- A Tech Dirt post directed attention to the Internet Archive’s release of over 2,000 MS-DOS video games, playable in the browser. “What I found truly amazing was that with every excited Twitter or Facebook comment I saw, it was about a different game…Each person seemed to latch onto their own moment in history.” But the “Internet Archive is allowed to do this kind of thing…because it was lucky enough to get one of the semi-arbitrary DMCA triennial review exemptions that lets them break old DRM for the purpose of archiving vintage software. But, even then, it’s not entirely clear that what the Internet Archive is doing is fully protected today.”
- Slate interviewed Lacey Noonan, the author of a humor RPF story about a U.S. football player. She was asked, “You’ve also written a story that features an encounter between Flo from Progressive, Wendy from Wendy’s, and Jan from Toyota… Are you drawn to characters that aren’t typically seen as particularly sexual?” Noonan: “Definitely. I believe all three of those women are talented actors, but yeah … not your normal fare. I think it’s a writer’s responsibility to throw light on the dark corners. It’s also a kind of reaction to the blunt ubiquity of American culture. Like, if it’s going to be in my face 24/7, then I’m going to have a reaction to it, and I should.”
- The Boston Globe later wrote about Noonan’s book being pulled from Amazon for trademark violations. The reason was “the book jacket, specifically the photo of Gronkowski that features the ‘MHK’ patch on his uniform” though whether it was a demand by the National Football League or his team, the New England Patriots, wasn’t clear.
- Meanwhile the Patriots’ opponents in the Superbowl were attempting a number of trademark grabs. “The Seahawks’ aggressive quest for new revenue has led both the NBA and the NHL to try to slow one of the trademark applications. And while Seattle’s owners were once sued over the use of ’12th Man,’ the team is now trying to seize control of many other variations of the term. In the process, the Seahawks organization has battled fans, local businesses and even a former player… ‘They’ve always been a little aggressive about securing intellectual property for themselves,’ said Andresen, who has worked with other professional franchises. ‘They’ve really taken the position that the more intellectual property, the better.'”
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