Tokyopop to Close North American Publishing Division

[ainsoph9]

Well, it is either that or get sued. ISPs are really kind of between a rock and a hard place because if they throttle too much, they anger customers and lose them; if they do not throttle enough, they anger rights owners because of piracy. Fun!

[Mystes]

"Start again," he says. It never ended. Actually, it has grown in recent years.

It's more easy now, with the torrent files.

[ainsoph9]

Well, before that, you had P2P, but I am thinking that the growth of coverage area and bandwidth has a lot to do with it. People that would not have had high-speed internet 10 years ago now can surf 100 sites in a matter of minutes. So, they should be able to upload and download pretty much anything they want as a result.

[Poke2201]

The rights owners have way too much power these days... Copyright for 95 years AFTER DEATH? Good lord.

[rpapo]

The rights owners have way too much power these days... Copyright for 95 years AFTER DEATH? Good lord.

Gotta feed the great-grandchildren, after all.

[Poke2201]

Oh not like they can get their own jobs...

[Mystes]

The rights owners have way too much power these days... Copyright for 95 years AFTER DEATH? Good lord.

Gotta feed the great-grandchildren, after all.

How many years was it for Nobel?

[rpapo]

How many years was it for Nobel?

I think that was a different situation. He made a huge fortune from his invention, dynamite, and that fortune was invested to provide the Nobel Prizes year after year indefinitely.

[Mystes]

How many years was it for Nobel?

I think that was a different situation. He made a huge fortune from his invention, dynamite, and that fortune was invested to provide the Nobel Prizes year after year indefinitely.

And people like...EInstein with his formula? Or Agatha CHristie's books?

[ainsoph9]

I think it depends mostly on how long someone wants to keep the copyright and how much they are willing to pay. This is part of the reason why families can keep the copyrights long after the creator of the idea or invention can keep the copyrights is dead, depending on the creator's will and family politics of course. Patent law is difficult to understand and navigate, especially if you do not know what you are doing. I received some training on this in college for the sake of engineering products. You need to know what you can and cannot legally do without stepping on someone's toes, yours included. Likewise for Tokyopop and other companies like them, it really becomes a matter of money. Sadly, this is not always in the best interest of the thing itself; many times it kills great ideas because of the legality alone. It is pitiful, really. *shakes head*

[Poke2201]

Which is why copyright can be evil sometimes. A good intention taken too far.

[ainsoph9]

Well, I think that one of the reasons copyrights came into existence is because people just cannot be trusted and will lie, cheat, and steal to "earn" an extra dollar. If people were more honest, it really would not be as much of a problem.

[rpapo]

Which is why copyright can be evil sometimes. A good intention taken too far.

So many things go bad when they go too far: governments, health care, labor unions, even supposedly good things like free speech and "tolerance".

Well, I think that one of the reasons copyrights came into existence is because people just cannot be trusted and will lie, cheat, and steal to "earn" an extra dollar. If people were more honest, it really would not be as much of a problem.

Ah yes, human nature at its best

It's unfortunate that legal systems in general have a hard time dealing with gray areas. Things are easier to deal with when they are clearly black or white.

[ainsoph9]

That depends on whose perspective we are talking about here. From the legal system's viewpoint, something might be black while from the plebeian's perspective it might be white and vice versa. Unfortunately, the current legal and governmental system arrogantly thinks that it knows better about what it is best for the public and the individual than the public and the individual do. This is especially true when children are involved. We have all probably heard of one story or another, but the fact that the stories exist in the first place is the worst thing.

[Poke2201]

What stories are you talking about?