Some people it takes very little to "inspire" potty humor.

Happens everytime there are peppers here. Same people having the same discussion as if they'd never had it before.

library mini-meara:

It's quieter here than your average library.

Lots of libraries are actually pretty noisy now.

Which is why, legally, "fair use" boils down to "whatever you can get away with at the time." It's up to the copyright holder to decide whether they're being infringed upon -- there are no hard and fast rules about what you can and can't use, or how much, or for how long. None.

As others have said, there are rules. They're just rules that require interpretation. Still, it's up to the copyright owner whether or not to sue, but NOT whether or not they would win. I will grant, though, that the system, including courts, have been pretty biased in the copyright owners' favor in recent years.

*(FTR, I'm not a complete nerd, I have the statute sitting by my desk at work)

Trudy, please explain how having the statute on your desk makes you NOT a nerd? (from another avowed nerd!)

Everybody agrees that there are ground rules, however, so if George Lucas tried to sue my company over 1 line of reprinted dialogue, he'd probably get laughed out of court.

Alas, here I argue for the other side, that it depends. One line, if it's an important line or a small work, can be enough.

Speaking of copyright violations...

Ichiro Kameda, the president of a tiny, two-man company in Osaka, is currently embroiled in a bitter battle with computer maker Apple.

"Putting it simply, the fight is all over what I call our beat generator. There's a small device with three different, sound-activated motors. It's a revolutionary invention. You can plug it in to iPods or mobile phones. It can also be programmed to operate only for certain voices," Kameda says, referring to his company's product.

Kameda's commercial pride and joy is actually a women's sex aid worn inside her most intimate orifices and buzzing her with good vibrations when set off by sound.

Though the Japanese Patent Agency gave him the right to use the devise in August last year, and the trademark he chose for the product was approved two months later, he still hasn't been able to sell. The problem? He called the product the gPod.

Alas, here I argue for the other side, that it depends. One line, if it's an important line or a small work, can be enough.

Right, but, George Lucas doesn't write poetry or music lyrics (anyway, I hope not -- he is the non plus ultra of tin ears). 1 line of dialogue from a 120-page movie script falls within the safe ground rules of my company, with room to boogie in.

One line, if it's an important line or a small work, can be enough.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is exactly why I would say there are no rules. There are guidelines, and there is precedent, but "rules" to me implies something much more concrete. "One line of dialogue is fair use" would be a rule. "An undetermined small percentage is fair use" isn't.

Okay, car people here is a Jericho promo with the car.

What is it?

Trudy, please explain how having the statute on your desk makes you NOT a nerd? (from another avowed nerd!)

Legal secretary in an IP firm -- its a job hazard.

First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I must do nothin'. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the Pirate's Code to apply, and you're not. And thirdly, the Code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

What is it?

Looks Dodgish to me.