I missed Cory Doctorow's post about flash-photographing the copyright message that we're all forced to endure in UK cinemas. But I think it sounds a great wee way to protest against the increasing amount of legal-balls we're subjected to every day (and, he says, you get a little round of applause for your cheek).
Just two examples of legalese overload that have annoyed me in the last week or two (feel free to add more in the comments): labels on Apple's computer wrapping telling me I agree to a bunch of T&Cs just by unwrapping said laptop, and the amazingly lengthy legal warnings on a commercial DVD (they seem to be longer than ever these days). Do these warnings serve any purpose? Do they make acting illegally any more illegal? They're so irritating they could almost be offered up in mitigation...
Anyway, today, Cory's upping the ante: he's planning to test the clampdown on Harry Potter "pirates" at the Odeon on Leicester Square. Ushers at every British cinema showing the film have been issued with night-scopes in an effort to stop film pirates videotaping the film.
I hope the film-makers don't get too many writs from ushers blinded by camera flashes going off after they've donned their nightscopes.
