unjapanologist

The copyright crazy has been particularly strong on the internets these last few weeks, and I seem unable to concentrate on other topics and finish that blasted Textual Echoes post until I've burned off a bit of steam. So, please have a few random links on the general topic of "die, copyright legislation, die":

Weird consequences of people not understanding what copyright is for, part eleventy-hundred: in the Nick Simmons Bleach plagiarism storm, many appear to be equating fan artists directly with Simmons, or even compare Simmons favourably to fan artists (see many quotes given in this blog post). The general disdain for amateur work on display here is just astounding. Plagiarism and transformative works are two very different things, and the fact that some fan artists sell their work at cons really does not change that. I'm seeing a disheartening number of big-name manga critics saying very ill-informed things in this debate. Dear people I prefer to respect, you don't have to like fanwork, but it has a right to exist and dissing it is in no way impressive. (Also, please do not argue for a strengthening of the DCMA. The DCMA is not cool.)

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed international copyright treaty currently being negotiated behind closed doors by a steadily growing number of countries, with the Enlightened West leading the charge, of course. "Orwellian" is an inadequate term to describe ACTA, both the way it's being negotiated -outside of any international organisation and away from any oversight at all- and its proposed contents. Public Knowledge is one of many sites where the problems with ACTA are summarized; Cory Doctorow's analysis of recently leaked ACTA drafts is interesting as well. I can't understand who on earth could find this abomination a good idea, since it would harm just about anyone from regular consumers to tech companies (and not just ISPs). It also includes the usual mockery of justice systems worldwide by advocating for a system forcing ISPs to disconnect anyone who has been accused of copyright infringement, as opposed to actually convicted. Spread the word.

Another area where copyright legislation is hindering perfectly harmless, non-commercial, and important work is digital archiving for the purpose of historical research.

Lawrence Lessig gave an excellent speech in November 2009 on why applying copyright legislation to scholarship is the height of idiocy, both in a practical and a moral sense. Well worth re-watching.

Now that that's out of my system, I'll go work on my pics for