First Sale Victory in Vernor

First Sale Victory in Vernor
by WILLIAM PATRY
Patry Copyright Blog, publication date: 22 May 2008

"...Judge Jones found that the transactions were legal. To do so, he had to wade through a thicket of court of appeals' opinions, ultimately siding with a 1977 opinion, United States v. Wise, 550 F.2d 1180, over more recent opinions such as MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer Inc., 991 F.2d 511 (9th Cir. 1993), which had touched on the issue briefly in a different context, the Section 117 archival and back-up copy privilege. I think Judge Roberts correct on all counts, and admire greatly his willingness to engage in a close reading of cases while keeping the commonsense nature of the issue foremost."

Microsoft news: confirms a broadcast flag, announces ODF support, drops book program

A very interesting week for Microsoft news: confirms a broadcast flag, announces ODF support, drops book program
Microsoft confirms Windows adheres to broadcast flag
by Greg Sandoval
CNet News, publication date:18 May 2008

Open-Source File Format Is to Be a Part of Microsoft Office
by Kevin O'Brien
The New York Times, publication date:22 May 2008 (and additional coverage at Groklaw & Internet News, plus the release from Microsoft)

Microsoft's Live Search scraps book digitization project
by Caroline McCarthy
CNet News, publication date:23 May 2008
Post announcing the discontinuation at the blog of the Live Search team at Microsoft

Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune

Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune
by SAUL HANSELL
Bits blog, The New York Times, publication date: 7 May 2008
"Late Tuesday afternoon I reached J. B. Perrette, the president of digital distribution for NBC Universal, to ask why NBC found Microsoft’s video store more appealing than Apple’s.

He explained that NBC, like most studios, would like the broadest distribution possible for its programming. But it has two disputes with Apple.

First, Apple insists that all TV shows have an identical wholesale price so that it can sell all of them at $1.99. NBC wants to sell its programs for whatever price it chooses.

Second, Apple refused to cooperate with NBC on building filters into its iPod player to remove pirated movies and videos.

Microsoft, by contrast, will accept NBC’s pricing scheme and will work with it to try to develop a copyright “cop” to be installed on its devices."

Patry: Fair Use, the Three-Step Test, and the Counter-Reformation

Patry: Fair Use, the Three-Step Test, and the Counter-Reformation
by WILLIAM PATRY
The Patry Copyright Blog, publication date: 2 April 2008
"The counter-reformation movement is presently at the stage of a whispering campaign, in which ministries in countries are told that fair use (and by extension possible liberal fair dealing provisions) violate the "three-step" test."

Viacom loses punitive damages bid against Google

Viacom loses punitive damages bid against Google
REUTERS
, publication date: 11 March 2008
"Viacom sued Google a year ago for copyright infringement on its popular YouTube online video sharing service."

On being busy

A note from your editor: I am hoping to pick up the volume of postings here on Current Copyright Readings within the next month or so, but have also started a copyright blog with colleagues over at NUL Copyright. This blog has really been a clip blog since it started, but we're trying to be a little more chatty there.

Please stay tuned...

Dec 13 Hearing on H.R. 4279, the “Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007”

Dec 13 Hearing on H.R. 4279, the “Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007”
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Courts, Internet and Intellectual Property.
Link to the bill summary and status on Thomas.gov

Seeking copyright parity

Seeking copyright parity
by PAUL SWEETING
Video Business, publication date:7 December 2007
"“[I]t seems clear that it is nothing more than a vehicle to enable the five major media companies to further harass and persecute Americans,” LiveDigital’s Jeremy Toeman wrote in a widely linked open letter to House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Perhaps most significant, however, was who wasn’t more critical.

The Digital Freedom Campaign, for instance, which includes the Consumer Electronics Assn., the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other frequent critics of the DMCA and other recent efforts at copyright “enhancement,” was relatively muted in its response."

Congress' copyright reform: seize computers, boost penalties, spend money

Congress' copyright reform: seize computers, boost penalties, spend money
by NATE ANDERSON
Ars Technica, publication date: 6 December 2007
"In addition to strengthening both civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement, the big development here is the proposed creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER)."

Oregon: Ground Zero in fight between RIAA, alleged music pirates?

Oregon: Ground Zero in fight between RIAA, alleged music pirates?
by Jaikumar Vijayan
Computer World, publication date: 30 November 2007
"The state Attorney General's office this week filed an appeal in U.S. District Court in Oregon calling for an immediate investigation of the evidence presented by the RIAA when it subpoenaed the identities of 17 students at the University of Oregon who allegedly infringed music copyrights. It is the second time in a month that Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers has resisted attempts by the RIAA to force the university to turn over the names of individuals it says shared music illegally."

Conditions for the Digital Library of Alexandria

Conditions for the Digital Library of Alexandria
by FRANK PASQUALE
madisonian.net, publication date: 23 November 2007
"Given the diciness of the fair use case for projects like Google Book Search, courts should condition the legality of such archiving of copyrighted content on universal access to the contents of the resulting database. Landmark cases like Sony v. Universal have set a precedent for taking such broad public interests into account in the course of copyright litigation."

See also: interesting reply by James Grimmelman to the version of this post on Concurring Opinions

Amazon-sized egos? Kindle reader to shun IDPF e-book standard? And, yes, the ugly box is the FINAL design

Amazon-sized egos? Kindle reader to shun IDPF e-book standard? And, yes, the ugly box is the FINAL design
by DAVID ROTHMAN
Publishers Weekly blog, publication date: 17 November 2007
"Of course, the core format is just part of the fun. Current .epub standards do not provide for DRM interoperability among vendors, without which .epub compatibility at the consumer level will mean squat if “protection” is used. And what about the same concept in regard to Mobipocket itself? Is it possible that Amazon will use Mobi on the Kindle but with one-of-a-kind DRM for the machine? I’d hope not."

Copyright Catastrophe?

Copyright Catastrophe?
by Joy Austria and AJ Hannah
First Monday, publication date: September 2007
An interview with Siva Vaidhyanathan, a strong critic of the “Googlization” of libraries and copyright law. Mr. Vaidhyanathan, argues that Google’s library-scanning project could cause a copyright catastrophe by casting doubt on fair-use doctrine. (The interview is available as a podcast and as a written transcript.)

SPARC letter to members on the PRISM anti-open access effort

SPARC letter to members on the PRISM anti-open access effort
by HEATHER JOSEPH
Association of Research Libraries, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), publication date: 6 September 2007
"This campaign is clearly focused on the preservation of the status quo in scholarly publishing, (along with the attendant revenues), and not on ensuring that scientific research results are distributed and used as widely as possible. The launch of this initiative provides a timely opportunity for engaging faculty members, researchers, students and administrators in dialogue on important issues in scholarly communications.

To assist in this conversation, the Association of Research Libraries has prepared a series of talking points that explicitly address each of the PRISM messages listed above. These very useful talking points can be found at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/issue-brief-aap-pr-prism.pdf."

HD VMD to Battle Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD

HD VMD to Battle Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD
by ALAN STAFFORD
PC World, publication date: 8 September 2007
"At the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) trade show in Denver, a company promoting a new high-definition optical disc format demonstrated set-top players and high-definition movies that cost far less than ones that use the competing Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD formats. The only faux pas: Arriving late to a two-party format war that consumers are already reluctant to support.

Next month, New Medium Enterprises' 1080p set-top players, which use the HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format, will go on sale..."

The First Close Look at Colleges' Digital Pirates

The First Close Look at Colleges' Digital Pirates
by BROCK READ
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required), publication date: 7 September 2007
Ms. Elzy and Mr. Arbogast wanted financial support from the industry, and they got it. The Digital Citizen Project, as Illinois State calls it, has benefited from considerable entertainment-industry financing, including an influx ofseveral hundred thousand dollars that came shortly after the meeting. . Later, Illinois State secured promises that the information the university collects will not be used to prosecute students.

So the university opened up its campus network, collecting never-before-seen data on what files students were swapping and how they share them. It has started to survey students' opinions on copyright, hoping that a scholarly study will reveal how they can be persuaded not to download illegally. It is also working to create a sort of Consumer Reports for antipiracy tools, testing both legal downloading services and technology designed to block peer-to-peer file sharing.

Higher ed institutions copyright policy requirement introduced in draft legislation amending Title 20

Copyright policy requirement introduced in draft legislation amending Title 20
Bill summary via THOMAS, passed in Senate 7/24/07, received in House 7/26/07

The extension of the Higher Education Act of 1965 includes proposed changes to section 1092, Institutional and financial assistance information for students (this is a link to the text as it reads now). Adds a new requirement that institutions include copyright policies in the information disseminated annually to students. The text of the proposed addition:
`(P) institutional policies and sanctions related to copyright infringement, including--

`(i) an annual disclosure that explicitly informs students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject the students to civil and criminal liabilities;

`(ii) a summary of the penalties for violation of Federal copyright laws;

`(iii) a description of the institution's policies with respect to unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, including disciplinary actions that are taken against students who engage in unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials using the institution's information technology system; and

`(iv) a description of actions that the institution takes to prevent and detect unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material on the institution's information technology system;'

[updated 8/11/07 5:43pmCT to correct House/Senate action dates]

Copycrime bill raises its ugly head, again

Copycrime bill raises its ugly head, again
Electronic Frontier Foundation publication date: 26 July 2007
"Two months ago, the Justice Department floated draft legislation to expand the scope of, and stiffen the penalties for, criminal copyright infringement, and now a related bill has been introduced in the House."

Apple patent for charger DRM

Apple patent for charger DRM
by MAT LU
The Unofficial Apple Weblog, publication date: 21 July 2007
According to the New Scientist, Apple has filed for a patent on a new security measure for mobile devices. Basically, it involves locking a mobile device to a particular charging cable so that if it's stolen, it won't recharge when plugged into another cable.

Readin', Rattin', 'Rithmetic: RIAA wants colleges and universities to do their dirty work

Readin', Rattin', 'Rithmetic: RIAA wants colleges and universities to do their dirty work
by SHERWIN SIY
Public Knowledge, publication date: 20 July 2007
EDUCAUSE points us to this amendment, to be proposed by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). (EDUCAUSE’s take on the measure is posted below.) It conditions federal money for colleges on colleges putting DRM on their networks and compiling reports on these measures for the Secretary of Education. It also calls for the Secretary to report on which colleges get the most accusations of infringement from copyright holders.