Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

 

Superbowls

This is a superb owl, but its feathers are ruffled.Superbowl It is certainly not a metaphor.

Speaking of ruffled feathers, apparently there’s a kerfuffle about Super Bowl 1, where the only extant tape is in private hands, and there’s conflict over what to do with it.

One aspect I haven’t seen covered is that 50 years ago, the tape pre-dates the Bern convention and thus is in the era of requiring copyright notice (and registration.) Was the NFL properly copyrighting its game video back then? If not, does that mean that Mr. Haupt can legally do what he wants, and is chilled by for the threat that Big Football would simply throw lawyers at him until he gives up?

Such threats, at odds with our legally guaranteed right to a speedy trial certainly generate a climate in which large organizations, often governmental ones, can use protracted uncertainty as a weapon against oversight or control. Consider if you will the decade-long, Kafka-esque ordeal of Ms Rahinah Ibrahim, who was on the No Fly list due to a mistake. Consider the emotional and personal cost of not being able to either enter the US, or achieve a sense of closure.

Such a lack of oversight is certainly impacting the people of Flint, Michigan. As Larry Rosenthal points out (first comment), even if, sometime down the line the people of Flint win their case, the doubtless slow and extended trials may grind fine, but wouldn’t it be better if we had a justice system that could deliver justice a little faster?

Anyway, what a superb owl that is.