heads on stakes

English translation: deterrence; intimidation of those who may be tempted to infringe copyright

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:heads on stakes
Selected answer:deterrence; intimidation of those who may be tempted to infringe copyright
Entered by: Charles Davis

11:45 Jan 23, 2013
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright / Patent Trademark
English term or phrase: heads on stakes
... going to the trouble of enforcing intellectual property rights. One possible way of doing so is to go after every single infringer and try to clear the market of all the infringing products. This method – which Carnabuci refers to as “heads on stakes” – is likely to be very costly and may ultimately be an exercise in futility as it may fail to restrain the source of supply, and only catch operatives on the periphery.
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I know what "heads on stakes" mean, but why it is used here, and how does it relate to the context? Thanks.
Ms Faith
deterrence; intimidation of those who may be tempted to infringe copyright
Explanation:
Why do (did) people stick the heads of their victims on stakes and display them? Not primarily to shame them (and their families), I think, though that was certainly involved in the display of heads of executed traitors that greeted visitors people at the entrance to London Bridge in Elizabethan times. The primary reason, I think, is deterrence: if you break this law, this is what will happen to you. The lurid display of the outcome of savage punishment is designed to intimidate people. Islamic terrorists have distributed videos of beheadings of hostages for the same reason.

So these metaphorical "heads on stakes", publicised cases of those severely fined for copyright infringement, are primarily designed to intimidate people and deter them from downloading copyright material, for fear of suffering the same fate.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 14:37
Grading comment
Thanks Charles.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1deterrence; intimidation of those who may be tempted to infringe copyright
Charles Davis
4 +1name and shame them for al to see
Yvonne Gallagher
3 +1haul them into the courts / sue them
Jenni Lukac (X)


  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
haul them into the courts / sue them


Explanation:
I'm putting "medium" on this, because gallagy has certainly covered one aspect. However, as most of these people/companies don't have much of a sense of shame, I interpret "going after them" as taking legal recourse against them. It's costly as that method involves high legal expenses.

Jenni Lukac (X)
Local time: 14:37
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mark Nathan
23 mins
  -> Thanks, Mark. Have a good afternoon.
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41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
deterrence; intimidation of those who may be tempted to infringe copyright


Explanation:
Why do (did) people stick the heads of their victims on stakes and display them? Not primarily to shame them (and their families), I think, though that was certainly involved in the display of heads of executed traitors that greeted visitors people at the entrance to London Bridge in Elizabethan times. The primary reason, I think, is deterrence: if you break this law, this is what will happen to you. The lurid display of the outcome of savage punishment is designed to intimidate people. Islamic terrorists have distributed videos of beheadings of hostages for the same reason.

So these metaphorical "heads on stakes", publicised cases of those severely fined for copyright infringement, are primarily designed to intimidate people and deter them from downloading copyright material, for fear of suffering the same fate.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 14:37
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks Charles.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
1 hr
  -> Thanks, B D
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
name and shame them for al to see


Explanation:
imo

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Note added at 8 mins (2013-01-23 11:54:20 GMT)
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ALL of course.

this is to make everyone aware of who the "infringers" are and which ones are the infringing products.

HOWEVER, they say that maybe it won't work anyway doing this and that the exercise ("naming and shaming" or "heads on stakes")
will be "costly" and also that they may not succeed in stopping the flow of supply and may only catch those

"operatives on the periphery"= not the main players but the minor players on the margins.
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Note added at 15 mins (2013-01-23 12:00:36 GMT)
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the expression "heads on stakes" basically came from the practice of putting heads of those people you'd killed on stakes as a warning to others

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Note added at 39 mins (2013-01-23 12:24:47 GMT)
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and the practice of putting heads on stakes is certainly an old one

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/human-skulls-mounte...

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Note added at 43 mins (2013-01-23 12:29:30 GMT)
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"infringers" are those not following the rules on property rights so it's important to let peope know who they are.

This may, as Jenni has said, involve taking them to court but it is more likely just to be the threat of penalties and fines and media attention. I don't think there have been many cases of this type in court as they are so hard to prove

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Note added at 58 mins (2013-01-23 12:44:00 GMT)
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Highlight their names of put them IN THE HEADLINES other ways of putting this


some famous cases that were in court and were headline news

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/news/news-famous.htm

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Note added at 1 hr (2013-01-23 12:49:48 GMT)
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and finally

"name and shame"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_and_shame

To name and shame is to "publicly say that a person, group or business has done something wrong".[1] It is used to discourage some kinds of activity (including anti-social or criminal) by publishing the names of those involved.



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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-01-23 13:55:49 GMT)
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it acts as a threat, warning or deterrent but I think "intimidate" is really not correct here and would involve much heavier-handed tactics

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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-01-23 14:04:47 GMT)
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I'll repeat my 15 min note since it seems to be lost to view

the expression "heads on stakes" basically came from the practice of putting heads of those people you'd killed on stakes AS A WARNING TO OTHERS


I wasn't more specific as Asker said they knew meaning of expression already.



Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 13:37
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mark Nathan: although I agree with Jenni that shame is probably not much of a deterrent when it comes to patents.
37 mins
  -> yes, it's possible that the warning will not be enough and further action is taken but unless it (ST) actually says there is a court case I'd be reluctant to put that

neutral  B D Finch: Fear and intimidation, rather than shame, and more than naming is required to achieve that.//The expression "heads on stakes" is even stronger, and deliberately so.
1 hr
  -> "name and shame" means to publicise and thus act as deterrent or warning, I think "intimidate" is a bit strong as a verb
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