Back from vacation

Back at last from long vacation, but off to a workshop. Slowly ramping back up to posting ... stay tuned.

Files Are Not for Sharing

Files Are Not for Sharing
by MATTHEW BALDWIN and GOOPYMART
The Morning News, publication date: 20 June 2006

Downloading Service to Allow Film Watching on TV Screens - New York Times

Downloading Service to Allow Film Watching on TV Screens - New York Times
by SAUL HANSELL
The New York Times, publication date: 19 July 2006
"The picture quality of the discs made through the downloading will not be as high as those on commercial DVD’s because the files need to be compressed to reduce the downloading time. Even so, it will take about three hours to download and burn a movie, hardly allowing for impulse purchases.

Mr. Marvis said users would not be inconvenienced by the time. “I was testing the service over the weekend with my family,” he said. “We picked out a movie to see, launched the service, cooked dinner, ate and by the time we washed and put away the dishes, there was the movie.”

And the studios are not yet allowing new releases to be sold in a form that can be copied to DVD’s. Initially, CinemaNow will offer about 100 older titles, including “Scent of a Woman,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Barbershop.” Prices will be about $9 to $15, the same as the films sold in versions that could be downloaded only to computers."

Studios Set Up DVD Download-and-Burn Plans To Fail

Studios Set Up DVD Download-and-Burn Plans To Fail
Techdirt, publication date: 19 July 2006
"Much to Movielink's chagrin, its major rival, CinemaNow, says it will start letting customers burn some movies to DVD, with the studios' blessing. It's slightly odd that the studios would let CinemaNow introduce the functionality before a site in which they have a financial stake, but they apparently feel somewhat comfortable with the technology the site's been using to let users burn porn DVDs for several months. Of course, there's a catch -- only about 100 movies are initially available to be burned, none of them new releases. "

Hong Kong's Boy Scouts on copyright patrol

Hong Kong's Boy Scouts on copyright patrol
by KEITH BRADSHER
CNET NEWS.COM, publication date: 18 July 2006
"When youths report to the authorities that movies, songs, television programs or other copyrighted material is being made available through an Internet posting, customs officials will verify the posting and then relay it to trade groups like the Motion Picture Association or the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The associations and their members then send warning letters to the Webmasters of the discussion forums, asking them to delete the offending posting; the customs officials keep secret which child has spotted which posting."

YouTube sued over copyright infringement

YouTube sued over copyright infringement
by GREG SANDOVAL
ZDNet, publication date: 18 July 2006
"'Mr. Tur's lawsuit is without merit,' YouTube said in a statement. 'YouTube is a service provider that complies with all the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and therefore is entitled to the full protections of the safe harbor provisions of the Act.'

Passed in 1998 to protect copyright holders from technology that facilitated piracy, the DMCA also offered protection to Web service providers by limiting their liability in cases where their customers were found guilty of copyright violation."

Kaleidescape - Legal Update

Kaleidescape - Legal Update
publication date: 30 June 2006
[the product Randy Picker referred to; see previous post]
"On June 1st, 2005, Kaleidescape filed its Answer and Cross-complaint against the DVD CCA. Kaleidescape’s cross-complaint states that the DVD CCA breached the CSS license by not allowing the ombudsman process mandated by its own bylaws to be completed, and that the DVD CCA breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing by making its unreasonable and unsupported allegations against Kaleidescape and not participating in the ombudsman process in good faith. Kaleidescape’s cross-complaint also seeks a declaration from the Court that the CSS license does not include terms that the DVD CCA claims have been breached by Kaleidescape.

On March 15, 2006, the DVD CCA certified that it would not seek any monetary damages from Kaleidescape as relief for its claims in the case. On May 5, 2006, the Court issued an opinion confirming the DVD CCA’s declaration to the Court that no documents support the DVD CCA’s claim for damages and that, therefore, the DVD CCA has 'unequivocally and unconditionally [withdrawn] and waived' its allegations that it was damaged by Kaleidescape. In sum, the DVD CCA has dropped from its case its claim for monetary damages from Kaleidescape. Kaleidescape’s monetary damages claims against the DVD CCA, however, remain intact."

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog: The Next Video Machine?

The Next Video Machine?
by RANDY PICKER
The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog, publication date: 17 July 2006
"A substantial fraction of copyright discussion, especially about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, emphasizes particular examples. The argument takes the form of “with the DMCA, the following use can’t take place and that can’t be right, can it?” Tim Lee, whose post on this spurred this post, makes this argument in describing how the DMCA has stifled innovation.

This is an incomplete way to frame the argument. These situations are usually about sets of uses. The technology will allow us to allow A, B and C or X, Y and Z, and we are not just choosing B or Z. We are choosing among different bundles of uses."

Copyright versus Database Right of Protection in the UK: The Bioinformatics Bone of Contention

UK Bioinformatics Forum - Copyright versus Database Right of Protection in the UK: The Bioinformatics Bone of Contention
Article abstract on UK Bioinformatics Forum, publication date: 11 July 2006
"Copyright and database protection are two notable and significant methods of exploiting innovations in bioinformatics. This article makes an in-depth analysis of the scope and utility of copyright and database protection laws in bioinformatics. This article focuses initially on the working of bioinformatics databases, and then delves into the issues and implications of copyright and database protection in bioinformatics. The article concludes that copyright in comparison to database laws serves as a better platform in keeping the balance between the interests of bioinformatics database makers and its users."

Consumer goods and copyright conundrums

Consumer goods and copyright conundrums
by STEWART MITCHELL
PC Pro [UK], publication date: 11 July 2006
"So is it a clear choice between restrictions on copying and levies? Apparently not; the EUCD allows member states to pick and choose from a host of directive elements. France has riled the copyright lobbyists by proposing lax laws, while Finland threw the regulatory form book out the window, introducing an effective ban on copying for personal use. Crucially, though, the existing levies remain in place."

A License to Audit

A License to Audit
by ED FOSTER
InfoWorld, publication date: 11 July 2006
"Russman believes that at least some of the larger software publishers are actually softening their approach, allowing more customers to conduct self-audits and even sometimes accepting it when the customer reports they are in compliance. But the software publishers may have little choice, because Russman also detects a growing intolerance among large corporate customers for these audit practices. 'There is a backlash because the customers are really sick of this,' says Russman. 'And the software publishers realize that they have alienated a lot of the big companies in the process. They are going to lose business, so they have to find a different approach.'

And what might that new approach be? Well, that brings us back to why I was talking to Russman in the first place. One idea some software publishers are moving toward is to at least supplement their audit demands by including embedded license controls in their products. We'll be discussing that topic further in the near future, because it's one that raises a lot of issues for customers and vendors alike."

The L.A. Times Gets It Right: "We Aren't All Pirates"

The L.A. Times Gets It Right: "We Aren't All Pirates"
by ART BRODSKY
Public Knowledge, publication date: 10 July 2006
"An editorial in the Los Angeles Times this morning captured perfectly the debate over the broadcast flag and the accompanying attack on digital radio.
...
'To attack the latter problem, industry lobbyists are pressing Congress to adopt at least five different proposals that would give them more control over their works as they flow through new digital pipelines into living rooms and portable devices. But these measures, like the technologies they would affect, have a hard time distinguishing between illicit actions and legitimate ones.'"

"Worst copyright law in Europe" passed in France

"Worst copyright law in Europe" passed in France
by BRUCE BYFIELD
NewsForge, publication date: 9 July 2006
"Some of DADVSI's provisions are relatively innocuous, such as its exceptions to copyright for educational purposes or its clarifications of what rights are transferred when a work of art is resold. However, the parts of DADVSI that concern anti-DRM activists are its efforts to prevent copyrighted worked being exchanged via peer to peer software, and its criminalization of any methods of circumventing DRM technologies."

Court say removing sex, profanity from films violates copyright laws

Associated Press Business News: Court say removing sex, profanity from films violates copyright laws - MSN Money
Associated Press
MSN Money, publication date: 8 July 2006
"U-S District Judge Richard Matsch (MAYCH) has ruled that editing movies to delete objectionable language, sex and violence is an 'illegitimate business' that hurts Hollywood studios and directors who own the movie rights"

UK court OKs AllofMP3.com suit

UK court OKs AllofMP3.com suit
by JIM WELTE
MP3.com, publication date: 5 July 2006
"AllofMP3.com exists in a quasi-legal state, whereby it charges users for downloads, but sells those downloads for as little as $1 for a full album. The site does not charge by song, but by volume, charging users 2 cents per megabyte.

Site owner MediaServices claims that the service pays the Russian groups responsible for managing royalties, but the music industry has said that those licenses would not apply to users outside of Russia."

Copyright Violations in Arms Trade Cost Russia $6Bln Per Year?— Official - MONEY - MOSNEWS.COM

Copyright Violations in Arms Trade Cost Russia $6Bln Per Year?
MOSNEWS, publication date: 5 July 2006
"Russia’s annual losses from exports of unpatented military hardware amount to $5-6 billion, the head of the Russian Federal Intellectual Property, Patent and Trademark Service (Rospatent) Boris Simonov said on Tuesday, July 4.

Speaking at a conference that dealt with legal support of the domestic defense industry, Simonov said: “Today there are no patents for protection of state interests, we deliver the samples of technology, which is not protected by copyright law.”"

Interoperability and DRM Are Mutually Exclusive

Interoperability and DRM Are Mutually Exclusive
by JOHN GRUBER
Daring Fireball,publication date: 20 June 2006
"But that’s not what the music industry wants. Yes, there exist legal download stores that sell music in MP3 format (e.g. eMusic.com) — but they don’t have content from the major record labels, because the major record labels refuse to allow their music to be sold for download without DRM. The music industry’s insistence upon DRM is what put the ITMS in the position that Apple now enjoys; the record industry is decrying a lock-in advantage that they themselves handed to Apple so they could deny their customers (i.e. us, the people who listen to music) the interoperability they now say they want."

Interoperability and DRM Are Mutually Exclusive

Interoperability and DRM Are Mutually Exclusive
by JOHN GRUBER
Daring Fireball, 20 June 2006
"But that’s not what the music industry wants. Yes, there exist legal download stores that sell music in MP3 format (e.g. eMusic.com) — but they don’t have content from the major record labels, because the major record labels refuse to allow their music to be sold for download without DRM. The music industry’s insistence upon DRM is what put the ITMS in the position that Apple now enjoys; the record industry is decrying a lock-in advantage that they themselves handed to Apple so they could deny their customers (i.e. us, the people who listen to music) the interoperability they now say they want."

AP Looks At Piracy Around The World... Misses The Real Story

AP Looks At Piracy Around The World... Misses The Real Story
by MIKE
TechDirt, publication date: 5 July 2006
"Nor does the AP bother to mention how software piracy helped boost certain aspects of the industry in China by decreasing the cost of inputs. This isn't to defend piracy -- but to note that there's a lot more to this story than what the various industry associations would have you believe. Would it be so hard for someone like the Associated Press not to take the corporate PR line, and maybe present a slightly more thoughtful set of articles? Apparently, that's too much work."

The Second Class Action Lawsuit over Microsoft's WGA

The Second Class Action Lawsuit over Microsoft's WGA
Groklaw, publication date: 5 July 2006
"Here's the thing. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a federal statute. The first litigation was under state laws. The CFAA is one of the serious, heavy-handed computer abuse laws Hollywood and other content owners dream about, designed to deal with 'pirates' and 'hackers'. And now, ironically enough, it is being applied to Microsoft, and I have to say, if all you look at is the actions and compare with the statute, it does seem to match up.

There is the disjoint that Microsoft isn't motivated like a cracker. It isn't going to sell your identity to an ID thief or put charges on your credit card or anything like that. It isn't going to post it on the internet either or cause other damage we normally would associate with the statute. But the law doesn't exactly distinguish such things. In discovery, there may be some digging to see what Microsoft was/is doing with all that data. Does it sell it to partners, for example? If it does, and it told you it was for your advantage, a necessary security update, is that fraud? Section 1030 of the Act is titled: 'Fraud and related activity in connection with computers.' The criminal penalties are significant. If you are a cracker, for example, found guilty of violating the Act, they can throw you in prison. This is civil only, so that isn't going to happen here, but it's not an insignificant thing to be accused of violating the CFAA. It's like I always say. Be careful what laws you pass, because they won't be used just the way you are thinking. Lawyers are creative."