In a bill passed earlier today, the Government of New Zealand announced that software in the country will no longer be patentable. New Zealand’s largest IT representative body, the Institute of IT Professionals, expressed relief and said the decision removed a major barrier to software-led innovation.

A copyright battle between the AP and an online news-clipping service is reaching a climax, and the case could have significant implications for fair use. AP sued Meltwater Group last year, arguing the "reputation management" company had a "parasitic business model" that violated copyright. Meltwater is arguing that it is merely a search engine. Last week, the nation's largest newspapers lined up to tell the New York federal judge considering the case that they support the AP.

CIAPC, the company that had The Pirate Bay blocked by ISPs in Finland, tracked an alleged file-sharer and demanded a cash settlement. However, the Internet account holder refused to pay which escalated things to an unprecedented level. In response, this week police raided the home of the 9-year-old suspect and confiscated her Winnie the Pooh laptop.

I have been reading up on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a legislation powerhouse responsible for laws such as the Voter ID legislation that we are dealing with here in PA. They claim to be proponents of the free market, federalism, and limited government, but this whole group is just really creeping me out. Seems to support of transition of power, rather than a lessening of regulation. And then I saw this article supporting intellectual property rights.

Earlier this year, after months of legal wrangling, authorities in a number of countries won an injunction against the Pirate Bay, probably the largest and most famous BitTorrent piracy site on the Web. The order blocked people from entering the site.

In retaliation, the Pirate Bay wrapped up the code that runs its entire Web site, and offered it as a free downloadable file for anyone to copy and install on their own servers. People began setting up hundreds of new versions of the site, and the piracy continues unabated.

Thus, whacking one big mole created hundreds of smaller ones.

The number 2 song on the Billboard charts is not copyrighted, and that has opened up various opportunities for its use, and has boosted its phenomenal popularity. It's a meme, viral video, and korean pop song that has become wildly popular around the world.

Was listening to Monday's show's discussion with regards to IP and alternative distribution, and profiting from you "intellectual" work.

This is actually a friend of mine, who, once homeless, now brings in 6 figures from his viral videos via YouTube.
Just shows how you can make money by distributing your content at now cost to the end user.

"CityNews reporter Peter Kim explains how the once-homeless 25 year-old became an internet sensation."
"St. Catharines man turns viral videos into 6 figure salary."

First it was music, now it's porn. Attorneys for the adult film industry are taking a page from the music industry and filing mass lawsuits to stop porn piracy. They say the illegal file sharing is cutting deeply into profits, and those who play without paying must be stopped. Problem is, Innocent people are getting swept up in the internet dragnet.

While most folks are looking elsewhere, Congress is trying to sneak an absolutely awful "cybersecurity" bill through Congress, permitting ISPs to funnel private communications and related information back to the government without adequate privacy protections and controls. The bill does not specify which agencies ISPs could disclose customer data to, but the structure and incentives in the bill raise a very real possibility that the National Security Agency or the DOD’s Cybercommand would be the primary recipient.

Wow, really? On a function so basic as the play button itself. This is getting out of hand.