I feel that anonymity rather than a blessing is the curse of the internet. If the typical things were done by post rather than online they would be called "poison-pen-letters".

It seems to me first that in general providers of internet services (which is wider than ISPs) should be required to take reasonable steps to identify and store identities of uploaders, and to reveal those details to individuals (note I did not say corporations) aggrieved and to emanations of the state - apart from states without civil rights (and for a first approximation that would be any state not fully subscribing to the ECHR. I am debating whether the US's court system and constitutional rights outweighs the extraordinary and flagrant breaches of human rights in the name of or by the US government, and the way things are going about the UK I am open to persuasion that the UK does not properly implement human rights either.

Second is the issue of how far (a) intellectual property rights and rights to reputations or privacy should go and (b) the extent to which breaches of rights should be capable of attracting the criminal law.   I'd probably abolish the law of blasphemy altogether.

Most IP rights have now gone too far.

Life +70 is too long for copyright (but formats should be protected although they are not). Fair use needs clarifying but there is no need to exempt sampling, collection societies have standard licence packages that cover artists using sampling and incidental use covers a range of things. There should be a wider private learning exemption to cover for example the words of songs that one intends to learn for personal use - the "rightsowner" gets his cut out of the performing right.   I am on balance probably against protection for typographical arrangements. I am probably against the statutory recording licence.   However collection societies need to behave properly and many do not. Certainly the US and probably the UK need to control the abuse of copyright in arrangements in ways that unreasonably impact use of works in which copyright has expired.   

Some trade mark protections need cutting down (including US "dilution" theory) and the right for example to advertise that you repair or sell spare parts for (say "Citroen") needs cutting down.

Design right repair and replacement exemptions need bolstering.

I think registered designs should vanish altogether. Plant variety rights have become overmighty and are abused. Software should not be patentable, and there should be much much tighter control on pharmaceutical and medical patents.

US control of international treaty bodies that govern IP law is excessive.

IMHO only substantial intentional commercial breach of IP rights should be criminal, but the burden of proof both of infringement and intent should be to the criminal standard.


One place the US got it right and the UK have an epic fail is on online gaming. All gaming and gambling (apart from small prize lotteries for registered charities) should be illegal - it's simply another type of fraud. State lotteries, apart from being mostly in the hands of companies connected to organised crime are hidden taxes on stupidity.