Say hello to a big-eared Chinese cat
Maybe it was naive of me to think that the Chinese government condoned video piracy. Apparently all those rip-off salesmen on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai are government workers, just like the people inside these amusement park characters.
I heard about this on Slashdot, which sums up the situation.
Apparently Japanese TV and bloggers have just discovered Disney's theme park in China, where young children can be part of the Magic Kingdom and interact with their favorite characters (like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and the Seven Dwarfs). The park's slogan is 'Because Disneyland is Too Far,' and there's even an Epcot-like dome. The only problem? Disney didn't build it, and they didn't authorize it. What's more? It's state-owned!Now, here's the real kicker. America's copyright defenders, like the MPAA and the RIAA, have done such a good job encouraging the government and the courts to side with their sometimes-draconian view of copyright law, the slashdotters are actually laughing as Disney's expense in the comments, and are probably cheering on the Chinese too (though I didn't read enough of the thread to find an actual instance of the latter).
I may skirt current copyright law on occasion with the wonders of digital media, but I'm pretty sure I've never stolen a whole amusement park before. Obviously, digital anti-copy mechanisms, DMCA notices, RIAA lawsuits, and punk-inspired commercials before our Blockbuster rentals have not done much to convince America's youth not to pirate movies and music. But could we have tried a different compensation paradigm for our artists before they started to side with our enemies abroad as well?
