What happens when you put three economists from the internet, telecomms, and the music businesses in a room and don’t let them out until they’ve agreed on something useful?

A paper published by the research unit of the British composers’ collection society today gives us a clue. The first results of a “knocking heads together” exercise, entitled Shadow pricing P2P’s economic impact, doesn’t offer any ready policy proposals – partly as a result of compromise – but it does offer a framework that’s better thought out than most attempts so far.
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Your reporter holds TV executives in as much esteem as a flesh-eating virus. But even in the uniquely clueless world of television, they’re finally waking up to Google’s ‘parasitic’ nature. C4 chief Andy Duncan has become the latest to awake from his slumber. The problem? Duncan’s “cure” will probably only make Google stronger.

Duncan says that Google sucks billions out of the UK economy without making so much as a 30-second trailer in return. Duncan followed Michael Grade – who used the ‘P’ word – in voicing the criticism.

“Google should pay for content that it uses. The burden of responsibility should be on it to identify the people whose content it is using and make sure they are being paid for it, rather than expecting other people to point it out,” Duncan said.

Duncan also argued that because Google books so much advertising revenue it should regulated. This is muddle-headed and misses the point. In fact the call for regulation is likely to make Google stronger – at C4′s ultimate expense.

Contrary to what the company says, Google is in fact quite keen on regulation – when it hampers Google’s opponents. (more…)

Snow fell as the House of Commons debated Global Warming yesterday – the first October fall in the metropolis since 1922. The Mother of Parliaments was discussing the Mother of All Bills for the last time, in a marathon six hour session.
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An aristocracy is a form of government by an elite that considers itself to possess greater virtues than the hoi polloi, giving it the right to rule in its own interests. Aristocrats were referred to as ‘the nobility’, or ‘nobs’. These days we prefer decisions to be made democratically – the idea being that we can judge for ourselves which ideas serve our interests, thank you very much, ma’am.

But in recent years, politicians have sought legitimacy for their positions from outside of the democratic process. A new aristocracy is emerging from the emptiness of UK politics – and it’s considerably more virtuous than thou.

…Read more at The Register.

A report by Maltby Capital, the company created to acquire and run EMI, reveals that the British music giant is still spending money like a drunken sailor. A highlight of the out-of-control budget was £700,000 spent with just one London taxi firm.

“This was only slightly less than the bills of three investment banks, with 8-10 times more staff than EMI Music,” the report notes.
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The Monday morning after the clocks go back traditionally brings us very little cheer, but here’s one piece of good news – you’ll be seeing less of Sir Cliff Richard in the future.
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Almost half the nation’s households don’t have net access – and most of them aren’t going to sign up.

In what will be unwelcome news for ISPs, ecommerce providers, and the government, a survey of UK households suggests internet hold-outs are getting more stubborn.

The availability of cheap broadband has eroded the refusenik camp very slightly, with 3.6 per cent of non-net households signing up over six months. However, the increase in broadband is largely at the expense of dial-up, and isn’t winning net converts. The number of households with no access fell by 1.6 per cent year-on-year from the previous survey, while broadband uptake rose 7.1 per cent.

Overall, 44 per cent of UK households don’t have net access and views are becoming more entrenched.
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Rights to the celebrated documentary The Clangers are changing hands. Often mistakenly described as “a children’s programme”, the 1970s series revealed for the first time the existence of an advanced knitwear-based lunar civilisation, knowledge of which has been suppressed by governments and space agencies ever since.

Not only was the vast body of evidence of the Clanger civilisation never formally acknowledged by NASA, but neither was a great deal of natural lunar vegetation (sentient music trees) and unique geographical features (soup wells).

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Federal investigators have hit a California biker gang where it hurts – by seizing the group’s trademark. The Mongols OutLaw Biker Gang [website] attracted the attention of the DoJ’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Department, with 61 indictments issued today. Search warrants were issued in six states yesterday, following a long undercover investigation. Gang members’ bikes were impounded, but it’s the seizure of the Mongol’s trademark that will raise eyebrows.

Under Federal racketeering laws, introduced in 1970 to counter organised crime, “any property, real or personal, which represents or is traceable to the gross proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly,” can be forfeited from indictment for specific criminal activity.

So, what’s the DoJ doing grabbing IP? Well, the DoJ’s Thomas O’Brien says it’s because the gang initially trademarked the name Mongols and the distinctive design as part of their patch. In a statement, he explained:

“We have filed papers seeking a court order that will prevent gang members from using or displaying the name ‘Mongols.’ If the court grants our request for this order, then if any law enforcement officer sees a Mongol wearing his patch, he will be authorized to stop that gang member and literally take the jacket right off his back.”

But not so fast.

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Hats off to young British entrepreneur Chris Ridgeon for developing a new tool for self-expression. Internetshout.com which launches today describes itself as “the world’s voice-based social and discussion forum” – and delivers exactly what it promises on the tin.

Instead of simply spraying your thoughts onto the Hive Mind’s graffiti wall using ASCII, you can now speak your brains at the internet, instead. Or if you prefer, SHOUT YOUR BRAINS at it.

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