Copying and repurposing. My point was trademark/dress is about PACKAGING. While I know companies try to assert as much control as possible over whatever they feel is their IP, and in the (potential) absence of copyright they will try to use trademark legislation. I'm just not sure the courts will be as flexible in steamrolling free speech over trademarks as they are with copyright.

I'm not entirely sure mickey mouse's character design can be trademarked. I'm sure disney would try to push that he is, but i just don't know how well they could apply his (potentially) public domain use as trademark infringement.

putting certain, specific images of him, on clothing or other products might be out, if those specific glyphs are trademarked; but releasing an animated version of the godfather with public domain disney characters should be ok (notwithstanding the mario puzo ip).

Good post! But I'd like to add that another thing they (and certain linux distros I'm currently typing on) could do without is the "Gotta change around the UI" mindset.

I'm all for UI improvements, and even redesigns; I'd even say the last redesign MS & Ubuntu did was not horrible. But "not horrible" isn't what you should ship with. To get something into a release it should at least be as good as the last one.

I think this:

is the bit in your post that _implies_ a registered, official press.

I think it's more of a "What does MS think they can get away with?" question. If MS does the dreaded online only DRM, then hopefully Sony won't do it and this next fight will play out like ps2 v xbox1.

Of course, if the two companies have colluded on the matter the console space may get very unpleasant.

maybe they're rolling into the price what they think will be an increased tech support cost. but they probably won't offer tech support for ubuntu anyway. wait a sec, i haven't bought a whole system since 99, is tech support still a thing?

So laws that govern the IRL effect of internet actions are ok? If someone gets a massive DDOS and the attacker is bragging online about doing it, they should get complete immunity because their actions don't affect the real world? or are you just saying that it should be analogous to harrassment? if that's the case are there any instances where the analogy of internet to real world aren't clear-cut? is a ddos harrassment or if it's a web-store does it count as loitering, or b&e? if it's a hospital system could an up-tight prosecutor try to pass it off as attempted murder, even though the lagged system has nothing to do with the closed circuit ICU machines?

i'm not advocating for the **AA, anything that hurts them is good for everyone else in the world. but to suggest a completely lawless internet seems kinda naive.

An internet without any legal enforcement could be a bad thing. I shop on the internet, and I'd really hate it if there were no legal system deterants for people trying to hack amazon to steal my card number (accepting the fact that credit card fraud would still be crime on its own).

I'm not at all on the side of the **AA though. With the copyright term extensions they've lobbied, they have been actively "stealing" from our public domain for a long time. I feel that, If people knew how the **AA has been (much more apt to the analogy) "stealing" from them, they'd start to see how messed up the system has become. Perhaps there will be a SOPA style call in day to get the next term extension stopped.

I don't think contract law has quite devolved to the state of "By having read this license agreement you have accepted it". Though with the state of EULAs i can' fault you for assuming it's that bad.

lets try an experiment though:
by having read this comment you've agreed to send me 10 dollars.

I don't think you have to agree to a EULA to play xbox games. At least I never have, also typically when I buy them at a store i get a "sales receipt" these two things together seem like pretty good evidence for me having purchased the software.

I am still legally bound by copyright laws in my country, but just because your copy of windows tells you it is licensed doesn't mean all software is licensed...not even entirely sure your copy of windows is licensed, because any agreements were made after you legally purchased it (and you do have an invoice or receipt).

Blender.

When learning complex and powerful software look for two things: Cross-platform & Open-source.
Cross-platform code is usually much more stable, having a healthy abstraction layer from the os.
Open-source: It can never be taken away from you - say you learn autocad, and use 1 feature allot, then there is a new version of windows and it's not compatible with your autocad, so you get new autocad, but that feature isn't there anymore. if it were opensource you could maybe do something about it.

You put the two of them together and you also get the benefit of possibly flying anywhere in the world, and being able to download powerful software that you already know how to use on whatever computer they have there.

I started 3d modeling on truespace, and the many hours (and dollars) i spent on that are gone forever now.

"useful articles" don't get any copyright protection.

things like this can get patents, but patents don't last as long. the venerable ar-15 has no unexpired patents. that's why there are so many different ar15 designs out there. ar15 manufacturers (like stag, adams arms, zombie defense, dpms, yhm) aren't licensing the design from eugene stoner, armalite, or colt.

patents related mechanical engineering are also much less consolidated than the copyrights of major record labels and movie studios. so there is less of a coordinated effort (and less money to spend) in pursuit of legal action in the event of patent violation.

not just oil, iraq had a much weaker military than the dprk.

I don't think the US Navy is allowed to attack people on US soil with F18s at the moment. I'm pretty sure the US military in general (aside from the recent change regarding drones) isn't allowed to do that.

If I had the mod points.

this is an old video but very important
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik