There is no such thing as copyright “theft.” When a good is non-rivalrious, it’s not “theft” if anything, it is infringement. Downloading a movie online is not “theft.”

I don’t care that bloggers can’t publish fixtures, I don’t go to blogs to see who my club plays next. I read them for their opinions and honestly, this ‘anti-English’ campaign has gone from amusing to whining and is awfully close to having me stop reading it.

I live in a country where in order to get live European football matches, I have to pay upwards of $80 per month. As such I can’t reason that amount of money from my wife to watch footie. So where do I get my football from, illegal downloads and YouTube highlights. But now I can’t EPL highlights, though I can watch La Liga highlights with ease. So that leaves me spending my dollars buying Valencian and Spanish kits, over the Fulham kits, whom i’ve supported my whole life. Accessiblity proves to be a winner here, and now I have handed over thousands of dollars purely due to easy access over the net.

To those arguing that seeing as FD Co have the IP rights to the EPL they dhould excercise them. I think we all agree they have the right to, but really should they? Football was, and should’ve stayed, exisiting as a community function. it allowed groups of people to get together, and support an entity, something we needed since the Indstrial revolution gave us so much extra time.

Now it seems instead of being community based, football clubs in Leagues are profit based. They turned into corporations whose only goal is profit. They’ve turned into any other corporation. Now, generally speaking, I have nil against corp’s seeking profit (unless it is to the detriment of their sustainability or the envronment). But to take something out of public like this and sell it for everything it is worth. Stick it. FD co and the FA need a lesson in corporate social responsibility.

I currently have patents pending for two devices and own the rights to a few other road safety related technologies. I am patenting the devices because I believe it is the best way to get them made and save lives while still getting the financial recognition I deserve. However I do not enforce my rights on my publicised technologies because I believe it to be my social responsibility. t is much more important that they be implemented at low low cost quickly and they save lives and money, than I make a single cent from them.

The answer is a very easy one; it is their right to do so. I don’t think anyone would disagree that their decision might be short-sighted in some areas but it does not change the basic facts that they own the trademarks.

Clubs have been hand their hand dealt to them through the sales of media rights. You cannot sell your rights for large sums and on the opposite hand not police it. The next phase of that action is coming with a much bigger sweep of illegal streams in mind.

Integrity and respect for local fans, players and the end to foreign ownership. Nothing I expect ever to happen in a league where the connection to the community seems lost to me with many (not all) clubs.

However as it comes to copyright infringement I work in design and despise those who steal trademarks/copyrights and other intellectual property. Design your own but don’t steal it.