Saturday, March 30, 2013

Facebook Credits drop for real currencies gives game developers

As of 2012, Facebook had announced to drop its credits system for purchasing virtual items and now allowing your country's currency (US$, UK pound, Japanese Yen, etc.) to be used to buy in game virtual items and virtual currencies.

What does this mean for Game developers?

Game developers are free to bring back their old virtual currencies.

What happens to Facebook gift cards?

Facebook gift cards will be discontinued in Q3 2013? The method of payment after that will be PayPal, credit/debit or mobile. Zynga gift cards are not affected by this change.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Register of Copyrights suggestions will put educational use in Jeopardy

Copyright maximalists will be in a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow to update the US copyright law by making suggestion from the Register of Copyrights, Maria Pallante. Whether it's:

1. Abolishing Public Domain.and giving copyright holder an indefinite term even when the author is dead.

2. Reversing the principle of Fair use and First sale. As of today, The Supreme Court, today, has ruled in the Kirtsaeng vs. Wiley & Sons case by a vote 6-3, that first sale applies to works overseas.

3. Putting an end to educational use of copyrighted material by reversing the authorization of their works. The Obama Administration recently joined book publishers to sue a university in Georgia but they withdrawn.

This apparently will undermine the First Amendment of the Constitution:

1. Independent TV stations will shut down since they rely on public domain and some licensed shows.

2. Libraries will shut down because they rent books and photocopy school material.

3. It will give Patent trolls more power to harass consumers.

4. It will put consumers at risk of imprisonment for trying to sell their house not only its made in America but abroad as well.

5. Children who draw a cartoon characters that is owned by a media company such as Viacom or Disney, could put an entire family in prison.

6.  Karaoke bars would shut down because they play and sing copyrighted.  In fact, singing a copyrighted song in the shower can land you in prison

7. We also have DRM chips implanted in our brain and even surveillance cameras in our homes. They already have them set up in major cities.

Please urge your Representative to take a stand against such copyright maximalist proposals that puts our First Amendment in Jeopardy. Our rights to educational use in music, art, and literature will be gone.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

House Representatives Coble and Chu forms a "Copyright Maximalist" caucus

Congress already has an "anti-piracy" caucus, but why another one? According to Techdirt, this one pull copyright maximalism out of the bag. It's called the "Creative Rights" caucus and this barely protects Creative Rights. Coble and Chu's Creative Rights view is to protect corporate intellectual property, and take away the rights of creativity.

A little innocent child drawing Sponge Bob would put an entire family in prison and how are they going to do that? While they take away the freedom of creativity on the internet, why stop there? They can write Copyright maximalist laws beyond the internet including putting wireless cameras in residential homes, use surveillance drones to monitor on people's activity to see if they are infringing copyright, such as singing a copyrighted song in public, or playing copyrighted music on the radio out loud. They could require everyone to have DRM chips in their brain, turning them into corporate mind slaves forcing them against their will to be uncreative, unproductive, and buy their products.

The Creative Rights caucus give the FBI the green light to shut down Deviantart.



We will be watching this throughout the days, weeks, and months

Canada prepares to ratify ACTA with bill C-56

Canada bill C-56 called the Combating Counterfeiting Products Act (CCPA) that complies with ACTA. Canada will be the second country to ratify treaty.

This bill stops counterfeit products from crossing the US/Canadian borders especially those poorly made products that are made from China, including toys with lead paint, counterfeit shoes and handbags.

The USTR may also urge TPP negotiating countries who signed onto ACTA, ratify it, including New Zealand and Singapore. Still no word if Australian Senate is going to ratify ACTA, although its committee rejected it. Japan had previously ratified the treaty. The Mexican Senate rejects ACTA, so it's unlikely they will ratify it.

This will leave up to our US Senate to amend a bill to ratify it.

So Canadians, urge your parliament to vote NO on C-56.