Jonathan Schwartz's Weblog: Free Software Has No PiratesNow, I've heard from a few stockholders saying, "What? Sharing? Free Software? What's up with that! Go make some money!" And so I thought I'd put down, once and for all, why we're committed to sharing, to open source, open standards, and eradicating the digital divide. Ready ( Read more... )

Here is an article by Cory Doctorow in Locus in praise of fanfic. (From andpuff.)

And here is Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson, a 25-year-old meditation on the stifling effects of perpetual copyright that is now more relevant than ever. (From wcg.)

I can't do any better than to quote Musopen.com's "About" page:Musopen is a community driven, online music repository started by a music and economics college student named Aaron Dunn ( Read more... )

I'm quoting this entire article because it's both short and appalling.

LACTON, England, June 23 (UPI) -- The Walt Disney Co., which had denied permission to grieving British parents to put Winnie the Pooh on their child's gravestone, has had a change of heart.

Disney had warned that a stonemason would be in breach of copyright if he ( Read more... )

CE-Oh no he didn't! Part IX - Gates watches pirated videos - Engadget
But you've kind of got to hand it to the world's richest man -- someone known for his fine-tipped views on intellectual property and piracy -- admitting to, then backing out of, then copping to watching pirated video content. Peep this tidbit from Mr. Gates to Mossberg and Kara ( Read more... )

Let's start with the links:

Major Canadian artists reject suing fans and crippling CDs (at BoingBoing, pointing to the Canadian Music Creators Coalition:

1. Suing Our Fans is Destructive and Hypocritical
2. Digital Locks are Risky and Counterproductive
3. Cultural Policy Should Support Actual Canadian Artists

Consumer Electronics ( Read more... )

From Mother Jones we have this list of Intellectual Property Run Amok

Good article on intellectual "property" in The Guardian

The difference between ideas and things is obvious as soon as someone hits ( Read more... )