Does Every Cloud Have A Silver Lining? (Copyright-Related)

In 2016, Google claimed to have removed 900 million allegedly copyright-infringing links according to an article on TorrentFreak.
https://torrentfreak.com/google-removed-over-900-million-pirate-links-in-2016-161230/

Apparently, the number removed represents approximately 89.9 percent of the over-a-billion take down requests made to Google by rights holders. Surely, there would be fewer requests if there was a way to ensure that a link cannot be re-upped once it is taken down?

The comments on the piece make depressing reading. Let's say that the followers of torrent freak are not copyright-protection enthusiasts.

I gained a new perspective on why so many folks in society have so little respect for copyrights and the right of musicians, authors, photographers, movie-making participants and others to be paid for their time, talents and effort from the free Hillsdale College lecture covering the difference between Originalists and Progressives when it comes to the rights of an individual.

According to Professor Ronald J. Pestritto, the Progressive ideology is heavily influenced by European--especially German-- thinking, and holds that the needs of the Community is always superior to the needs (and rights) of the individual, and far from certain rights such as the right to Life, to Liberty, and to the Pursuit of happiness being bestowed on mankind as a birthright by the Creator, all rights that an individual has are permitted by the government depending on convenience and expediency.  (And can be revoked.)

How expedient and convenient do you suppose it is to uphold individual copyrights?

Also, in a guest post on TheTrichordist, Marc Ribot presents a chilling analysis of why individual "content creators" (aka copyright owners) are so helpless against piracy.

https://thetrichordist.com/2017/01/02/ghostship-mourn-the-dead-fight-like-hell-for-the-living-guest-post-by-marc-ribot/

The "Ghostship" title refers to the dreadful warehouse fire, and the economic plight of working artists in San Franscisco as a result (Mr. Ribot suggests) of political, legal, and economic decisions, not least of which concerns copyright.

I'd like to end on a positive note. However, there are some revelations about Risk Factors (intellectual-property-right related, of course) that Facebook had to disclose in its 2015 annual report. According to the fascinating Chris Castle, Facebook is selling artists' names as advertising keywords, allegedly without permission.

Perhaps, given the lofty stock values of some tech companies, it might be a good time to look into shorting Big Tech? Does The Cloud have a silver lining? (snort!)

All the best,
Rowena Cherry