Tag Archives: philosophy

Photography Copyright, Rihanna, and why we need a bright-line rule

David LaChappelle, a photographer, sued Rihanna over a music video Mr. LaChappelle claims violates his copyrights in a series of photos featuring bondage and sado masochism. Techdirt has discussed the case, both when it was first filed and after a motion to dismiss was denied, and has pointed out that LaChappelle’s claims should run afoul …

August 19, 2011 – 9:10 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Copyright & Trademark: A primer on their differences

There is a lively discussion on the differences between copyright and trademark law in the comments to a Techdirt article. Copyright and trademark law are often confused, and this is by both lawyers and non-lawyers. (We lawyers call them ‘lay-people.’) I’ve even see a lawyer confuse the DMCA takedown process and issue a takedown letter …

July 20, 2011 – 2:25 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Trademark | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Extending real-world laws to virtual worlds is a terrible idea

Governments shouldn’t interfere with the internal regulations of virtual worlds. The value of a virtual world is the fact that it exists, in an imaginary sense, outside the bounds of the real world. We visit virtual worlds to escape the real world.1 Dr. Richard Bartle wrote about this intrusion of the real world into the …

June 17, 2011 – 1:56 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

The problem of viewing Copyrights as property

I.  There is no Property in Intellectual Property Slashdot used to have a contributor/user who went by the name “I Don’t Believe In Imaginary Property.”  This user seemed most interested in issues surrounding copyright and patent law.  The implication was always that he, or she, didn’t believe copyrights should be viewed as property. I agree. …

January 26, 2010 – 7:39 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Polemics, The Future of Law | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Busybox, Bruce Perens, and GPL Compliance; the curiousities of private common ownership and the semicommons

I.  Drama in the lands of Open Source Bruce Perens is an open source hero.  He, along with others, has done a great deal for the open source community.  One of those things was creating a program called BusyBox. In short, BusyBox helped people created very, very small, embedded Linux appliances.  We’re talking thumbdrives, floppy …

December 21, 2009 – 4:16 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

How Technology Changes Everything, Yet Changes Nothing

Technology makes travel faster.  Farther.  Safer, and more dangerous. Technology brings us closer.  It allows more communication.  It places us farther away.  It makes communication more difficult. Technology brings revolution.  Writing.  The printing press.  The internet.  Epochs of man measured by technology. Technology changes everything. Yet, nothing changes. Man still communicates with man.  There is …

November 4, 2009 – 10:30 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Polemics | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)