There's a lot of demonstrations and protests going on around the world - well above the baseline I reckon. Unfortunately the placards are usually homemade, poorly laid out and often illegible. I propose a mobile printing service in a van which pulls up on the periphery of such an event to take advantage of market demand for people who have demands.
No more floppy 'Screw the Gov't', 'Death to Amirica' or 'Fulfill our DemandsNOW!' signs poorly spelled and poorly scrawled in black marker pen on limp cardboard which can hardly be read. Simply walk up to our van (or pre-order on our handy App on your way to the demo) and you can have a legible, brightly coloured sign showing your personal message of outrage printed in waterfast ink. For a few dollars we can supply a wooden handle and a few more dollars will get you our metal 'Tactical Combat' version of a handle with screws which protrude right through the sign to the other side - in case things get um, physical.
I'd probably use different coloured vans parked on either side of the venue in order to safely serve both demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.-- AusCan531, Jan 23 2020 That Hell-Bound Train https://en.wikipedi...at_Hell-Bound_TrainWelcom aboard, [Voice] ... [8th of 7, Jan 23 2020] This is very bad https://teespring.c...ad?pid=369&cid=6529The vans could stock a series of ready-made generically vague signs. [tatterdemalion, Mar 02 2020] Aren't there Rules about selling to both sides of a conflict? (Not saying you should abide by them...)-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 23 2020 "What do we want ?"
"TIME TRAVEL !"
"When do we want it ?"
""THAT'S IRRELEVANT !"-- 8th of 7, Jan 23 2020 Having placards in hardware is a bit last-century.
I'm picturing an app whereby which a crowd wave their phones back and forth, and the app translates location data, accelerometer data and waving movements into changes in screen colour and brightness so as to implement a sort of fragmentary raster scan, which approaches legibility only at night and with really frantic waving by a large crowd.
That, in turn, could display a QR code which would allow the interested observer to access a cogent, full-length manifesto for whatever the demo was about.
DOWN WITH SIMPLISTIC SLOGANS!-- pertinax, Jan 23 2020 THIS IS A BRILLIANT IDEA!-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 23 2020 STOP THE COMMERCIALISATION OF PLACARD MANUFACTURING!-- hippo, Jan 23 2020 I keep reading this as Picard Printing Van - ha [+]-- xenzag, Jan 23 2020 "Make it so !"-- 8th of 7, Jan 23 2020 "WE'RE STUPID!
WE'RE LOUD!
WE'RE STUPID LOUD AND PROUD!"
[+]-- doctorremulac3, Jan 23 2020 Good idea, why not sell glass bottles of solvent, cloth handkerchiefs and matches? To be used separately of course.-- sninctown, Jan 23 2020 A mobile store sellng improvised liquid incendiary devices, projectiles, helmets ... certainly a business opportunity.
A whole new meaning for the phrase "Riot van" ...-- 8th of 7, Jan 23 2020 //THAT'S IRRELEVANT// Given that humans have limited lifespans it is very relevant. I don't want a time machine to be given to me on my death bed, since it would be too late for me to use it would hit me right in the mortality.-- Voice, Jan 23 2020 What a delightful irony ...
There's a story about a man who is given a "magic" watch, that will stop time when he twists the winder. He's told to do it at "the happiest moment of his life".
But he's never sure when that is, and lets opportunity after opportunity go by, and dies without ever using the watch ...
<later>
Ah, yes ... <link>-- 8th of 7, Jan 23 2020 Certainly, [Chairborn Hero]. We’re an equal opportunity vendor - you have the money, we don’t care who buys our product or for what purpose. Indeed we now have a Business Name (for outside Comic Cons and Star Trek conventions at leat). “Captain Placard Portable Printing Products!” Thanks [xenzag]-- AusCan531, Jan 23 2020 //Ah, yes// Strange definition of stop.
Nice [AusCan531] but loss of individual encoded sentiment that may be more poignant isn't helpfull.-- wjt, Jan 24 2020 As a customer, you could also choose to make your sign design available for others to get copies of, perhaps for a commission.-- notexactly, Mar 01 2020 That would be good; begin as a lieutenant, and work to get promoted ?-- 8th of 7, Mar 01 2020 I knew a guy who defended a store that had gas masks during the WTO protests in Seattle, so there could be more products than just placards-- beanangel, Mar 02 2020 It's preposterous that a story written over 60 years ago is still under copyright.-- Voice, Mar 02 2020 Why so ?
Producing a work of literature is a creative act, and the creator should have the right to enjoy the benefits of their work during their lifetime*. Presumably you do not dispute this ?
Should the creative act be a piece of sculpture, or a painting, or any other physical item, the maker can sell it, or give it away, or will it to descendants or inheritors. They have good title to the object, and taking it without consent is theft.
Why, then, are works of literature subject to a lower standard of protection ?
A patent on an invention serves to reward the inventor (if they can exploit it) and furthers progress by disclosing the design. There is a compromise between personal enrichment and societal benefit. Indefinite patents would inhibit subsequent innovation built on previous designs.
It is not unreasonable that intellectual property of all forms should be protected for a reasonable period after the death of the creator; the debate is the extent of that protection. Robert Bloch died in 1994 and presumably has extant dependants. If he had/has left those dependants a financial instrument, they will receive the benefit of that; if he has left the rights to his literary works, they will no doubt receive royalties.
If the rules of expiring copyright were applied to, for example, interest-bearing investment bonds, where after a fixed period they became nearly worthless, who woukd buy them ? This does actually happen, by malice or mischance, but if it were designed in then the market would be fairly small, unless the interest was disproportionately large. That's usually called a Ponzi scheme ...
*If, that is, the maker can repair what he makes ...-- 8th of 7, Mar 02 2020 //piece of sculpture, or a painting, or any other physical item, the maker can sell it...// That's analagous to the original manuscript perhaps. You can make copies of paintings and casts of sculptures, that's more like a published book Shirley.
//It is not unreasonable that intellectual property of all forms should be protected for a reasonable period after the death of the creator;//
Not a bad idea, maybe it's fairer to put a fixed term on patents, dysirregardless of the breathing status of the inventor. We wouldn't want to discourage patents by the nearly dead. In the same spirit, someone holding a patent on a viciously useful idea might sleep easier knowing they won't be involuntarily disembarked from a boat mid voyage.-- bs0u0155, Mar 02 2020 // You can make copies of paintings and casts of sculptures, that's more like a published book Shirley. //
A book needs to be distributed in many copies to monetize its value, unlike "solid" art- the paper in a book has little intrinsic value*, it's when it's got all proper words writted in it that it acquires worth. But in a time of instant digital copying, controlling distribution is impossible for mere text.That's not true for oil paintings (yet).
Patents are already fixed term from date of filing.-- 8th of 7, Mar 02 2020 random, halfbakery