(no subject)

[heidi]

: pimps bear's new iSpell icons Hee! Now, to convince her to put all of them into one icon together, whee.

It's only 10 am here - I have FOURTEEN HOURS before I could even comprehend getting the book legally, sigh. And I spent a little time this morning passing on info to The Powers That Be regarding an illegal radio contest in Tampa, Florida, which they managed to shut down with moments to go by threatening a suit against the station's parent corporation, Clear Channel, who are big enough to know better, but then again, I've found Clear Channel galactically stupid regarding the intellectual property rights of anyone but themselves.

Here's the thing - while I am not perfectly sure that the books can be considered unpublished anywhere in the world, these days, once they are officially on sale in the UK, I do think that until they are officially released there, they need to be considered under the copyright laws as they apply to unpublished works in the US, which means that infringement of them is addressed under a tighter and more protective standard than it is for works that are published. Once the books are published, the chapter titles merit no copyright protection, but until then, they do; once the books are published, fair use vests for purposes of parody, criticism and commentary, as well as educational purposes, but until then, they're in the same category as, say, JD Salinger's private letters. I know not all lawyers agree with that theory, but it's the only one that's viabe under current law, IMO. It's like the difference between your LJ posts which are set to private and the ones that, like this, are set to public.

But I am *so* sure that none of you are interested in law. I'm only babbling because some of you get the book in SIX HOURS and some of you in ELEVEN and I am still FOURTEEN hours away. WOE! WAH! WIBBLE!

I'll probably be spamming LJ out of boredom all day. Don't worry, no spoilers here, at least not for MORE THAN HALF A DAY MORE.

Silly left coast. zorb, I now know your pain.

Comments

[ali-wildgoose.livejournal.com]

*raises hand*

Actually, I'm totally interested in IP law. heh. ^_-

So what was the deal with the radio station? Were they broadcasting chapter titles?

[batmanmsd.livejournal.com]

none of you are interested in law

Wait, I am! Especially in regards to the details of an illegal contest at the hands of the Evil Emprire, er, I mean Clear Channel. What happened? :)

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Read here.

Also, what lj style do you have?

[batmanmsd.livejournal.com]

I hate radio stunts.

As for the LJ style, I have no idea. I guess whatever the default style happens to be. I've never tangled with it.

[bear.livejournal.com]

The IP issues fascinate me, because determining when fair use protection vests isn't something I've ever thought about before -- stuff was either there or it wasn't, and it never seemed terribly important. However, HBP puts us in the IP equivalent of determining when life begins, because we're watching the whole thing unfold v e r y s l o w l y.

I'm curious, though -- if copyright subsists at the moment of creation, why do fair use protections not vest until publication? (I guess I'm looking for the policy rationale.)

[bear.livejournal.com]

Ah, never mind -- found it. (I couldn't remember the case that dealt with that, but it's the Gerald Ford autobiography one, yeah?)

[bear.livejournal.com]

Pardon me for comment spamming, but I keep thinking of things after I've hit post. Reading the section on publication in my copyright hornbook, something struck me:

Assuming "publication" is found where the general public has obtained a possessory interest in the work, could you make an argument that publication occurs when someone pre-orders the book on Amazon? (Assuming, of course, that Amazon charges your credit card right away -- not sure about how that works, as I've never pre-ordered.) After all, by entering a contract for sale supported by consideration, you have acquired a vested future possessory interest in the book. Is that sufficient? Or does publication require a present possessory interest?

[ladylaw7.livejournal.com]

Amazon doesn't charge your credit card until they ship...though a promise can be consideration for another promise (at least according to my bar/bri notes), so you could say that there's a promise to pay in consideration for Amazon's promise to ship. Still, I'm not sure at what point the buyer acquires the possessory interest.

Thinking about Harry Potter is WAY more fun than studying.

[bear.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point. But since you can cancel an Amazon pre-order without penalty, I'd think there'd be no contract at all until the money changes hands (since the buyer did not suffer a detriment in making a non-binding promise). So ... no K, no possessory interest until the time it ships (whenever that may be) -- is the preorder then a unilateral K, do you think?

But if the promise to purchase *was* binding (or if they took the money at the time of ordering), some possessory interest would vest at that moment, yeah?

Ugh. I HATE contracts questions.

Thinking about Harry Potter is WAY more fun than studying.

DUDE. YES.

If I fail the bar exam, it will be because I am BORED OUT OF MY MIND and consequently lack motivation to do anything. Studying would be infinitely better if it were all somehow fandom related. Which is why I just spent twenty fascinating minutes contemplating this question while the sample essays make me want to stab my eyes out.

[ladylaw7.livejournal.com]

I suppose it would be a unilateral contract. Giving Amazon your credit card number is the "offer" and Amazon accepts by shipping. Hmmm. You're right about if they took the money at the time of the pre-order, I just don't know about the consequences of that interest. Contracts certainly isn't my strong suit (and it terrifies me that I have less than two weeks to remedy that fact!).

It's so unfair that after three years of tedious hard work, they make us spend an addition two months doing even more tedious hard work! What state are you studying for?

[zorb]

Life hard. *stares at clock*

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Make sure you fly EAST when the seventh book comes out. :D

Does Dave have my number? Going to movie later--will have to turn phone off. I don't want him to think I'm snubbing him or anything. Maybe we can meet for pizza or Chinese.

panicky artist

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

Have you gotten either of my e-mails on the art? Sorry I'm just starting to sweat the deadline a little (because keep in mind, there will be a week of non drawing while I read HBP *L*)

Re: panicky artist

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to get onto gmail wah! If you can upload them and send me urls, then that would be lovely.

Re: panicky artist

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

Ah, eep, that would be a problem.
I posted the art in a locked journle for your eyes only, here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ani_bester/265438.html

Hopefully that will work.
If you the sidekick stops letting you reply, err I'm not sure what to do. I could give you my cell number 0.o

Re: panicky artist

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Yay I love them all! Harry will love harry!

[goldie-black.livejournal.com]

Awww yes, Clear Channel. Would that explain Kenny & Footy telling everyone to head to the Metro Zoo FRIDAY morning for a free copy of the book?

I was ticked when I heard that.

[hermione-like.livejournal.com]

Heh I never heard about that contest, but I think I know which station you're talking about. I really don't like some of the DJs on there--they think they can get away with anything.

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

You nailed that particular annoying radio show?

*bows down in admiration*

Clear Channel is teh suck.

[siyahsaclikiz.livejournal.com]

Well, if it helps you in any way: Even though I can technically get the book in 16 minutes (since I am ahead of GBT but they won't release it anywhere else first), I will not be able to get it a minute before you because the bookstore does not open until 10 AM. Woe.

[til-midnight.livejournal.com]

But I am *so* sure that none of you are interested in law.

I made my mother tell me mock court cases instead of bed time stories when I was little. Trust me, I found you comments very interesting.