Naked Brit Tech Lawyers

You heard me.

Face For Radio

I recorded an interview this afternoon with Bob Garfield of NPR/WNYC's On The Media, primarily about the recent Apple v. Does decision. (Whenever I can follow in Terry Heaton's footsteps, I know I'm on the right track.)

Recording "On The Media"

Of Fleas And Krystal

It's a 'Flea World' After All: Should the Grokster Inducement Test for Secondary Copyright Infringement Liability Be Limited to Technological Cases?: "The Flea World decision does not directly state that Grokster is only available in cases involving technologies for copying. However, by the manner in which it distinguishes Grokster from the 'ongoing,' non-technological business of a swap meet, the Flea World opinion strongly implies that Grokster should be limited to such technological cases."

Here's Professor Patry on Flea World [via Marty Schwimmer].

Related question: whither the inducee? See Clive Thompson in Wired, quoting Eric Garland, CEO of market research firm BigChampagne: "Frankly, given how easy it is to avoid detection, it's kind of amazing anyone still gets caught. 'At this point, it really seems to be gross negligence on the part of the filesharer.'"

[Tags: mgm v. grokster, copyright, secondary infringement, arista v. flea world, p2p, big champagne]

Newly Minted

A friend and colleague of mine would like a new phrase, please. One that describes the frustration at being unable to hit pause or rewind on real life as in the digital world:

For example, if I'm listening to the radio on the way into work and I hear a good song or a good joke, I'd like to hear it again right then, but can't. Or if one of my girls has just asked me something that I missed because I was distracted, I'd like to just be able to hit the eight-second replay button as I can on TiVo. Sometimes I find myself not paying attention to something and must remind myself that
there is not back-up tape or transcript for what is happening.

Seems like ground Urban Dictionary or Wired's "Jargon Watch" should already have covered, but I like "Singularity Itch," which would translate into a desire to hurry along the inevitable merger of human and machine intelligence. Once the Singularity arrives, we'll presumably have the successors of Google and TiVo on board at all times, with the ability to record, playback, and search Life As We Know It — eliminating pesky senior moments certainly, but also preserving every bit of awkward teen angst with brutal clarity.

[Tags: singularity itch, neologisms, singularity]

My Guess Is, 'Brrr'

Chilly, or guerrilly?

[Technorati tags: public disputes; participatory law]