SOPA explained

[TransformX]

Best explanation yet..

[cjolley]

LOL.
Very concisely put.

[KRSESQ]

Given the amount of hotlinking and cutting-and-pasting we do here, under SOPA our little sandbox would get shut down pretty quick. The thumbnail image of that MJ album cover would be enough to do it!

[VJ]

Given the amount of hotlinking and cutting-and-pasting we do here, under SOPA our little sandbox would get shut down pretty quick. The thumbnail image of that MJ album cover would be enough to do it!

Just curious: if the system would consistently show the source of e.g. the images upploaded, would it make a difference?
After all, there is an an exception in the copyright law for quotation and citation...

[KRSESQ]

Just curious: if the system would consistently show the source of e.g. the images upploaded, would it make a difference?
After all, there is an an exception in the copyright law for quotation and citation...

SOPA makes no provision for that. That's one of the problems with it. Unless you have specific, expressed permission for every bit of data you post, you could be shut down. Without so much as a hearing.

Ironic that a computer network created to survive a nuclear attack might be brought down by clueless lawyers and politicians.

[TransformX]

Ironic that a computer network created to survive a nuclear attack might be brought down by clueless lawyers and politicians.

I think they know exactly what they are doing. They don't mind sending us back to the stone age for their profits.

[KRSESQ]

Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

[Jammrock]

Most of the old farts on Captial Hill don't know anything about technology.

For example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_tubes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f99PcP0aFNE

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-18-2012/ko-computer

[Dr Mordrid]

Under US law copyright ends where satire, parody and politics begin, which is why the above image would likely be OK. This is what lets Weird Al Yankovich and Paul Shanklin do their song parodies.

As to the law - it was a mess, so getting it improved is good.

[degrub]

yeah, but improved in whose judgement ? That's the real kicker. It's the wild west versus the east coast - conflicting economic goals.

[Jessterw]

Under US law copyright ends where satire, parody and politics begin, which is why the above image would likely be OK. This is what lets Weird Al Yankovich and Paul Shanklin do their song parodies.

As to the law - it was a mess, so getting it improved is good.

The problem with SOPA and PIPA is that they would enable sites to be brought down with even less proof (as in none at all) of actual copyright infringement.

The problem we already face is that content hosting providers like YouTube already provide copyright owners (of the powerful, greedy kind) with a way to avoid having to even worry about the existing DMCA by letting them remove content as they please.