Tag Archives: copyright

Ask your Congress members to oppose TPP today

Here’s

a handy form by EFF
to oppose the secretly-negotiated privacy-deleting corporate-greed-defending
natural gas export pipeline-enabling Trans-Pacific Parternship treaty.

Parker Higgins and Maira Sutton
wrote for the Electronic Frontier Foundation
28 December 2013,

2013 in Review: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement,


Stop Secret Copyright Treaties

The biggest TPP story this year was the publication by WikiLeaks
in November of the chapter titled “Intellectual Property.” Unfortunately,
its contents confirmed many of our worst fears: from
ratcheting up copyright term lengths
around the world, to
boxing in fair use, to mandating a draconian legal regime around DRM software, section
after section contained clauses plucked from corporate wishlists and
snubbed the public interest altogether.

And then there’s

Ted Poe’s House Subcommittee pushing TPP for LNG exports that would propel
“natural” fracked gas pipelines
such as Spectra Energy’s Sabal Transmission gas pipe
through private property and

public rivers and watersheds and

aquifers.

Here’s what’s up next: Continue reading →

You like blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.? Oppose the “PROTECT IP” Act

If you like facebook, twitter, eBay, blogs, other social media, or even
Google or Yahoo,
you won’t like the so-called “PROTECT IP” Act, which is coming up to
a vote in the Senate any day now.


It would let big corporate copyright holders impose monitoring,
take down websites, and cut off funding, all without need for a court order.
There’s still time to oppose it.

Parker Higgins wrote for EFF Monday,

The PROTECT IP Act Is Very Real and Very Bad — Call Now to Block It

The

PROTECT IP Act (PIPA)
is the evil step-sister of the

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA),
the much-criticized Internet blacklist bill introduced
in the House last month. They’ve got a lot in common — both bills
would allow the government and private rightsholders to

censor the Internet for Americans,
and both bills have faced

strong opposition
from regular citizens, business leaders, and public interest groups.

In one way, though, PIPA is much worse: while SOPA is still in the
House committee stage and has been the target of extraordinary public
opposition, PIPA is already out of committee and poised for consideration
of the full Senate. That means PIPA is a few dangerous steps further
along in the process of becoming law. And with only a few weeks to go
in this legislative session, the Senate may try to rush the bill through
before the public has a chance to respond.

Here’s one way to contact your elected representatives.
Or call them on the
telephone.
See also

LAKE’s contact information for national elected officials.

-jsq