that hurts big media corporations and having them give some of theire material freely to us, while not encuring financial loss this agrement would curb piracy more effectivelly than any legislation Any global legislation targeted at protecting copy rights in the web should understand the dynamics of this media tools. Creators and authors should divide theire works in few categories: 1) Works that are meant for commercial use (Movies,Exclusive programing, shows , etc) 2) Works that are meant for public use (Movies that are adaptations of books for example or documents) 3) Works that are meant... to be catered to fans (anime,shows specific shows like small vile or startrek...Babylon, mini historical dramas) 4) Works of trash category (everything that is older than 6 years for example which cannot produce profit) 5) Works in public domain All categories except the first one should be allowed for sharing on the net and upload on video storing sides where authors could add ads to these uploads and profit from such releases ...The first category should neverheless be protected ruthlessly. Of course these categories don't have to be exactly the way I described as some Historical drama's or fan material , anime might be considered belonging to the first category it depends on the author of the work ^^ Zobacz więcej Blaze Master Mysterium of the Universe (2010) Audio-book www.youtube.com Blaze Master Mysterium of the Universe created in 2010 you can download the audio version on (in a far better quality) : http://www.2shared.com/audio/CrDH90a

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Stanisław Giers

Stanisław Giers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:11:04 +0000

The Politics of the world are suprised seeing our organization, they want to analize our movement let them see us,it is time to march forward against opressive regulation they create, Acta is just the begining I have already stated my goals its time to make our wishes known,We are the leaders of this organized movement each of one leads others in theire own field our weapons are what we create , …THIS IS OUR REVOLUTION THE INTERNET IS OUR DOMAIN AND THEY ARE OUR GUESTS, Because we work in our lifes for them giving all we got…We deserve our own world the place we are more powerfull , our beloved world our beloved society this is the begining watch us. The Freedom we gained they will not take away from us it is to late, its theire own fault for not seeing us abandoning, now they have to negotiate a peace if they plan to survive. Because they are guests here they should know how to act when you visit a foreign land its best to show respect and be polite, THE POLITITIANS BE POLITE AND WE WILL LET YOU SEE OUR GOAL BE AMAZED FOR THIS IS MERELLY A BEGINING LOOK CLOSELLY WE PRESENT A FUTURE WORLD A SEED OF A NEW CIVILISATION THAT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO YOU'RE OWN WORLD BUT ONLY ON OUR OWN TERMS BECAUSE ITS A DIFFERENT WORLD CREATED FROM THE THINGS THAT EITHER WAY IS NO VALUE TO YOU CORPORATIONS WHAT WE TAKE HAS NO MONETARY VALUE THEREFORE WAGING WARS FOR IT WON'T BE A GOOD FINANCIAL STRATEGY OBSERVE WE ARE HERE TO STAY.

Comment on Golan v. Holder: Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection by Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection

Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:53:27 +0000

[...] [...]

Comment on The Internet Killed the Music Video Star by Justin bieber games

Justin bieber games — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:25:16 +0000

I've always wondered about this law. Now that even Justin is an activist just emphasizes how much this topic is important. Thanks for the clarifications!

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by toko

toko — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:59:24 +0000

Well, let's dispell some things: this 'blackmail' part reffered to the Anonymus group thretening with 'disclosure of the important data on the Polish politicians' obtained by hacking government computers. Therefore I'd this was a correct wording which does not mean that our (and not only ours, yours to if you happen to live in Europe, N. America, Japan or Australia) govermnent purposefuly ignored democratic procedures and the will of the people.

Comment on Grooveshark Sued: Will the Safe Harbor Shield it from Liability? by Grooveshark Sued: Will the Safe Harbor Shield it from Liability? - American University Intellectual Property Brief | Grooveshark

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:28:09 +0000

[...] Grooveshark Sued: Will the Safe Harbor Shield it from Liability?American University Intellectual Property BriefEarlier this month, EMI Music Publishing sued Grooveshark, an online music search, storage, and streaming service for breach of contract. According to the New York Times, Grooveshark, owned by Escape Media Group Inc., was founded in 2006 and has an … [...]

Comment on Diddy Sued Over Empress Fragrance Name by @griffinbarnett

@griffinbarnett — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:53:17 +0000

I think this is a closer case than it first appears. While hair products and perfumes are not exactly the same products, they are certainly similar and might be thought of by consumers as being similar. The use of the "empress" mark, especially considering that the pertinent group of consumers is likely the same or similar, on perfume and hair products might confuse such a consumer as to the origin of the goods.

Then again, the term "Sean John" appearing along with "Empress" on the perfume could negate any likelihood of confusion because Sean John is a well-known national (international?) brand and would therefore designate the origin of the perfume, whereas Empress Hair Care seems to be a local brand. Of course, the fact that Empress owns the registered mark weighs in its favor; further, the fact that Sean John unsuccessfully attempted to purchase rights to the mark, and that its own registration for "Empress Sean John" was denied also indicate that even the parties themselves believed there might be a likelihood of confusion.

I will be interested to see the outcome. Thanks for posting.

Comment on Golan v. Holder: Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection by Who has given away our Jobs and homes? - Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Conservatives, Liberals, Third Parties, Left-Wing, Right-Wing, Congress, President - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:11:59 +0000

[...] public domain can actually be taken out of it and put back under copyright by acts of Congress: Golan v. Holder: Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection The Jungle passed into the public domain a while ago, but many works from that era (the early [...]

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:09:26 +0000

Hi Jess, just wanted to let you know a judge has dismissed Ron Paul's lawsuit: http://mashable.com/2012/01/30/ron-paul-youtube/

Comment on Golan v. Holder: Supreme Court Upholds Restoration of Copyright Protection by Carmen

Carmen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:16:13 +0000

I have a YouTube channel where I have performed quite a few works in the public domain. Consider this Supreme Court decision in combination with S. 978 (which I believe didn't pass, thankfully). S. 978 would imprison somebody for 5 years for "10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works". There are also some conditions regarding the monetary value of the works being performed. Seeing how the record companies have succeeded in suing individuals for millions of dollars for downloading a handful of songs, I don't think it would be difficult for the court to decide that each time somebody clicks "play" on my YouTube video, this is an infringement of a few thousand dollars.

So, with S. 978 (and who's to say another bill like this won't be passed?) after posting several completely legal videos a few years ago, I could suddenly be subject to imprisonment for five years, as soon as 10 more people click "play" on one of my videos.

I now have to keep up to date on Supreme Court decisions and laws being passed to avoid imprisonment, for what was at one time a purely legal activity. Basically, I need to have a lawyer to consult before, and after (once every year), playing some classical music on the clarinet on YouTube.

This is worrying.

Comment on Tommy Guns, Bell Helicopters, and Electronic Arts: First Amendment Rights and Nominative Fair Use by Tommy Guns, Bell Helicopters, and Electronic Arts: First Amendment Rights and …

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

[...] more at American University Intellectual Property Brief. Filed Under: Rotary [...]

Comment on Notorious: Where [Not] to Do Your Online Shopping by asi

asi — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:38:21 +0000

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Comment on MegaUpload: Application of U.S. Justice to the Internet by Justice Man

Justice Man — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:30:17 +0000

How come the US law be applied all over the world???? Are we all nuts? Aren't we safe from freaks that scream liberty but arrest who voices against????

Comment on Anonymous Targets BMI Website by menorca

menorca — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:18:08 +0000

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Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Michael

Michael — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:14:03 +0000

You entirely miss the point. The weaselly underhanded process through which this was brought about is unacceptable even if the agreement were as begnign as you purport it to be.

Also, it is yet another instance of Obama egregiously exceeding his authority’s constitutional limits

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by anon

anon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:59:54 +0000

in my opinion- terms like "copyrights" shouldn't exist in the web. Open source is the natural way – this is how we get to this point, and this is how we'll go forward.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Larry

Larry — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:52:14 +0000

Every bad decision will bring about results that eventually will determine the best path.
Personally, I think copyright must be changed to offer everyone an incentive to innovate and not censorship for the benefit of the few.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by ajuc

ajuc — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:08:29 +0000

Polish constitution (and basicaly any other country constitution) declares that international treaties are more important than constitution, then constitution, then national law. This is neccesary for international treaties to work at all, because otherways every country will interprete every international treaty differently.

Signing internationa treaty in Poland means all future law has to be consistent with this treaty. After signing a treaty it is not negotiable. Treaty is not immadietly binding (it has to be ratified after signing – which means all the law that was prior to the signing of the treaty has to be changed accordingly). This will take years, and Polish parliament can delay this almost indefinitely, if it wants.

Also – most of the ACTA treaty is in the EU law competences, not Polish national law, and there are different processes to incorporate ACTA to this law.

All in all – ACTA is not binding in Poland yet, may not be binding in Poland in the part that EU will vote on, but neverthless, because we signed it, any NEW Polish law need to be designed to be compatible with ACTA. So we already are are constrained by this act.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Herkeless

Herkeless — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:15:24 +0000

Good ending point. Says exactly what I think about the U.S. OPEN Act in the Senate. It addresses both sides well, and private individuals and tech companies could submit markup, allowing for people to help adopt it to make sure privacy and freedom wasn't infringed. A similar lesson might be appliable to international trade agreements on intellectual property rights.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by jesusescobar

jesusescobar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:18:55 +0000

I feel bad for the small business internet service providers. They are all going to be shut down

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by jessnrobinson

jessnrobinson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:49:49 +0000

When I was reading about ACTA negotiations happening behind closed doors, it reminded me of how this happened with the Basel Accords, which set out international regulations for the world's capital markets. With Basel, the argument was that the financial world changes so much and so quickly that any hope for regulations keeping up with it meant that the group making those regulations needed to be very efficient.

How could that be the case with copyright regulation? Is it because the technologies for infringing upon copyrights change so quickly? That's too much of a stretch in my opinion. Maybe there's another reason to justify how ACTA was created without public participation or access, but it doesn't seem like the nature of the industry demands we sacrifice democratic lawmaking procedures for the sake of efficiency.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by jessnrobinson

jessnrobinson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:43:04 +0000

When I read that provision in ACTA, I thought it meant that ACTA enforcement provisions would be limited by what's allowed in the adopting country's law, but this is a good point too. If the politics behind getting others to sign ACTA is strong enough, it can reach into the adopting countries' laws too and change the adopting countries' laws.

However, it seems like there would be extra hoops to jump through and more politicians must agree to the changes when we're talking about changing domestic law. Wouldn't there be more protections against strong-arming ACTA provisions into domestic law because the Polish parliament would need to vote on it?

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by anon

anon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:13:01 +0000

"consistent with the adopting country’s law, preserving fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy. "

This is why countries are being forced to change their laws over acta? or Why the american government has been exposed blackmailing countries into signing?

It is MY personal opinion that any bill which has been showed to be associated with political or government corruption should instantly be scrapped and reworked.

Comment on Anti-Piracy Legislation Undermines Traditional California Alliances by End SOPA » LETTER: Sen. Scott Brown listened to his constituents on SOPA and PIPA – Fall River Herald News

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:15:52 +0000

[...] American University Intellectual Property Brief [...]

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by The Case for Ron Paul's Case Against NHLiberty4Paul | The Walker Wire

The Case for Ron Paul's Case Against NHLiberty4Paul | The Walker Wire — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:39:53 +0000

[...] publicity for the Paul campaign. The above scenario, if true, could help Paul’s case, as Jess Robinson points out: “Another possibility…is that Huntsman’s campaign was behind it all. If [...]

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by ajuc

ajuc — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:23:50 +0000

BTW, when last week on commision in Polish parliament voted over ACTA, and made a note to the government not to sign it without consultations, USA ambassador had the nerves to call Polish PM, and ask why it had voted that way, why some politics from government party was absent, why was this note voted.

This is not the way to gain allies, USA. This is the way to make enemies out of your friends, and all that over a few big Hollywood and music producers? Wake up.

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by ajuc

ajuc — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:15:53 +0000

I'm from Poland, I've been to the protests.

Government did everything wrong with ACTA in Poland. Non-government organisations asked the gov to see the ACTA draft since it was first known that we are negotiating it. Government said it's secret.

That alone is IMHO stupid. Why on earth should law be prepared in secrecy? WTF?

Then, a few months later Wikileaks leaked ACTA draft. People like Piotr Waglewski (renowned Polish intelectual property lawyer) had concerns with it, but government did not allowed any consultations with public.

Now, government signed the ACTA, had'nt informed public opinion about it clearly, and lied a few times (like when Donald Tusk said signing ACTA don't change a thing, because it needs to be ratified, and anyway all Polish law is in accordance with ACTA already). It's not true – some laws need to change, and ratification is more or less automatic, and menawhile all new Polish law need to be designed with ACTA in mind, even if we never ratify the act.

People wanted public debate about ACTA, there were 15 000 people manifestation in Cracow, and smaller in othe Polish cities, and still government signed it, after secret negotiation for 3 years, without debate, without trying to persuade people to government point.

Donald Tusk will lose next elections over this. People are infuriated about such clear "I don't care about your opinion" message. I'm infuriated, my freinds also.

BTW ACTA has 2 parts – regarding national law, and EU law. The EU part was decided by the EU parliament to be in conflict with european cart of basic laws. It all is not as obvious as you make it to be, and certainly secret negotiations makes it so much worse for public opinion to accept. Democracy doesn't work that way.

Don't hide the law from the public opinion!

Comment on Poland, ACTA, and “Blackmail” Protesting by Weak

Weak — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:59:06 +0000

The thing about the ACTA is it puts the pressure on ISPs to act as police about the content going through their pipes, and it can and will lead to much stricter censorship on the web that limites user-generated content. It happened to television and it probably will happen to the internet if the treaty goes through. It's just much more easier for an ISP to prevent user-content and get revenue from businesses that pay them to have their content on the web.

Oh and the ACTA allows the FBI to seize your computer any time they want, on suspicion alone.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by WalkerWire

WalkerWire — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:50:19 +0000

Overall, your legal analysis is not bad, and I'm linking to your article for that reason. But the headline and some of your comments in the article come across as biased and ignorant of relevant facts. You don't have to be a Ron Paul fan or a boring, fakely objective writer, but it's a shame that you're sullying an otherwise respectable analysis with snide, immature-sounding remarks and poor research of the facts (i.e., the case for the vid coming from Huntsman has significant merit, as others have pointed out. Did you even read the End Run articles?).

Comment on Kodak: An Example of What Not to do With Your Patents. by stevo

stevo — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:42:39 +0000

kodak developed the technology and spent millions doing so. many companies license these intellectual properties . kodak has enriched society with massive technological advances , way too many list. fact is , apple and rimm have been using these ip's without paying kodak licensing fees . kodak for many years have been asking so hence the itc lawsuit and district court filings. apple makes great products but that doesnt give them the right to not pay their share for the creation of that technology. last count is near 100 bill for apple and kodak is bk reaching for dip financing of 1 bill to survive a ruling. really??? give em 3 – 5 bill and own the patents. its a win win , white knight and own patents. where are the great lawyers out there ?

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by MKo

MKo — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:57:08 +0000

No problem Jess. Thanks for the honest reply. I have to comment on this though:

"I think the reason I characterized as "a shot in the dark" the notion this video came from Huntsman's campaign is because I have a hard time believing that it could have. IN NO WAY is that a response to the evidence you and other people have put up in this comment thread, but instead because of how underhanded it would be against Ron Paul. "

Respectully: You are greatly insulting your own intelligence with this. Come on. This is an Argument From Incredulity, and it is a logical fallacy. You should know better as a law student. What matters is what the evidence shows, not whether or not you can personally fathom that the suspect/defendant would be morally willing to commit the crime in question.

You would never stand in front of a jury and say "I know the prosecution has just presented a bunch of evidence pointing to my client's guilt, and IN NO WAY am I saying it's invalid, but think about it… would my client really have committed this crime? I mean, it is a REALLY heinous crime."

People murder their own family members in cold blood every day. Highly well-known and well-respected people commit unfathomable atrocities of fraud, rape, murder, drug dealing, racketeering, conspiracy, and beyond. Look at Jerry Sandusky. Look at Maddoff. Look at Rick Renzi. Look at Watergate. Look at Iran Contra. Look at a million other examples. It happens. We have to follow the evidence where it leads.

Here are two brand new articles that have a direct bearing on this particular case. They are extremely thorough and well-sourced, and present a ton of evidence. Please put your own incredulity aside and take an objective look at the evidence.

BREAKING: Twitter Trail Confirms “China Jon” Video as “False Flag”, Points To Huntsman Campaign http://www.theendrun.com/breaking-twitter-trail-c…

The “China Jon” Fraud Deconstructed http://www.theendrun.com/the-china-jon-huntsman-f…

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:45:27 +0000

Here's a new article , Jess: "Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, has a submitted an amicus brief in the Northern District of California, arguing that presidential candidate Ron Paul does not have the right to sue over an unfavorable YouTube video. " http://www.prweekus.com/ron-paul-has-no-right-to-...

Comment on Kodak: An Example of What Not to do With Your Patents. by Jade

Jade — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:09:47 +0000

I had seen the news of Kodak’s decline on headline news, but since they only cover the headline, I was left wondering the why and how behind it. Now that I understand, I have to wonder what Kodak is suing Apple for? Or HTC? Interesting…the webs we weave, only to cause our own demise. Sounds like Kodak is grasping at straws. How unfortunate, I love their cameras.

Comment on Kodak: An Example of What Not to do With Your Patents. by Robyn

Robyn — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:51:40 +0000

Excellent summary of a giant that could not keep up with the changing times. How unfortunate that such an icon has been managed so badly by the likes of the Gregory Greed board. I enjoyed your article immensely.

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Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:40:39 +0000

Indeed. Everything in the video was culled from footage that was previously available on youtube/google.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:27:19 +0000

Well to me the lawsuit is more symbolic. Something to placate his supporters. If I were Dr. Paul I would be suing the real writer of those nasty newsletters for false designation but perhaps there is a statute of limitations? It's my understanding there is a one year statute on internet slander. Which brings me to this: While I'm by no means a Huntsman supporter, if or when the identity of the person who uploaded the video turns out not to be Huntsman campaign he may be able to sue online commentators who have been claiming it was him/his daughters. After all "innocent until proven guilty." There is a case called Lesher vs Topix in which the plaintiff filed a defamation lawsuit against anonymous messageboard posters on Topix.com. http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/lesher-v-topix...

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by jessnrobinson

jessnrobinson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:05:25 +0000

Hi Mike,
I'm not an expert at this either, but I'm learning. As a beginner with Intellectual Property law, most of what I know is broad swathes and not specific (and important) facets of the doctrines that can apply to specific scenarios. All of that being said, I do think it would be unfair for Paul to jump on someone whose YouTube video harms him when he can completely not engage with other YouTube users who help or hurt his cause.

I don't know whether you could defend yourself by saying Paul shouldn't be able to bring this claim when he didn't bring so many others for similar videos, but I don't think you'd even have to. Satisfying the element of likelihood of confusion is too big a barrier for the false designation of origin claim, because the video clearly isn't from Paul, and I don't see how you could stand before a judge and argue that anyone could be misled into believing otherwise. Then again, this all is so surprising because Paul is claiming exactly that.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:12:01 +0000

Hi Jess,
I'm no expert but will the fact that dozens Ron Paul supporters post "unauthorized" Ron Paul videos (ie. videos that ask the viewer to "vote Ron Paul") with no objection from Paul's campaign factor in the false designation of origin claim ? The reason I ask is because theoretically (and like I said I'm not an expert) the content , whether pro or con, shouldn't have any bearing on false designation. Couldn't a defense argue that Paul's campaign has been lax in enforcing unauthorized youtube productions?

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by jessnrobinson

jessnrobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:48:07 +0000

Hi MKo,

Thank you for providing links to more in-depth articles. The ones to which I had linked have much fewer facts. I also hadn't seen that the Huffington Post had contacted the person behind NHLiberty4Paul.

I think the reason I characterized as "a shot in the dark" the notion this video came from Huntsman's campaign is because I have a hard time believing that it could have. IN NO WAY is that a response to the evidence you and other people have put up in this comment thread, but instead because of how underhanded it would be against Ron Paul.

Speaking of underhanded attacks, I can't help but keep thinking about how people in the public sphere enjoy less protection for their name. This is a general statement, and I think it applies to libel more than the trademark claim we're talking about here. When someone like Paul can claim their name to be a trademark, and thereby be able to bring a tarnishment claim, I don't think the statutory elements under the Lanham Act factor a lesser protection in. Of course, I'm talking about the tarnishment claim hypothetically, because Paul's legal complaint doesn't have it. It has a false designation of origin claim.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:09:36 +0000

Ron Paul supporters don't need to be smeared. 600 pro Ron Paul threads on Stormfront are proof a sizable portion of his supporters are avowed racists. And the fact they were talking about Huntsman , comparing him to McCaine who they view as a 'race trader' for adopting a black child, at the time the video came out is certainly suspicious but somehow ignored.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by MKo

MKo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:43:45 +0000

Jess, you completely overlook this: "When The Huffington Post contacted the poster of the video through YouTube to ask why they created the video and whether they had any formal association with the Paul campaign, NHLiberty4Paul replied: "Sorry, campaign has asked me not to speak to reporters." Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/08/huntsman-ac... That is the anonymous user maliciously attempting to tie the video to the Paul campaign itself. You also incorrectly characterize the notion that this video came from the Huntsman campaign "a shot in the dark" while linking to an utterly weak and unreadable article that actually works to DEBUNK, not advocate, this notion. For a better one see: Huntsman Complicit in “False Flag”-Style Dirty Trick Against Paul http://www.theendrun.com/huntsman-complicit-in-fa...

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Zach

Zach — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:05:03 +0000

In all likelyhood, Paul's campaign hopes to Subpeona YouTube for the User Information of the person(s) who posted the video. The account that the video originated from, appeared to have been formed the same day the video was posted, and then deactivated shortly afterwards. It seems fairly obvious that noone in the Paul camp, nor any of his supporters created the video.. It was an attempt either by the Huntsman camp, or any other nominee for that matter, to smear Ron Paul..and more importantly Ron Paul supporters.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Schpanktmunquee

Schpanktmunquee — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:28:23 +0000

you are an idiot. most thinking people would realize that when Huntsman's campaign was made aware of the video, they distributed a response which included a link to the video in question. If that link was used, it would be traced back to Huntsman's server. As for the pictures, ever heard of the image page on Google.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Snow

Snow — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:24:59 +0000

Numerous times, his family also came out and blamed Paul. The Mainstream media happily jumped on this and started blaming Paul.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Jess

Jess — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:04:17 +0000

Towards the end of the blogpost, I talked about how Paul should be able to satisfy the “commerciality” element of a trademark tarnishment claim if he can prove that the video did indeed come from someone in Huntsman’s camp. This was only me speculating, and I wouldn’t think that just pointing out the economic benefit it would give to Huntsman’s camp by pushing Paul’s campaign down would be enough to satisfy a judge. What Paul would need to do is support the argument with precedent, and I haven’t found a persuasive case out there that shows this would qualify as “commercial” under the law. Of course that doesn’t mean it isn’t out there, but I haven’t found it yet.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by presence

presence — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:23:18 +0000

The first time the video was posted on YOUTUBE was via an OFFICIAL HUNTSMAN IP ADDRESS. There is rumor it was a FALSE FLAG by the Huntsman Camp. It might be that Huntsman wanted YOU to think it was Paul's ad. Huntsman Complicit in “False Flag”-Style Dirty Trick Against Paul http://www.theendrun.com/huntsman-complicit-in-fa...

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:20:45 +0000

I never said it was the source. I said it does not rule out the possibility a Ron Paul supporter WAS behind it. There are topics on that site like:
"Jon Huntsman hoping his Chinese daughter gives him an edge in Chinese foreign relations?"

"John Huntsman Speaking Chinese"

"Great ad telling the truth about Huntsman"

"GOP worm Huntsman backs Romney"

Also they seem to have no problem with the video and are actually offended people found it racist. Still it doesn't constitute proof any more than some screenshots of youtube stats .

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:14:23 +0000

No, it hasn't. If the so-called "documentation" held any water he wouldn't be naming "John Doe 1-10" in the lawsuit nor would he be suing for what you claim is "being able to uncover the
uploader." If the proof existed who made the video why waste court time and money ?

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Joe

Joe — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:06:39 +0000

The truth is the video has been documented as originating from the Huntsman campaign. The suit was filed in California for the purpose of being able to uncover the uploader.

If it is commercial quality or not doesn't matter because it's appeared on national TV. It qualifies.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Joe

Joe — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:01:58 +0000

So if that is the source, isn't it a good thing they are being sued?

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:48:31 +0000

Why hasn't he sued the guy who posted a video of him standing in front of a confederate flag spewing revisionist history? THAT is much more damaging than the Huntsman ad because it DOES make him look racist.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:05:32 +0000

Do a search of Stormfront for "Jon Huntsman." Huntsman was being vetted concerning his daughters AND the fact he speaks Chinese by Ron Paul supporters on that website the day before the video surfaced. Not that this presents any proof but it also does not rule out the possibility a Ron Paul supporter WAS behind it.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Freedom Thinker

Freedom Thinker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:01:47 +0000

This is an old story but apparently the author is just now hearing rumors about it. No one would had even heard about this ridiculous video if the Huntsman campaign wouldn't have alerted the entire press corps virtually the second it was posted. Huntsman's campaign was behind it, it's been all but proven, which is why Paul's people are suing – they know who did it.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by jaufrancproat

jaufrancproat — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:27:58 +0000

I think he sues to clear his name. He has a lot of unfavorable opinions in the polls.
The problem is even if he wins, this won't be properly reported on TV.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Guest1

Guest1 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:17:17 +0000

Why Ron Paul supporter isn't responsible for ad. More likely a Jon Huntsman supporter. http://reason.com/blog/2012/01/10/huntsman-vs-ron... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorZsp3Bblk

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by guest

guest — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:05:48 +0000

If I was a betting man, I'd bet Huntsman's daughters made the ad as a joke. Huntsman referred to a big prank they were ready to pull on Ron Paul and I think this was it…

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by fuzzywzhe

fuzzywzhe — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:36:23 +0000

Most thinking people believe it originated from Huntsmen himself, since it contained photographs and pictures only Huntsman would likely have access.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by Petras_1

Petras_1 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:39:44 +0000

Huffingtonpost referred to the video as an ad. CBSNews referred to the video as an ad. I agree with you that even a cursory view of the video would come up with the conclusion that this was not an ad never the less there were many news sources referring to it as such.

Comment on Ron Paul Sues YouTube Users for Endorsing Him at Jon Huntsman’s Expense by @edw876

@edw876 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:04:03 +0000

Huntsman thought it was Paul's ad.

Comment on “Careful! That is [Trademark Dilution]”: Louis Vuitton Sues Warner Brothers over “The Hangover Part II” by @griffinbarnett

@griffinbarnett — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:10:23 +0000

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Comment on “Careful! That is [Trademark Dilution]”: Louis Vuitton Sues Warner Brothers over “The Hangover Part II” by Cliff Kuehn - Trademark and Copyright Attorney

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Comment on USPTO Attempts to Tackle Trademark Bullying by New Trademarkia Feature Exposes Biggest Trademark Bullies; Apple, Zynga Among Top Five « IphoneCase

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:17:18 +0000

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Comment on USPTO Attempts to Tackle Trademark Bullying by New Trademarkia Feature Exposes Biggest Trademark Bullies; Apple, Zynga Among Top Five | Bitmag

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