Input: [Service] Video Presentation [Price] 99 [Description]

Output: A quick video presentation of your products and services

Web Design Extra Features Add-On Top-Up | BrandWeb Direct


Input: [0] Morning [Tuesday—Thursday] Warm-up [Saturday] Warm-up [Friday]

Output: Warm-up

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [Tuesday—Thursday] Master Class [Saturday] Sound Check [Friday]

Output: Master Class

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [0] Afternoon [Tuesday—Thursday] Master Class [Saturday] Break [Friday]

Output: Master Class

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [Tuesday—Thursday] Practice [Saturday] Workshop Recital [Friday]

Output: Practice

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [0] Evening [Tuesday—Thursday] Flute Class [Saturday] Reception [Friday]

Output: Flute Class

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [Tuesday—Thursday] Evening Excursion [Saturday] Evening Excursion [Friday]

Output: Evening Excursion

Jeffrey Khaner Flute Class - Curtis Summerfest


Input: [#] 1 [Duration] 03:29 [Title]

Output: How Far We've Come Hello Hello Hello Waking up at the start of the end of the world, But it's feeling just like every other morning before, Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone, The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour And I started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time? I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well I guess we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I believe it all is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know And I can't remember caring for an hour or so Started crying and I couldn't stop myself I started running but there's no where to run to I sat down on the street took a look at myself Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well I guess we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come It's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home It was cool cool, it was just all cool Now it's over for me and it's over for you Well it's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home Well it was cool cool, it was just all cool Now it's over for me and it's over for you I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well I guess we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come


Input: [#] 2 [Duration] 03:16 [Title]

Output: I'll Believe You When I've tried so many times To tell you how I feel But you're far too disbelievin' Are you tryin' to get even with me Maybe once or twice I wasn't fair I wasn't nice But now I've got myself together When I promise to be better you say Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong I could call you everyday Give you presents by the score And I could send you pretty flowers Have them waitin' at your door I could write up in the ski Forgive me, I apologize Still if I when through every measure With my promise to be better, you'd say Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong There's nothin' you can say that I haven't tried Nothin' I can do will ever change your mind Yeah, maybe I'd do better If I told somebody else Hell, I can't hear a thing Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, I'll believe you when Whoa, when everything you say Don't turn out wrong Oh, and I'll believe you when Whoa, and I'll believe you when Whoa, and I'll believe you when Everything you say don't turn out wrong.


Input: [#] 3 [Duration] 02:40 [Title]

Output: All Your Reasons Why dont you just go away I cant seem to get my head straight There's so much i need 2 say It could take All day But what you got I dont need it I cant listen To all your reasons Wake up I dont feel it I cant listen To all your reasons Your bad mood just ties my hands Turning cartwheels into headstands I've done everything i can Gave all I had But what you got I dont need it I cant listen To all your reasons Wake up I dont feel it I cant listen To all your reasons Tell me whyyyyyyy... It dont have to me So worn down So torn up Still your love But what you got I dont need it I cant listen To all your reasons Wake up I dont feel it I cant listen To all your reasons Woman I dont need it I cant listen To all your reasons Wake up I dont feel it I cant listen To all your reasons Tell me why


Input: [#] 4 [Duration] 03:47 [Title]

Output: These Hard Times Morning falls like rain into the city life There goes another night Losing my breath in waves Knowing that ever crash is bleading the hourglass And taking the strife from all our lives Everyone keeps talking They promise you everything But they don't mean anything We may loose our focus There's just too many words We're never meant to learn And we don't feel so alive So goodbye, these days are gone And we can't keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times Through these hard times Move your hands in circles Keeping me hypnotized The power behind your eyes Move around your bedroom cursing the naked sky You should be here tonight But you stay alone and cry Say goodbye, these days are gone And we can't keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times (whoa) There's something missing (Oh whoa) You'll never feel it but you (Oh whoa) You're gonna feel it when it's gone When it's gone Say goodbye, these days are gone And we can't keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times (hey) these Hard times (oh no now) Hard times Hard times Say goodbye, these days are gone Say goodbye, these days are gone These days are gone


Input: [#] 5 [Duration] 02:47 [Title]

Output: If I Fall When i get close to something beautiful Then i feel low because i know I'll never have it for too long I've been everywhere Im like an institution I fell down on myself Just to pray for sweet sunshine If i fall Fall When i get home i swear i'm gonna Change my ways And i'll start dancing Live a little Live it up these days I say all the words But lack a real solution I tell all my friends Stick around to see who's right And if i fall Fall Help me if i fall Help me if i fall Don't let me go You just give me the strength To guide me Get me my Get me high Help me take over this city Let it go Don't let it go Help me if i fall.


Input: [#] 6 [Duration] 03:28 [Title]

Output: Can't Let You Go I'll stick around And see how bad it gets I'll settle down And deal with old regrets You know I I adore you I can't let you go Can't let you go You're part of my soul You're all that I know Can't let you go Is it better now Do you feel like all is fair Can we work it out So it's easier for me to bear Because life It can blind you Down from the edge I can see where we end I'd give up all my days to go back There was all this wonder And all this magic Is all this wonder Over and done If love were a whisper What would I give you to speak Maybe you're out of my reach I can't let you go


Input: [#] 7 [Duration] 03:45 [Title]

Output: Long Day It's sitting by the overcoat, The second shelf, the note she wrote That I can't bring myself to throw away And also Reach she said for no one else but you, Cuz you won't turn away When someone else is gone I'm sorry 'bout the attitude I need to give when I'm with you But no one else would take this shit from me And I'm so Terrified of no one else but me I'm here all the time I won't go away It's me, yeah I can't get myself to go away It's me, and I can't get myself to go away Oh God I shouldn't feel this way [chorus] Reach down your hand in your pocket Pull out some hope for me It's been a long day, always ain't that right And no Lord your hand won't stop it Just keep you trembling It's been a long day, always ain't that right Well I'm surprised that you'd believe In any thing that comes from me I didn't hear from you or from someone else And you're so Set in life man, a pisser they're waiting Too damn bad you get so far so fast So what, so long [chorus] It's me, yeah and I can't get myself to go away It's me, yeah and I can't get myself to go away Oh God I shouldn't feel this way [chorus]


Input: [#] 8 [Duration] 03:57 [Title]

Output: Push She said I don't know if I've ever been good enough I'm a little bit rusty, and I think my head is caving in And I don't know if I've ever been really loved By a hand that's touched me, well I feel like something's Gonna give And I'm a little bit angry, well This ain't over, no not here, not while I still need you Around You don't owe me, we might change Yeah we just might feel good [chorus] I wanna push you around, well I will, I will I wanna push you down, well I will, I will I wanna take you for granted, I wanna take you for granted Well I will She said I don't know why you ever would lie to me Like I'm a little untrusting when I think that the truth is Gonna hurt ya And I don't know why you couldn't just stay with me You couldn't stand to be near me When my face don't seem to want to shine Cuz it's a little bit dirty well Don't just stand there, say nice things to me I've been cheated I've been wronged, and you You don't know me, I can't change I won't do anything at all [chorus] Oh but don't bowl me over Just wait a minute well it kinda fell apart, things get so Crazy, crazy Don't rush this baby, don't rush this baby [chorus]


Input: [#] 9 [Duration] 03:44 [Title]

Output: 3 Am She say it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat She's always worried about things like that She says it's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault And she only sleeps when it's raining And she screams and her voice is straining [chorus] She says baby It's 3 am I must be lonely When she says baby Well I can't help but be scared of it all sometimes Says the rain's gonna wash away I believe it She's got a little bit of something, God it's better than nothing And in her color portrait world she believes that she's got it all She swears the moon don't hang quite as high as it used to And she only sleeps when it's raining And she screams and her voice is straining [chorus] She believes that life is made up of all that you're used to And the clock on the wall has been stuck at three for days, and days She thinks that happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway But outside it's stopped raining [chorus]


Input: [#] 10 [Duration] 03:50 [Title]

Output: Real World I wonder what it's like to be the rainmaker I wonder what it's like to know that I make the rain I'd store it in boxes with little yellow tags on everyone And you can come see them when I'm...done, when I'm Done I wonder what it's like to be a super hero I wonder where I'd go if I could fly around downtown From some other planet, I get this funky high on yellow Sun Boy I bet my friends will all be...stunned, they're stunned [chorus] Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here If I were someone else, would this all fall apart Strange, where were you, when we started this gig, I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me I wonder what it's like to be the head honcho I wonder what I'd do if they all did just what I said I'd shout out an order, I think we're out of this man get me some Boy don't make me wanna change my...tone, my tone [chorus] Please don't change, please don't break The only thing that seems to work at all is you Please don't change, at all from me To you, and you to me [chorus]


Input: [#] 11 [Duration] 05:37 [Title]

Output: Back 2 Good It's nothing, it's so normal you Just stand there I could say so much But I don't go there cuz I don't want to I was thinking if you were lonely Maybe we could leave here and no one would know At least not to the point that we would think so Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking about Somebody else It's best if we all keep it under our heads I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do But I'm lonely now, and I don't know how To get it back to good This don't mean that, you own me This ain't no good, in fact it's phony as hell But things worked out just like you wanted too If you see me out you don't know me Try to turn your head, try to give me some room To figure out just what I'm going to do And everyone here, hates everyone here for doing just like They do It's best if we all keep this quiet instead And I couldn't tell, why everyone here was doing me like They do But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how To get it back to good Everyone here, is wondering what it's like to be with Somebody else Everyone here's to blame, everyone here Gets caught up in the pleasure of the pain, everyone hides Shades of shame, but looking inside we're the same, we're The same And we're all grown now, but we don't know how To get it back to good Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking 'bout Somebody else It's best if we all keep this under our heads I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do But it's over now, and I don't know how, it's over now There's no getting back to good


Input: [#] 12 [Duration] 04:17 [Title]

Output: Bent If I fall along the way Pick me up and dust me off And if I get too tired to make it Be my breath so I can walk If I need some other love, then Give me more than I can stand And when my smile gets old and faded Wait around I'll smile again Shouldn't be so complicated Just hold me and then Oh, just hold me again Can you help me I'm bent I'm so scared that I'll never Get put back together Keep breaking me in And this is how we will end With you and me bent If I couldn't sleep, could you sleep? Could you paint me better off? Could you sympathize with my needs? I know you think I need a lot I started out clean but I'm jaded Just phoning it in Oh, just breaking the skin Can you help me I'm bent I'm so scared that I'll never Get put back together Keep breaking me in And this is how we will end With you and me bent Start bending me, it's never enough As I feel all your pieces Start bending me, keep bending me Oh, until I'm completely broken in Shouldn't be so complicated Just touch me and then Oh, just touch me again Can you help me I'm bent I'm so scared that I'll never Get put back together Keep breaking me in And this is how we will end With you and me will let them Without understanding Here I go there again Can you help me I'm bent I'm so scared that I'll never Get put back together Yeah, you're breaking me in And this is how we will end With you and me bent


Input: [#] 13 [Duration] 04:34 [Title]

Output: If You're Gone I think I've already lost you I think you're already gone I think I'm finally scared now And you think I'm weak, I think you're wrong I think you're already leaving Feels like your hand is on the door I thought this place was an empire And now I'm relaxed and I can't be sure But I think you're so mean, I think we should try I think I could need this in my life And I think I'm scared, I think too much I know it's wrong, it's a problem I'm dealing If you're gone maybe it's time to come home There's an awful lot of breathing room but I can hardly move And if you're gone, baby, you need to come home 'Cause there's a little bit of something me in everything in you I bet you're hard to get over I bet the room just won't shine I bet my hands I can stay here I bet you need more than you mind And I think you're so mean, I think we should try I think I could need this in my life And I think I'm scared that I know too much I can't relate and that's a problem I'm feeling If you're gone maybe it's time to come home There's an awful lot of breathing room but I can hardly move If you're gone, baby, you need to come home There's a little bit of something me in everything in you I think you're so mean, I think we should try I think I could need this in my life And I think I'm scared, do I talk too much I know it's wrong, it's a problem I'm dealing If you're gone maybe it's time to come home There's an awful lot of breathing room but I can hardly move And if you're gone, yeah, baby, you need to come home There's a little bit of something me in everything in you


Input: [#] 14 [Duration] 05:07 [Title]

Output: Mad Season I feel stupid, but I know it won't last for long And I've been guessin', and I coulda been guessin' wrong You don't know me now, I kinda thought that you should somehow Has that whole mad season got ya down? Well, I feel stupid but it's something that comes and goes And I've been changin', I think it's funny how no one knows We don't talk about, the little things that we do without When that whole mad season comes around So why ya gotta stand there Looking like the answer now? It seems to me, you'd come around I need you now Do you think you can cope? You figured me out? That I'm lost and I'm hopeless I'm bleeding and broken though I've never spoken I come undone in this mad season I feel stupid, but I think I've been catchin' on I feel ugly, but I know I still turn you on You've grown colder now, torn apart, angry, turned around Will that whole mad season knock you down? So are you gonna stand there? Or are you gonna help me out? We need to be together now I need you now Do you think you can cope? You figured me out? That I'm lost and I'm hopeless I'm bleeding and broken though I've never spoken I come undone in this mad season Now I'm cryin', isn't that what you want? I'm tryin' to live my life on my own, but I won't, no At times, I can believe I am strong So someone tell me Why, why, why do I, I, I feel stupid? And I come undone Well I come undone I need you now Do you think you can cope? You figured me out? That I'm lost and I'm hopeless I'm bleeding and broken though I've never spoken Well I need you now Do you think you can cope? You figured me out? I'm a child and I'm hopeless I'm bleeding and broken though I've never spoken I come, oh I come undone In this mad season In this mad season It's been a mad season Been a mad season


Input: [#] 15 [Duration] 03:38 [Title]

Output: Disease Feels like you made a mistake You made somebody's heart break But now I have to let you go I have to let you go You left a stain On every one of my good days But I am stronger than you know I have to let you go No one's ever turned you over No one's tried To ever let you down, Beautiful girl Bless your heart I got a disease Deep inside me Makes me feel uneasy baby I can't live without you Tell me what I am supposed to do about it Keep your distance from it Don't pay no attention to me I got a disease Feels like you're making a mess You're hell on wheels in a black dress You drove me to the fire And left me there to burn Every little thing you do is tragic All my life, oh was magic Beautiful girl I can't breathe I got a disease Deep inside me Makes me feel uneasy baby I can't live without you Tell me what I am supposed to do about it Keep your distance from it Don't pay no attention to me I got a disease I think that I'm sick But leave me be while my world is coming down on me You taste like honey, honey Tell me can I be your honey Be, be strong Keep telling myself it that won't take long till I'm free of my disease Yeah well free of my disease Free of my disease I got a disease Deep inside me Makes me feel uneasy baby I can't live without you Tell me what I am supposed to do about it Keep your distance from it Don't pay no attention to me I got a disease I think that I'm sick But leave me be while my world is coming down on me You taste like honey, honey Tell me can I be your honey Be, be strong Keep telling myself it that won't take long till I'm free of my disease Yeah well free of my disease Free of my disease


Input: [#] 16 [Duration] 03:57 [Title]

Output: Unwell All day staring at the ceiling Making friends with shadows on my wall All night hearing voices telling me That I should get some sleep Because tomorrow might be good for something Hold on Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown And I don't know why [Chorus] But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell I know right now you can't tell But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see A different side of me I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired I know right now you don't care But soon enough you're gonna think of me And how I used to be...me I'm talking to myself in public Dodging glances on the train And I know, I know they've all been talking about me I can hear them whisper And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me Out of all the hours thinking Somehow I've lost my mind [Chorus] But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell I know right now you can't tell But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see A different side of me I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired I know right now you don't care But soon enough you're gonna think of me And how I used to be I've been talking in my sleep Pretty soon they'll come to get me Yeah, they're taking me away [Chorus] But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell I know right now you can't tell But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see A different side of me I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired I know right now you don't care But soon enough you're gonna think of me And how I used to be Yeah, how I used to be How I used to be Well, I'm just a little unwell How I used to be How I used to be I'm just a little unwell


Input: [#] 17 [Duration] 04:01 [Title]

Output: Bright Lights She got out of town on the railway, new york bound Took all except my name Another alien on broadway Well, some things in this world you just can't change Some things you can't see until it gets too late [Chorus] Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world And maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you You should turn yourself around and come on home I got a hole in me now I got a scar I can talk about She keeps a picture of me in her apartment in the city But some things in this world Man, they don't make sense Some things you don't leave until they leave you And then the things that you miss, you say [Chorus] Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world And maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you You should turn yourself around and come on home Let that city take you in (come on home) Let that city spit you out (come on home) Let that city take you down, yeah For god sakes turn around [Chorus] Baby, baby, baby when all your love is gone Who will save me from all I'm up against out in this world Yeah well, maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights dont receive you Well, turn yourself around and come on home Yeah, come on home Baby, baby, baby, baby Come on home Yeah, come on home Yeah, come on home Yeah, come on home Baby, baby, baby, baby Come on home


Input: [Stereotype] Wunderkind [Description] Dropped out of Stanford while getting an advanced degree. Scored 1600 on the SAT. Still a virgin. Needs a regression equation to buy a pack of gum. On his way to being farmed out (that is, made CTO), but he doesn’t know it yet. [Key Answer] Fine, how did yours go? [Key Question]

Output: How did your PhD orals go?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Mom [Description] Maybe the only adult on the team. Part office manager, part psychiatrist, part mother, and part school principal. Easy to dismiss as “clerical staff,” but she’s the go-to lady when the wunderkinds need real-world advice. [Key Answer] I have lovely children. Would you like to see their pictures? Or I’m at that stage in life where I concentrate on my career, but I eventually want a family. [Key Question]

Output: Besides work, what are your passions?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Mr. CPG [Description] Brought in by the wunderkinds to fix marketing even though they think the company’s gizmo is so cool that it doesn’t need marketing. Can’t do a demo of the product but believes that everything is a consumer packaged good. MBA. Worked for five years for Playtex marketing tampons. Leases a Cadillac. [Key Answer] They are still important, but the Internet and online communities have made life much more complex for marketers. I’m glad you’re running that function here because I can learn a lot from you. [Key Question]

Output: What do you think of Kotler’s Four Ps of marketing?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Sunil [Description] Veep of engineering. After six months of searching, the wunderkinds finally settled on someone who they thought could scale the infrastructure and had room temperature IQ. (How hard could it be support six million simultaneous users?) The venture capitalists were very happy when he was hired. Brother-in-law runs an outsourcing programming shop in Bangalore that the company uses. [Key Answer] I think that good architecture makes proxy caching unnecessary. [Key Question]

Output: What do you think of Squid web proxy caching?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Jasmine McGuire [Description] The sales expert. Finally, the wunderkinds found a sales person that they could stand for more than fifteen minutes. Pissed off that there aren’t more women managers in the company. Worked for ten years at an established Silicon Valley firm where she exceeded quota every year. Sporadic guilt pangs about not seeing her kids enough. [Key Answer] There are so many possibilities: ease of use, speed, scalability, world-class tech support… But you’re the expert: what’s worked for you? [Key Question]

Output: What do you think is the key selling proposition of our product?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Lifer [Description] Started at the company when computers were as big as a room and “partner” was a noun, not a verb. Only person in the company who uses a RPN calculator. Wants to make sure that the company never forgets its roots. Perfectly happy just to be a great engineer. Drives a second-hand Prius. [Key Answer] Yeah, I sure did; in fact, I recorded it on my Betamax machine. I still think the Beta format is better than VHS. [Key Question]

Output: Did you watch the History Channel special about Arpanet?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Grecian Gray [Description] A Mr. CPG who lasted. Knows everyone in the industry but only an inch deep. Too old to go to another startup but too young to retire. Schedules offsites wherever there’s a great golf course. Has had several affairs with employees in the company. Leases a Boxster. [Key Answer] They’re nice, but that’s for a family man. Give me a sportscar anyday. [Key Question]

Output: What do you think of the 7 Series BMWs?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] HR Professional [Description] Loves the company. Loves her job. Been there and seen that. Bull-shiitake proof. You may think she’s “just an HR person,” but she’ll torpedo you if you piss her off. One of the first people you’d recruit if you leave the company to start something. [Key Answer] I would like to grow into a management position at this company by further developing my skillset. [Key Question]

Output: What would you like to be doing in five years?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Ms. CEO [Description] Proof that ice water can run in people’s veins. Tough, talented. Shattered the glass ceiling into a thousand pieces. Sports a trophy husband. Makes the Merrill Streep character in The Devil Wears Prada look like a girl scout. Friends with Carly Fiorina. [Key Answer] “Seen it?” Are you kidding? I have a copy right here. I was going to ask you to autograph it. [Key Question]

Output: Did you see that article in Forbes about me?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Stereotype] Don Corleone [Description] Executive with the company for twenty years. Feared by employees who don’t know him. Loved by those who do. Net worth exceeds $50 million. Empty nester but got his kids summer jobs at the company when they were still in the house. Board member. Secretary answers his email. [Key Answer] I’ve read about how much you contributed to the company over your career, and I can only hope to make a contribution as large as yours. [Key Question]

Output: What makes you think you can conribute to this company?

Guy Kawasaki - Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask


Input: [Page] 6 [Quote from Patry’s book] We will never fix our laws unless we clean house and start all over again, this time on a sound, empirical basis: Simply adding on to a failed structure will no longer work... No one should suggest that our copyright laws are rational, deliberate, unified policy instruments, carefully designed to achieve specific social and economic objectives. [My Comments]

Output: Patry is correct here. Today’s copyright laws don’t make any sense and are nothing more than the result of several competing groups of people to carve out some benefits at the expense of each other. This is a recipe for unworkable laws.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 10 [Quote from Patry’s book] An international treaty is necessary to make sure all books can be accessible by the blind. Accessibility can be accomplished through a combination of compulsory licenses and exceptions. Voluntary agreements among publishers, libraries, and blind groups are certainly necessary to the ultimate success, but a global, binding instrument is required to solve cross-border issues and to ensure minimum standards are met. [My Comments]

Output: Why not have international treaties that would provide for compulsory donations of cars to those with arthritis? While we’re at it, why not have international treaties that would compel luxury restaurants to feed the hungry? If publishers do not want to make their works available to the blind, what right do we have to force them?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 11 [Quote from Patry’s book] My view is that copyright laws can serve valuable purposes: while they do not cause people to create in the first place and do not create economic or critical success, they do ensure that once works are created, those who wish to protect them and economically benefit can. We all should support this goal. [My Comments]

Output: Duh. Unfortunately, the rest of the book does not support this benevolence towards those “who wish to protect” their works from being used without authorization.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 12 [Quote from Patry’s book] ...markets are still badly underserved by many copyright owners who cling to the ideology of property rights: “it’s mine and I can say no if I want to.” That attitude inhibits innovative services capable of putting the type of money in authors’ pockets that they deserve. You can’t eat ideology. [My Comments]

Output: You don’t make people happy by force. It is theirs, and they are entitled to say no if they want to, even if they choose to go hungry. Just because we can think of better business models does not mean that we should force them upon those who disagree.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 16 [Quote from Patry’s book] The argument is that the protection against free riding that copyright provides also causes distributors to bring an abundance of works to market. In this argument, copyright is essential for abundance. The argument misapprehends markets and the role of law in markets. Historically, in mainstream culture, copyright law has been the legal device used by a few gatekeepers to control a winner-take-all marketplace of artificial scarcity, in which far fewer works are made available to the public than are created. [My Comments]

Output: Today, there are thousands of ways copyright owners can make their own works available to the public without the need to go through gatekeepers. According to YouTube, one hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second. Even if 15% of that video constitutes original works not owned by somebody else, it is still very impressive. Just because the public is more interested in specific works that their owners do not wish to make available for free does not mean that there is no abundance. However, it also does not mean that those who do not want to contribute to the abundance should be forced to do it.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 17 [Quote from Patry’s book] This doesn’t mean we have to rely entirely on government subsidies – the marketplace is fine for works by corporations and by the popular authors they support – but it does mean we need to find non-market ways for other authors and artists to obtain the necessary initial conditions to create. Aside from government subsidies and tax breaks, one way to encourage more and diverse authors and artists is to ensure that online platforms exist where creators can post their works in order to gain an audience, run advertisements against their works if they choose, or charge for downloads, streams, or other uses if choose. Such platforms are free to individuals and provide a way to avoid the gatekeeper lock on success. [My Comments]

Output: I am wholeheartedly against government support of the art. If people don’t want to voluntarily support an artist on conditions that the artist would like to be supported, then the government should play no role in forcing the public to pay for the cause they do not support. As for the platforms, the argument is moot in the sense that such platforms already exist. If Patry is trying to make the argument that the government should force everyone to use such platforms, then again, the government should not force copyright owners to use one or the other model for distribution of their works.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 27 [Quote from Patry’s book] If we want more authors and artists, we must provide them with the economic ability to be authors and artists, above the fray for market share in a winner-take-all environment. It is not copyright for copyright’s sake that matters to authors and artists, but rather a steady income. [My Comments]

Output: Whether the right to control the use of the works matters to artists may or may not be true. It is also irrelevant. What matters is that we should not force the authors to give up the right of control if they don’t want to, even if doing so would bring about a more steady income. Likewise, we should not subsidise authors whose works do not attract enough voluntary funding. We certainly do not want more authors and artists who take their steady income for granted regardless of their ability to convince enough people of the quality of their works.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 35 [Quote from Patry’s book] These corporations continually press for more draconian copyright laws (e.g., cutting off Internet access, harsh criminal penalties) while arguing for more relaxed antitrust laws. They bring lawsuits against consumer electronics companies and against online platforms offering authors and performers a way around gatekeeper obstacles. [My Comments]

Output: And these corporations are in their right to do it. The purpose of modern antitrust laws is to destroy the successful for being successful and to support the impotent for being impotent. There is nothing wrong with monopolies if their monopolistic status is based on their ability to offer a product that everybody wants to buy. There is everything wrong with monopolies whose monopolistic status is based on the use of violence or on government restricting competition through licensing, certification and so on. Copyright is as natural a monopoly as it gets. Having a monopoly over a certain book does not create a monopoly over books as a class. Just because an author refuses to provide his book to the public on conditions he disagrees with does not deprive the public of the right to read other books. No one is entitled to something that would not have existed but for another person’s efforts.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 36 [Quote from Patry’s book] Giuseppe Verdi began his composing career before Italian copyright laws were passed. Although he and his publisher had previously developed work-arounds, after Italian laws were passed, Verdi was able to amass a considerable fortune. One effect of this success should be noted, however: Verdi made so much money he stopped composing. Johannes Brahms also made considerable sums as a result of the passage of copyright laws that enabled his publisher to prevent free-riding, and as a result retired early. [My Comments]

Output: Patry is full of indignation towards Verdi and Brahms for they decided that they could afford to retire early. Of course, collectivist mentality suggests that they should have been enslaved to produce even more great works until the day they died. It goes back to the very simple question – “Should authors be allowed to exist for their own sake?” Or should they, in the words of Bernard Shaw, “justify their existence” … by showing that they are “pulling their weight in the social boat”?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 38 [Quote from Patry’s book] Copyright was an author’s right only in the sense of selling those rights on the cheap to booksellers: the great copyright dispute in England in the eighteenth century over whether copyright was a perpetual right was for good reason called the Battle of the Booksellers, and not the Battle of the Authors. [My Comments]

Output: That may be true, but this argument is based on the selective reference to pre-existing laws. If we are discussing what the laws should be, regardless of what they are, there is no reason why we should pay much attention to what the laws had been when they were first introduced. That in the eighteenth century England authors were treated as slaves does not mean that we should be doing the same in the twenty-first century.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 39 [Quote from Patry’s book] An important error made by policymakers in grasping the role of copyright in the world of digital abundance is the failure to appreciate that the underlying issue is pricing, not technology. Technology creates new consumer expectations about markets; those expectations can either be met – in which case copyright owners will make money according to those new markets and new expectations – or, as is often the case now, copyright owners can refuse to meet the new expectations, in which case consumers will go elsewhere to have their needs satisfied by others. [My Comments]

Output: Unfortunately, this is not the dilemma as it exists today. Copyright owners would be happy if consumers whose expectations they refused to meet would “go elsewhere to have their needs satisfied by others”. What happens in practice and what copyright owners try to combat is that consumers instead of going elsewhere take from copyright owners what copyright owners are not willing to give. We cannot speak of digital abundance if the abundance exists at the expense of producers whose works are being pirated.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 39 [Quote from Patry’s book] As Ludwig von Mises pointed out, “producers do not produce tor their own consumption but for the market.” Content is not king, consumers are: “The real bosses … are the consumers. They, by their buying and by their abstention from buying, … determine what should be produced and in what quantity and quality.” [My Comments]

Output: It is always a pleasure to see famed libertarians quoted by someone who openly calls himself a “left-wing guy”. The purpose, of course, is to be perceived as someone balanced and objective. Consumers are not king in one very important aspect. While they can dictate what should be produced and in what quantity and quality, no collective desire of consumers can result in the creation of a specific work. It still takes a creator to produce the product. In this sense content will always be king. Whether that content is going to be welcomed by the consumers and generate income for the creator is a separate issue.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 41 [Quote from Patry’s book] Unfortunately, through mistaken interpretations of the noun “copy,” the reproduction right has been wildly expanded in many countries, particularly the United States, to include transitory acts such as buffering, caching, or non-consumable versions that are necessitated by the automatic operation of computers or other digital technologies. None of these transitory acts has an independent economic value; that is, they do not harm copyright owners’ markets. [My Comments]

Output: And the only reason this happened was because of resistance of lobbies supporting free and unrestricted unauthorized use of works on the Internet. The only way to deal with such resistance was to use existing laws to combat emerging problems. It took many years before the “making available” right was recognized as a separate right. It is still not recognized as a separate right in Canada in 2012. The only way to prevent unauthorized streaming and downloading was (and in many countries still is) through reproduction right, which happens to cover transitory acts as well. Had ISPs were more cooperative with the copyright owners at the dawn of the Internet in at least the most outrageous of examples, today’s business models would have been a lot more reasonable.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 43 [Quote from Patry’s book] In an effort to create scarcity in the digital environment, copyright owners have obtained rights that give them the power to regulate technologies developed by third parties and to control access to their works. Neither of these rights previously existed. Previously, the copyright laws were technology neutral: They did not regulate technologies, but rather they regulated uses of copyrighted material, regardless of the technology employed. [My Comments]

Output: And nothing has changed. Copyright has always been (and rightfully so) about control and access. There have been thousands of license agreements where one licensee would receive a license to reproduce songs on vinyl, while another licensee would receive a license to reproduce the same songs on tape. Copyright owners have always had the right to determine on which media their works are to be used by whom, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 47 [Quote from Patry’s book] A new structure must provide twenty-first-century solutions to getting authors paid and giving the public access to their creations. This will involve in many (but certainly not all) cases changing the fundamental nature of copyright from a grant of exclusive rights into a right of remuneration: a right to be paid through statutory licensing, collective management of rights, and levies. Having an exclusive right does you no good if you can’t get paid. [My Comments]

Output: Welcome to Soviet Union, comrade Patry. This is exactly the framework that existed in the Soviet Civil Code of 1964. According to s. 479 of this pinnacle of legal socialist thought, an author had the right (a) to publish, reproduce and distribute his work in any manner permitted by law under his name, pseudonym or anonymously; (b) to enforce integrity of his work and (c) to receive remuneration for the use of his work by third parties, unless otherwise prescribed by the law. The amount of remuneration was to be prescribed by the Government. On top of that, all potential licensees in the Soviet union were state-owned. And if that was not enough, the government always had a right to get a compulsory license for the use of any work. Authors should not get paid unless someone is voluntarily willing to pay to use their works. Likewise, consumers should not be entitled to use other people’s works unless they agree to such use. Having an exclusive right does you good if you value that right, and many authors do, regardless of whether they get paid to give it away or not.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 59 [Quote from Patry’s book] Copyright laws have, in practice, functioned as a way for government officials to placate authors, artists, and performers with the promise of monetary rewards, while throwing them on the mercy of the free market. [My Comments]

Output: Oh, what contempt for free market! Free market is nothing but an indicator of willingness of consumers to obtain goods or services on certain conditions. If nobody wants to buy a certain book at a certain price, no copyright will (or should) help the author. All copyright does, like any property right or any other individual right, is it provides a framework of equal opportunities to present a product to the market. Today, when there is almost an indefinite number of ways to make one’s works available to the world, authors are free as never before to pursue success by selling directly to the public. Being able to lay a claim on their product is crucial in that pursuit.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 59 [Quote from Patry’s book] Since Mr. Burnham could not challenge any of the empirical conclusions in the Gowers report, he instead relied on a previously unarticulated and undefined “moral case at the heart of copyright law.” We are truly at sea if our laws are to be enacted according to a moral case espoused in the face of unchallenged economic evidence refuting the minister’s brief. [My Comments]

Output: And this is really at the heart of the problem that Patry does not see the moral case of copyright law. It has nothing to do with economic evidence, it has nothing to do with fair remuneration, it has nothing to do with technological measures. The only thing that matters is whether we want to treat authors as chattel existing for the benefit of the society, or as free people who have the right to exist for their own sake.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 67 [Quote from Patry’s book] Within a given economy, the piracy of domestic goods is a transfer of income, not a loss. Money saved by consumers or businesses on CDs, DVDs, or software will not disappear, but rather be spent on other things – housing, food, or other entertainment, or other business expenses, and so on. These expenditures, in turn will generate tax revenue, new jobs, infrastructural investments, and the range of other goods that are typically in the loss column of industry analyses. [My Comments]

Output: Using the same logic, if I rob a bank and spend all the money I stole in mom-and-pop stores in my neighbourhood, there is no loss. These expenditures will generate tax revenue, new jobs, infrastructural elements, and the range of other goods… No wonder socialists love redistribution of wealth. One of the slogans of the Russian socialist revolution “Steal the Stolen” was used to justify murders and “expropriation” of property from the rich.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 69 [Quote from Patry’s book] Even if record labels make less money from the increase in sales of digital singles than they did from the peak year of CD sales (an unfair comparison in any event), the difference is a positive social benefit: Consumers are now able to spend money on what they do want and not on what they don’t. Record labels may have less money but we have more, and that’s a great thing for us and for society. [My Comments]

Output: That’s what I mean when I say that I respect comrade Patry for his honesty. Indeed, isn’t this a great thing that someone who creates something has less money, while those who steal it from him have more money? Great equation!

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 75 [Quote from Patry’s book] Laws are effective only if they do what we want them to. What do we want copyright laws to do? The most popular things policymakers say copyright laws should do are (1) provide incentives for authors to create works they would not create in the absence of that incentive; (2) provide the public with access to those works; and (3) provide respect, via non-economic rights, for those who create cultural works. [My Comments]

Output: Patry makes a valid point here, and this is a big problem with most supporters of stronger copyright laws. These three objectives on the surface seem like good reasons for having copyright laws, but as Patry brilliantly does in his book, they turn out to be shallow, because indeed, copyright does not provide true incentives for creativity, it does not enhance access to the works and it seldom generates much respect for creators through non-economic rights. The only valid reason for existence of copyright laws, in my opinion, is the extension of something we are all taught as children: “don’t take what is not yours, ask!” It is natural for authors, if we regard them as free individuals, and not slaves, to have the right to decide how to dispose of the results of their work. Because they cannot put a physical lock on their works and have armed guards protect it, they need to have a valid cause of action to go after those who choose to circumvent the market rules and obtain the benefit of using the works without giving the author what the author is selling the right to use his works for. Whether or not protection of authors benefits the society is utterly irrelevant. An argument can easily be made (and is being made more and more vocally today) that copyright actually hurts the society as a whole. So what! If we enslaved 30% of the world population and had them work for us for free, our society would have benefited even more. Imagine the world we could enjoy with all this free labour!

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 76 [Quote from Patry’s book] …granting rights to one group of authors places them at odds with later authors who want to build on their predecessors’ works to create new works; granting exclusive rights to copyright owners gives them the ability to protect their investment, but it also gives them the ability to charge monopoly prices and restrict access; granting authors the right to prevent uses for non-economic reasons protects reputational interests but also gives them the ability to suppress satirical works or uses that are socially beneficial but of which the author does not approve. [My Comments]

Output: My answer to that is, again,– so what! Having the ability to charge monopoly prices for a particular work does not guarantee (as Patry himself argues in the same book) commercial success. If nobody wants to pay the monopoly price, the copyright owner either lowers the price or fails. No one is entitled to use the work at a price that the seller is not prepared to sell it for. Likewise, no one is entitled to build on their predecessor’ works to create new works if those predecessors actively oppose such use (I will deal with the issue of orphaned works below). True criticism is one of the very few legitimate reasons to allow unauthorized use of the very minimum of someone else’s works to make the point. Creating parodies and satirical works usually goes well beyond this requirement. As I wrote in my work on comparative copyright laws on parodies, Weird Al Yankovic sold 25 gold and platinum parody albums, but never had an urge to create unauthorized parodies! It is certainly possible to obtain permission to create parodies, and if the author of the original protests, don’t do it! Plain and simple.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 78 [Quote from Patry’s book] There is no substitute for the hard work of figuring out the complexities of creativity, including the very different markets for different types of works and the different cultural approaches taken around the world. It is not enough to say the free market will figure it out so we don’t have to. [My Comments]

Output: The Soviet administrative system has, of course, done a much better job of figuring out how many poems and cantatas proletarians required in each specific 5-year plan.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 80 [Quote from Patry’s book] Whether intentionally or not, this legalistic approach to the nature of creativity results in outsourcing our cultural heritage to the private sector. [My Comments]

Output: Excuse me? Outsourcing the heritage to the private sector? Wasn’t it the private sector that created the heritage? To say we are outsourcing something to the private sector implies that those doing the outsourcing are not in the private sector. I know that Mr. Patry declares consistently that his views are not those of Google, but is this an indication that he sees himself as part of the new world government machine?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 80 [Quote from Patry’s book] I shall now explore why copyright laws have principally helped superstars and distributors. The point of this inquiry is not to argue for the abolition of copyright – something I disfavor – but rather to help create an evidence-based approach to how our copyright laws can work better in practice. Our copyright laws are, and have always been, a winner-take-all system. If that is the desired policy, then our copyright laws are working fine. If, however, the policy is to create diverse works by diverse members of our society in order to create a rich cultural heritage, then it is important to realize copyright laws never have accomplished that purpose. [My Comments]

Output: Here is a very simple answer why copyright laws tend to help superstars: people like to buy the stuff that superstars produce, that’s why they are called superstars. There is no value in subsidising artists that nobody wants to listen to, whether or not this creates diverse works by diverse members of our society or not. Diverse members of our society have a million ways to deliver their works to the public. Just because they cannot find an audience willing to pay for their works does not mean that there is something wrong with copyright.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 89 [Quote from Patry’s book] The hostility of gatekeepers to platforms like YouTube steins not from the existence of some unauthorized content on them, but rather from such platforms direct challenge to the superstar system. [My Comments]

Output: The gatekeepers have never been hostile to platforms like YouTube as such. They have been (and rightly so) hostile to unauthorized use of their property via such platforms. Big difference there.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 90 [Quote from Patry’s book] If policymakers truly want to increase creativity, then they must greatly liberalize the ability of one person to transformatively copy from another. [My Comments]

Output: Even if unauthorized copying indeed results in increased creativity, as I explained above, increasing creativity is not a true purpose of copyright laws.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 94 [Quote from Patry’s book] Here are some examples of the importance of copying (whether of copyrighted works or not). Children and adults who wish to learn how to play a musical instrument must do so by listening to the sounds their teachers make and then trying to replicate those sounds as closely as possible. Many times you play the same passage in unison so that you can keep your teacher’s sound stored in your brain along with yours. Tricky rhythms can only be learned by listening to others and by copying their playing. For most musicians, this process of copying continues throughout their lives, as you seek out new sounds you want to copy. [My Comments]

Output: And most of these instances of copying are not being restricted by existing copyright laws. Moreover, the right of a master to prevent transformative copying of his works by others does not necessarily mean that all of them will exercise such right. Just ask!

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 99 [Quote from Patry’s book] It has been estimated that by the middle of the sixteenth century, most masses were parody masses. Parody masses did not make fun of the original, but were instead designed to show respect for and appreciation of the original music while simultaneously showing off the second composer’s own skills. [My Comments]

Output: And what does this prove? That in a feudal society 150 years before the first real copyright act it was OK for some to create parody masses? Is this the standard we are now striving for?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 102 [Quote from Patry’s book] JAY-Z: No, I was actually honored that, you know, someone took the time to mash those records up with Beatles records. I was honored to be on, you know, quote-unquote the same song with the Beatles. [My Comments]

Output: And how do we call the situation when one party to an intimate act feels honored to engage in it, while the other party protests? Again, nothing prevents owners of original content to say yes if someone wants to use it – for transformative purposes or not.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 103 [Quote from Patry’s book] HISTORY SHOWS COPYRIGHT PROTECTION HAS BEEN RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT FOR MOST AUTHORS [My Comments]

Output: History shows that the world average life expectancy is 67.2 years. Let’s kill everyone who surpasses that age! Just because most authors don’t care to protect their works does not mean that we should disregard the rights of those who do care.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 105 [Quote from Patry’s book] …for the vast majority of copyright owners, twenty-eight years is a sufficient period of protection. [My Comments]

Output: For the vast majority of people, owning one car and a bank account of $100,000 is sufficient. Let’s expropriate the excess from everybody who has more than that! Oh, and by the way, most people don’t need a Buffet R-13 clarinet, either.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 106 [Quote from Patry’s book] The fact that copyright is valuable for only a few doesn’t mean we should abandon copyright. But the fact that copyright has been of limited utility for most people does mean we cannot have wildly expansive laws that benefit the few at the expense of the many. [My Comments]

Output: Why not? Copyright laws only benefit those for whose benefit they are created. Society should not be a part of that equation other than in the context of abstaining from violating the rights of copyright owners.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 113 [Quote from Patry’s book] The data is from Warner’s own SEC filings. To sum up, since 2005, Warner Music Group lost $429 million while these two executives alone made $83.8 million. The year 2005 is important as a milestone because the company was taken public in that year, but right before it was made public, the investors, which included Mr. Bronfman, were paid back all of their investment. Rather than being a way to raise money to invest in the company’s development and future, the IPO served merely as a cash-out for the original investors, with no new money being put into the company. In 2010, the stock declined by 2.9 percent but Mr. Cohen received a 30 percent increase in compensation, to $6.5 million. [My Comments]

Output: What greedy bastards! Let’s crucify them as well. What does this have to do with copyright? What purpose other than to ride on the wave of public envy of the rich does this paragraph pursue? If there was shareholder fraud, let shareholders and investors take care of that. If not…

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 124 [Quote from Patry’s book] If it is true that the UK creative industries outperform all other European countries and are at the center of the UK economy …, why would those industries need government help, and why would they need even stronger laws since there is no correlation between stronger copyright laws and better economic performance. [My Comments]

Output: Copyright owners are not begging for favours from the government, they are demanding the government to help them enforce their right to control what they create or invest in. Just because historically copyright laws have been in the form of government grants, does not mean that we should keep pretending that the government creates rights out of the blue. All the government does is protects the ability of creators to enforce the natural monopoly on the results of their creative activities.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 127 [Quote from Patry’s book] The point is that the need to have some level of protection cannot support current claims that we need a very high and ever-increasing level of protection. Those levels have nothing to do with furthering creativity, and we should be honest about that. [My Comments]

Output: Again, Patry is correct here. We should be honest about it and abandon the reasoning that we protect creators’ right to control their works because it furthers creativity. We do it because taking by force something that isn’t ours is wrong.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 128 [Quote from Patry’s book] If we want more creative works and more knowledgeable citizens, we will have to disassociate these goals from commodity markets, and focus on why people create and learn. We must then be willing to commit public monies to their encouragement where market forces have proved inadequate to the task. While there are many wonderful educational products available from the private sector… [My Comments]

Output: No, thank you. I don’t want the government to use my money to encourage creativity that does not benefit me, otherwise I would be encouraging it by paying for the use of the results of such creativity. And again, why such contempt for the private sector?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 139 [Quote from Patry’s book] Despite all the flaws in the balance metaphor, at least it is premised on the existence of competing, valid interests. For this reason, it has fallen out of favor with those who wish to exercise total control over all uses, regardless of how trivial, and regardless of the lack of any economic harm from those uses. The property metaphor is the chosen vehicle for this agenda. There is, after all, no need to balance others’ interests if you have an absolute right in your property. [My Comments]

Output: And this is the proper way to deal with what copyright is all about. Just as a farmer has an absolute right to decide what to do with the steak he makes from his cow, an author has an absolute right to decide what to do with a book he writes.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 140 [Quote from Patry’s book] By contrast, when a government is bestowing a privilege rather than enforcing a property right, the onus of establishing entitlement to the privilege is on the person seeking it. Copyright is a privilege granted by governments on everyone’s behalf. [My Comments]

Output: While historically copyright was established as a privilege granted by the Queen to booksellers, remember we agreed to rewrite copyright law the way it should be, not the way it is or had been. In a situation when free people have a limited government that doesn’t force the citizens into submission from cradle to grave, governments do not create rights and privileges, they do not exist to make everyone feel good about themselves, the only purpose of the governments is to protect individuals from their rights being violated by others. The only time it is appropriate to speak of copyright as a “privilege bestowed by the governments” is when you are talking about a society of masters and slaves.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 141 [Quote from Patry’s book] While copyright owners like to portray this as a legal problem – a problem of piracy – the problem is a market problem, arising from the continual failure of copyright owners to respond and adapt to changing markets and the technologies that drive consumer demand. [My Comments]

Output: Compare this to: “While women like to portray this as a legal problem – a problem of rape – the problem is a relationships problem, arising from the continual failure of rape victims to respond and adapt to desires of rapists that drive the demand for carnal relations.” Markets may change, demand may change, but those who fail to follow the hints of the market should not have their rights taken away from them – we should simply let them eat the consequences of the market.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 142 [Quote from Patry’s book] “…The [lawful] content market… is simply failing to meet consumer demand.” Denying consumers what they want cannot succeed as a business model, and no law can save copyright owners who refuse to satisfy consumer demand. The problem is as old as it is ignored. [My Comments]

Output: Compare this to: “The contingent of consenting women is simply failing to meet consumer demand. Denying men what they want cannot succeed as a business model, and no law can save women who refuse rapists’ demands. The problem is as old as it is ignored” I warned you, I love this metaphor…

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 143 [Quote from Patry’s book] In the unhealthy model, copyright owners don’t respond to consumer demand; acting like ostriches, they expect that their refusal to fulfill the market demand means that no one else will. They are shocked, shocked, shocked! when unauthorized supply sources crop up. They then insist that the courts and legislatures protect them from their own failure to understand the basics of how supply and demand works. When they ultimately see they cannot kill off the new technology, they grudgingly accept it, change their business models, and then profit from it. [My Comments]

Output: A sure way to become popular these days is to make the following statement, “In the unhealthy model, women don’t respond to men’s demands, acting like ostriches, they expect that their refusal to fulfill men’s demands means that they wouldn’t be forced into it. They are shocked, shocked, shocked! when they get raped. They then insist that the courts and legislatures protect them from their own failure to understand the basics of how supply and demand works. When they ultimately see that they actually enjoy the process, they sometimes marry their rapists, and then profit from it.” Can we imagine for a minute that there may be people who actually value their right to make decisions for themselves, even if somebody else can come up with other ideas? That’s the eternal problem with collectivists who believe that they know everything better than the little people who always seem to stand in their way.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 155 [Quote from Patry’s book] Cold, economic facts of life cannot be changed by laws. Laws cannot make advertisers place ads where they don’t want to and laws cannot create audience share. [My Comments]

Output: Talk about strawmen… I am not aware of a single person who has ever advocated for any such laws. Whether copyright owners are capable of generating sustainable revenues is not the issue; whether they can defend their right to decide how their property is used, is.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 157 [Quote from Patry’s book] You Can Compete with “Free” [My Comments]

Output: Here Patry knowingly diffuses three instances of “free” – (1) when copyright owners allow the use of their works for free; (2) when others make their own, other, works available for free; and (3) when someone is making works owned by somebody else available to the public for free and against the wish of the copyright owners. There is nothing wrong about Metallica competing with a noname band uploading its own music to YouTube. There is nothing wrong with Soundgarden making its new song available for free through iTunes. There is everything wrong with others “sharing” something that is not theirs.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 160 [Quote from Patry’s book] The Hulu, and BitTorrent data show that contrary to received wisdom, the solution is not more laws, but more authorized content, at correct pricing, and in forms that are the most useful and convenient to consumers. Copyright owners will never be able to eliminate piracy, but they can effectively compete with it and make good profits with correct pricing and convenience. [My Comments]

Output: Feel free to build upon the rape metaphor. I only have one question to ask Mr. Patry – “good profits and correct pricing” in whose opinion?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 163 [Quote from Patry’s book] Under the Mt. Sinai approach, copyright = control = money. Law is therefore the necessary first step in this control equation; the coercive power provided by law is, for too many in the copyright industries, not external to their businesses, it is their business model. [My Comments]

Output: Another half-truth here. Copyright is about control, but control is not always about money. If we allow copyright owners to exercise all the control that they are looking for, one of the two things will happen: if they are happy with the results that it brings, it will be the end of the discussion; and if they are not happy, it is very likely that they will voluntarily switch to the new models that will be more efficient. This is the attitude of socialists that was best addressed by Frederic Bastiat back in 1850 when he wrote in The Law: “Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 166 [Quote from Patry’s book] The belief that legislatures can force the public to obey copyright laws the public disagrees with is a fundamental error. Such laws are not just ineffective; copyright owners mistakenly on them as a substitute for responding to market demand. [My Comments]

Output: Laws against murder do not stop murderers from murdering people. Granted, copyright infringement is a massively more popular violation of individual rights, which is not surprising, given open calls to legalize unauthorized use of something that belongs to somebody else under the false pretence that it benefits the “society as a whole”.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 166 [Quote from Patry’s book] Only good business models, and never law, are the solution to bad business models. There is only one way to get people to obey copyright laws, and that is to have copyright laws that support good business models. [My Comments]

Output: This is a direct contradiction. In the first sentence Patry correctly states that the law is not the solution to bad business models. In the sentence that follows he advocates for the adoption of laws that would force copyright owners to adopt whatever it is that Patry considers “good” business models. So it’s OK to have the law back up one model, but not the other model, even though the law is never the solution?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 174 [Quote from Patry’s book] At the same time, calls for abolishing copyright laws ignore that there is a need to prevent unauthorized, non-socially useful conduct that is individually beneficial to members of the public in the short term (in the sense of not paying), but which is harmful to society in the long term (by killing the goose that lays the golden eggs). [My Comments]

Output: This, ladies and gentlemen, is the true road to serfdom so skilfully referred to by comrade Patry in his book. His only concern is to have copyright laws give as little to the creators as possible to ensure that they continue to lay golden eggs to benefit the society in the long run. Collectivism always starts with great ideas about creating the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people at the expense of the least misery for the least number of people. It always ends with people being killed to ensure that the higher goal is attained.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 176 [Quote from Patry’s book] Laws that are out of step with the needs of society must be changed. When we don’t change them – as we have not with our copyright laws – there is massive disobedience. Characterizing wide segments of the populations as thieves and criminals is a sure sign a system of laws has failed. [My Comments]

Output: No, it is a sure sign that we have become a society of people who feel entitled to use others as slaves – whether it is through progressive taxation or through unauthorized use of intellectual property.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 177 [Quote from Patry’s book] The central element in copyright ideology is exclusivity. Copyright owners are said to be granted “exclusive rights,” the essence of which is the ability to exclude, to be able to say no to anyone who wants to use your work, the ability to say no for a good reason, for a bad reason, or for no reason; the ability to attempt to command any price you want; the ability to impose any conditions you wish on the use of your work; and in many countries, the ability to withdraw the work from circulation. [My Comments]

Output: This is correct, and yes, this is the only thing that copyright laws are supposed to protect. They are not supposed to ensure wealth or popularity. They are merely a tool to allow creators and subsequent copyright owners to offer an intangible product to the market.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 178 [Quote from Patry’s book] If I own my car, I will be protected in that ownership against theft, but the State can still tell me what speeds to drive, to wear a seatbelt, to have insurance, and to register the car with the motor vehicle department and pay fees for that registration. [My Comments]

Output: And you know what? There are many people who believe that speed limits, the seat belt requirements, mandatory insurance and vehicle registration are nothing more than unlawful usurpation of power by the government.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 179 [Quote from Patry’s book] Regrettably, currently both authors and the public are ill served by our current laws: authors go unpaid for many legally compensable uses, while many uses that should not be compensated for are the subject of claims by copyright owners. What are the reasons for this unhappy state of affairs? In the case of uncompensated uses where income should flow to authors, there are two reasons why things have broken down. The first reason is the sheer volume of unauthorized activity made possible by digital formats. There is no effective way to control most of this activity, so the solution is to figure out how to compensate for it. Doing so entails giving up the ideology of copyright = control = money. [My Comments]

Output: Welcome to Soviet copyright law, comrades! Let us have the government figure out how to compensate authors for unauthorized use of their works through digital formats. The government is so efficient, everything is going to be great. Keep walking, nothing to see here…

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 179 [Quote from Patry’s book] Insisting on control, insisting on the ability to always say no, insisting that “it’s my property and everyone who uses my work without my permission is a thief,” may make one feel self-righteous, but it won’t pay the bills. A right of remuneration, not the ability to say no to things you can’t control anyway, must be the new focus. [My Comments]

Output: Says who? If the author is willing to compromise his ability to pay the bills in favour of being able to control the use of his works, who are we to thwart it? And if the author wants to get paid when the public is not willing to pay for the use of his works, who are we to use taxpayers’ money to fund it?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 184 [Quote from Patry’s book] The music industry family is fatally dysfunctional; policymakers have to step in and lead. Leading means making decisions that some people or even many people don’t like, but which are necessary for the good of all. [My Comments]

Output: This principle is usually called “mob rule”. May I ask, who comrade Patry proposes to form the politburo of policymakers to teach the dysfunctional music industry midgets how to run their shabby establishments? This darn private sector again. Let’s have a global state-run recording corporation! Then we can all hope for cantatas about Karl Marx in Dolby Digital.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 188 [Quote from Patry’s book] Yet, the Commission proposes to prevent these goals from ever being accomplished by adding, “such solutions should preserve the contractual treedom of right holders. Right holders would not be obliged to license for all European territories, but would remain free to restrict their licenses to certain territories and to contractually set the level of license fees.” [My Comments]

Output: The indignation is clear here. What contractual freedom? For these little people in the private sector? Our macroeconomists will be able to set the fair remuneration for each kind of use and these pesky copyright owners should sit down and shut up. That makes sense…

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 197 [Quote from Patry’s book] How Long Should Copyright Last? So how long is long enough? If one approaches the question ideologically, the only answers are ideological and as such can never provide a satisfactory answer to those who do not share the ideology. [My Comments]

Output: I argue that because copyright is property, the protection should be perpetual as long as the owner takes steps to inform others of his intentions to protect it. I will deal with the requirement for formalities below.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 199 [Quote from Patry’s book] The argument is that the author will calculate in 2011 that a copyright that lasts until 2101 is not a sufficient incentive to create, and that only if copyright lasts until 2121 will he or she create in 2011. No one should believe that. [My Comments]

Output: And no one does. The term of protection (just as the protection itself) is not about incentivising creativity, it’s about recognizing the right of the creator to deal with the results of their work as they please.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 205 [Quote from Patry’s book] The way to resolve this problem is through mandatory use of formalities that require copyright owners to take steps to affirm their continued desire to claim their rights, principally the requirement that the copyright owner file a document with a government agency expressing a continued interest in the work. [My Comments]

Output: And this is the only Patry’s proposal with which I wholeheartedly agree. There are indeed millions of works that their owners don’t care to protect or capitalize on. If the creators expect the courts to enforce their rights against all kinds of unauthorized uses, it is only fair to ensure that the creators value these rights sufficiently to demonstrate interest in their protection not only when they managed to catch some deep pockets using their works without permission. This is especially true if the potential term of protection will be perpetual.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 212 [Quote from Patry’s book] Quoting Judge Leval: “ Fair use should not be considered a bizarre, occasionally tolerated departure from the grand conception of the copyright monopoly. To the contrary, it is a necessary part of the overall design.” [My Comments]

Output: Fair use is indeed a necessary part of the overall design, but only as a limited departure from the grand conception of the copyright monopoly. This is why it’s about exceptions from the general rule that no one should use protected works without permission. There is nothing wrong with fair use as long as it is limited to cases when the use is indeed fair. And no, this does not include any unauthorized use just because it is transformative.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 214 [Quote from Patry’s book] Straitjackets consist of narrow lists (such as those contained in the EU’s Information Society Directive), drawn up by government officials, of the few types of unlicensed creativity that are permitted. The idea that government officials can effectively formulate and execute a creativity centralized command system in which all permitted uses can be carefully spelled out in advance is to believe that the Soviet-planned economies were a rousing success. [My Comments]

Output: So suddenly now Mr. Patry is not a fan of Soviet-planned economies? How about trying to rewrite the whole copyright system based on some policymaker’s understanding of what a good business model is? The great advantage of European approach to exceptions from copyright is predictability. The great advantage of the fair use doctrine is flexibility. The greatest disadvantage of fair dealing doctrine in Canada is that it provides neither predictability nor flexibility. As long as the judiciary’s understanding of the underlying reasons for copyright’s existence is clear (whether it exists to protect the authors or to benefit the public), I would suggest that fair use is a better approach. When no such clear understanding exists, fair use becomes a tool in the hands of activist judges – whichever way they are leaning.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 221 [Quote from Patry’s book] There is, however, a very sharp divide between the flexibility found in the United States and the top-down straitjacket imposed by European Union directives. That divide greatly inhibits creativity and innovation in the EU and therefore U.S. companies a distinct advantage. [My Comments]

Output: Excuse me, didn’t you just write that there is no correlation between stronger copyright laws and better economic performance? Intellectual property laws are important but is there maybe some other factors that give U.S. companies a market advantage?

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 223 [Quote from Patry’s book] Closed lists must be regularly updated on the penalty of crushing technological or market innovations: no legislature, no matter how careful or insightful, can think of all current uses, much less think of uses, technologies, or markets that are not yet existence. In the past, technologies and therefore business models changed slowly. This is no longer the case. [My Comments]

Output: You can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, it is true that one cannot expect the legislatures to think of all of possible uses. On the other hand, this is what Patry is advocating when he suggests that different sorts of works should have different terms of protection, carefully designed to reflect the best interests of the society in having access to such works.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 227 [Quote from Patry’s book] Copyright laws are not an end in themselves, but rather a means to socially desirable behavior. Focusing on behavior rather than on who has a right or an entitlement will go a long way toward making our copyright laws effective. Adopting dynamic, flexible legal principles that can quickly respond to changes in behavior, rather than waiting for governments to legislate permitted innovation is critical. [My Comments]

Output: Cannot it be both? Laws against theft are a means to socially desirable behaviour, yet they are based on who has a right. You cannot sculpt social behaviour or have flexible legal principles unless it is based on some underlying reason.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 228 [Quote from Patry’s book] By phrasing the discussion as one in which the “private” rights of authors are deemed the default rule, the public’s interest is cast as an unnatural and unwelcome “limit” on or “exception” to the desired natural state of affairs. Copyright owners are alleged to have unfettered rights in their works, even if by copyright owners we mean large, multinational corporations who have bought rights, on the cheap, from the actual creators. [My Comments]

Output: Let us not forget, the public would not have access to the works, unless such works are created by the authors. This is not to bolster the argument that copyright laws increase creativity. This is to say that after the works have been created, there is no reason why anybody should expect to be entitled to use them without the author’s consent.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 228 [Quote from Patry’s book] Copyright is not and has never been a property right. Copyright laws are regulations created by governments to further broad societal goals. Those goals are pragmatic, not ideological, and as pragmatic, they accord certain privileges given to copyright owners, and certain privileges given to the public. There is no basis to regard any privilege as more important than another because they all work toward the common good. [My Comments]

Output: Again, if we are discussing what copyright should be, it is irrelevant what it is or has been. Regardless of what it is or has been, copyright should be a property right, because it protects something that does not exist but for the work of a creative mind. Just like there is property in items created by one’s own labour, there is property in items created by one’s creativity.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 229 [Quote from Patry’s book] We must accept that no one has rights, but that everyone has obligations, to each other, and to the common good. [My Comments]

Output: The end justifies the means, right? To each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities…

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 229 [Quote from Patry’s book] Sometimes that means giving one set of authors the right to stop other authors from doing unauthorized acts with copyrighted works. Sometimes that means giving the latter group of authors the right to do things with copyrighted works without permission or payment to the first set of authors. When this latter event occurs, it is not through a limitation or exception, it is instead through the ordinary operation of copyright law acting in the public’s interest. Authors – all of them – do not stand in opposition to the public interest, but solidly within it. “Limitations and exceptions” insultingly and inaccurately suggest they don’t. [My Comments]

Output: A general transformative use exception was also a part of the Soviet copyright law – and with the same excuse: to ensure the most benefits to the “society”. Transformative works are important for our culture, but they should not be necessarily unauthorized. Just because I can take good photographs, does not mean I would be justified in stealing a camera.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 238 [Quote from Patry’s book] In an irresponsible delegation of power, governments throughout the world have vested in large, multinational media companies and their trade associations, the ability to determine when and how new services may be offered to the public, including the features contained in consumer electronic goods. This delegation occurs through legislation that makes it a civil offense and a crime to circumvent digital locks that companies create without any governmental supervision. It is as if the police were paid from the tickets they hand out and got to make up the rules for when violations of law occur. [My Comments]

Output: Delegation of power? You cannot delegate that what you do not have. Since when do the governments have the right “to determine when and how new services may be offered to the public, including the features contained in consumer electronic goods”? Government supervision in protecting something that’s yours? Talk about Soviet-planned economies and contempt for the private sector!

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 258 [Quote from Patry’s book] Pirate CDs were, however, priced closer to the comparative cost of living, but still not equivalent. Where an Indian consumer was presented with the choice of buying the CD at the equivalent of US$385 (CPP) for the authorized copy, or US$54 for the unauthorized CD, the choice was clear. [My Comments]

Output: Yet you can compete with free? Submitting to a racketeer’s demands who offers protection for a payoff can also be called a business model, but is it really? It is clear that if it is equally convenient and safe to buy a CD at a fraction of the price at which it is being legitimately offered, most people would go with the cheaper option. To make sales of pirate CDs unsafe and inconvenient is the purpose of copyright laws.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 259 [Quote from Patry’s book] As then-President Lula da Silva observed, “For the right to use one copy of Office plus Windows for one year or a year and a half, until the next upgrade, we have to till the earth, plant, harvest, and export to international markets that much soy. When I explain this to the fanners, they go nuts.” [My Comments]

Output: And that is the core distinction between IP-heavy industries of the developed countries and labour-intensive industries of the developing countries. Added value is not created by hard work alone. Unlike what Karl Marx would have you believe, there is no inherent value of labour. It only costs as much as someone is voluntarily willing to pay for it. If you are a hard worker and no one is willing to pay you, the value of your labour is zero. Many hardworking people would go nuts if they attempted to calculate the amount of hours it would take them to make enough money to buy a fancy clarinet, a luxury car or a mansion. This does not mean that someone’s inability to afford these things, which may be highly desired but not essential, should entitle the “less privileged” to just take what they want. And there is no difference if we are talking about tangible or intangible property.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog


Input: [Page] 262 [Quote from Patry’s book] Going after the very small number of those who are doing most of the harm is entirely justified. What is unjustified are heavy-handed techniques against the mass of the population, whether through three-strikes-and-you’re-out approaches, or threats of lawsuits with crippling penalties. Copyright owners have all the tools they need to go after the bad guys, and we should support them in those efforts. However, copyright owners should also support the good guys by providing reasonably priced, convenient authorized goods. If they don’t, no copyright law can help them. [My Comments]

Output: How about the principled approach? Why is it OK to go after a small number of infringers but it is not OK to go after a large number of infringers doing the same thing? While it may be a good business model for copyright owners to support the good guys by providing reasonably priced, convenient authorized goods, they should not be legislated into it. It is their personal decision that we should respect.

How Not To Fix Copyright - My Response to William Patry - Socialist copyright law - Soviet Union | Mincov Law Blog