Author Archives: Tim Wu

Broadcast Flag Burning

I wasn’t convinced that the broadcast flag was such a big deal. But this story about Tivo asking the FCC for permission to add new features is changing my mind. Creative destruction doesn’t ask for permission. (Thanks to Jonathan Zittrain, Susan Crawford)…. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Exit Valenti

Jack Valenti says goodbye in the LA Times today, rating his career “AE–always exciting.” A few better and less-well known Valentisms from the King-Kong of lobbyists: On the nascent cable industry, in 1974 “[Cable will become] a huge parasite in the marketplace, feeding and fattening itself off of local television stations and copyright owners of copyrighted material. We do not like it because we think it wrong and unfair.” On the dangers on media concentration, 1984 Op-Ed “Will a democratic society allow just three corporate entities to wield unprecedented dominion over television, the most decisive voice in the land? There… Continue reading

Posted in cc | 11 Comments

The Copyright Gap

Here’s the hypothesis: Today’s telecom and copyright laws often regulate similar subjects, but with a big difference. The telecom laws slightly favor market entrants, while the copyright laws favor the incumbent disseminators. The result is a “copyright gap” that grows larger every day…. Continue reading

Posted in ideas | 11 Comments

An agreement that may change the world

For the developing world, farm subsidies are slow-motion weapons of mass destruction. Yesterday’s WTO agreement is the first multilateral deal in a decade that pledges reductions. If it holds, much could change — but it could also mean new pressures for adherence to international IP laws…. Continue reading

Posted in International | 7 Comments

The Question

A question that should be asked: Would a Kerry Adminstration veto the Induce Act?… Continue reading

Posted in presidential politics | 19 Comments

Environmental Ad contest

Advertising every day becomes more like cave art. Here’s aBetterEarth’s new environmental ad contest…. Continue reading

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