Well if the headline isn't enough to make fresh milk sour, it appears that the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America abused the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act to justify this step.
Quoting Cory Doctorow, whose Creative Commons-licensed novel "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" is among many works to be taken down from
Scribd (Scribd is a place where people can publish documents online):
Quote:
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More importantly, many of the works that were listed in the takedown were written by the people who'd posted them to Scribd -- these people have been maligned and harmed by SFWA, who have accused them of being copyright violators and have caused their material to be taken offline. These people made the mistake of talking about and promoting science fiction -- by compiling a bibliography of good works to turn kids onto science fiction, by writing critical or personal essays that quoted science fiction novels, or by discussing science fiction. SFWA -- whose business is to promote science fiction reading -- has turned readers into collateral damage in a campaign to make Scribd change its upload procedures.
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Meanwhile, in a follow-up notice, SFWA President Michael Capobianco responded to Cory's legitimate outburst of fury, apologizing for the "flawed" list of copyright-infringing book uploads and reiterating his association's well-meant intentions. Yeah, right.
Links:
Thanks
Nate the great for the news!