Visualizing the effects of copyright law:

Via Incoming Signals we were directed to a graph showing the effects of various copyright laws. Essentially, a whole lot of stuff is off-limits compared to what would have been if the original copyright provisions were in effect.

Incoming Signals is a hard-to-classify blog. For example, there is a link to Buildings of Disaster, where one can purchase a miniature replica of Chernobyl to accent your living room decor.

It's a good site to visit when you want to take a break from heavy political stuff. You'll find links to the many-stringed-guitar, for example.

UPDATE: Even more power to copyright holders:

Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."

The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."

"If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize" the seriousness of their actions, he said.

"There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Hatch said.

A few hundred thousand destroyed computers? Sounds good to us!

posted by Quiddity at 6/17/2003 08:19:00 AM