Congress divided on broadcast flag plan

Congress divided on broadcast flag plan
by ANNE BROACHE
CNET News.com, publication date: 03 November 2005
"Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said that 'we should do what we can to support content owners from being ripped off.' But she said that protection should not come at the expense of limiting the rights of consumers or impeding the growth of new technology."

HK man jailed in world's first copyright violation case

HK man jailed in world's first copyright violation case
The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, publication date: 07 November 2005
"A Hong Kong man on Monday was sentenced to three months in prison in what local officials said was the world's first successful prosecution of copyright violation using the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent."

Peer-to-Peer Goes Legit

Peer-to-Peer Goes Legit
by NIALL MCKAY
Wired News, publication date: 03 November 2005
"Now the company has built Microsoft Digital Rights Management technology into its software, allowing users to see a complete list of tracks available on the Gnutella network. However, they can only download tracks that they are willing to pay for, or that are not copyright protected.


'We are the first true P2P company to legalize our service,' said Talmon Marco, president and co-founder of iMesh. 'Unlike iTunes or Rhapsody or Napster, we will also provide access to another 15 million so-called 'gray market' soundtracks free of charge.'"

Who Owns XML?

Who Owns XML?
by WADE ROUSH
Technology Review, publication date: 26 October 2005
"But now executives at Scientigo, a small software maker based in Charlotte, NC, say the company owns two U.S. patents (No. 5,842,213 and No. 6,393,426), that cover one of the fundamental concepts behind XML: the idea of packaging data in a self-defining format that allows it to be correctly displayed wherever it travels.

Scientigo CEO Doyal Bryant says the company plans to capitalize on the patents either by reaching licensing agreements with big corporate users of XML or by selling them to another company."

Copyright events at MCN

Copyright events at MCN

by AMALYAH KESHET
publication date: 25 October 2005
The Museum Computer Network's Intellectual Property SIG is pleased to sponsor two sessions at the organization's annual conference, MCN 2005, in Boston, November 3-5, 2005. More information on the conference can be found at: http://www.mcn.edu/Mcn2005/mcn2005index.htm

"From Hip Hop to Oil on Canvas: Sampling, Art & Copyright"
The concept of sampling is integral to contemporary music, and a hot topic in terms of intellectual property. But the idea of licensing art and photography under a sampling license has yet to be explored. Does the painter in us tune into terms like "remix" and "mash?" Does looking at the latest Creative Commons project, ccmixter.org, intrigue the art historian in us with the idea of establishing a "family tree" of re-mixed samples during the creation of a new, collaborative, work of art? Can digital image files be remixed under similar technology and licensing terms? Join our panelists in hashing out current opinions on the state of the art of sampling, its importance in visual culture, and how copyright law fits in - or doesn't.

Panelists: Henry Jenkins, Director, Comparative Media Studies Program and Co-Director, Media in Transition, MIT, and Tyler Ochoa of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law. Moderator: Amalyah Keshet

"Contract and Copyright: Whatever Happened to Fair Use?"
Is contract law supplanting copyright law when the latter provides "too much" latitude for fair use? Licenses controlling the use of copyrighted works govern whether and how we can access materials important for education, research, and creativity. Contracts that supersede user rights protected under copyright law threaten not only fair use but raise other social policy issues. This roundtable discussion will explore the limits of licensing and contracts. Participants will have 10 minutes to speak about their particular concerns, then will be asked to address a series of museum-based hypothetical scenarios presented by the Session Chair. This discussion will be followed by audience questions.

Panelists: Wendy Gordon, Boston University School of Law, Christine Sundt, University of Oregon, and Maureen A. OíRourke, Boston University School of Law. Moderator: Diane Zorich.


We look forward to some very lively discussion during these sessions, with your participation.


Amalyah Keshet
Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Chair, MCN Intellectual Property SIG

Between What's Right and What's Easy

Between What's Right and What's Easy
by TARLETON GILLESPIE
Inside Higher Ed, publication date: 21 October 2005
"Automating the clearance process undoes the possibility of utilizing, and more importantly challenging, this slow disintegration of fair use. Even if the Blackboard mechanism allows instructors simply not to send their information to CCC for clearance (and it is unclear if it is, or eventually could become, a compulsory mechanism), the simple fact that clearance is becoming a technical default means that more and more instructors will default to it rather than invoking fair use."

Google's battle over library books

Google's battle over library books
by ELINOR MILLS
CNet News.com, publication date: 24 October 2005
"However, David Drummond, Google's general counsel, argued that Google's plans fall under the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copyright law, which do not require getting authorization from copyright holders in certain circumstances.

Last month, the Authors Guild, filed suit against Google, and this week the Association of American Publishers sued on behalf of McGraw-Hill, Simon & Schuster, John Wiley & Sons, Pearson Education and the Penguin Group"

What Are Affirmative Defenses?

What Are Affirmative Defenses?
by WILLIAM PATRY
The Patry Copyright Blog, publication date: 12 October 2005
"In Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, the Supreme Court held (at my urging) that fair use is an affirmative defense. It has to be pled by defendant, who has the burden of proving it."

Copyright for the digital age

Copyright for the digital age
by BILL THOMPSON
BBC News, publication date: 17 October 2005
"The [Adelphi] charter continues that tradition, trying to make sense of a body of intellectual property law that is increasingly seen as unsupportable and damaging both to the development of the new economy and to the creative freedom that new technologies should make possible."

Who Did the Trade Minister Consult About Copyright?

Who Did the Trade Minister Consult About Copyright?
by RAMPHOLO MOLEFHE [Botswana]
allAfrica.com, publication date: 17 October 2005
"Secondly, there is the matter of principle. Government is busy with the
business of privatisation and it has framed what is now popularly known as
the 'privatisation master plan'.
The government now forms a copyright company that it wants to run at the
same time as it wants to give the impression that it is serious about
privatisation. What exactly does the government want to do?"

Judge laments lack of central copyright register

Judge laments lack of central copyright register
by NICK GENTLE
AsiaMedia, publication date: 16 October 2005
"It has been alleged that Cheung, chief shareholder in Topwide, signed a deal with a Thai company to produce VCDs in Hong Kong for distribution across Thailand. He had been given documents written in Thai purporting to be licensing agreements for reproducing those works in Hong Kong.

But unbeknownst to him, according to his defence counsel, the alleged licensing agreements were no good outside Thailand."

Copyright activists let off steam in London

Copyright activists let off steam in London
by INGRID MARSON
ZDNet UK, publication date: 17 October 2005
"A number of other copyright activists spoke at the event, including Salim Fadhley, an open source developer for the Plone CMS and Zope application server projects. He said that recent developments in the entertainment
industry confound the music industry's view that copyright promotes
creativity."

The big picture behind Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, Real, and Sun deal-o-mania

The big picture behind Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, Real, and Sun deal-o-mania
by DAVID BERLIND
Between the Lines, publication date: 13 October 2005
"Meanwhile Microsoft has a competing technology for music, but it's not doing nearly as well as Apple's. At least not yet. It's busy licensing it's playback and DRM technologies to as many licensees as it can to create the same sort of feeding frenzy around its PlaysForSure ecosystem has it did with system vendors for the Windows ecosystem (much to the chagrin of Apple). It's even giving away its DRM technology until the end of the year just to stimulate interest. By the time 2009 rolls around, when analysts think MP3-player demand will spike, I suspect the balance of power in the audio market will have shifted substantially towards the direction of the Microsoft PlaysForSure ecoysystem."
via Dan Gillmor

Europeans paying twice over for music downloads

Europeans paying twice over for music downloads
by SIMON AUGHTON
PC Pro, publication date: 14 October 2005
"The Business Software Alliance has found that most Europeans are paying 'private copying' levies on digital equipment. The monies collected are going to record companies and other copyright holders as compensation for supposed lost income as a result of copying."

PSU cracks down on copyright law

PSU cracks down on copyright law
The Daily Vanguard [Portland State University], publication date: 14 October 2005
"Following copyright law is not only time-consuming, it's more expensive, especially because the copyright holder sets the price. When the copy center gets a packet request, they obtain the copyright license and that fee gets factored into the price of the packet and the cost gets transferred to the student."

Sneak Preview of FEPP'S Fair Use Research Project Report

Sneak Preview of FEPP'S Fair Use Research Project Report
Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law, publication date: October 2005
"But the digital age, bringing with it a tilt toward increased control by owners of 'intellectual property' (or 'IP'), now poses a major challenge to fair use, and to related doctrines that protect free expression under trademark law.3 The employment of 'digital rights management' to restrict access to and copying of cultural products;"
via Siva Vaidhyanathan

Time-Shifted Video for the Masses

Time-Shifted Video for the Masses
by JENNY LEVINE
ALA TechSource, publication date: 12 October 2005
"All very interesting, but it worries me all the more when all of this is sold directly to the consumer and bypasses libraries. It's times like this I re-light a candle that Audible will wake up from its coma and bridge the Digital Rights Management (DRM) gap between libraries and iPods. Right now, I believe OverDrive is the only company that lets libraries circulate copyright-protected videos, but of course Overdrive's Windows-Media-encrypted files don't work on iPods."

Apple's new thing? Video iPod. But more crap-o copy-blocking.

Apple's new thing? Video iPod. But more crap-o copy-blocking.
by XENI JARDIN
Boing Boing, publication date: 12 October 2005
"But if you believe that hardware manufacturers shouldn't restrict your ability to enjoy video files you've purchased and have the legal right to play, you'll be disappointed."

CCC/Blackboard Integration

CCC/Blackboard Integration
by MIKE MADISON
Madisonian.net, publication date: 11 October 2005
"If you are using a CCC-enabled Blackboard system, is there any justification for relying on fair use in connection with teaching materials? As a practical matter, I doubt it. The CCC has taken even the Steve Martin defense "I forgot" out of the equation."
[Ed. note: In my previous job I was a Reserve librarian, overseeing our then brand new Electronic Reserve Service. When the CCC started offering permissions clearance for e-reserves, they introduced a $5 per request fee, regardless of whether or not the publisher actually agreed to grant them. They are also responsible for introducing a per-student charge into the permissions equation, and the result has been an enormous increase in the amount of money charged by publishers. Digital should not be an excuse to gouge the customer but libraries are so fearful on the copyright issue that they are paying. Here's hoping more universities just say no to the CCC.]

Stopping the Signal: Broadcast Flag Update #2

Stopping the Signal: Broadcast Flag Update #2
by DONNA WENTWORTH
Copyfight, publication date: 10 October 2005
"In other words, if government-mandated DRM + the DMCA remove your rights, Congressman Barton wants a way for you to take them back. Which Patrick Ross tells us is bad because it infringes upon...the freedom of corporations to impose a unilateral 'contract.'"

RIAA Sues Three Harvard Network Users for Music Copyright Infringement in New Round of Law Suits

RIAA Sues Three Harvard Network Users for Music Copyright Infringement in New Round of Law Suits
by MATTHEW S. LEBOWITZ
The Harvard Crimson, publication date: 11 October 2005
"The lawsuits accuse all of the university-network defendants of using i2hub--a software program that allows users to upload and download files over the intercollegiate network Internet--to illegally share copyrighted music.
"

Of Piracy, Motherboards, and Microsoft

Of Piracy, Motherboards, and Microsoft
by ED FOSTER
The Gripelog, publication date: 11 October 2005
"In other words, the reader's customer -- who has done nothing wrong other than have a motherboard fail on him -- has the choice of paying ransom to E-Machines or to Microsoft to have a functioning OS again. Which led the reader to wonder just what would constitute piracy in such a situation."

We've Not Seen the Last of The Copyright Class Action

We've Not Seen the Last of The Copyright Class Action
by CAROLE EBBINGHOUSE
Information Today, publication date: 10 October 2005
Quoting Edward Hasbrouck:
"On the eve of the court hearing scheduled for this coming Tuesday to decide whether to approve a proposed settlement giving the New York Times and its co-defendant copyright infringers future rights in perpetuity to sell, license, and sublicense the electronic rights to freelance articles that they've been stealing for years, the Times this past Monday began charging new fees (a US$50 monthly subscription fee and/or a per-article fee, none of which goes to the authors) for online access to articles (including those to which the Times has never paid for, nor acquired, the electronic rights).

The Times has been gearing up for this for months. So it's odd that they launched the new subscription fee and services now, rather than waiting a week for the settlement granting them rights to be approved. But their greed is, apparently, impatient."

Copying is Still the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Copying is Still the Sincerest Form of Flattery
by JOHN MAEDA
Simplicity, publication date: 06 October 2005
"Lexi was reeling from an interview from the previous evening where someone asked her how she felt about her movie being available to download for free off the Internet. First of all, she was surprised that it had happened to her movie. Second of all, she wasn't happy. Uh uh."

Any DVDs, Games You Want Cracked?

Any DVDs, Games You Want Cracked?
by HOLLY J. WAGNER
Wired News, publication date: 07 October 2005
"The DMCA forbids cracking of copy-protected or encrypted digital media, with certain exceptions. When the law was passed, Congress mandated the register of copyrights revisit the anti-circumvention section every three years to make sure consumers have proper access to materials they purchased -- even if content creators have them locked down.


If the copyright office finds instances where copy protection prevents fair use of the work, then those copy protections can be legally circumvented.


'I suspect that we will hear shortly from people who feel they have not been able to use copyrighted materials because of the DMCA,' said Ralph Oman, an intellectual property attorney and former register of copyrights."

iTunes for video? Don't hold your breath

iTunes for video? Don't hold your breath
by ALORIE GILBERT
CNET News.com, publication date: 06 October 2005
"Not surprisingly, the panelists expressed little sympathy for the music industry and its plight with illegal file sharing. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a high-definition TV venture, said lawsuits against consumers are mainly a way for the recording industry to distract people from the fact that their business is in decline. 'They need a boogeyman,' he said.

Fellow panelist Michael Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, put it another way: 'Hiring lawyers is easier than innovating.'"

It's a case of who owns the words

It's a case of who owns the words
by Alex Beam
Boston Globe, publication date: 04 October 2005
"...The New Yorker can publish the DVDs because of a Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in March involving National Geographic, which put out a digital version of the ''Complete National Geographic" in 1997. ''They were sued," Klaris says, ''and the Second Circuit held that an image-based compilation in context, like theirs, was protected" by the Copyright Act. ''As long as you maintain the integrity of your collected work, you can publish it in any medium. We have a copyright on that package."

But this situation looks very different over at the National Geographic Society, which had to take CNG off the shelves two years ago and has not put it back on sale since."
via FurdLog

RIAA Takes Shotgun to Traders

RIAA Takes Shotgun to Traders
by BRUCE GAIN
Wired News, publication date: 04 October 2005
"The RIAA began its litigation campaign in September 2003, resulting in more than 14,000 lawsuits. So far, more than 3,300 parties have settled, which the RIAA says proves the overwhelming majority of those summoned are guilty of stealing copyright files.

But attorneys representing many of the accused say that's not true. Estimates of how many people are being wrongly targeted for illegal file sharing vary, from hundreds to many more."

Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies

Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Federal Register, publication date: 03 October 2005"The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with section 1201(a)(1) of the Copyright Act, which was added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and which provides that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works."

WIPO Negotiators Agree On Way Forward For Broadcasting Treaty

WIPO Negotiators Agree On Way Forward For Broadcasting Treaty
Intellectual Property Watch, publication date: 03 October 2005
"The proposal for a diplomatic conference had significant support from developed and developing countries alike, but some countries had resisted pre-approving the negotiation until they could ensure what the text to be negotiated look like. There are a number of concerns about the substance of the treaty, including whether it will ultimately cover webcasting despite objection by most member states."

Politicians want to raise broadcast flag

Politicians want to raise broadcast flag
by DECLAN MCCULLAGH
CNET News.com, publication date: 30 September 2005
"No legislation has advanced in either the House or the Senate, but opponents of the broadcast flag have been warning that the proposal could be attached to spending bills. The bill funding the Federal Communications Commission through 2006, for instance, is still before a conference committee."

Yahoo backs new digital book group

Yahoo backs new digital book group
by ERIC AUCHARD
Reuters, publication date: 03 October 2005
"The organization, known as the Open Content Alliance (OCA), plans to create a unified storehouse of both public domain and copyrighted materials, hosted by the Internet Archive"

Yahoo Works With 2 Academic Libraries and Other Archives on Project to Digitize Collections

Yahoo Works With 2 Academic Libraries and Other Archives on Project to Digitize Collections
by SCOTT CARLSON and JEFFREY R. YOUNG
The Chronicle of Higher Education, publication date: 03 October 2005
"Leaders of the project stressed that no books that are under copyright will be scanned unless the copyright holders give explicit permission."

By Tearing Open That Cardboard Box, Are You Also Signing on the Dotted Line?

By Tearing Open That Cardboard Box, Are You Also Signing on the Dotted Line?warning: subscription required
by J.D. BIERSDORFER
The New York Times, publication date: 03 October 2005
"A recent decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinforced the right of companies, in this case Lexmark International, the printer maker, to legally limit what customers can do with a patented product, given that the company spells out conditions and restrictions on a package label known as a box-top license."

when media becomes culture: rethinking copyright issues

when media becomes culture: rethinking copyright issues
by DANAH BOYD
Apophenia, publication date: 29 September 2005
[listening to Danah speak now at LITA National Forum 2005]
"But with media saturating our culture, how do we express ourselves devoid of references to copyrighted material? Why can't a kid wear a hand-made iPod costume for Halloween? Why can't i tell my story through the songs that i've listened to over the years? Media is the building block of storytelling and it has become so essential to what we do"

Search and Rescue

Search and Rescue
by TIM O'REILLY
The New York Times, publication date: 28 September 2005
"As both an author and publisher, I find the Guild's position to be exactly backward. Google Library promises to be a boon to authors, publishers and readers if Google sticks to its stated goal of creating a tool that helps people discover (and potentially pay for) copyrighted works."

You Are the MPAA: A Broadcast Flag Update

You Are the MPAA: A Broadcast Flag Update
by DANNY O'BRIEN
EFF, publication date: 26 September 2005
"Listen. Suppose our sympatico politicos carve out a bunch of Digital TV provisions that, in fact, do have something to do with government finance? Suppose they stick those provisions in the Senate Commerce Committee's reconciliations bill (due October 26th), where they're practically untouchable?
But some key clauses on which these provisions depend will be omitted.
Consequently, it will it be vitally important that Congress passes another Digital TV bill to fill the gaps.
That Digital TV bill will contain -- oh, look at that! -- the Broadcast Flag language. Oh, and the RIAA's Digital Radio Broadcast Flag, too, just for the sake of completeness."

More rights are wrong for webcasters

More rights are wrong for webcasters
by JAMES BOYLE
Financial Times, publication date: 26 September 2005
"The World Intellectual Property Organisation has now managed to combine all three lamentable tendencies at once. The Broadcasting and Webcasting Treaty, currently being debated in Geneva, is an IP hat trick."

Top 10 worst products

Top 10 worst products
by TOM MERRITT
CNet, publication date: September 2005
"8. Flexplay
This is an idea whose time seems to keep coming up over and over again: self-destructive DVDs. Flexplay is still at it in Japan and hoping the idea will catch fire."

One IP Right to Rule Them All

One IP Right to Rule Them All
by DONNA WENTWORTH
Copyfight, publication date: 19 September 2005
"Copyright may be the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet, but there's a brand-new pseudo copyright in the works capable of swallowing massive chunks of the public domain, bones and all."

Movie Studios Form DRM Lab

Movie Studios Form DRM Lab
by ED FELTEN
Freedom to Tinker, publication date: 20 September 2005
"The only sensible explanation for this move is that Hollywood really believes that there are easily-discovered anti-copying technologies that the technology industry has failed to find.

So Hollywood is still in denial about digital copying."

Google Can Cover Potential Costs Of Copyright Lawsuit

Google Can Cover Potential Costs Of Copyright Lawsuit
by PETER KANG
Forbes, publication date: 22 September 2005
"'While we think the news is cause for concern, we believe that Google possesses more than adequate financial strength to cover potential legal costs,' said S&P Equity Research."

Court orders copyright filter on Kazaa

Court orders copyright filter on Kazaa
by DAVID FICKLING
Guardian Unlimited [UK], publication date: 06 September 2005
"Internet file-swapping was dealt a fresh blow yesterday after the Australian federal court ordered the world's largest file-sharing service to filter out copyrighted material from its network."

Blizzard wins in court over reverse-engineered games

Blizzard wins in court over reverse-engineered games
by AARON McKENNA
The Inquirer, publication date: 02 September 2005
"In October of last year a court ruled that this was copyright infringement under the DMCA, and now the court of appeals has upheld the decision. As well as infringing copyright the court pointed out the End User License Agreement for the games reverse engineered which prohibits reverse engineering."

Courts Unlikely To Stop Google Book Copying

Courts Unlikely To Stop Google Book Copying
by CHRISTOPHER T. HEUN
Internet Week, publication date: 02 September 2005
“The principle that Google should have to ask [for permission] is proving untenable,” says Jessica Litman, a professor at Wayne State University Law School who has published a book on protecting intellectual property on the Internet, “Digital Copyright.” “The opt-out mechanism is pretty reasonable.”

The benefits of mutual distrust

The benefits of mutual distrust
by DAVID SOHN
CNet News.com, publication date: 25 August 2005
"The court threaded the needle by saying the song-swapping services could be liable if they actively encouraged their users to violate copyright laws--but not simply for making the technology. In effect, the court sent the message that the law should be used to punish bad behavior, not to single out technology."

Europe vs. Google

Europe vs. Google
by HILMAR SCHMUNDT
Salon, publication date: 25 August 2005
"The work in the University of Göttingen library's digitization center is moving along at a steady clip. The project's nine full-time employees have already digitized more than 4 million pages from periodicals and thousands of volumes of books and transferred the data to the center's server, from which it can be downloaded in a matter of seconds through any computer connected to the system.

But while it may at first sound like a lot, library director Elmar Mittler is far from satisfied. 'It's enough to drive you to despair,' he says, speaking so quietly that one has to lean forward to understand him. But then he slaps his hand against the table and adds: 'It's hard to believe how Germany has wasted its opportunities with digitization. Others are moving ahead, while we write reports.'"

W3C objects to U.S. Copyright Office's browser plan

W3C objects to U.S. Copyright Office's browser plan
by LINDA ROSENCRANCE and PAUL KRILL
ComputerWorld, publication date: 24 August 2005
"'From a practical perspective, the single-vendor restriction will deny preregistration benefits entirely to broad classes of creators of covered copyrighted works,' the W3C officials said.
The W3C also stressed that the Web 'was born and achieved widespread use only because of a commitment to open, vendor-neutral standards.'"

Toshiba's Nishida Sees Sony DVD Talks At Impasse

Toshiba's Nishida Sees Sony DVD Talks At Impasse
by CHRIS NOON
Forbes, publication date: 24 August 2005
"Certainly not good for the businesses--should each decide to pursue their own disks, disk players and separate content, the costs could run to billions. As for the consumer, one analyst reckoned baffled shoppers most likely stick to 'normal' DVDs until a single format is established. "

How label-backed P2P was born

How label-backed P2P was born
by JOHN BORLAND
CNet News.com, publication date:22 August 2005
"Their relationship led to the creation of Mashboxx, a new kind of peer-to-peer company that's expected to go live in mid-September. Mashboxx is one of several avowedly law-abiding, peer-to-peer companies trying to thrive in the wake of June's landmark Supreme Court decision that found Grokster potentially liable for copyright infringement."

Sun launches open-source digital rights plan

Sun launches open-source digital rights plan
by STEPHEN SHANKLAND
CNet News.com, publication date: 21 August 2005
Dream's components include software for letting different DRM systems interoperate based on credentials held by individuals, not by particular devices; server software for delivering streaming video; and Java software for managing video streams.

Dave Matthews Band v. DRM?

Dave Matthews Band v. DRM?
by DONNA WENTWORTH
Copyfight, publication date: 16 August 2005

Copyright reform lends itself to libraries

Copyright reform lends itself to libraries
ZDNet UK Comment, publication date: 15 August 2005
"Copyright is not an absolute right; it is a triangular deal between state, commerce and individual."

Orphan Works

Orphan Workswarning: this is a direct link to a PDF file
by WALT CRAWFORD
Cites & Insights, Vol 5, No 10, September 2005
"I say “distinct” because 18 comments (if I count right) are identical to an astonishing 126-page illustrators’ screed, http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/comments/OW0660-Holland-Turner.pdf, which in its first four pages denounces Creative Commons, asserts that the whole “orphaned works” concept is part of a movement to “subvert existing copyright protection for other work,” and claims that commercial stockhouses would declare huge quantities of materials “orphan” simply to save money. "

Britney to Rent, Lease or Buy

Britney to Rent, Lease or Buy
by DAVID POGUE
New York Times, publication date: 07 August 2005
"One intriguing alternative is the subscription plan allowing unlimited downloads that is currently offered by Napster, Yahoo and Rhapsody.
...
Unfortunately, there's enough fine print to fill a phone book. The biggest footnote is that if you ever stop paying the fee, you're left with nothing but memories; all the music self-destructs. You're not buying songs under this plan - you're just renting them. (A famous Napster ad claims that filling an iPod, at $1 a song, would cost you $10,000. But you could just as truthfully say that, under Napster's plan, listening to one favorite song for 20 years would cost you $3,600.)"

US Copyright Office Considering MSIE-only Service

US Copyright Office Considering MSIE-only Service
Technocrat.net posting, publication date: 09 August 2005
"The US Copyright Office is considering requiring MSIE for pre-registration to the exclusion of other browsers. It has posted a notice asking as to whether persons filing the electronic-only preregistration form will experience difficulties if it is necessary to use MSIE in order to pre-register a work. "

Irish pioneer pilloried for file-swap software

Irish pioneer pilloried for file-swap software
by ADRIAN RUSSELL
The Sunday Times, publication date: 07 August 2005
"AN Irish software designer has been attacked by security experts for developing a programme that will allow internet users to share files anonymously."

Camcording Warez Dealer Bagged by Feds

Camcording Warez Dealer Bagged by Feds
by ROY MARK
Internet News, publication date: 04 August 2005
"Curtis Salisbury, 19, of St. Charles, Mo., was charged in a five-count indictment claiming he used a camcorder in movie theaters to copy recent theatrical releases. He then uploaded the copies to a computer network for distribution"

Back from vacation.

Finally back, physcially and mentally, from vacation.

Don't own your textbooks, rent them!

Don't own your textbooks, rent them!
by JESSAMYN WEST
Librarian.net, publication date: 07 August 2005
'Princeton University is experimenting with textbooks that have Digital Rights Management embedded in them. They have a lot of nerve calling a textbook that expires in five months "universal". '

In Canada: Cache a page, go to jail?

In Canada: Cache a page, go to jail?
by ELINOR MILLS
CNet News, publication date: 19 July 2005
"But according to Howard Knopf, a copyright attorney at the Ottawa firm of Macera & Jarzyna, a brief passage in the bill could mean trouble for search engines and other companies that archive or cache Web content.

'The way it reads, arguably what they're saying is that the very act of making a reproduction by way of caching is illegal,' Knopf said."

Sino-US Cooperation on Film Copyright

Sino-US Cooperation on Film Copyright

CRI [China Radio International] Online, publication date: 13 July 2005"Every three months the Motion Picture Association of America will submit to the Chinese government the specific information of the films produced by its member companies, and the Chinese government will launch a special campaign against their pirating."

Copyright Registration Isn’t Mandatory, So Why Register Your Claim?

Copyright Registration Isn’t Mandatory, So Why Register Your Claim?
by A. José Cortina
Local Tech Wire.com, publication date: 13 July 2005
"Federal law provides that a copyright holder cannot sue someone for copyright infringement in a U.S. court unless and until the copyright is registered. Thus, even though the work is copyrighted from the moment of creation, the copyright cannot be enforced until the owner of the work obtains registration of the copyright from the U.S. Copyright Office."

Copyright: infringement proceedings against France, Finland, Spain and the Czech Republic for non-implementation of 2001 Copyright Directive

Copyright: infringement proceedings against France, Finland, Spain and the Czech Republic for non-implementation of 2001 Copyright Directive
Press Release
European Union, publication date: 13 July 2005
"The European Commission has taken action against three Member States and initiated informal contact with another to ensure that they implement the 2001 Copyright Directive, which all Member States had agreed to do before 22 December 2002. The Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty,
to send France and Finland further 'reasoned opinions' requesting them to comply immediately with the previous judgments of the European Court of Justice on their non-implementation of the 2001 Copyright Directive."

Sony BMG reaches licensing deal with iMesh

Sony BMG reaches licensing deal with iMesh
Reuters
CNet News, publication date: 09 July 2005
"Other peer-to-peer services have been formed to satisfy the entertainment industry's demand to be compensated for songs like Mashboxx, headed by former Grokster President Wayne Rosso, which has also reached a licensing deal with Sony BMG."

EU to propose licencing reform for online music copyright

EU to propose licencing reform for online music copyright
AFX News Limited
Forbes, publication date: 05 July 2005
"An EU official, on condition of anonymity, said the report concludes that the system has to be improved and that cross-border copyright management firms should be set up."

Slingbox could spark new lawsuits

Slingbox could spark new lawsuits
by ANDREW WALLENSTEIN
Hollywood Reporter, publication date: 06 July 2005
"New to the shelves of Best Buy and CompUSA this month is Slingbox, a brick-sized device that enables viewers to route the live television signal coming into their homes to a portable device anywhere on the globe via broadband connection. Slingbox costs $250 and has no subsequent subscription fee; several stores sold out on the first day."

SCO denied motion to change IBM case again

SCO denied motion to change IBM case again
by MATTHEW ASLETT
Computer Business Review Online, publication date: 05 July 2005
"The Lindon, Utah-based Unix vendor first sued IBM in March 2003 claiming IBM breached a contract by contributing Unix code to the Linux open source operating system. It has subsequently changed its case twice, but has been denied the chance to do so a third time.
'To permit the proposed amendment would expand this already sizable and complex litigation and would serve only to delay its resolution,' wrote US District Judge Dale Kimball in his order. 'Furthermore SCO has twice amended its complaint during this litigation, and the deadline for seeking leave to further amend has long-since passed.'"

Man convicted for chipping Xbox

Man convicted for chipping Xbox
BBC News, publication date: 04 July 2005
"In this case, the man was tracked down by an investigator working for the UK games industry trade body, the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association, (Elspa).

The man, who has not yet been named, was selling modified Xbox consoles, fitted with a 200GB hard drive and 80 pre-installed games, via his website for £380."

Patently absurd

Patently absurd
by RICHARD STALLMAN
SMH.com.au (Sydney Morning Herald), publication date: 05 July 2005
"This month, the European Parliament will vote on the vital
question of whether to allow patents covering software, which would
restrict every computer user and tie software developers up in
knots."

Google & Other Search Engines: The WMDs Of Copyright Infringement

Google & Other Search Engines: The WMDs Of Copyright Infringement
by DANNY SULLIVAN
Search Engine Watch, publication date: 05 July 2005
"Google Video's taping of television content without prior permission is said to have had executives at CBS and Warner Bros. extremely upset. 'We're not just going to give
this away for free,' said a CBS exec, upset also not to have gained the 'proper respect' as a potential partner. "

Copyright literature current awareness

A great new copyright site from Tobe Liebert at the University of Texas at Austin Tarlton Law Library.

Copyright literature current awareness
"The 'Current copyright literature' website is a resource for keeping informed of current articles related to U.S. copyright law. This service is edited by Tobe Liebert, the Assistant Director for Collection Development & Special Projects at the Tarlton Law Library.
Here's the process: I review law journals and law reviews (and a great many other legal periodicals) as they are received in the library. I examine the table of contents of all of these publications and identify any article concerning U.S. copyright law. I then input the basic bibliographic information about each article into this database, and scan the first page of the article. The availability of the first page of the article should better enable readers to know if they are interested in reading the whole article."

DRM-related Effects of the Grokster Ruling

DRM-related Effects of the Grokster Ruling
by GINGER COX
DRM Blog, publication date: 27 June 2005
"On all but the smallest of scales, it is not a feasible method for monitoring illegal activity on a network or software system. Thus, to protect a company from contributory infringement liability, the only remaining approach is to introduce some sort of DRM to limit illegal use."

Correcting Course: Conference Program

Correcting Course: Conference Program
Take a break from Grokster. The webcasts and papers from the May 5-7 conference at Columbia are available online.

BitTorrent Whiz Extolled Piracy?

BitTorrent Whiz Extolled Piracy?
by KATIE DEAN and KEVIN POULSEN
Wired News, publication date: 30 June 2005
"Cohen has never publicly encouraged piracy, and he has consistently maintained that he wrote BitTorrent as a legitimate file-distribution tool. That would seem to make him and his budding company, BitTorrent, safe under the Grokster ruling.


But legal experts worry the newly discovered manifesto extolling 'digital piracy' could put him on less certain legal ground."

Tech firms call for approval of cybercrime treaty

Tech firms call for approval of cybercrime treaty
by DECLAN MCCULLAGH
CNet News.com, publication date: 29 June 2005
"The treaty also includes stiff copyright-related penalties. It says participating nations must enact criminal laws targeting Internet piracy and circumvention devices--a measure akin to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act--when acts 'are committed willfully, on a commercial scale and by means of a computer system.'"

[Editors note] EDUCAUSE loosens DRM

I received a very nice note from someone at EDUCAUSE about their policy of locking PDFs in their library (see earlier post). They've decided to loosen their policy to allow commenting; you can now download copies of documents and mark them up locally. Unfortunately, copy and pasting of text is still not supported, but progress is progress. Thank you EDUCAUSE. Anyone else want to copy and paste? Please drop the nice folks at EDUCAUSE a line.

-Claire

"Ten Years of Chilled Innovation"

"Ten Years of Chilled Innovation"
Q&A with LAWRENCE LESSIG
BusinessWeek, publication date: 29 June 2005
"Q: So the problem with the decision is just that the Supreme Court rendered an opinion at all, rather than letting legislators decide?
A: Right. By making it a process that goes through the courts, you've just increased the legal uncertainty around innovation substantially and created great opportunities to defeat legitimate competition. You've shifted an enormous amount of power to those who oppose new types of competitive technologies"

Spanier comments on Supreme Court decision over copyright issues

Spanier comments on Supreme Court decision over copyright issues
Statement by Graham B. Spanier, President, Penn State University
"'Working with music and motion picture executives, the higher education community has made tremendous progress in addressing piracy on our college campuses. Yet there is considerable work still to be done. '

[Penn State Live] Editor's note: Penn State University became the first university to launch a comprehensive alternative solution to the illegal downloading of music. Since then, more than 40 colleges across the country have followed suit."

Analysis: What the ruling against Grokster really means

Analysis: What the ruling against Grokster really means
by SCOTT FULTON
Tom's Hardware Guide, publication date: 27 June 2005
"This morning's ruling makes multiple references to the 1984 Sony case. But it appears to define new circumstances in which the classic 'Betamax defense' may no longer apply.

'What's scary--and I use that word advisedly--is that we have, by virtue of this ruling, now exchanged the really pretty clear and economic beneficial certainty for innovators and developers of creative devices and software, that we've been living with under the Sony Betamax case for the last 20 years, for a new and clearly fact-intensive and ultimately litigation-intensive set of untried tests," said Adam Eisgrau, Executive Director of P2P United, a peer-to-peer industry trade group."

Grokster ruling could spawn legal file-sharing

Grokster ruling could spawn legal file-sharing
by PHILIPPE NAUGHTON
Times Online, publication date: 28 June 2005
"Mr Taylor, and others, suggested that one result of the ruling might be that companies presently engaged in illegal file-sharing might now try to build up legitimate business using the same peer-to-peer technology to allow users to swap licensed copies of songs."

Business model as evidence of intent

Business model as evidence of intent
by ED FELTEN
Freedom to Tinker, publication date: 27 June 2005

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC., et al.,PETITIONERS v. GROKSTER, LTD., et al.

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC., et al.,PETITIONERS v. GROKSTER, LTD., et al.
Opinion of the [United States Supreme] Court
from the Cornell Legal Information Institute, publication date: 27 June 2005

Supreme Court clarifies Sony decision, fair use preserved

Supreme Court clarifies Sony decision, fair use preserved
American Library Association press release , publication date: 27 June 2005

Grokster loses

Grokster loses
by Ed Felten
Freedom to Tinker, publication date: 27 June 2005

Grokster coverage from CNet

Grokster coverage from CNet
publication date: 27 June - present, 2005

Copyright-Worried Photo Labs Spurn Jobs

Copyright-Worried Photo Labs Spurn Jobs
Associated Press
Forbes, publication date: 06 June 2005
"When Morgan's mother and a client recently took CDs with some of his shots to a printing lab, the photo technicians spurned them. They said that since the shots seemed to have been taken by a professional, printing the pictures might be a copyright violation."

Register of Copyrights Misunderstands Copyright

Register of Copyrights Misunderstands Copyright
by ED FELTEN
Freedom to Tinker, publication date: 17 May 2005
"Note the subtle rewriting of the Constitutional language. The Constitution does not direct Congress to establish copyright, but merely allows it to do so. Let%u2019s be clear: the implication that the Founders would approve of today%u2019s copyright statute finds no real support in the historical record."

Technology Paradigm Wars

Technology Paradigm Wars
DRM blog, publication date: 17 June 2005
"Released just three days ago by RCA, the new Foo Fighters CD contains DRM that supposedly prevents the CD from being loaded and ripped via iTunes. Customers are already complaining that their legally purchased music isn't worth the money they paid for it because they can only listen to it in CD players."

European economic group recommends P2P to Big Content, Snocap opens its database

European economic group recommends P2P to Big Content, Snocap opens its database
by HANNIBAL
ArsTechnica, publication date: 13 June 2005
"For instance, the report found that there's no clear causal link between the rise of P2P and the fall of offline music sales. The report also recommends that the music industry 're-evaluate' its attitude toward P2P, and possibly by considering ways to operate legitimate P2P networks. In fact, the OECD seems generally up-beat about P2P as a technology, a fact that doesn't sit well with the RIAA."

[Editors note] Even lightweight DRM stinks, thank you EDUCAUSE

I'm sure I am not the first person to complain about this but I am seriously annoyed that EDUCAUSE locks most of the PDFs in its Resource Library. What I actually wanted to do was use the PDF highlighter tool to mark up a local copy; when I couldn't do that, I tried copying and pasting a few key passages to a text file. No go. I complained about this via their web feedback form:

"Why are so many of the PDF documents in the EDUCAUSE library locked? I cannot annotate a local copy of these works, nor can I, in most cases, copy and paste text excertps as I carry out my research. This is a baffling approach to distribution of these important works. Is there a universal password to unlock them?"

and today received the following response from an EDUCAUSE staffer:

"I am sorry that you are having a hard time with your research. The reason many of the PDF works are locked down from text copying is to protect them from being plagiarized and other types of copyright infringement.  If you need to have the work in text for copying purposes, I suggest that you use a PDF text converter. There are free downloads of this software on the web."

So, what she's saying is that they know it's easy for someone to break these silly locks. I don't understand why people think this kind of lightweight or speedbump DRM is a good idea. Someone who intends to plagiarize is surely going to be motivated to get the apparently free and easy-to-find software to rip the content.

The thing I hate most about DRM is that it punishes the law-abiding far more than the lawbreakers.

Grump.

Supremes deflect Lexmark's laser injunction bid

Supremes deflect Lexmark's laser injunction bid
by JOHN OATES
The Register, publication date: 08 June 2005
"Lexmark's cartridges includes a chip which must be authenticated by the printer before it will accept the new cartridge. Static Control Components makes a chip which replicates this 'handshake'. But the DMCA forbids any attempt to decrypt or decode technologies put in place to protect intellectual property."

Copyright Clearance Center and BioOne Partner to Expand Market Reach For Small Science Publishers

Copyright Clearance Center and BioOne Partner to Expand Market Reach For Small Science Publishers
Press Release
Business Wire, publication date: 01 June 2005
"'We believe it is essential for journal publishers to maximize the protection of their intellectual property and to cultivate new sources of income. Further, a proactive effort is needed to reach for the highest possible dissemination of articles for legitimate 'fair use'. However, many society and other nonprofit publishers lack the resources for administering such efforts and might even be unaware of the programs available to them.'"

Google Library Project Hit by Copyright Challenge from University Presses

Google Library Project Hit by Copyright Challenge from University Presses
by BARBARA QUINT
Forbes, publication date: 31 May 2005
"However, one or more of these organizations might view dealing with Google on behalf of a broader universe of authors as a desirable development. They might even be willing to develop a managed royalty collection system, such as the music industry has with ASCAP and BMI. Clearly any group succeeding in this kind of effort would become the leading author representative."

Google's Scan Plan Hits More Bumps

Google's Scan Plan Hits More Bumps
by DAVID WHELAN
Forbes, publication date: 31 May 2005
"Publishers don't know yet how much content from a particular book will be available to Google under fair use. Or even whether Google's digital copies of copyrighted books are permissible in the first place, even if they never get shared.

Google's Tom Turvey responded with a letter to the Web site Publisher's Lunch saying that publishers don't have to participate in its program. 'Publishers remain in complete control of which books are displayed on Google, just as Web publishers are regarding inclusion of their Web sites in the index. For any books scanned at libraries, publishers may simply choose not to display these books within Google's index--no questions asked.' "

Government cracks down on copyright infringement

Government cracks down on copyright infringement
Associated Press
The News Tribune [Tacoma, WA], publication date: 31 May 2005
"Until now, it was prohibited in Sweden to make copyright material available for others to download. But downloading such material was legal.
The new law also makes it illegal to copy an entire book, including textbooks, on a copying machine."

Copyright combat not over yet

Copyright combat not over yet
by ANNA BUCCI
National Post [Canada], publication date: 30 May 2005
"And finally, yes, CPCC uses a fraction of 1% of its revenues for the services of a government relations advisor (singular not plural) to ensure that legislators are aware of the concerns and views of rights holders and to engage communication specialists to correct the misinformation presented to the public about the private copying levy."

Theft Forces Change in Surgeon Testing

Theft Forces Change in Surgeon Testing warning: registration required
Associated Press
The New York Times, publication date: 30 May 2005
"Mr. Amshel, who passed the test in 2003, has had his board certification revoked. The board sued him, accusing him of copyright infringement and civil theft."

Sex Sells

Sex Sells
by SETH LUBOVE
Forbes, publication date: 06 June 2005
"Zadeh's demands are based in part on the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which governs the rights of copyright holders on the Internet and how to protest infringements. Courts have ruled in previous lawsuits that search engines are permitted to display thumbnail images provided they link to the copyright holder's Web site (whether they can link to full-size images is still a matter of debate)."

U.S. sends stern copyright warning to China

U.S. sends stern copyright warning to China
Associated Press
BusinessWeek, publication date: 2 June 2005
"'We can have a dispute about textile but do not believe that IPR rights are negotiable,' said Carlos Gutierrez, who spoke at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Beijing. 'One is a contractual matter and the other is a crime and needs to be treated as such.'"