Article: Copyright Law and the Restoration of Beauty - DAVID NIMMER

[SoylentGreen]

I recently came across an interesting excerpt by David Nimmer, who's written some respected books on copyright.

He makes a "distinction between claims intended to vindicate the expressive aspects of a copyrightable work, and those in which the copyright happens to be incidental to the complaint".
It speaks of some Canadian cases, but it also has a worldwide perspective.

In addition, there's some real gems in there: 'The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Turner Broadcasting testified that VCRs which allow ad skipping amount to “theft,” gilding that thought with the pronouncement that: “Any time you skip a commercial … you’re actually stealing the programming.” When the interviewer inquired, “What if you have to go to the bathroom or get up and get a Coke?” the grudging concession emerged: “I guess there’s a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom.”

http://ohlj.ca/english/documents/4-47_3_Nimmer_FINAL.pdf

S.G.

[Bekka]

On occasion, I might see an advertisement worth watching, but I am sick and tired of the legal drug pushing that seems to dominate every TV ad in America today.  So until they can advertise something of real value or a funny "gotcha" ad, I will continue to skip them and use them as bathroom and refreshment breaks.