...but getting that across to NMBS is taking some doing ( Read more... )

By way of the EFF: a concise overview of just how much of a pain in the ass it is to follow proper fair use provisions when remixing a scene from a movie. EFF Chairman Brad Templeton did a subtitles remix of that Hitler-ranting-at-everyone scene from the movie Downfall, with Hitler as a producer (and apparently affiliated with the MPAA). (Such ( Read more... )

Who made me the genius I am today,
The mathematician great politician that others all quote?
Who's the professor that made me that way,
The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat?

One man deserves the credit,
One man deserves the blame,
and Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is his name. Oy!
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobache... ( Read more... )

As promised, the press office of the Senate Judiciary Committee just sent me their release on the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008. (Thanks, y'all!) Below the cut, it's reproduced in full. The first section is a press release, i.e., the who (as in, who's sponsoring it), what (description of the bill), when (today), where (Washington, DC) and ( Read more... )

People. Really. When are you going to learn ( Read more... )

In my previous post, I mentioned GovTrack, a nifty, free watchdog service which provides a more user-friendly interface to THOMAS (the Library of Congress's archive of events in current and previous sessions of the United States Congress). With the tools there, you can follow individual Representatives or Senators (they're your representatives, ( Read more... )

My friends list today has been swept by a storm of fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding this article by Mark Simon on Animation World Network about the issue of orphaned works. "Orphaned works" are creations likely still under copyright -- photographs, illustrations, written works, music, &c. -- for which the original creator cannot be found, ( Read more... )