copyright

Hasbro Crushes Dreams of Grown Men Who Love My Little Pony

Katie Notopoulos · 12/30/11 03:00PM

Forget SOPA. The biggest online intellectual property story last week was the shutdown of a website offering downloads of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which shook the burgeoning "brony" community to its core.

Bronies (bro+pony) are adult male fans of the new series launched in 2010 based on the classic ‘80s My Little Pony toy that [spoiler] your mom secretly threw out your collection of when you went to college.

If you think bronyism sounds like something only a serious pervert living in his mother's basement would be into, you're only about 30% correct. To address your immediate question: it's not ironic. It's nerdy guys who genuinely enjoy an animated series about ponies. The show has a legitimate appeal to older audiences—high production values, snappy dialog, and a heartwarming message. But the online fan culture of bronies grew out of 4chan, so they have a computer nerd vestigial tail of Mountain Dew, anime appreciation, chronic virginity, and cyberbullying.

Bronies have their own news sites, fan forums, and even a healthy amount of fan art of ponies doing unspeakable sexual acts on Tumblr. They've had real life meet-ups, and an upcoming BronyCon in New York will feature appearances by voice actors from the show.

DJ Paulie D Sued for $4 Million for Trademark Infringement

Brian Moylan · 07/01/11 02:10PM

DJ Paulie Lis filed a suit in a Hartford court looking for $4 million dollars in damages because he says his DJ business and copyrighted name "DJ Paulie" have been rendered valueless ever since Jersey Shore's DJ Paulie Destruction came onto the scene. Turf war!

Google Now Treating Copyright Violators Like Drunk Drivers

Adrian Chen · 04/14/11 10:15AM

A lot of people use YouTube to upload original content of adorable babies. But a lot of people use it to post copyright-violating clips of TV shows and Lady Gaga videos. Now, YouTube copyright violators will be sentenced to "copyright school."

Charlie Sheen Is Trying to Copyright His Catchphrases

Max Read · 04/05/11 08:20PM

America's favorite fighter jet Charlie Sheen, apparently realizing he is sitting on a hypothetical goldmine of branded paraphernalia, is attempting to trademark 22 of the phrases he's coined during his latest manic episode, including:

Does Fox News Have to Sue Some Republicans Now?

John Cook · 11/01/10 03:46PM

A group of right-wing conspiracists has produced a 25-minute phantasm of Obama-rage posing as a "documentary," and it's airing in battleground states. Will Fox News sue to keep them from using its clips, like it does against Democrats? Probably not!

The End of Downfall Parodies?

Adrian Chen · 04/20/10 08:49PM

The studio behind Downfall has been issuing copyright complaints about some of the more popular Downfall parodies on YouTube. This might be the first time war has been waged against a meme. The meme is going to win. [Mashable]