Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Who Owns Your Computer?

Do you really own the smartphone you’re using to read this email?


If you sold your computer, would you be breaking the law? A federal court in New York says you would be.
It's unbelievable, but trademark and copyright holders really are trying to take away your right to sell things that you own.


Please click here to fight back by sending emails to Obama and Congress and telling them to protect our resale rights.


If we don't speak out now, we won’t be able to sell almost anything we own -- and if we do, we'll face charges for violating intellectual property law!


First-Sale Doctrine gives us the right to sell most property we own. But if the Supreme Court supports the lower court’s decision, we won't really “own” anything if it's been made in a different country. We expect them to issue a ruling later this year.


If we want to sell products that were made abroad, from Macbooks and iPhones to our clothing and textbooks -- even our homes -- we'll have to ask copyright holders for permission first. And they'll have the right to deny it!


This is bad for so many reasons: It'll undermine Craigslist and Ebay, hurt the environment, increase incentives for manufacturers to make things and move jobs off-shore, and effectively ban the traditional American yard sale.


Please help us fight back. Just click here to email your lawmakers right away and tell them to stop shilling for copyright holders.


Thanks so much -- and please share this campaign with your friends by forwarding this email or using the links below.


--Demand Progress
If you're already on Facebook, click here to share with your friends.
If you're already on Twitter, click here to tweet about the campaign: Tweet

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