back to article Wallace & Gromit teach Oz kids to respect patents

Wallace & Gromit have taken on their toughest challenge yet: teaching Australian kids to respect intellectual property rights raising a generation of patent trolls. The plasticine pair travelled to Australia to appear in the Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention exhibition at Scienceworks, one of several museums run by Museums …

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  1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Big Brother

    People living off the IP fantasm organize an IP exhibition - Shocker.

    I wonder whether The Wrong Trousers were patented before Wallace "invented" them? Did he check with the patent office? That's going to be expensive♫

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: People living off the IP fantasm organize an IP exhibition - Shocker.

      Actually Wallace bought the wrong trousers of NASA (I think it was NASA), as a present for Grommit.

      So no IP infringement there :)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: People living off the IP fantasm organize an IP exhibition - Shocker.

      Maybe as a class project, they could patent the idea of something that looks like a rectangle and shut down the smart phone market.

    3. JetSetJim
      FAIL

      Re: People living off the IP fantasm organize an IP exhibition - Shocker.

      Well, this is the country which allowed a patent for the wheel using their funky "innovation patent" system in 2001:

      http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn965-wheel-patented-in-australia.html

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    THIS ISNT AS STUPID AS IT SOUNDS

    WAIT A MINUTE YES IT IS

  3. asdf
    FAIL

    groan

    Can't start brainwashing the toddlers with corporate propaganda early enough I guess. Oh well a few generations ago I guess it was Joe Camel instead of Gromit.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. The BigYin
    FAIL

    Next up, Krusty the Clown!

    "Hey kids! Have you heard of 'culture'? Yeah, that's right. It's what you get when you buy a DVD or a CD.

    What's that? You think human culture should be free from corporate profiteering? Nothing could be further from the truth! Without corporations to make money from you, there's be no jobs. And your mummy and daddy would die from a lack of food. You love mummy and daddy, don't you? You don't want to see them die of starvation on the streets, do you?

    And without a corporation to control what you can see and talk about, why...you could see or think just about anything! And that would be bad kids, because then you might think that corporations are all bad and you wouldn't give them any money and then your mummy and daddy would lose their jobs and we all know what happens when mummy and daddy lose their jobs!

    So love mummy and daddy, and never ever EVER try to engage in freedom of expression or have an original thought.

    Thank, have a nice day."

    1. Nick De Plume
      Facepalm

      Re: Next up, Krusty the Clown! - Wrong trousers is one thing, but this is plainly below the belt.

      If I had two upvotes, I'd use them on this.

      I keep losing what little respect I have for copyright every time I see an un-fastforward-able doomsday message from fbi (or whatever). Or I can't download something I am willing to pay for, just because I can't download/stream because of where I'm trying to do the paying.

      You see, copyright is meant as a mechanism to get the content-creators to get their due (so they can afford housing, food and pints of lager or guinness by doing what they do well and we enjoy consuming)

      So: I'd be only too happy to pay for the priviledge of paying the artists and artisans their due for their hard work.

      I'm more bound by moral obligations than technical ones. And I know most people are, or at the very least as long as it's convenient. Trying to block me from decoding a DVD or a BluRay disc I bought, so I can watch it on my non-spinning-media-able device is plain stupid. I am up to the challenge, thanks to the teenager-boffins who have made circumventing it easy and only a websearch or a torrent away.

      Now getting Wallace and Grommit in this thing is plain dirty. Wrong trousers is one thing, but this is plainly below the belt.

      1. The BigYin

        Re: Next up, Krusty the Clown! - Wrong trousers is one thing, but this is plainly below the belt.

        Hear, hear.

        Every time I am stuck on those (which isn't that often...snigger*) I always think "I have just spent my hard-earned and bought original media. Why the hell do I have to suffer this? And it isn't theft, it's a breach of license mumble...grumble..."

        Could be worse, we could live in the USA where such cobblers has become law.

        *Nothing dodgy, I just happen to have one DVD player that jumps to the menu. Means missing out on trailers for other movies (which is a shame as I rather like watching those).

  5. Pypes
    Joke

    They should offer free entry....

    and get the kids to mail in a licensing fee every time they draw a picture of W&G.

    1. The BigYin

      Re: They should offer free entry....

      You joke, but this is in fact no joke. Ever wondered why those "print your own cake decoration" things have either gone to the wall or only allow to to choose from select designs?

      Copyright!

      If your bairn draw a little Mickey Mouse or W&G for their own birthday cake, it can't be printed out as they do not have a license. Now I ask you; whilst in might be in technical breach, does this in fact breach the spirit? Sure, if the picture is a near-perfect rendition and you want 1,000 done eyebrows should be raised.

      But on drawing for a kid's party? FFS. Get a grip corporates. This will add to your bottom line.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    $50 dollar for a shitty plastic wand?!

    Holy hell! It's $6 including the international postage to buy it from China direct. You guys are ultimate mugs or lazy bums who with the power of the Internet at your fingertips unwilling or unable to see through the retail veil. Then again you deserve to pay $50 for the same crap.

    1. Euchrid

      Re: $50 dollar for a shitty plastic wand?!

      After first seeing these wands at Universal Studios, I had a look into that – not because I actually wanted one, but was interested in seeing how much they could be had for as they seemed a rather pricey piece of resin for $30 (plus, sales tax). The ones I come across at £6 each were knock-offs, but even so that seemed pricey enough.

      At Universal, they have a wand shop with actors, who give a quick tour of the shop, culminating selecting a child, do a bit of patter and get them to ‘use’ a wand that causes a few special effects – all good clean fun. However, the child then gets told that the wand has ‘chosen’ them…. I’ve read that the child gets given the wand free, but I’ve also read that they don’t – if not, I pity the poor parent that says they’re not buying their sprog that wand, but will get one off the Internet.

    2. puffspluslotion

      Re: $50 dollar for a shitty plastic wand?!

      I haven't seen one of these wands but it's essentially a stick right? If it is actually magical $50 seems like a steal.

  7. Graham Lockley

    How sad

    Yet another of my heroes (Wallace and Grommit this time) have feet of clay !

    Errrr

    I'll get me coat

  8. sabroni Silver badge

    wow

    is this the register or the Daily Mail?

  9. Winkypop Silver badge

    Wallace and Gromit, big-content shills !

    Boo, down with this sort of thing!

    I'll bet Gumby never sold out.

  10. mhenriday
    Boffin

    Mark Twain on intellectual property

    - nota bene, this dates from before giant corporations devised still more sophisticated ways to rip off inventors and artists and created «rights holders» organisations to bribe law makers, judges, etc :

    «It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing—and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. He added his little mite — that is all he did. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that..»

    Henri

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