In the vast wonderland known as the internet, endless possibilities confront the unsuspecting consumer. But “... there’s no need to fear...” (http://www.underdogshow.com/) the © “ICE” man is here. (http://www.ice.gov/). In a recent sting operation known as ‘Operation Fake Sweep’, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents along with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency shut down numerous illegally streamed live sports events. According to (http://www.wishtv.com/), an Indianapolis, Indiana news site, $4.8 million in unlicensed merchandise was seized from the streets, flea markets and other places (watch out you might get arrested for selling something at your yard sale!) including websites, in a nationwide sweep that took 4 months. My © Google search yielded 4,040,000 results claiming ‘Official’ licensed © NFL merchandise for sale! $4.8m seems like a drop in the bucket in comparison to whatever the total amount of sales are on 4m sites. Particularly targeted in the reports was a man living in nearby Grand Rapids, Michigan, who was arrested and charged with ONE count of criminal infringement of a copyright. He was allegedly streaming illegal sports events from 16 websites on his home computer(s). Allegedly he profited $13,256.62 from advertisers, an offense under © "Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code Chapter 5 Copyright Infringement and Remedies § 506. Criminal offenses."
(a) Criminal Infringement. — (1) In general. — Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, if the infringement was committed (A) For purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;” “A defendant, convicted for the first time of violating 17 U.S.C. § 506(a) by the unauthorized reproduction or distribution, during any 180-day period...with a retail value of more than $2,500 can be imprisoned for up to 5 years and fined up to $250,000, or both. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2319(b), 3571(b)(3).” (http://www.copyright.gov/) Jan 28, 2012
And that’s on top of whether or not the © NFL wants to sue the man also. Interestingly enough everything I read during my research blamed Asian and Chinese manufacturers for illegal imports??? Don't you know babies are being born in the United States with 'Made in China' barcodes on the bottom of their feet? The 'Official' U.S. baby has a tattooed hologram with an embedded RDIF chip. It says 'Made in China' on the back of it. © Reebok is the ‘Official’ outfitter of NFL products: “Most factories making Reebok footwear are based in Asia — primarily China (accounting for 51% of total footwear production), Indonesia (21%), Vietnam (17%) and Thailand (7%)...” HELLO? What is going on here? (http://www.change.org/petitions/nfl-require-all-nfl-merchandis...) Now, I’m not endorsing any type of copyright infringement, but really? For his $13,000 profit the taxpayers of Indiana are going to end up paying $160,000 for this man's 5 years of incarceration, if he is convicted on the allegations. (http://www.realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2010/04/)
In contrast, a former Secretary of Homeland Security allegedly has a net worth of over $4mil. A ‘Cyber Security Specialist” can earn upwards to $100,000 yr. A computer software engineer can earn at least $94,000. An FBI agent averages $76,000. (http://www.bls.gov/) The highest-ranking police officer in Indianapolis makes $71.17 an hr. A high level U.S. Customs officer can make up to $68,000 yr. $89,000 yr. for a top gun Indiana State trooper. (http://www.in.gov/isp/2369.htm) Gas price in Indiana today Feb. 6, 2012 is $3.69. (http://www.indianagasprices.com). The Director of National Intelligence (U.S.A) brings in $197,700. (http://www.chuck-thompson.com/dennis-blair-intelligence-czar/). The financial logistics for personnel, wages, benefits, travel expenses, etc. etc. it took to confiscate a mere “42,000 items...(big whoop...) "Authorities put the total take at more than $4.8 million” is ridiculous and I’m certain it cost way more than $4.8m for a 4 month investigation. I would like to see the financial reports for this scenario. Anybody see where this math is going in relation to Mr. John Doe’s alleged $13, 256. 62 cents profit? And, what about the math for the consequences? Way more than $13 grand.
“Internet stings that aim at tracking down Internet users require highly trained officers.” “Negative Features of Sting Operations: They Are Expensive. They Do Not Reduce or Prevent Recurring Crime Problems. They May Increase Crime. There are Privacy Issues. They May Prevent the Use of Other, More Effective Problem-Solving Techniques.” (http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e10079110.txt
So what happens with these 42,000 items? Do they get burned in a pile? Stored someplace where the taxpayers have to pay storage fees? Donated to a homeless shelter where they can only look at them and not wear them? Distributed among the officers for their own personal use? Then they can put them up on © eBay and be within the legal limits of “retail value of more (less...hmmm...) than $2,500.” (http://www.copyright.gov/). So, why isn’t this hush-hush news more important than saving a few bucks on a stupid jersey that costs over $300.00 on the “Official © NFL” merchandise website? “... Last year Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, preparing for what he understood to be a major increase in forced, underage commercialized sex, (these would be child sex slaves), called the Super Bowl "the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/) (February 6, 2012 Chemaly, Soraya.) "In the most recent Global Report, The Cost of Coercion (2009), the ILO estimated that the total financial cost of coercion experienced by forced labor workers, including trafficked victims, would be over US$20billion." (http://www.siteresources.worldbank.org/) Do some more math folks...and don’t forget: “half of trafficking victims in the world are under the age of 18. It is estimated that there are approximately 27 million slaves around the world.” (http://www.ncadv.org/files/HumanTrafficking.pdf/) And for those of us living in Florida: “The federal government reports that Florida is among the top states where the ugly trade can originate”.
More math: $2999.99 (Really? Give me a break...) for an Eli Manning signed lithograph on © NFL shop.com. $6.25 on © eBay for an autographed 8x10 color photo of him ... “In 2009 signed a 6 year $97.5 million contract extension with the Giants, making him the highest paid NFL player.”(http: www.therichest.org/celebnetworth/athletes/nfl/eli-manning-net-worth/). Plus endorsements, $plus, $plus, $plus.... and little guy Yonjo Quiroa from Comstock Park, MI might get sentenced to prison for 5 years for $13, 256. Oh wait...and .62. I don't agree with his illegal streaming but somebody in the ©NFL does. See any irony here?.. “Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admits he illegally streamed Super Bowl last year.” The he laughs about it. “Brady was asked about where he was last year at this time and was quoted as saying, “I was rehabbing my foot in Costa Rica watching the game on an illegal Super Bowl website and now I’m actually playing in the game, so it’s pretty cool.” Na na na and you can’t do anything to me...We all know, celebrities can get away with murder! ...(http:// www.nesn.com/.../tom-brady-admits-to-watching-illegal-super-bowl-.../) “In the meantime, Tom Brady will most likely not face any problems for his admission, having been viewing from a foreign country.” Yeah, right, that makes it ok. And what’s up with the ‘having been viewing’??? The author needs to get a proofreader and an Editor.
(http://www.worldtvpc.com/blog/#ixzz1lbhzZcLy) More likely this is why he won’t face charges: "Tom Brady is an American football quarterback who has an estimated net worth of $100 million and an annual salary of $26.5 million." (http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/.../tom-brady-net-worth/) What does all this have to do in relation to my career in the Entertainment business as a Creative Content Writer? Well, copyrighting my content prior to posting on the internet or my website would fall under this category. Why, you ask? Well, as I was researching this information, there were at least a minimum of 10 different sites I read with word for word content (plagiarism) as the news release from the “Official” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website! Without any credits...LOL! Talk about irony...and guess what...not one news release regarding the human trafficking issues. Maybe all of those news sites should be confiscated and fined. The monies could be used to rescue your son or daughter that was kidnapped and forced into prostitution during Super Bowl. Since this blog assignment requires analyzation of 3 legal liabilities associated with my business plan, the second topic I researched is an interesting trend known as the cell phone novel or mobile phone novel. A literary work is sent by texting messages using © Java applications. “Japan’s first cell phone novel was keyed in by Yoshi. By early 2007, “Deep Love” had sold about 2.7 million copies and spawned a TV series, movie and manga.” Known as Keitai, (portable), “writers can choose to "publish" their online content immediately or keep it unlisted. Most writers upload the content as they finish so they get instant feedback from the readers, who access the stories on the website and click through the pages.” February 09, 2011|By Yuriko Nagano (http://www.latimes.com/) “Sales of mobile-phone novels—books that you download and read, usually in installments, on the screen of your keitai, or mobile phone—have jumped from nothing five years ago to over ¥10 billion ($82m) a year today and are still growing fast. It may not be literature, but it sells.” (http: www.economist.com/node/9231860) Although the idea of typing an entire novel on a cell phone keypad is not appealing to me, the financial possibilities are amazing considering that “Deep Love” was picked up for a TV series, movie and manga. Whatever that is. Sounds like a disease to me...just kidding...I know it’s Japanese comics/cartoons. You can see a version here: (http://youtu.be/Z8KKxYCl_0Y) at (http://www.textnovel.com/)wanna be authors post excerpts from their novels or the entire novel. The site’s Terms of Use and Privacy stipulations states: ... “2. Content: Textnovel does not acquire ownership of the content you publish on the Site, unless you win the Textnovel contest (and in that case, only the rights specified in the Contest Rules and in any publication agreement you sign). When you publish content on the Site, you continue to retain all ownership to the content, subject to the license terms described herein.
* You retain all rights to any content you submit to Textnovel, except for whatever rights you grant if you are the winner of the Textnovel Contest, pursuant to the Contest Rules (and you will have the chance to approve the grant of those rights at the time you choose to accept the prize). However, you understand that Textnovel will have the right to display your "public" works to its readers.” (http://www.textnovel.com/) I would be hesitant to post entire works on a website such as this unless it was thoroughly copyrighted with the United States Copyright Office. Nobody is safe. On January 24, 2012, a man filed a plagiarism suit against ©“AVATAR” Film Director James Cameron alleging that Cameron stole some ideas from a book Schkeiban wrote. “Elijah Schkeiban v. James Cameron et al”
RFC Case Number: | C-E12-636J |
Court Case Number: | 2:12-cv-00636-R-MAN |
File Date: | Tuesday, January 24, 2012 |
Plaintiff: | Elijah Schkeiban |
Plaintiff Counsel: | Jessica N Trotter, Sarah Rose Wolk, Zachary Levine of Wolk Levine and Trotter LLP |
Defendant: | James Cameron Lightstorm Entertainment Inc Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Dune Entertainment LP |
Cause: | 17:501 Copyright Infringement |
Court: | California Central District Court |
Judge: | Judge Manuel L. Real Referred To: Magistrate Judge Margaret A. Nagle |
Cameron has been sued several times for the ©Avatar concept, © Terminator and ©The Matrix “...Sophia Stewart's press release read: "The Matrix & Terminator movie franchises have made world history and have ultimately changed the way people view movies and how Hollywood does business, yet the real truth about the creator and creation of these films continue to elude the masses because the hidden secret of the matter is that these films were created and written by a Black woman... a Black woman named Sophia Stewart.” (http://www.litigationandtrial.com/.../does-copyright-law-care-if-ja/) ... “Stewart has won a multi-billion dollar settlement for copyright infringement against the MATRIX franchise and THE TERMINATOR franchise. She allegedly won her lawsuit based on the fact that, “according to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original [Matrix] film, in an attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement.” (http://blogs.indiewire.com/.../sophia-stewart-the-matrix-lawsuit-conspiracy-/)...I guess if I attempt to sing the national anthem to open a sports game and sing off key or forget my words, then it's ok...
Investors beware: Cameron may not be the Director for you. In reference to my Creative Content writing business: © copyright, © copyright, © copyright.
Another interesting infringement issue was reported in the January 11, 2012 edition of © RollingStone magazine. Iconic artist Andy Warhol managed a band called The Velvet Underground during the late 1960’s. “The cover of their first album was Warhol's design; a picture of a banana, whose peel was actually a peelable sticker!” (IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>) This will be an interesting case to follow. It’s my bet that the record label Verve will end up being the “owners” of this piece. Whether or not Lou Reed and John Cale will be able to sue the Warhol estate for “illegally licensing the image for iPhone and iPad covers, among other items.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.../warhol-foundation-in-bana_n_1200180//) (Jan.11, 2012) remains to be seen. I think they are looking at this the wrong way. Instead of fussing over a banana that was probably a public domain image anyway and seeing dollar signs in the © iApple products, Reed and Cale should take advantage of the publicity. What a great marketing idea to get into bed with! Good grief, Reed was born in 1942 (70 y.o) and Cale was born the same year. (http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/list-of-the.../) And guess what, Andy would more than likely have loved the irony of his images on © Apple products, the epitome of commercialization. His art was mass-produced in his studio. Talk about intellectual property infringement! His images encompassed © Campbell soup cans, celebrities and mass consumerism...Helllloooo...apples, bananas...Reed and Cale are just not “getting it”. If I were their Agent, I’d get our Lawyer to go after the person who bought a copy of the album on eBay for $155,000 and get some royalties! And there are 50 pages of banana merchandise at various prices. “Velvet Underground rarity sells on eBay for whopping $155,000
Joel Selvin, Chronicle Senior Pop Music Critic
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
“An Oakland record store accepted a winning bid last weekend of more than $155,000 for an acetate copy of the unreleased first album by the Velvet Underground. What is even more amazing is that the record-setting auction price was paid for a discarded album bought by a collector for 75 cents in a yard sale.” (http://www.soundopinions.org /)
Say what? USPTO USPTO USPTO USPTO... “Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.” Bill Gates
(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bill_gates.html#ixzz1lbfhhP00)
Writer: © VAN WINKLE, © ROBERT/BROWN, © FLOYD/JOHNSON, MARIO
© DAVID BOWIE
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© 1989 SBK Records
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