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Submission + - Copyright Group To Collect From Creative Commons E (activepolitic.com)

bs0d3 writes: In Leipzig, Germany, an 8 hour music/dance party event was organized to play nothing but creative commons music the entire time. A German copyright group called GEMA told the organizers that to be certain that no rights were infringed, it would need a list of all artists including their full names, place of residency and date of birth. After the event GEMA sent an invoice for 200 euros. They claim that behind pseudonyms some of their artists may be hidden and produce things that they would not earn anything from. According to German law, you are required to prove that an artist is not with GEMA. So even though GEMA probably does not have rights to any of the music, they are not required to prove that they do.
Science

Submission + - Crowdfunding for Science - Can it Succeed? (rockethub.com)

jearbear writes: "Can crowdfunding work for science? Having raised nearly $40,000 for scientific research in 10 days for projects as diverse as biofuel catalyst design to the study of cellular cilia to deploying seismic sensor networks (that attach to your computer!) to robotic squirrels, the #SciFund Challenge is taking off like a rocket. Might this be a future model for science funding in the U.S. and abroad? What would that mean?"

Comment Re:New generation of privacy concerns (Score 1) 392

I'm wondering if the "ad coelum" rule might help out here. "Cuium est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad infernos." In English, "For whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to the sky and down to the depths." The ad coelum rule is an old bit of Roman-law-cum-English common law that asserted that a landowner's property rights extend both below ground and "to the heavens." In theory, anyone passing across these invisible boundary lines - whether above or below ground - could be held liable for trespass. In the 1930s, as aviation became an increasingly important part of American life, Congress in essence passed a "mass easement" allowing airplanes to pass over privately-held land - without threat of trespass action. With "trespass by overflying airplane" no longer a viable cause of action, the same I gather is true for "trespass by overflying satellite." But I fail to see how that "mass easement" granted to aviators - arguably to facilitate transportation of goods and people - can or should be extended to imagery satellites whose express purpose is the gathering of information on citizens powerless to prevent it. Also - if anyone is aware of an organization committed to fighting this, I would greatly appreciate knowing the name or web address. For those Americans reading out there, I must remind you that our country belongs to the people, and the State may only act at the behest of and in the service of thesame. If we feel that Congress is acting out of line, it is up to us to put those motherf*ckers on a leash and tell them to heel. Write or call your Congressman, your Senator, get involved with the ACLU or a like organization and protest. More than anything else, organize. Good luck to us all. (FYI - I posted this originally under "anonymous coward" but then figured, what the hell.)

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