Kopimism
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Kopimism, Sweden's Pirate Religion, Begins to Plunder America<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<!--sizeo:1--><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->'Kopimism' gives internet piracy a place to worship
By Jason Koebler
April 20, 2012<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
A Swedish religion whose dogma centers on the belief that people should be free to copy and distribute all information—regardless of any copyright or trademarks—has made its way to the United States.
Followers of so-called "Kopimism" believe copying, sharing, and improving on knowledge, music, and other types of information is only human—the Romans remixed Greek mythology, after all, they say. In January, Kopimism—a play on the words "copy me"—was formally recognized by a Swedish government agency, raising its profile worldwide.
...
The gospel of the church has begun to spread, with Kopimist branches in 18 countries.
An American branch of the religion was recently registered with Illinois and is in the process of gaining federal recognition, according to Christopher Carmean, a 25-year-old student at the University of Chicago and head of the U.S. branch.
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/20/kopimism-swedens-pirate-religion-begins-to-plunder-america" target="_blank">Full Story</a>
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May as well make use of religious protections.
-copied and seeded
<!--sizeo:1--><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->'Kopimism' gives internet piracy a place to worship
By Jason Koebler
April 20, 2012<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
A Swedish religion whose dogma centers on the belief that people should be free to copy and distribute all information—regardless of any copyright or trademarks—has made its way to the United States.
Followers of so-called "Kopimism" believe copying, sharing, and improving on knowledge, music, and other types of information is only human—the Romans remixed Greek mythology, after all, they say. In January, Kopimism—a play on the words "copy me"—was formally recognized by a Swedish government agency, raising its profile worldwide.
...
The gospel of the church has begun to spread, with Kopimist branches in 18 countries.
An American branch of the religion was recently registered with Illinois and is in the process of gaining federal recognition, according to Christopher Carmean, a 25-year-old student at the University of Chicago and head of the U.S. branch.
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/20/kopimism-swedens-pirate-religion-begins-to-plunder-america" target="_blank">Full Story</a>
---
May as well make use of religious protections.
-copied and seeded
Comments
You can't be prosecuted or whatever BASED on your religion, but being x religion won't let you do things other people aren't allowed to.
In Sweden maybe, but in the US it seems like a story comes up every other month about religious groups skirting around the rules and being granted exemptions.
Here is one <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/business/08religious.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">example</a>
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->An analysis by The New York Times of laws passed since 1989 shows that more than 200 special arrangements, protections or exemptions for religious groups or their adherents were tucked into Congressional legislation, covering topics ranging from pensions to immigration to land use. New breaks have also been provided by a host of pivotal court decisions at the state and federal level, and by numerous rule changes in almost every department and agency of the executive branch.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"The ten commandments speak out against theft. Therefore Kopimism is not a religion."
I doubt this is going to work at all.