0, hai. As the Nation has turned it's glazed eyes toward the McCain Future, we here at the Kiosk Under The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Out Of The Death Of Democracy have turned ours back to the wonderful world of Law and it's inevitably craptastic intersection with the Common Good™. To wit; we proffer the following for the elucidation and edutainmentation of all:

It's A Small World After Monsanto Takes All

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H.R. 5889: Orphan Works Act of 2008

S. 2913: Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

Plagiarism Today - Orphan Works Bill

Polite Nerd's Position RE: Orphan Works

H.R. 3578: Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Act

To safeguard the economic health of the United States and the health and safety of United States citizens by improving the management, coordination, and effectiveness of domestic and international intellectual property rights enforcement, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3155: Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act of 2007

It's A Small World After Monsanto Takes All - IP Community

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[Hazzy on the disp.]

In April of 2008 the social necrotic of Intellectual Property Law manifested in illustratingly infelicitous fashion.

A Google-hosted video of "The World According To Monsanto - A Documentary That Americans Won't Ever See" was discovered; "in the wild", as it were. The video file was localized by choosing the "Download for Email" option provided by Google. This file was split into 12 segments for the YouTube audience as an educational service, being as the title implied that it was not being carried, broadcast or shown in the USA and the subject material impinges upon all Citizens.

The word "impinge" has a mid 16th century ORIGIN: from Latin impingere ‘drive something in or at,’ from in- ‘into’ + pangere ‘fix, drive.’ The word originally meant [thrust at forcibly] then [come into forcible contact]; hence [encroach on] by mid 1700's: intrude on, infringe (on), invade, trespass on, obtrude, cut through, interfere with; violate; horn in on.

It is specifically describing the dislocation and disenfranchisement of the average person due to Enclosure of the Commons.

As predicted, the series was blocked at [host] due to copyright violation. An attempt to provide alternate hosting was met with immediate response, expected due to the
transparency of approach. Videos posted were removed within minutes of upload.

If education was the goal in producing the film,
The Film Board of Canada seem to be working against it.

Overtime.

It should be noted that no [userprofile] was harmed in this, the [Host] merely made the offending vids unstreamable. This appears to be a case of copyright interfering with educational endevours, and a fairly painless one at that. It's understandable for creators to want distributive control of the media they make, but fair use of media from all mediums should be considered a trust of the public, a given grey area where one's work enters the Commons of Human Knowledge and truly becomes a shared resource. It isn't about piracy, and it isn't about publishing or concessionary property.

It is about information, the exchange of which should be encouraged. It is about education, requisite to weigh the issue of a transnational corporate body with a toxic track record owning the Nation's food supply; owning food, all food, due in no small part to the exploitation of an oxymoronic legal dysfunction known as Intellectual Property.

It is about Enclosure; that abhorition of Human Processes that fences, walls, divides, alienates, separates and denies the Individual the Commons in favor of usurping it for profit and power. That vile, arrogant tool of the Developer Classes that pushes and prods peasants from farm to factory to phone bank, from sharing grazing pasture to sharing mass graves, from open waters to the bellies of company trowlers. Enclosure of the land has been completed.

Enclosure of the Public Trust has nearly been completed, with the death of analogue broadcasting in 2009 being one of the last hedgerows. Think about it: most utility resources are spoken for, fenced away from casual use as needed by individuals and in most cases privatized with State enforcement of trespass.

There is one Commons left. Our Common Mind, our Intellect; which is the dynamic hypernodal expression of our individual contributions to the Shared Folder of Human Knowledge and Experience.

[Hazzy 0ut.]

For a hot time, goto: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billsearch.xpd

Ask for keyword = "copyright" and/or "intellectual property"!

S. 1505: Affordable Biologics for Consumers Act

H.R. 2900: Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for prescription drugs and for medical devices, to enhance the postmarket authorities of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to the safety of drugs, and for other purposes.

S. 2242: Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2007

An original bill to amend the Trade Act of 1974 to establish supplemental agricultural disaster assistance and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for conservation and alternative energy sources and to provide tax relief for farmers, and for other purposes.

H.R. 2207: Agricultural Disaster Assistance and Western States Emergency Unfinished Business Appropriations Act, 2007

Making supplemental appropriations for agricultural and other emergency assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes.

Section 1009 -Appropriates amounts for emergency grants for low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers.