This is bound to be a legal battle of mythic proportions! Opps, I wonder if they can sue me for that?

Mythic sues Microsoft over Mythica. Names too close - unlike Lindows/ Windows... [The Register]
11:31:33 AM     comment []

Outstanding!

D.C. Circuit accepts Verizon's statutory interpretation and reverses

Here's some of the order:

Because we agree with Verizon’s interpretation of the statute, we reverse the orders of the district court enforcing the subpoenas and do not reach either of Verizon’s constitutional arguments.

...

[T]he text of § 512(h) and the overall structure of § 512 clearly establish, as we have seen, that § 512(h) does not authorize the issuance of a subpoena to an ISP acting as a mere conduit for the transmission of information sent by others.

...

For the foregoing reasons, we remand this case to the district court to vacate its order enforcing the February 4 subpoena and to grant Verizon’s motion to quash the July 24 subpoena. So ordered.

See also this news story.
12:18:43 PM     comment []

Let me get this straight: I can't say I don't use it? Huh?

Got Hormones? Not This Dairy. Monsanto hopes to settle its lawsuit against a small Maine dairy that labels its milk as hormone-free. The agricultural giant says the labels hurt its business for Posilac, a hormone that increases milk production. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News]
11:52:57 AM     comment []

Who wouldn't be befuddled in this morass?

Film Fans Befuddled by Copyright. Martial arts movie junkies currently need a black belt in copyright law to determine when and where it is legal to buy foreign versions of U.S.-distributed films. Some movie buffs are fighting back. By Katie Dean. [Wired News]
9:56:47 AM     comment []

Just when I noticed that there hadn't been any news on the "bullshit patent" front comes this gem:

Roxio first target as CD-R patent owner threatens industry. Optima claims ownership of key burning technique [The Register]
1:48:06 PM     comment []

Oh! Canada!

Not sure what to think - this is either a great idea to solve an intractable problem, or a shot in the dark that missed the mark.

Time will tell - after the courts get through with it.

Canada deems P2P downloading legal. In the same ruling, Canadian copyright regulators also impose a $25 fee on iPod-like MP3 players and say uploading is prohibited. [CNET News.com - Front Door]
12:42:02 AM     comment []

SCO's McBride sounds off in Linux legal battle. Chief Executive Darl McBride invokes the Founding Fathers in his company's battle over intellectual property rights. Also: SCO postpones its quarterly earnings report. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

Well, this story is all over the place today: this letter shows how completely out of touch with reality SCO is in their quest to lock up Unix... but what Linus Torvalds had to say about the whole matter was so funny it deserves to be reproduced here:

If Darl McBride [chairman of SCO] was in charge, he'd probably make marriage unconstitutional too, since clearly it de-emphasizes the commercial nature of normal human interaction, and probably is a major impediment to the commercial growth of prostitution.
[quoted at InfoWorld]

Lawrence Lessig has a great blog entry today on this very topic. Imagine that!
1:43:33 PM     comment []

This is a nice piece on the whole "intellectual property" debate that's currently raging - lots of good background, lots of good points and cogent arguments:

Copywrong: Copyright laws are stifling art, but the public domain can save us [from The Independent Weekly]
11:00:34 AM     comment []