It's almost a truism in the tech world that copyright owners reflexively oppose new inventions that do (or might) disrupt existing business models. But how many techies actually know what rightsholders have said and written for the last hundred years on the subject?

Google doesn't force Web sites to be included in its search listings. The people who run any site can remove it from Google's results with a few keystrokes.

...

It's not like this is some big secret. Google even has a page on its Web site explaining step by step how to do it. Yet neither AP nor News Corp. has taken this simple step to stop the marauding Google pirates from pillaging their cargo. Why? Because they know that their traffic would dry up overnight. They'd rather blame someone else for their failure to compete in a changing marketplace. They happily take all the customers Google sends them for free, and then accuse Google of theft. Classy.

Enligt skivbolagens internationella samarbetsorganisation IFPI kopierades 40 miljarder musikfiler olagligt under 2008. Om varje låt var värd 160 000 kronor skulle det innebära att den totala skadan var 6,4 miljoner miljarder kronor.

När skivförsäljningen i världen nådde sin topp i början av 2000-talet sålde man enligt samma organisation skivor för 27 miljarder dollar, cirka 200 miljarder kronor. Den påstådda förlusten av fildelningen som man grundade skadeståndsanspråken på var alltså drygt 30 000 gånger större än vad skivförsäljningen någonsin inbringat. Domen mot Tenenbaum handlade alltså inte om ersättning för en skada, den är en del av en ny affärsmodell för skivbolagen.

Through the Music Rules! website, teachers can download program materials in PDF or print out a fax-back order form to request printed copies. For parents, the site offers PDF brochures that provide background on intellectual property issues and tips for keeping the family safe online. The site also provides a list of useful online resources and a feedback form for your comments and suggestions.

HADOPI 2 also preserves an earlier attempt to outlaw the "open WiFi defense" under which an accused file-sharer simply makes clear that anyone could have used his connection. Under the new law, all Internet users must keep their connections "secure" and are responsible for what happens on them.

The talks between the Recording Industry Association of Japan, mobile phone companies and music download sites aim to agree on new anti-piracy measures by the end of the year, according to several participants. A system could be in place by 2011.

The playkey, unlike the title folder, can't be copied—but it can be moved. To give your friends and family access to the file in question, you can send them a copy but must also provide a link to the playkey. Under the DPP system, though, anyone who can access the playkey can also decide to move it to their own digital vault—in essence, anyone can take the content from you, and you would no longer have access to the media files in question if they did so.

But why not the Internet?

The reason is that it’s the most aggravating place in the world to write commercial software for.

You have, off the top of my head, 4 major web browsers to deal with across at least two operating systems.

Each of these scenarios requires its own set of tests, and each browser will behave slightly differently depending on what OS it’s running on and what browser version it is running.

And then there’s mobile.

Translation: I work at Microsoft and all this pesky choice, and the lack of the monoculture I'm used to, is scaring me.

Mr Murdoch said free news on the web provided by the BBC made it "incredibly difficult" for private news organisations to ask people to pay for their news.

A group of European publishers has signed a declaration that aims to see its draconian Automated Content Access Protocol forced on search engines and news aggregators by legislation.