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June 27, 2005
copyright riddle; I'll have a Chekhov with fries, to go
So, as you probably know, Russian software and movie "pirating" is renowned for its high quality and rapid distribution. As soon as—or before—a movie or program is released, it can be found at Moscow markets, pedestrian subways, and along the street in very professional-looking packaging, which very well might include all sorts of official looking info about the license number for the product, who makes it and sells it, etc. So it can be quite hard to tell a pirated from authorized version.
My roommate acquired a DVD which looks slightly unprofessional to us, so we're thinking it's unauthorized. But we discovered that it has a copyright notices at the beginning telling you it's a violation of Russian copyright law to duplicate such discs. That got me wondering: can you really claim copyright to a compilation of pirated works the way you can claim copyright to your own arrangement or edition of public-domain works?
Yesterday Francesca invited me to a performance of Chekhov's Three Sisters at the Pushkin Theater, a part of the Chekhov festival going on now. I offhandedly mentioned in March that understanding contemporary language is easier than, for example, Chekhov, but it turns out Chekhov isn't too hard to understand either. That just goes to show you my abysmal knowledge of Russian literature. I should have at least known how difficult his language is, and anyway I should know the plot of this play well enough to follow even difficult language.
We were in a hurry beforehand, so we stopped in the McDonald's on Pushkin Square on the way there. Though I photographed it from the outside as requested by Jou, I had never stepped in. It's truly amazing, though. It has a huge counter for ordering and a labyrinth of rooms where you can sit, which are almost all full. It's much nicer than any McDonald's I've ever been in. Apparently it was renovated recently, and I heard there's an exhibit in it somewhere celebrating the 15th anniversary of McDonald's in Moscow. I might have to go back to find the exhibit in the labyrinth.
The fries taste just like in the US.
Posted by kshawkin at June 27, 2005 05:27 PM
Comments
They probably just copied the DVDs from a legal one together with the copyright notice and all. They wouldn't bother to delete it. For me, there's only one reliable method to tell a legal CD or DVD from an illegal one: look at the price :)) Legal ones usually cost at least three times more.
Posted by: Olga_Kh at June 30, 2005 04:06 PM