McCain-Palin campaign calls for respect for fair use
The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Fred von Lohmann sez, "The McCain-Palin campaign comes out fighting for fair use after having their YouTube videos targeted by frivolous copyright claims from CBS, Fox News (!), and the Christian Broadcasting Network (!!). They propose special protections for the YouTube accounts of political campaigns -- a good start, but other YouTubers need protection from bogus DMCA takedowns, too! With 20 days left before Election Day, this problem is going to get worse..."
The obvious problem with this solution? It assumes that YouTube should prioritize the campaigns' fair use rights, rather than those of the rest of us. That seems precisely backwards, since the most exciting new possibilities on YouTube are for amateur political expression by the voters themselves. After all, the campaigns have no trouble getting the same ads out on television and radio, options not available to most YouTubers.McCain Campaign Feels DMCA Sting (Thanks, Fred!)Let's start by identifying the real villains here: the major news media outlets. They are the ones censoring these political ads, based on the use of a few seconds of their footage. The networks need to back off and give fair use a wide berth. So let's start by shaming the bad guys here. In addition, lawsuits might help. Under the DMCA, both the campaigns themselves and YouTube have standing to sue those who send clearly bogus takedown notices. (EFF has represented video creators in a number of these cases, including against Viacom.)
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Finally! A post on Boing Boing that doesn't totally wail on Republicans!
Politics indeed make for strange bedfellows!
Finally! A post on Boing Boing that doesn't totally wail on Republicans!
Fascinating that you find the perceived political affiliation more significant than the issue raised in the post.
I didn't really read this incident as "McCain ticket stumps for fair use."
I didn't read it as "McCain ticket stumps for fair use for political candidates," either.
I read it as: "McCain ticket stumps for special treatment of VIPs when YouTube evaluates copyright claims."
Really, that's what this is about. McCain has never, EVER expressed an interest in fair use, or balance in copyright law, etc. - rather, he's interested in securing deferential treatment and priority in DMCA review for... well, for himself, and privileged people like him. The proletariat, as usual, can just piss off.
So this really isn't about copyright law at all... it's about promoting classism. And that stinks.
- David Stein
David Stein: Well said and WTF already! Let Nick Shogun have his illusions though if it makes him happy.
Woops! My lysdexia kicked in, that should have been FTW.
This from the campaign that illegally posts copyrighted recipes and ignores artists demands that they not use their copyrighted music. Sorry, guys... You lose the moral high-ground when you ignore the laws that you are complaining that other people ignoring.
Tonight's title fight:
Xeni vs. Cory!
Fairly typical -- it's only heinous when it happens to the anointed. I'm sure "fair use" will be allowed for political campaigns as a self-serving loophole much as everything from violation of "do not call" listings to FAA exemptions for pilot payments* are.
~~~~~~~~~~~
*Pilots without commercial or ATP certificates can be paid to carry political candidates on non-commercial aircraft during elections (FAR 91.321)
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySectLookup/91.321
You know, if most posts are waililng on republicans there is probably a reason. :p
/just sayin'
Obama's lead widens!
Wow, these rules suck! We need to do something quick!
I guessing, the media conglomerates had no problem with the same ads when the campaigns were paying for air-time.
@#3: Fascinating that you don't see the obvious political leaning of this blog, and react to it according to your views.
David Stein:
If the venue where the music is being played has paid its standard ASCAP license, McCain can play whatever he wants.
That's how performance licenses work.
The artist already GAVE their permission for the song to be used (through an ASCAP license), but they did not know that it would be used on McCain's campaign, so now, they are upset about it. But it's too late- they already gave the permission.
Sorry, my last post was for gnoodles, not David Stein.
A good start?
Sounds like specifically they don't care if anyone else gets protection. Just themselves. It doesn't sound like a start, just an avoidance of the issue.
Otherwise, why specify protection for political campaigns only? Under what premise?
There is nothing so simple as a party wonk. It should be apparent that this Blog and many of its commenters, while left leaning, meaning we simply cannot abide the Republican *Values* plank of exclusion, are not Democratic zombies filled with unthinking hatred for Republicans.
I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, Lidertarians, and Independents. As an even more naive 18 year old, I registered as an Independent, once I discovered that did not mean independent, but Independent, I switched to Democrat to have more opportunities to vote in primaries. As a young adult, I simply could not join Nixon's party, and have been choosing the lessor of two evils ever since.
Please understand that it just so happens that most of the problems confronting the US at this time are either the direct result of Bush & Co. or being exasperated by Bush & Co. So, naturally this tends to bring about a lot of legitimate grousing.
Many of us would love to have a viable third or fourth party, but many who have refused to vote for either flavor of poop, are now understanding we cannot afford this luxury, for better or worse we are stuck with Obama. Personally, I was still not ready to vote for the man, but McCain choosing Palin as a running mate has scared the crap out of me.
Those of us who feel as I, find it difficult to understand voting for McCain after picking Palin, simply because they pretend to support the criminalization of abortion, exploit the pathological fear of GLBT citizens and the irrational fear science is just some elaborate conspiracy to destroy religion, and encourage a xenophobic fear of immigrants. Oh, and let's not forget the racism angle either.
So, to all of the Republicans who are dying hard, please know that I will be jumping just as hard on Obama, and see no reason to believe this blog would not do likewise, if Obama betrays us as Bush has done, which I am convinced he will do, especially as regards Iraq.
After all, this is not about political parties, but our nation's future. My personal opinion, is as soon as the powers to be of either party no longer need our sons and daughters to fill the military ranks, they will no longer need America.
@ #17 FoetusNail
We are closer in our opinions than I thought. Your self-description could be equally applied to me, except that I am a tad younger (earliest presidential candidate voted for - Reagan) and while you chose Obama when McCain selected Palin, I went the other way.
And while you ended up in the Democratic Party after your journey, I remained an Independent, as none of them make me very happy, not even the Libertarians, which I tend to like more than most. In Michigan, you don't declare a party anyway - you can vote in either primary (but only one).
I agree with what you say about Bush and his policies and what they have done to this country.
I also agree with all you say about Obama, and if he is elected, I will give him my full support and hope that he actually can make positive changes that benefit all of us. It *is* about our future.
I have not been here long enough to know what BB's position will be vis-a-vis Obama if he is elected. We'll see.
Adding to my first comment at #12, I would also assume the only reason these corporations sent out these DMCA notices, is to lend an air of legitimacy to the other notices they have previously sent or are preparing to send. It probably would not look too good in court, if the EFF decide to present as evidence these political ads when defending fair use.
After reading your comment Wigwam, I realized I too should have given the caveat, if he is elected.
They propose special protections for the YouTube accounts of political campaigns..
special rights FAIL
WIGGY@18: Nice try, but your voting record doesn't say much for your "independence" since you only voted that way during the Clinton years.
And for how critical BB will be on Obama, should he be elected, see the discussions in the archives here on the FISA bill.
@ #22 posted by Phikus , October 15, 2008 10:59 AM
That's partisan thinking, my friend. Not all Democrats vote strictly for Democrats - not all Republicans vote strictly for Republicans. And independents certainly don't vote for non-affiliated candidates exclusively. I am conservative - I tend to vote for conservative candidates, but I am bound to no party loyalties.
According to Mark Penn, author of "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes," both major parties are rapidly losing registered members, but third parties like the Libertarians are not necessarily picking them up. Rather, the biggest shift has been towards the moderate center, and the 'independent' is the largest and fastest growing category of voter self-identification. In other words, people are bailing on the major parties and choosing 'none of the above' in droves.
Everyone is free to vote their conscience, but people who have no party affiliation, registered or declared, have less impetus to toe any party line at all.
WIGGY@23: "That's partisan thinking, my friend."
Simply asking that your presidential voting record that you have cited actually back up your claim of "independence" is not partisan thinking, my friend, by definition. Perhaps you don't ascribe the same meaning to these words that the rest of us do.
Excuse me if I have a hard time swallowing that anyone who voted for dubya twice, as well as his father, and can't get enough Palin could be very independent in actual practice, for all of your protestations to the contrary.
I myself, as I have said in other threads, have never registered affiliation to any political party, but you don't see me blabbering about how "independent" I am. This old saw of yours just won't cut it anymore.
It is interesting how some of those voicing support for McCain/Palin, distance themselves publicly from the intolerant and bigoted portions of the *Values* plank. They also distance themselves from Bush's economic failures and his handling of the occupation of Iraq. McCain is likewise now suddenly distancing himself from Bush.
Why then are they still intending to vote for McCain? Because McCain tapped Palin? Really? McCain picking a seemingly ignorant and obviously intolerant religious fundamentalist, found to have violated her states ethics laws, and who claims the Branchflower Report clears her of ethics violations is a reason to vote for McCain.
Sorry, I don't buy it. Please be honest, because this just doesn't make sense. Other than posting anti-Obama rhetoric, they don’t seem to post any real reasons for their position. I hate to say it, but the only conclusion is they are definitely voting to criminalize abortion, are probably homophobic, and possibly even racist, despite claims to the contrary.
Obviously, stopping same sex marriages, criminalizing abortion, or keeping a *colored* man out of the White House is far more important to many McCain/Palin supporters than stopping a bloody and costly occupation, ending eight years of disastrous economic policy, or reversing the erosion of civil rights.
I would really like to know why anyone voices support for McCain, especially after his choosing Palin as his VP. And please give some reasons that do not mention Obama. I haven’t even heard McCain give any good reason to vote for his ticket other than a smorgasbord of fear for this or that one.
In case anyone hasn't seen it yet, YouTube's response to McCain's letter is all over the net. One place you can find it is http://lessig.org/blog/ut-response.pdf.
(Yes, I am a Google employee. No, I'm not authorized to speak for Google. Yes, as an individual I think this letter is well written and worth reading.)
Well that's very informative. Wonder if McCain will still care about this issue after the election.
care? If Obama wins, McCain will be gone like wisp of marsh gas. If by some travesty McBush wins again, this won't be an issue since any critics of the government will be in cells anyway.
"Finally! A post on Boing Boing that doesn't totally wail on Republicans!"
More correctly stated, it would be, "totally whale on Republicans".
Wailing means crying, to whale on someone/something means to beat on them/it.
Does waling on them mean beating them with your corduroys?
that old?
–verb, whaled, whal·ing,
to hit, thrash, or beat soundly.
[Origin: 1780–90; orig. uncert.]
oh yes, soundly, I forgot. :)
so what if you drub them with whalebone concrete form supports while wearing your ribbed pants and yodelling?
whaling with whale wales while wearing wales wailing
wouldn't that chafe a bit?
TAK: ...preferably in Whales, natch.