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It's not silly at all. The legal situation in some countries is dangerous or even crazy. If you can protect yourself from exposure to it when you're vulnerable

It's not silly at all. The legal situation in some countries is dangerous or even crazy. If you can protect yourself from exposure to it when you're vulnerable, then you should consider doing so. For instance, Japan has long copyright terms. Copyright extends to the end of the life of the author plus fifty years. But the EU has ludicrous copyright terms that are at least 20 years longer. Copyright in the USA is permanent (technically, the congress has to comply with Disney's lobbying every 20 years to keep extending it, but the vote is unanimous). So there's a lot of material .jp servers and apps might want to offer you that's illegal in the EU or USA. Even worse than that, the USA has a patent system where in app purchase is covered by dozens of patents, online backup or storage is covered by thousands of patents, basic common UI elements are almost all patented, and so on. You can't write even a trivial app without either infringing or buying millions of dollars in licenses. App authors just have to be comfortable with infringing and accepting effectively unlimited liability. Well, okay, I guess it is silly and crazy, but it's not the fault of Google or app publishers. The legal systems of modern nations as they apply to the internet are nasty and they're all different. Wise people might be reluctant to expose themselves unnecessarily.

gingerlime 13y ago
> Well, okay, I guess it is silly and crazy, but it's not the fault of Google or app publishers. The legal systems of modern nations as they apply to the internet are nasty and they're all different. OP here. The fact that a media like (e)books become entangled in this mess is totally absurd. Think of a paper book suddenly becoming illegal (regardless of its contents) as soon as it crosses some border. > Wise people might be reluctant to expose themselves unnecessarily. Wise people should aim to please their customers, and build a good and honest relationship with them. I think those who embrace the new medium and understand its potential to reach a far wider audience would succeed. Sticking to old rules and regulations that fail to catch-up with progress won't solve any problem. I also think consumers should aim to acquire media that is not bound to the delivery mechanism. And it should also be within the interest of authors and publishers. Why can't I choose the app to read my ebook independently of the ebook itself??
- WildUtah 13y ago
  >>The fact that a media like (e)books become entangled in this mess is totally absurd. Yes, of course. But it's not Google's fault. The publishers and the governments set the rules. >> Think of a paper book suddenly becoming illegal (regardless of its contents) as soon as it crosses some border. One of the principal jobs of US Customs is seizing illegal books and other items that infringe on copyright, trademark, and patent privileges. The Supreme Court recently reversed precedent to allow importation of textbooks that are legally published under license from US publishers. Until then, it was presumptively illegal and the court gave publishers a simple formula to make it illegal again. [0] It's also not legal to import items --presumably including books -- that may have trademarked logos imprinted on them without the consent of the trademark holder and those trademarks can be used to prevent importation of items (e.g. watches or books) whose function is unrelated to the trademark itself. [1] >> Sticking to old rules and regulations that fail to catch-up with progress won't solve any problem. It solves the problem where the people enforcing those rules can put you in jail. >> I also think consumers should aim to acquire media that is not bound to the delivery mechanism. Say goodbye to the cloud. Actually, that's not such a bad idea. [2] It sure limits your ability to access media, though. And subjects you to a lot of border searches. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Son.... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale_Corp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale_.... [2] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus...

gingerlime 13y ago

> Well, okay, I guess it is silly and crazy, but it's not the fault of Google or app publishers. The legal systems of modern nations as they apply to the internet are nasty and they're all different. OP here. The fact that a media like (e)books become entangled in this mess is totally absurd. Think of a paper book suddenly becoming illegal (regardless of its contents) as soon as it crosses some border. > Wise people might be reluctant to expose themselves unnecessarily. Wise people should aim to please their customers, and build a good and honest relationship with them. I think those who embrace the new medium and understand its potential to reach a far wider audience would succeed. Sticking to old rules and regulations that fail to catch-up with progress won't solve any problem. I also think consumers should aim to acquire media that is not bound to the delivery mechanism. And it should also be within the interest of authors and publishers. Why can't I choose the app to read my ebook independently of the ebook itself??

WildUtah 13y ago
>>The fact that a media like (e)books become entangled in this mess is totally absurd. Yes, of course. But it's not Google's fault. The publishers and the governments set the rules. >> Think of a paper book suddenly becoming illegal (regardless of its contents) as soon as it crosses some border. One of the principal jobs of US Customs is seizing illegal books and other items that infringe on copyright, trademark, and patent privileges. The Supreme Court recently reversed precedent to allow importation of textbooks that are legally published under license from US publishers. Until then, it was presumptively illegal and the court gave publishers a simple formula to make it illegal again. [0] It's also not legal to import items --presumably including books -- that may have trademarked logos imprinted on them without the consent of the trademark holder and those trademarks can be used to prevent importation of items (e.g. watches or books) whose function is unrelated to the trademark itself. [1] >> Sticking to old rules and regulations that fail to catch-up with progress won't solve any problem. It solves the problem where the people enforcing those rules can put you in jail. >> I also think consumers should aim to acquire media that is not bound to the delivery mechanism. Say goodbye to the cloud. Actually, that's not such a bad idea. [2] It sure limits your ability to access media, though. And subjects you to a lot of border searches. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Son.... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale_Corp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale_.... [2] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus...