3 ms·

Copyright law is so archaic. Going to jail for “pirating games” is just absurd to me. Nintendo and backers of copyright law clearly using this guy as an exampl

by xyst 4y ago

Copyright law is so archaic. Going to jail for “pirating games” is just absurd to me. Nintendo and backers of copyright law clearly using this guy as an example to not fuck with our wares or else we will send our multimillion dollar legal team at you. Copyright and patent law is holding the west back. Can’t create a product without stepping on some patent trolls alleged “IP”

neilv 4y ago
I think that argument about patent law is weakened by juxtaposing it with a complaint that someone who made a business of video game piracy got smacked for it.
- Doxin 4y ago
  It's still an absurd punishment for that crime.
jimbob45 4y ago
If you were to go about changing copyright law, I have to imagine you’d only be able to change it for your nation’s works while still respecting the duration from other countries. In that case, copyright reform wouldn’t have helped this guy. I’m all for copyright reform though. 70 + life is absurd. Even worse, you penalize people for dying early like MLK.
- alwayslikethis 4y ago
  Plenty of countries have 50+life currently and they don't respect the longer time in the US.
  - bentley 4y ago
    Fewer and fewer. Canada, for example, changed this year from life + 50 to life + 70. No copyrights will expire in Canada for the next 20 years.
- animuchan 4y ago
  This is an interesting perspective! So in the long run, it might be economical to hire a hitman and coerce the artist into dying early, saving potentially tens of years worth of royalties.
  - jackstraw14 4y ago
    > coerce the artist into dying early how do you know it's early?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- welshwelsh 4y ago
  >still respecting the duration from other countries I don't see why. Why should other countries laws apply in my country?
pipes 4y ago
So videogame piracy should be allowed? This might act as a slight disincentive to making new games.
- kelnos 4y ago
  Except it won't, because copyright infringement will never replace enough purchases to actually matter. I don't think most people would say we should abolish copyright completely, but the current situation is just dumb. The copyright term is way too long. And having governments enforce a company's business model at the end of a gun is gross. At most, there should be financial penalties for violations. Depriving someone of their freedom for making/selling tools that enable copyright infringement is messed up. As is making someone pay a quarter of their income in restitution for the rest of their life.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    If left unchecked, copyright infringement without compete most digital goods and most markets. It has lower costs and less transaction friction. Why buy a Nintendo game if there was a ubiquitous platform offering free games for everything in the catalog. Who would pay for a streaming service when you can get all content from all platforms for free. Most people simply pay for their digital content now because it's easier. The only reason it's easier is because of enforcement actions against infringement
    - DoItToMe81 4y ago
      You can already get both for free openly now. It's not hard, you can just Google search it. It's vastly easier and safer now to torrent or pirate than it ever has been, due to proliferation of information on safe sites, and also due to trust systems that have sealed out people who'd spread malware in the past. People pay for digital content because it is consistently updated and has quality standards that piracy sometimes does not.
      - s1artibartfast 4y ago

by xyst 4y ago

neilv 4y ago

I think that argument about patent law is weakened by juxtaposing it with a complaint that someone who made a business of video game piracy got smacked for it.

Doxin 4y ago
It's still an absurd punishment for that crime.

jimbob45 4y ago

If you were to go about changing copyright law, I have to imagine you’d only be able to change it for your nation’s works while still respecting the duration from other countries. In that case, copyright reform wouldn’t have helped this guy. I’m all for copyright reform though. 70 + life is absurd. Even worse, you penalize people for dying early like MLK.

alwayslikethis 4y ago
Plenty of countries have 50+life currently and they don't respect the longer time in the US.
- bentley 4y ago
  Fewer and fewer. Canada, for example, changed this year from life + 50 to life + 70. No copyrights will expire in Canada for the next 20 years.
animuchan 4y ago
This is an interesting perspective! So in the long run, it might be economical to hire a hitman and coerce the artist into dying early, saving potentially tens of years worth of royalties.
- jackstraw14 4y ago
  > coerce the artist into dying early how do you know it's early?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
welshwelsh 4y ago
>still respecting the duration from other countries I don't see why. Why should other countries laws apply in my country?

pipes 4y ago

So videogame piracy should be allowed? This might act as a slight disincentive to making new games.

kelnos 4y ago
Except it won't, because copyright infringement will never replace enough purchases to actually matter. I don't think most people would say we should abolish copyright completely, but the current situation is just dumb. The copyright term is way too long. And having governments enforce a company's business model at the end of a gun is gross. At most, there should be financial penalties for violations. Depriving someone of their freedom for making/selling tools that enable copyright infringement is messed up. As is making someone pay a quarter of their income in restitution for the rest of their life.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  If left unchecked, copyright infringement without compete most digital goods and most markets. It has lower costs and less transaction friction. Why buy a Nintendo game if there was a ubiquitous platform offering free games for everything in the catalog. Who would pay for a streaming service when you can get all content from all platforms for free. Most people simply pay for their digital content now because it's easier. The only reason it's easier is because of enforcement actions against infringement
  - DoItToMe81 4y ago
    You can already get both for free openly now. It's not hard, you can just Google search it. It's vastly easier and safer now to torrent or pirate than it ever has been, due to proliferation of information on safe sites, and also due to trust systems that have sealed out people who'd spread malware in the past. People pay for digital content because it is consistently updated and has quality standards that piracy sometimes does not.
    - s1artibartfast 4y ago