(via Techdirt). If you download music, you are more likely to shoplift and cheat on your exams, says a new poll by Canadian firm Pollara, which was unsurprisingly paid by the Canadian music industry. There is a reason why slippery slope arguments are a logical fallacy. I’m off to steal Read more…
There is a new format war brewing in consumer electronics that reminds people of the VHS vs Betamax battle. This brings two competing incompatible DVD formats against one another – Sony’s Blu-Ray vs Toshiba’s HD DVD. You may wonder why do we need a new DVD format. After all, DVD Read more…
This is another amazing comment by James Boyle in FT regarding the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations, also known as the Webcasting Treaty. Boyle’s point is undeniably strong as usual. Why does the broadcast industry need a new right? Why is there need for further protection of Read more…
(via Steve Hedley’s news list). An interest in software patents and IP can make you famous. Florian Muller is the founder of Nosoftwarepatents.com, who successfully lobbied against the Software Patent Directive. Muller has been nominated in this year’s Europeans of the Year awards in the “Campaigner of the year” category Read more…
The UK Patent Office has ruled on the patentability of application number GB 2385686 filed by software giant Oracle. This patent application is for a system that translates a language like SGML into markup language like HTML. The application was denied by the examiner, who had doubts about whether the Read more…
Some days ago the Terra Nova blog reported on the curious case of a plague that is killing thousands of players in the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. Apparently, players that killed a new super-boss enemy were infected with a strange disease that started killing characters in the near vicinity. Read more…
A new year has started and a new batch of students is arriving to Edinburgh. If you are one of our new students interested in this blog business, welcome! To entice participation, I have drafted a list of online resources that may be useful: Writing How to write a student Read more…
The Google Print Project has been digitizing books found in several libraries, and already some examples of the work can be found when you search in Google. You can also search Google Print and find words within their archive. Some people believe that Google Print would fall under the fair Read more…
(Received via the CC-UK list from Rufus Pollock). This is the text of the John Coffin Memorial Lecture in the History of the Book, given by William St Clair at the School of Advanced Study University of London. The lecture deals with property, copyright and the state of literature (and Read more…
Not at all related to work. I received this and I liked its elegance: Finally, mathematical proof!