Doctorow: don’t retaliate with more tariffs, hit them where it hurts.
Doctorow: don’t retaliate with more tariffs, hit them where it hurts.
Fighting dirty. I like it.
It's an intriguing idea to ignore American IPs, but then why would American businesses sell their products in Canada at all if IPs aren't being respected? It also sounds like Canadian consumers would be hindered in the long term because jailbreaking isn't performed by the majority of consumers (how many people currently use a VPN to bypass Netflix's region locks)
They might not. But then, most people aren't going to do things that violate the IP rights in the first place, so they'd be willingly giving up sales.
And they're welcome to do so.
Most of the decision makers for those businesses voted for this. Let them suffer for it. Forever, if possible.
BTW, Adobe is American. Reconsider those licenses for other options.
DaVinci Resolve for video editing would be perfect (and it’s free). Unfortunately Photoshop and Illustrator aren’t as easy to replace (though photopea is amazing as a free replacement for photoshop without AI garbage).
Davinci Resolve is owned by Blackmagic Design Pty Ltd a privately owned Australian company. Australia is still a liberal democracy and a long term friend of Canada. Incidentally Røde Microphones are also Australian.
Canva is Australian founded and bought the UK company that created the Affinity suite. While the Australian founders are major shareholders I imaging there is a hell of a lot if US equity behind them but at least they aren't Adobe.
I use a 100% free and open source software stack. It involves some sacrifice of features and interoperability that won't be acceptable to many people but things have come a long way and it's worth having a serious look before dismissing.
The US businesses mafia has deep hooks into enterprise, education and government markets and can't be budged. I hope Trump goes nuclear on this trade war nonsense because it might be the best hope yet to open up the software market to some real competition.
I still remember owning a Matrox video card and using Corel applications. Good old days.
I own davinci resolve studio, personally. I had no idea it was Australian, cool!
Exactly! I own a full resolve license I picked up a few years ago as part of a charity auction. I do most of my stuff on Avid for work because that’s what is used but I’d be just as happy on DaVinci.
I didn’t know that Affinity was also Australian but that’s all kinds of awesome because gimp just doesn’t cut it and Affinity is pretty cool and no subscription garbage so they’re going to see more of my business in the future. I might pick up their suite just to support them even though I get all of the adobe garbage due to work.
Looking on the bright side of this as well for an opportunity for change.
The Affinity suite is a suitable replacement. It's not quite as advanced as the creative suite, but it serves 90% of most professional needs. I switched about five years ago and haven't looked back.
I switched much more recently. It’s been more than fine - great even. A few rough edges but nothing that prevents me from getting my vision out. Publisher 2 is a very adequate replacement for InDesign and I like that the tools are more tightly integrated.
The one feature I miss is the integrated and centralized asset library for multiple users and teams.
NAFTA 2 (and 1) is suspended until tariffs removed. NAFTA 2 (USMCA) did add some IP protections that NAFTA had mostly already. But simple response is no NAFTA rules apply to Canada if US declares fake national emergency to bypass USMCA. It's not "just" an act of war, it is "unilateral suspension of USMCA" to make war. Canada does not need a national emergency declaration to invalidate USMCA until pig fucker begs to get it back.
I really like the idea of opting out of IP agreements, but it's unclear how effective it would be. AFAIU jail breaks are illegal in the US thanks to the DMCA - if Canada produces the kits, it's still a risk to American farmers/Tesla owners to use them.
And:
But you know what Canada could make? A Canadian App Store. That's a store that Canadian software authors could use to sell Canadian apps to Canadian customers, charging, say, the standard payment processing fee of 5% rather than Apple's 30%. Canada could make app stores for the Android, Playstation and Xbox, too.
This requires cooperation from the platforms we're attacking. The EU had the clout to force Apple to open their platform, but would Canada? Would a bellicose US allow one of their most profitable and iconic companies to do that? Given a choice, I suspect Apple would happily make the "alternate app store" experience so user unfriendly that most users would avoid it.
Android has allowed side loading forever, and has a bunch of non-Google app stores, but they have only gained traction in limited circles.
It's a fun idea, and it'd be interesting to see how it works out, but I'm not sure it would have a significant impact.
I think you misunderstand: Canada just makes jailbreaking legal. We allow the jailbreakers to distribute their hacks and even sell them.
This isn’t crazy: even if it’s just for John Deer farm equipment it’s a huge boon to consumers.
Sure, Apple and Google will try to make this impossible, but there is a reason they want legal recourse as well as technological.
Apple and Google have also been around for decades. The blueprint to copy the service side of what they offer is not impossible to replicate. Canada probably could not angle to manufacture hardware however, at least not in the practical near term.
We allow the jailbreakers to distribute their hacks and even sell them.
I understand that. The target market for those jailbreaks is outside Canada, so distribution of our product would be limited by foreign laws. Foreign buyers would be dissuaded by stuff like the DMCA.
It works for Canadians, but it wouldn't really affect anyone outside Canada. Given the size of our market, it would have a minimal effect on the sellers of locked products.
even if it’s just for John Deer farm equipment it’s a huge boon to consumers.
Canadian farmers who aren't part of supply management schemes are in rough shape. As much as it might help them, they aren't a large market, and (if John Deer cares) the sellers will probably use other monopolistic practices to discourage it.
Sure, Apple and Google will try to make this impossible...
Android app builders regularly complain that their apps are heavily pirated by alternate app stores in China. As far as I can tell, that hasn't really changed Google policy. If Google is willing to ignore an app market the size of China, I don't think there will be any real effect from Canada doing the same.
I like the idea behind the proposal, but unless it hurts US corporations, it seems like a small tweak to help Canadian consumers, rather than meaningful retaliation in a trade war.
Apple would probably setup a subsidiary company, let's call it Apple Canada, to operate the official app store for Canadian users. They would then funnel that money around the world to get it back to the parent company with little/no tax paid.
And I'm sure Drumpf would be 100% okay with that plan, and wouldn't retaliate against Apple. /s
Can we stop sharing this guy's every word like he's an authority on everything? He's a blogger, not an expert on international relations.
Activist, prolific novelist, EFF organizer and analyst, and then some. Lived and worked in both countries and deeply involved in digital rights and intellectual property policy. Probably worth paying attention on this particular issue.
Also, major exaggeration on the ‘every word’ whinge. He’s prolific and targeting the fediverse.
First, he’s not alone. There was a globe and mail editorial that also boosted this idea, with an emphasis on drug and AI patents.
Second, he doesn’t claim expertise in trade relations; he’s an expert on the recent history of IP and reasonable claim in that.
But frankly, what expertise in international relations is appropriate? Trump is blowing shit up, and does not act like a rational actor. Can you name someone who IS an expert on how to handle this?
invalidating all drug patents here would be awesome. I’d even go so far to offer them at cost to Americans in need who come for a visit.
Need some insulin? How about $5 for a months supply instead of $300. We want the American public on our side even if their “leaders” aren’t.
The only new thing about this is that it's coming from the US. Irrational governments have and do exist in the real world and people have been dealing with them for centuries. Maybe look to them for answers instead of the random internet celebrity that has zero experience in the matter.
Could you engage with the content instead of being upset that a person is prolific? I personally have enjoyed everything I've read from this person. I'm not claiming they're an expert, I'm claiming I like their perspective even if I don't always agree with it. That's exactly the kind of material I want to see on Lemmy.
The content is meaningless because he isn't qualified. Valuing enjoyment and entertainment over information from people actually well versed in the given field is exactly how you get what's happening in the US right now. It's an appeal to emotion rather than logic - ironically something I expect Cory would claim to be against.
Dude has worked at the EFF for a long time and is a published author. How is he not qualified to speak on copyright and IP?
Wasn't it just established that qualifications do not matter at all?
Because that's what we should be accepting now? Really?