OK just for today we’ll break off the politics for news about the Internet… and SOPA and PIPA.
They are whatchamacallits – the Army and Navy use them all the time. I can’t recall the generic name of abbreviations but the services are full of ‘em. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Internet Piracy Act. COCUSA (Chamber of Commerce of the
Google, Wikipedia and other utilizers and distributors of the Internet wares are interested in cutting down on ‘piracy.’ ‘Piracy’ in their eyes is where someone creates a book, a song, a painting, and lots of other things – they hold a ‘copyright’ to what they have created. Others who come along and ‘pirate’ that creation should not be able to do so… or need to be obedient to the copy write laws and pay the original creator for his/her work. It is very complicated law.
One of the most recent problems arising out of this is radio stations that play music created by someone else – should they be *required* to pay a fee… a royalty … to the person who wrote, composed or played the song which then was broadcast on the air? A big change in the enforcement of this ‘law’ just about drove a lot of radio station managers buggy.
Well… you can see the person responsible for creating the material does have a right to be compensated for his/her services… but what about the guy who has bought an put up the station that plays the music… he’s using it (the music) and it’s making another person richer… what does the radio station owner collect out of that? Most of the music industry says – well the station is profiting by playing my music and selling advertising on his station which is popular because of what I have created… therefore *I* the owner of the station should be getting some slice of the pie… and it goes on.
Well… I’m certainly not going to solve that problem here… but you begin to see where the boundries lie… and there’s a lot to be explained and pounded out etc. etc. more than I can manage here. But at least you now know why some of the Internet was dark yesterday… I guess you can write them about it. (J) Eventually it’ll all “come out in the wash” as the old folks used to say.
I’m giving up for today… politics looks simpler after this escapade. (J)
Cordially, IN HIM
Jack Buttram
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“JUST A MINUTE”
WHAT IS THAT CHOAKING FEELING THAT’S NOW HERE?
Just a Minute: Yesterday – well in fact up until just after midnight this morning – a large part of the Internet was shut down. It went dark because some of the users want to demonstrate against legislation called SOPA and PIPA which they see as huge threats the usefulness and freedom of this ‘social’ medium.
What has happened is Wikipedia and hundreds of other websites went dark for 24 hours protesting two controversial pieces of legislation they see as threatening Internet security while undermining freedom of speech. This legislation is advanced in an effort to crack down on online "piracy" which they define as the illegal distribution of copyrighted material.
Beware and be forewarned. <> I’m Jack Buttram. (END)
Jebco Editorial Service
E-mail n4zhk@arrl.net
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