(software)Pirate (political)party of america

[DLSS]

origin -> http://pirate-party.us/

The Pirate Party of the United States is this country's version of the Piratpartiet, a Swedish political party that wants to "fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens' rights to privacy are respected." As a fraternal party, the PPUS shares similar goals while working within the political context of U.S. to achieve them.

For far too long, Big Media copyright cartels like the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America have held back technological progress and individual freedom. They have done so through cutthroat litigation against ordinary Americans, interfering with peer-to-peer networks by flooding them with bogus files, and corrupting the political system with unscrupulous lobbying and political donations.

Similarly, the pharmaceutical firms of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have, through the power of their medicine patents, denied lifesaving medical treatment to the world's poorest people suffering on a horrific scale just to raise their profit margins. Doctors and scientists are beholden to Big Pharma's grant money, extorted through patents, to devote research efforts on what makes the most money, not always on what saves the most lives or reduces suffering. The New England Journal of Medicine can no longer find unbiased reviewers of medical studies because of Big Pharma's long patent-granted reach.

Preceding and following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government has had a longstanding antipathy towards protecting the privacy of ordinary Americans when it conflicts with their interests in state control. The NSA's phone-tapping, the FBI's Carnivore email spying program, and Congress's two so-called "PATRIOT Acts" are symptoms of a rampant disregard in law enforcement and the legislative branch for the private lives of U.S. citizens.

No matter what excuses or rationalizations Big Businesses and Big Government offer, it all comes down to cold, hard corporate greed and state control at the expense of your freedom and well-being. Most Americans have wished that one of the major parties would have the courage to stand up to these undemocratic conglomerates and policies and win back control of the cultural, scientific, and personal spheres for artists, critics, scientists, patients, and citizens from all walks of life. Both the Republicans and Democrats have instead, as a whole, enthusiastically rolled over for Big Media's and Big Pharma's campaign dollars.

While fine groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Free Software Foundation, Creative Commons, and Doctors Without Borders have been fighting these battles for a long time with us, no political party in United States has made the reform of intellectual property and privacy laws their top priority.

Until now.

Signed,

Joshua Cowles & David Sigal

Provisional Chairmen, PPUS

Original text by Brent Allison, Founder.

[Uncle Toxie]

God Bless America! Sign me up.

[rFayjW98ciLoNQLDZmFRKD]

I dont believe in completely removing copyrights, just let me do what I what for what I payed for. And IP addresses arn't proof of piracy.

[Snowy©]

Broadcast bit in a telephony bill nonono...

http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/475

[W4RP3D]

eliminating copyright?? nahh it would never work. There would be no insentive for big companys and creative foke to create anything.

Although I do think alot of things are over priced, deffinatly popular software i mean come on how much is windows xp these days and how long has it been on sale they must be making sooo much profit and screwing the genral public over, how many PC's can you buy all ready made that hasnt got XP on it (i no they use a OEM but still its alot of money),

[armadaender]

I agree with the skepticism that Computer_Kid and W4RP3D share but this is a step in the right direction for reform of the US Government. Will it work? Probably not but that all depends on getting fellow Americans involved.

For change to occur, it begins with a first step.

And this is it.

[Sparda]

I would just be happy if the world was more morroly oriantated. For example, if some one got cought pireting music, insted of been Fed in the A by the RIAA (wow, that rymes). Insted they should be charged the amount they should have payed for the content on there computer that they cannot proov they paid for (makes sence doesn't it?). Unfortunatly, this would mean that the coughts would have to set the prices for tracks, becasue you find diffrent prices all over the place. The same with movies.

[Snowy©]

Ooo haven't had time to check out/read up on this one yet:

dl.tv source

AT&T have a new set of T's & C's where they seem to say your private personal data is not your own it's theirs

Sorry not one for rumours - normally I check things from a couple of sources/original docs - but no time :(

[comcipher]

I would just be happy if the world was more morroly oriantated. For example, if some one got cought pireting music, insted of been Fed in the A by the RIAA (wow, that rymes). Insted they should be charged the amount they should have payed for the content on there computer that they cannot proov they paid for (makes sence doesn't it?).

That would never work. That's like saying you can go to to a store and purchase / steal whatever you feel like, but if you get caught stealing you have to pay the retail price and be done with it. Almost more of an incentive to steal things.

[Sparda]

Thats the diffrance between stealing and pireting, stealing involves physicly taking some thing that doesn't belong to you, pireting is just getting content you didn't pay for.

Lets take what you said on board, what if the punishment for braking copywrite was the same as stealing. Since the RIAA keep calling piracy stealing, then shurly they would be happy if the laws for piracy where the same as stealing from a shop wouldn't they?

[temperseed]

can you say RIP-OFF !!! ... freaking paypal banner right down the last part showing you what its all about... taking your money and not doing a damn thing. :cry:

[MrDave2176]

Thats the diffrance between stealing and pireting?

Stealing is wrong, but Pirates are cool. And they fight global warming.

[MrDave2176]

eliminating copyright?? nahh it would never work. There would be no insentive for big companys and creative foke to create anything.

Nobody ever said "eliminate" copyrights, but they want to REFORM them.

Right now, as it stands, copyright in the US is a tool of lawyers to stifle innovation. It allows them to hold ideas like Micky Mouse (75+ years and counting under copyright) and "The Birthday Song" (50+ years under copyright and still making money) as intellectual properties when ideas like "The Wizard of Oz" (Copyright FINALLY expired in 1988) and Alice in Wonderland (Copyright Expired in 1986) have gone on to prove more popular and more innovative to new audiences when run through an unfettered creative filter tha renews them for a new audience.

Why are we strangling creativity when we can be releasing it into the wild to grow, mutate, and evolve?

How much money do you have to make from something before you have made enough? According to copyright law here in the US (particularly companies like Disney and Warner) it is never enough.

Long after their creators have died and have ceased to care about their creations, genius' families (Gene Roddenberry, Rod Serling, Orson Wells, and John Lennon just to name a few) are continuing to wring profit for themselves out of holding copyrights.

How long can one reasonably be expected to hold something in copyright? I say 20 years is plenty. If you have not made enough money in 20 years, wringing pennies from people who want to make your idea become great is a crime greater than piracy.

Note, I am not saying that you are to discard the creator. I hope to be will into my 90's seeing "Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger" on the latest independant creation (not licenced) film created by a few fans without fear of a lwayer telling them they can't make money from their labors.

[MrDave2176]

can you say RIP-OFF !!! ... freaking paypal banner right down the last part showing you what its all about... taking your money and not doing a damn thing. :cry:

When was the last time you EVER waw any political process that didn't run on money?

When was the last time you ever saw ANYONE do anything that made a dent without SOME money involved?

Were you expecting them to do it all for you? Alone? Progress costs, baby. I say donate if you want to see someone try to make it better. Don't like the results you got for your money? You are free to do it better yourself.