MrDrPodcast Episode 13: Mickey Makes Copyright Law His Bitch

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Listen to MrDrPodcast Episode 13

Today we have a slightly depressing episode of the MrDrPodcast that left the hosts a bit depressed. After some high notes about unicorn meat and gaming cocktails we discuss copyright / patent laws and how they make us sad.

Rant:

Shit, you can now Ctrl-Z public domain

A ruling in the Golan case has determined that it is possible to take things out of the public domain and put them back under copyright law. The lawsuit was originally about some foreign works that, as a result of a trade agreement, would be pulled out of the public domain. After years of appeals, the district court had determined that the copyright law can violate the first amendment. Following that victory, the case once again went to appeals courts and the ruling was reversed. The reasoning? Copyright law “addresses a substaintial or important government interest”. The court essentially stated that decisions on copyright are above the unwashed masses and should be handled by congress.

Weekly Randomness:

Randomness: Gaming Cocktails

Awesome drinks such as the Ocrina of Lime.

Stupid Lawsuit of the Week:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/unicorns-theyre-not-the-other-white-meat/

• Each year Thinkgeek advertises some fake products as a yearly tradition for April Fools.
• This year one of the products was Canned Unicorn Meat with the tagline “The New White Meat”
• The National Pork Board, feeling this was a threat to their branding “The Other White Meat” sent a cease and desist letter.
• ThinkGeek published the letter and offered this apology on its Web site to the board: “We’d like to publicly apologize to the N.P.B. for the confusion over unicorn and pork — and for their awkward extended pause on the phone after we had explained our unicorn meat doesn’t actually exist.”
• The president of GeekNet, which owns Thinkgeek is quoted saying “”It was never our intention to cause a national crisis and misguide American citizens regarding the differences between the pig and the unicorn.”

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