Knockoff Report

Friday’s Fortune

Rob Holmes — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:05:39 +0000

Feds Crack Down on Counterfeit Super Bowl Gear

Piracy Shmiracy: We Need New 21st Century Business Models

Stolen Software: Piracy Hits More than Movies and Music

New Web Piracy Arrest as Site Founder Is Denied Bail

Record Number of Fake Golf Products Nabbed by Anti-Counterfeiting Group In 2011

Authorities Still Unable to Bag Army of Knockoff Vendors

Two Charged In Connection With Counterfeit Goods Following FBI Raid

Do Efforts To Crack Down On Online Piracy Threaten Artistic Freedom?

The SOPA War: How to Fix Hollywood’s Image Problem

Taylor Hackford on the DGA’s Fight Against Piracy

Filed under: News Tagged: china, copyright infringement, Counterfeit consumer goods, Hollywood, intellectual property, piracy, Taylor Hackford, United State

Windy Wednesday

Rob Holmes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:59:16 +0000

I’m sitting here in my room at the Market Street Weston in San Francisco on the final day of the IQPC Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection Summitt. The conference was great and I had a nice time.

Next Frontier in Piracy: Downloading Physical Objects to Your 3D Printer

Google’s 4Q Lobbying Bill Triples to $3.76 Million

Whatever Your Numbers, Piracy Hurts

Mafia Reportedly Trading in Counterfeit Olive Oil and Cheese

The Cost of Free Culture

Obama Tackles Piracy, Startups in State of the Union

Obama Plans New Team to Get Tough on China Trade

New Yorker’s Thompson Says Online Piracy Bill Not `Gone for Good’

Filed under: News Tagged: 3D printing, Barack Obama, china, google, intellectual property, piracy, twitter, United State

Cents and Censorbility

Rob Holmes — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:56 +0000

Google recently forfeited a half billion dollars generated by counterfeit drugs sales after being being held responsible by the United States Department of Justice. Google stock then quickly dropped 22 percent from $627 to $490 per share. Is it possible that investors may lose some confidence that Google is able to generate the same profits legally? After all, their business model replies upon the presumption that nothing online has value until it is found on Google and then monetized by their ads. This is a clear conflict of interest between the gathering of ‘free’ information and advertising around that same content. No wonder they oppose a bill that would limit the illegal distribution of copyrighted works online.

The other day I read a post on Facebook from a friend who said that the real elephant in the room isn’t censorship. It is that the average person has been stealing music, movies and software for years and nobody wants the free buffet to end. The concept that all ‘knowledge should be free’ is absurd. While it is noble that Wikipedia remains ad-free, its founder Jimmy Wales pleads for donations totaling $16 million annually. The world needs to get reacquainted with the concept that we all win when everyone is compensated for their hard work and creativity.

Google already censors sites they deem objectionable for content such as pornography, racism and political protests. They even blocked The Pirate Bay in 2009 and then backpedaled after some criticism. Their problem with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is not whether content on the web is blocked, it is over who does it: them or our democratically elected officials.

Last week Google distributed a Goebbels-worthy propaganda cartoon that gathered four million signatures protesting SOPA in one day. I would be hard pressed to believe that many of those folks actually read the bill before falling in suit. This did not demonstrate the power of the Internet, but that of one organization. Shortly thereafter, Barack Obama made a public announcement against the bill. This is contrary to the president’s previous commitment to remain neutral due to the fact that his two largest supporters, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, are diametrically opposed on this issue. I don’t think I need to be a psychic detective to predict the direction of his fundraising strategy for the 2012 election. Maybe the argument should not be about limiting the power of our government or even that of one massive corporation. Perhaps we should focus on stopping them from becoming one and the same.

Now I’m going to finish my coffee…

Filed under: Views Tagged: Barack Obama, facebook, google, Jimmy Wales, Pirate Bay, Silicon Valley, sopa, United States, United States Department of Justice, Wikipedia

Monday’s Marbles

Rob Holmes — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:29:23 +0000

Feds Say 7 Behind Celeb-Endorsed Megaupload.com Ran Massive, Worldwide Piracy Ring

Chris Dodd Warns of Hollywood Backlash Against Obama Over Anti-Piracy Bill

Morning Television Already Gushing Over Knockoffs of Stars’ Golden Globes Dresses

Congress Puts Brakes on Anti-Piracy Bills

Hackers Retaliate Against DOJ in Raging Online Piracy Fight

Anti-Piracy Victory: NinjaVideo Founder Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison

LG Decries High Number of Counterfeit Devices

Police Bust Piracy Unit, Seize Porn CDs

Bill Maher On Internet Piracy: ‘I Call It Caucasian Looting’

Beware of Counterfeit Coupons

Filed under: News Tagged: Bill Maher, Chris Dodd, Compact Disc, copyright infringement, Golden Globe Award, Hollywood, intellectual property, piracy

Friday’s Foofaraw

Rob Holmes — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:30:04 +0000

Why Hollywood Is Losing the Public Relations War on Piracy (Analysis)

Fake Malaria Drugs Could Put Millions at Risk

Agents Seize Suspected Counterfeit Clothing From State Tax Auditor

Russia Election Webcams Linked to Site Blamed for Piracy

Hackers Target Sony for Anti-Piracy Bill Support, Website Says

On TV, Antipiracy Coverage May Include a Disclosure

China Opposes Taobao’s Piracy Market Label

Counterfeit Merchandise Seized in Wyoming

Hollywood Moguls Stopping Obama Donations Because Of President’s Piracy Stand: “Not Give A Dime Anymore”

Anti-Counterfeiting Program Uses DNA to Uniquely Code Computer Chips

Adult Industry Execs Fret Over Piracy, L.A. Condom Ordinance

Filed under: News Tagged: Barack Obama, Compact Disc, Hollywood, obama, piracy, russia, Television, United State

Don’t Drop the SOPA

Rob Holmes — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:15:22 +0000

Imagine a world where all of the world’s creative works are reduced to ones and zeros and the control of that art is in the hands of a few tycoons. A world where those same few Wall Street companies have enough money, influence and power to force all creators to work for free. That time is now.

Beginning midnight on Wednesday January 18th, 2012 a few popular websites shut down for 24 hours as a planned protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act known as SOPA & PIPA, respectively. In fact, one protester’s website says “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.” Reducing my creative works to ‘knowledge’ or ‘data’ that can be commoditized is so Skynet.

Some people spend their entire lives creating that one toy, one song, one book, one clothing accessory. Their legacy. In most cases, this creation is the only property of value they will have to pass onto future generations. Only to have some tycoon call it ‘information’ and re-purpose it for their own profit. A creative work is not mere ‘knowledge’. It’s a human creation. Someone’s child.

This Ain’t a Movie…

Here is an excerpt from the popular movie The Matrix where the villain explains to the hero how, in the film’s bleak future, one organization controls the masses:

“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from… …Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.

What Agent Smith did not understand was that the human condition is more than ones and zeros. Our ideas are more than data that can be distributed perfectly with algorithms and without complication. Humanity is suffering and pain. Humanity is joy and laughter. Humanity is complication. Imposing any perfect-world scenario should not be mistaken as naive. The last organization to almost succeed in creating a Utopian society were the Nazis. How’s that working for you, Agent Smith?

The American dream used to be to learn a trade, earn a decent living, have a house, and make your mark. That is still my dream and the dream of many others but it is no longer the dream that is being fed to us. This new dream is to start a company, sell it to Wall Street for a hundred million dollars; rinse and repeat. Although we are being told it is our dream, doesn’t it look a lot like a plan for world domination?

Let Me Clear Up a Few Things…

SOPA will not break the Internet. The Internet is a network of millions of networks controlled by millions of people. It’s not one thing that can break. Yes, this regulation will create more work for some large, not-so-poverty-stricken corporations. But these new jobs that will be created will actually help keep the virtual streets safe for our kids.

SOPA is not censorship. Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable. This bill will not stop anyone from being original or objectionable. It will, however, stop people from distributing your original works without your permission.

SOPA does not bypass due process. In order for the owner of a creative work to enforce against a rogue site, they must prove to a judge that the site has received refuge from outside the United States and that there is no reasonable way to properly contact the host or registrar. Only then will a judge sign an order to block the illegal website.

Google, Facebook and Twitter already have systems in place to filter content they deem objectionable such as spam, child pornography and even racism. Piracy can join that mix without a ton of disruption.

I have been working to prevent the theft of others’ Intellectual Property my entire adult life just as my father did before me. I have faith in our judicial system, which is comprised of thousands of officials whom we ourselves elect. I do not trust a handful of tycoons.

Now, I’m going to finish my coffee…