4 ms·

I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that Equifax just got $7.25M for identity services from the IRS or the realization that the IRS just spent $7.25M on data th

by dcow 9y ago

I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that Equifax just got $7.25M for identity services from the IRS or the realization that the IRS just spent $7.25M on data they can get for free...

porfirium 9y ago
That's like saying "I just spent $100 on this piece of software I could have torrented"
- icebraining 9y ago
  Except data (mere facts) isn't copyrightable.
  - gubby 9y ago
    Yes they are, you can assert rights on a collection of facts that you have collected. A database containing the location of every tree in the UK would be a piece of protectable intellectual property.
    - pjc50 9y ago
      This is jurisdiction-specific; the UK has a right in databases (as part of EU law) but the US has an "originality" requirement.
    - redcalx 9y ago
      Or indeed, houses. E.g. postcode database.
      - justinclift 9y ago
        As a reference data point, the official UK Postcode database: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/national-statistics-postcode-lookup-uk https://data.gov.uk/dataset/national-statistics-postcode-loo... :)
    - tinus_hn 9y ago
      Although in some jurisdictions such a right exists, it is not copyright. The US constitution limits the restrictions on free speech caused by copyrights and patents and does not allow generic database rights systems that you find in the EU.
    - jordigh 9y ago
      There isn't "intellectual property", there is copyright, utility, patents, trademarks, design patents, ship hull design rights, and a bunch of others. What's the law that gives people in some jurisdictions exclusive rights over collected data? Is it copyright again? I ask because I would like to learn more about this law, and it's difficult to do so if I don't even know what it's called. The term "intellectual property" adds confusion towards understanding the particulars. Btw, as an interesting bit of trivia, the lack of copyrightability of data is why we have fun things like paper towns and other copyright traps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_settlement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_settlement
TeMPOraL 9y ago
That $7.25M went to get the data of the different colour than the data they could find for free. Even when stuff is bit-for-bit identical, sadly, color matters. IRS needs to have the data painted "official", not "from a hack". http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/entry/23 http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/entry/23

by dcow 9y ago

I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that Equifax just got $7.25M for identity services from the IRS or the realization that the IRS just spent $7.25M on data they can get for free...

porfirium 9y ago

That's like saying "I just spent $100 on this piece of software I could have torrented"

icebraining 9y ago
Except data (mere facts) isn't copyrightable.
- gubby 9y ago
  Yes they are, you can assert rights on a collection of facts that you have collected. A database containing the location of every tree in the UK would be a piece of protectable intellectual property.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    This is jurisdiction-specific; the UK has a right in databases (as part of EU law) but the US has an "originality" requirement.
  - redcalx 9y ago
    Or indeed, houses. E.g. postcode database.
    - justinclift 9y ago
      As a reference data point, the official UK Postcode database: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/national-statistics-postcode-lookup-uk https://data.gov.uk/dataset/national-statistics-postcode-loo... :)
  - tinus_hn 9y ago
    Although in some jurisdictions such a right exists, it is not copyright. The US constitution limits the restrictions on free speech caused by copyrights and patents and does not allow generic database rights systems that you find in the EU.
  - jordigh 9y ago
    There isn't "intellectual property", there is copyright, utility, patents, trademarks, design patents, ship hull design rights, and a bunch of others. What's the law that gives people in some jurisdictions exclusive rights over collected data? Is it copyright again? I ask because I would like to learn more about this law, and it's difficult to do so if I don't even know what it's called. The term "intellectual property" adds confusion towards understanding the particulars. Btw, as an interesting bit of trivia, the lack of copyrightability of data is why we have fun things like paper towns and other copyright traps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_settlement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_settlement

TeMPOraL 9y ago

That $7.25M went to get the data of the different colour than the data they could find for free. Even when stuff is bit-for-bit identical, sadly, color matters. IRS needs to have the data painted "official", not "from a hack". http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/entry/23 http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/entry/23