U.S. Pursuing a Middleman in Web Piracy; New York Times, 7/12/12

Somini Sengupta, New York Times; U.S. Pursuing a Middleman in Web Piracy:

"Richard O’Dwyer, an enterprising 24-year-old college student from northern England, has found himself in the middle of a fierce battle between two of America’s great exports: Hollywood and the Internet.

At issue is a Web site he started that helped visitors find American movies and television shows online. Although the site did not serve up pirated content, American authorities say it provided links to sites that did. The Obama administration is seeking to extradite Mr. O’Dwyer from Britain on criminal charges of copyright infringement. The possible punishment: 10 years in a United States prison.

The case is the government’s most far-reaching effort so far to crack down on foreigners suspected of breaking American laws. It is unusual because it goes after a middleman, who the authorities say made a fair amount of money by pointing people to pirated content. Mr. O’Dwyer’s backers say the prosecution goes too far, squelching his free-speech right to publish links to other Web sites."

Home secretary upholds decision to extradite Richard O'Dwyer; Guardian, 7/9/12

James Ball and Alan Travis, Guardian; Home secretary upholds decision to extradite Richard O'Dwyer:

"The home secretary, Theresa May, has told the House of Commons that she will not revisit plans to extradite Sheffield Hallam student Richard O'Dwyer to the US on copyright charges, saying the decision had "already been taken".

O'Dwyer faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in a US jail for alleged copyright offences, for which the UK declined to press charges. The charges relate to a website, tvshack.net, which O'Dwyer when he was 19 and which linked to places to watch TV and films online."

Acta didn't stand a chance in the age of the social internet; Guardian, 7/5/12

Charles Arthur, Guardian; Acta didn't stand a chance in the age of the social internet:

"The dismissal of Acta, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, by the European parliament has left the treaty's opponents delighted, and its supporters – who principally work in the industries that rely on copyright and trademarks, whether virtual or physical, for their living – downhearted.

Acta's creators had the poor luck – or lack of foresight – to create their baby in what feels like the Jurassic age of the social internet. They also made the bad decision to negotiate it in secret – the sort of thing that drives conspiracy theorists wild, but which is also sure to get anyone's antennae a bit twitchy. After all, if an agreement is for everyone's good, then why do its terms have to be kept secret?"

Europe Moves to Aid Digital Music Industry; New York Times, 7/10/12

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; Europe Moves to Aid Digital Music Industry:

"The European Commission plans to introduce legislation on Wednesday to bolster the digital music market in Europe by streamlining the methods of agencies that collect royalties on behalf of copyright holders.

Michel Barnier, the internal market commissioner, is expected to propose a bill aimed at resolving problems at the 250 collecting societies that operate in the European Union, some of which are holding back growth in digital music."

Digital Notes: Grooveshark Wins a Battle, But Can It Win the War?; New York Times, 7/11/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Digital Notes: Grooveshark Wins a Battle, But Can It Win the War? :

"Grooveshark, an online service that streams millions of songs free, is fighting for its life in multiple lawsuits filed against it by the major powers of the business...

This week, Grooveshark’s parent company, Escape Media Group, won a glimmer of hope with a court decision that undercut one of the Universal Music Group’s two copyright infringement cases against it, and also opened the door for it to countersue the label for what could be millions of dollars in damages."

Judge Says Aereo, a TV Streaming Service, May Continue; New York Times, 7/11/12

Brian Stelter, New York Times; Judge Says Aereo, a TV Streaming Service, May Continue:

"One set of broadcasters, representing Fox, Tribune, Univision and PBS stations, said in a statement that the ruling asserted “that it is O.K. to misappropriate copyrighted material and retransmit it without compensation.” The stations said they would “continue to fight to protect our copyrights and expect to prevail on appeal.”"

Tech and Media Elite Are Likely to Debate Piracy; New York Times, 7/9/12

Amy Chozick, New York Times; Tech and Media Elite Are Likely to Debate Piracy:

"In the aftermath, Hollywood has increased its efforts to get online payment companies, cloud services and Internet service providers to voluntarily help curtail pirated movies, TV and music, particularly from foreign Web sites.

Months before the debates erupted in January, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, PayPal and Visa agreed on a set of best practices to reduce the sale of counterfeited pirated goods. In 2010, Yahoo, PayPal, GoDaddy, Google and others formed a nonprofit intended to combat the sale of illegal pharmaceuticals online, one issue SOPA and PIPA were initially meant to address.

The Sun Valley conference could provide a tranquil backdrop for the continued construction of a fence between media and technology.

“We thought about what’s in the long-term interest of the Internet ecosystem. And that’s a set of best practices that people feel comfortable with,” said Cary Sherman, chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America."

European Parliament Rejects Anti-Piracy Treaty; New York Times, 7/4/12

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; European Parliament Rejects Anti-Piracy Treaty:

"European legislators on Wednesday rejected an international treaty to crack down on digital piracy, a vote that Internet freedom groups hailed as a victory for democracy but that media companies lamented as a setback for the creative industries.

Foes of the treaty said the vote, by an overwhelming margin in the European Parliament at Strasbourg, would probably end the prospects of European involvement in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, which has been signed by the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea and a number of individual E.U. members."

Megaupload Founder Goes From Arrest to Cult Hero; New York Times, 7/3/12

Jonathan Hutchison, New York Times; Megaupload Founder Goes From Arrest to Cult Hero:

"The Justice Department said the individuals and two companies — Megaupload and Vestor — had been charged with “engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.”"

The Black Keys Sue Home Depot and Pizza Hut; New York Times, 6/22/12

James C. McKinley Jr., New York Times; The Black Keys Sue Home Depot and Pizza Hut:

"The Black Keys have sued both the Home Depot and Pizza Hut for copyright infringement, saying that the companies used musical elements from the band’s recent hits without permission in commercials, The Associated Press reported."

@KimDotcom Jokes of Money ‘Laundering’ and Tennis ‘Racketeering’; New York Times, 6/22/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; @KimDotcom Jokes of Money ‘Laundering’ and Tennis ‘Racketeering’ :

"Mr. Dotcom’s defense team has gotten judges in New Zealand to relax the bail restrictions against him and to order the Federal Bureau of Investigation. to turn over its files on Megaupload (that part is now under “urgent review” by another court). In the latest twist, Mr. Dotcom — who was not allowed access to the Internet when he was first released from jail — apparently has started a Twitter feed, posting photos that lightly mock his case, and announcing his return to the world of cloud storage."

Japan Passes Jail-for-Downloaders Anti-Piracy Law; Wired.com, 6/21/12

Daniel Feit, Wired.com; Japan Passes Jail-for-Downloaders Anti-Piracy Law:

"Japan’s legislature has approved a bill revising the nation’s copyright law to add criminal penalties for downloading copyrighted material or backing up content from a DVD. The penalties will come into effect in October."

Unprecedented Vote: EU Parliament Trade Committee Rejects ACTA; Intellectual Property Watch, 6/21/12

Monika Ermert, Intellectual Property Watch; Unprecedented Vote: EU Parliament Trade Committee Rejects ACTA:

"In an unprecedented move, the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) today in Brussels passed a report recommending the rejection of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Never before has INTA voted to reject a trade agreement negotiated by the Union.

With a vote of 19 to 12 (no abstentions) INTA members followed the recommendation of British MEP David Martin (S&D Party Group)."

NPR Intern Gets an Earful After Blogging About 11,000 Songs, Almost None Paid For; New York Times, 6/19/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; NPR Intern Gets an Earful After Blogging About 11,000 Songs, Almost None Paid For:

"In the NPR post, a 20-year-old intern named Emily White wrote that despite being “an avid music listener, concertgoer and college radio D.J.,” with an iTunes library of 11,000 songs, she has bought only 15 CDs in her life. “As monumental a role as musicians and albums have played in my life,” she wrote, “I’ve never invested money in them aside from concert tickets and T-shirts.”"

Fair Use, Art, Swiss Cheese and Me; New York Times, 6/16/12

Michael Rips, New York Times; Fair Use, Art, Swiss Cheese and Me:

"Patrick Cariou is not. He is an ethnographic photographer, and it is the sort of photographs he takes that have been some of the subjects of appropriation and subversion by the Pictures Generation. For this reason, the markets for Mr. Prince and Mr. Cariou are not just distinct; they are conflicting. In other words, no one heading out to purchase an ethnographic photograph by Mr. Cariou (or anyone else) was going to be diverted by the Prince show at Gagosian.

And that should be the answer to the legal question. Since Mr. Prince caused no economic injury to Mr. Cariou, despite his claims to the contrary, Mr. Prince should not be required to turn over his profits (or works)."

German court sentences founder of illegal movie downloading platform to prison term; Associated Press via Washington Post, 6/14/12

Associated Press via Washington Post; German court sentences founder of illegal movie downloading platform to prison term:

"A German court has convicted the founder of an illegal movie downloading platform of breaching copyright laws and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison."

MLA Shift on Copyright; Inside Higher Ed, 6/6/12

Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed; MLA Shift on Copyright:

"Literary scholars on Twitter were offering praise Tuesday for an announcement by the Modern Language Association that it is adopting a new author agreement for its journals (including the flagship PMLA) that will leave copyright with authors, enabling them to post versions in open access repositories, or on individual or departmental websites. The reactions included "Fantastic," "Great open access news," "very cool and important" and "a watershed [for open access] in the humanities?""

French Publisher Group Strikes Deal With Google Over E-Books; New York Times, 6/11/12

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; French Publisher Group Strikes Deal With Google Over E-Books:

"The French Publishers Association and the Société des Gens de Lettres, an authors’ group, dropped lawsuits in which they contended that Google’s book scanning in France violated copyright. Google agreed to set up a “framework” agreement under which publishers would be able to offer digital versions of their works for Google to sell...

Other digital book initiatives are under way in France; the Parliament recently passed a law authorizing the French National Library to scan so-called orphan works — out-of-print books whose copyright holder cannot be found — for an openly available digital repository. Orphan works would be automatically included unless the rights holders objected within six months."

EU Negotiators Tentatively Agree On Plan For Orphan Works; Intellectual Property Watch, 6/9/12

Dugie Standeford, Intellectual Property Watch; EU Negotiators Tentatively Agree On Plan For Orphan Works:

"The measure will give European libraries, archives, film heritage institutions, public broadcasters and other organisations the appropriate legal framework to enable them to provide online, cross-border access to their collections, including orphan works, Barnier said. Greater legal security could boost funding of digitisation projects, he said."

Gershwin Shows’ Tonys Fuel Plans for a Musical; New York Times, 6/14/12

Patrick Healy, New York Times; Gershwin Shows’ Tonys Fuel Plans for a Musical:

"Over the last year the trustees — mostly nephews and grandnephews of George and Ira — have been called greedy, unsophisticated and insensitive to the artistic integrity of the brothers’ work: essentially, that they were cashing in on the music before their copyrights expired. While the famous opera songs from “Porgy and Bess” will be available in the public domain in about two decades, the musical version of “Porgy and Bess” is its own licensable property that can generate income for Gershwin relatives for decades, as will the separate license for the other new Gershwin songbook musical on Broadway, “Nice Work if You Can Get It.”"

Libraries Are Not The Same as Manga Scanlation Sites; About.com

Robin Brenner, About.com; Libraries Are Not The Same as Manga Scanlation Sites:

"To stop this nonsense once and for all, I asked librarian, author and blogger Robin Brenner to explain why borrowing and reading manga from a library isn't the same as reading illegal, scanned versions of the same books. Here's her breakdown on the four reasons why libraries aren't the same as scanlation websites."

Lawyers in ‘Spider-Man’ Battle Spin Their Early Arguments; New York Times, 6/1/12

Patrick Healy, New York Times; Lawyers in ‘Spider-Man’ Battle Spin Their Early Arguments:

"Lawyers for the Broadway producers of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” argued in federal court on Friday that the musical’s former director, Julie Taymor, had borrowed so many ideas from Spider-Man superhero lore that she was not entitled to copyright protection for her initial three-page script outline for the musical, which features characters and subplots from Spider-Man comics and movies. Ms. Taymor’s lawyers, who regard the outline as crucial to her copyright claims and battle for more than $1 million from the producers, countered that the document reflected what they termed originality and the singular vision that she had demonstrated as the Tony Award-winning director of “The Lion King.”"

Judge Allows Class-Action Suit Over Google’s Book Scanning; New York Times, 5/31/12

Julie Bosman, New York Times; Judge Allows Class-Action Suit Over Google’s Book Scanning:

"A federal judge in Manhattan granted class-action status on Thursday to authors suing Google over the company’s ambitious book-scanning project, allowing the long-stalled case to move forward...

James Grimmelmann, a professor at New York Law School who has studied the legal aspects of the case, said the judge’s decision “makes it very likely that we’re going to have a very high-stakes decision about Google’s book-scanning project.”"

Daddy, What Were Compact Discs?; New York Times, 5/30/12

Sam Grobart, New York Times; Daddy, What Were Compact Discs? :

"ONE day, when my children are a little older, I will gather them close and I will tell them about how I lived through the Great Format Wars.

I will recount to them a seemingly endless cycle of battles. From LP to cassette to minidisk (oh wait — not to minidisk) to CD. From Betamax to VHS to DVD to HD-DVD to Blu-ray. From punchcards to magnetic tape to floppy disks to zip drives to DVD-ROMs."

Libraries Grapple With The Downside Of E-Books; NPR's Morning Edition, 5/29/12

Ben Bradford, NPR's Morning Edition; Libraries Grapple With The Downside Of E-Books:

"BRADFORD: Another problem is that almost all U.S. libraries that offer e-books do so through an outside company called Overdrive. And libraries don't actually buy the e-books. They're in a way renting them. Here's Tom Galante, who runs the Queens Library.

GALANTE: When you license content through them, you really aren't owning the content. Every year you have to pay them to continue to have that subscription service or you lose your content that you've already paid for.

BRADFORD: If a library stops using Overdrive, it could lose all the books it's licensed through the company. Robert Wolven heads an American Library Association group that's trying to develop a new model - one that that publishers would buy into and would eliminate middlemen."

Google Publishes Data on Copyright Removal Requests; PCMag.com, 5/24/12

Chloe Albanesius, PCMag.com; Google Publishes Data on Copyright Removal Requests:

"Google today announced plans to disclose the number of copyright-related takedown requests it receives on a daily basis.

The search giant today released information dating back to July 2011 and said it will update the data every day. "The number of requests has been increasing rapidly," Fred von Lohmann, Google's senior copyright counsel, said in a blog post. "These days it's not unusual for us to receive more than 250,000 requests each week, which is more than what copyright owners asked us to remove in all of 2009.""

UCSF Implements Policy to Make Research Papers Freely Accessible to Public; University of California San Francisco, 5/23/12

Kristen Bole, University of California San Francisco; UCSF Implements Policy to Make Research Papers Freely Accessible to Public:

"The UCSF Academic Senate has voted to make electronic versions of current and future scientific articles freely available to the public, helping to reverse decades of practice on the part of medical and scientific journal publishers to restrict access to research results.

The unanimous vote of the faculty senate makes UCSF the largest scientific institution in the nation to adopt an open-access policy and among the first public universities to do so.

“Our primary motivation is to make our research available to anyone who is interested in it, whether they are members of the general public or scientists without costly subscriptions to journals,” said Richard A. Schneider, PhD, chair of the UCSF Academic Senate Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication, who spearheaded the initiative at UCSF. “The decision is a huge step forward in eliminating barriers to scientific research,” he said. “By opening the currently closed system, this policy will fuel innovation and discovery, and give the taxpaying public free access to oversee their investments in research.”"

'Canal Zone' Collages Test The Meaning Of 'Fair Use'; NPR's All Things Considered, 5/16/12

Joel Rose, NPR's All Things Considered; 'Canal Zone' Collages Test The Meaning Of 'Fair Use' :

"Richard Prince is an art world superstar. His paintings sell for millions, and many hang in the world's great museums. But one recent series of works cannot be shown in public — at least, not lawfully. Last year, a judge found Prince liable for copyright infringement for using the photographs of another artist without permission. A federal court in New York is set to hear Prince's appeal Monday, and the outcome of that appeal could have major implications for the art world and beyond."

Free Webinar by TLT Group: Cable Green, Creative Commons, Thursday, May 24, 2012 2 PM EDT

"FridayLive! ON A THURSDAY! May 24 Copyright: Cable Green, Creative Commons:

Guest: Cable Green, Director of Global Learning, Creative Commons"

Free Webcast by Association of Research Libraries (ARL) on Georgia State University e-Reserves Case: Thursday, May 24, 2012 2 PM EDT

"Register Now for ARL Webcast on GSU Decision:

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is holding a webcast on Thursday, May 24, from 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET, on the substance and implications of the recent decision in the lawsuit over Georgia State University's (GSU) e-reserves program. Brandon Butler, ARL Director of Public Policy Initiatives, and Jonathan Band (policybandwidth) will recap the basic facts of the case and the key holdings in the decision, discuss the possible next steps in the litigation, and suggest some of the possible consequences for libraries making their own decisions about how best to implement a fair use policy in the context of course reserves.

To register for this free webcast, please visit http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=87299

To read ARL's Issue Brief on the GSU decision, visit http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/gsu_issuebrief_15may12.pdf."

Federal Judge Strikes Down California’s Art Royalties Law; New York Times, 5/21/12

Patricia Cohen, New York Times; Federal Judge Strikes Down California’s Art Royalties Law:

"A federal district judge has struck down as unconstitutional a California law that gave artists a part of the profits when their work is resold...

Artists in most of the United States have long complained that unlike composers, filmmakers or writers, they do not receive a share of any future sales — known by the French expression droit de suite — under copyright law."

Supreme Court Passes on File-Sharing Case, but Still No End Is in Sight; New York Times, 5/21/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Supreme Court Passes on File-Sharing Case, but Still No End Is in Sight:

"The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in one of the record industry’s longest-running cases over unauthorized file-sharing.

The court effectively let stand a jury’s $675,000 damages award against Joel Tenenbaum, a former Boston University student who admitted to downloading some 30 songs on the unlicensed file-sharing service Kazaa."

Georgia State Copyright Case: What You Need To Know—and What It Means for E-Reserves; LibraryJournal.com, 5/17/12

Meredith Schwartz, LibraryJournal.com; Georgia State Copyright Case: What You Need To Know—and What It Means for E-Reserves:

"One of the most closely watched e-reserve cases in recent memory came to an end—though an appeal is still possible—on May 11, when Judge Orinda Evans of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in Cambridge University Press (CUP); Oxford University Press (OUP); Sage Publications v. Georgia State University (GSU). The case alleged copyright infringement in GSU’s e-reserves, and in essence the judge came down on the side of libraries in a 350-page decision delivered almost a year after she heard closing arguments.


Of the 75 cases of alleged infringement she considered, Judge Evans held five to be infringement. The rest were either held to be fair use, or the question did not arise, because the copying was held to be de minimis—when virtually no one actually read the posted work—or because the publishers did not demonstrate to the court’s satisfaction that they had standing to make the claim."

Google, Author’s Guild Clash Over Class Action and Standing; LibraryJournal.com, 15/10/12

Meredith Schwartz, LibraryJournal.com; Google, Author’s Guild Clash Over Class Action and Standing:

"Judge Chin heard oral argument in the Google Books case on May 4 and ultimately reserved decision. The parties will go ahead with their summary judgment motions, with oral argument scheduled for September."

Beastie Boys Face New Suit Over Sampling; New York Times, 5/8/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Beastie Boys Face New Suit Over Sampling:

"In the suit, filed in United States District Court in Manhattan, TufAmerica, the company that controls the rights to Trouble Funk’s music, says it found that the Beastie Boys had used pieces of the group’s songs “Say What” (from 1982) and “Drop the Bomb” (from 1985). These samples were so fully integrated into the Beastie Boys’ music, the suit claims, that they are undetectable to a casual listeners, and that “only after a careful audio analysis” was TufAmerica able to find the sample. The suit seeks unspecified damages."

CBS Sues ABC Over 'Big Brother'-Type Reality Show 'Glass House'; Hollywood Reporter, 5/10/12

Matthew Belloni, Hollywood Reporter; CBS Sues ABC Over 'Big Brother'-Type Reality Show 'Glass House' :

"CBS has followed through on its threat last week to bring a legal action against ABC over the planned reality show Life in a Glass House. CBS believes the show is a "carbon copy" ripoff of its Big Brother and is being produced by a team that formerly worked on the long-running hit series.

A source tells The Hollywood Reporter that the lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. In the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by THR, CBS alleges causes of action for copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, among others."

Village People Singer Wins a Legal Battle in Fight to Reclaim Song Rights; New York Times, 5/8/12

Larry Rohter, New York Times; Village People Singer Wins a Legal Battle in Fight to Reclaim Song Rights:

"In a court ruling with significant implications for the music industry, a California judge has dismissed a suit by two song publishing companies aimed at preventing Victor Willis, former lead singer of the 1970s disco group the Village People, from exercising his right to reclaim ownership of “YMCA” and other hit songs he wrote.

Early last year, Mr. Willis invoked a provision of copyright law called “termination rights,” which gives recording artists and songwriters the ability to reacquire and administer their work themselves after 35 years have elapsed."

A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts; New York Times, 5/16/12

Brian Stelter, New York Times; A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts:

"Mitch Stoltz, a staff lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued against the network suit a decade ago, said, “Giving customers the ability to skip commercials automatically may be a business problem for the TV networks but it’s not a clear copyright violation.

“Unfortunately, the damages that copyright law allows are so high that threatening litigation can create a lot of leverage in negotiations, so that copyright can act as a veto on innovation.”"

FREE Copyright Webinars: Friday, May 18th & Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Free Webinars on Copyright:

1] Free Webinar > Copyright: Kenneth Crews, Columbia University > May 18 2012 > 2 PM - 3PM (ET)

[ http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2012/05/free-webinar-copyright-kenneth-crews.html ]


2] Free Webinar > Hot Issues in Fair Use and Copyright!> May 22 2012 > 1:00 PM (ET)

Brandon Butler, Association of Research Libraries >

[ http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2012/05/webinar-hot-issues-in-fair-use-and.html ]

Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/14/12

Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education; Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling: "The publisher plaintiffs in the closely watched lawsuit over Georgia State University's use of copyrighted material in electronic reserves say they are "disappointed" with much of the ruling handed down by a federal judge on Friday. But they made the best of it in statements issued Monday, playing up points on which the judge had agreed with them. And one plaintiff, Oxford University Press, said that the decision "marks a significant first step toward addressing the need for clarity around issues of copyright in the context of higher education.""

At 92, Bandit to Hollywood but Hero to Soldiers; New York Times, 4/26/12

Alan Schwarz, New York Times; At 92, Bandit to Hollywood but Hero to Soldiers: "“Big Hy” — his handle among many loyal customers — would almost certainly be cast as Hollywood Enemy No. 1 but for a few details. He is actually Hyman Strachman, a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the United States military presence in those regions dwindling, Big Hy Strachman will live on in many soldiers’ hearts as one of the war’s more shadowy heroes. “It’s not the right thing to do, but I did it,” Mr. Strachman said, acknowledging that his actions violated copyright law."

Music Film Is Delayed by Fees for Songs; New York Times, 4/25/12

Larry Rohter, New York Times; Music Film Is Delayed by Fees for Songs: "But there’s just one problem, and it has held up commercial release of “The Wrecking Crew” since 2008, when the documentary made its debut at the South by Southwest film festival. The film includes dozens of snippets from songs the Wrecking Crew played on, but the record companies that own the recordings want so much money from Mr. Tedesco, whose total budget was less than $1 million, that he has turned to a fund-raising campaign, including an event scheduled for New York in mid-June, to meet their demands."

Art Is Long; Copyrights Can Even Be Longer; New York Times, 4/24/12

Patricia Cohen, New York Times; Art Is Long; Copyrights Can Even Be Longer: "Artists’ copyright is frequently misunderstood. Even if a painting (or drawing or photograph) has been sold to a collector or a museum, in general, the artist or his heirs retain control of the original image for 70 years after the artist’s death. Think of a novel. You may own a book, but you don’t own the writer’s words; they remain the intellectual property of the author for a time. So while MoMA owns the actual canvas of “Les Demoiselles,” the family of Picasso, who died in 1973, still owns the image. And under existing law, the estate will continue to own the copyright until 2043. If someone wants to reproduce the painting — on a Web site, a calendar, a T-shirt, or in a film — it is the estate that must give its permission, not the museum. That is why, despite the expansion, Google Art Project still does not contain a single Picasso."

High court steps into key online copyright case; Salt Lake Tribune via Associated Press, 4/16/12

Mark Sherman, Salt Lake Tribune; High court steps into key online copyright case:

"The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a copyright case with important implications for the large and growing markets in discount and Internet sales...

The issue at the Supreme Court is whether U.S. copyright protection applies to items that are made abroad, purchased abroad and then resold in the U.S. without the permission of the manufacturer. The high court split 4-4 when it tried to answer that question in a case in 2010 involving Costco and Swiss watch maker Omega."

Warner Bros. Claims "Significant Victory" In Superman Lawsuit; ComicBookResources.com, 4/17/12

ComicBookResources.com; Warner Bros. Claims "Significant Victory" In Superman Lawsuit:

"In a significant victory for Warner Bros. in its lengthy and increasingly bitter battle over the rights to the Man of Steel, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the attorney representing the estates of Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster must turn over documents stolen from his office in 2008.

The sensitive papers, which lawyer Marc Toberoff had argued were protected by attorney-client privilege, were taken from his office by disgruntled former associate David Michaels and delivered anonymously to Warner Bros. in December 2008."

A Film’s Superheroes Include the Director; New York Times, 4/12

Dvae Itzkoff, New York Times; A Film’s Superheroes Include the Director:

"With a cast overflowing with stars like Robert Downey Jr. (who reprises his role as the reckless billionaire Tony Stark and his alter ego, Iron Man), Samuel L. Jackson (as the law-enforcement agent Nick Fury) and Scarlett Johansson (the superspy Black Widow); a roster of copyrighted characters that are now loyal subjects of the Walt Disney empire; and a budget of more than $220 million “The Avengers” would seem like the epitome of the blockbuster summer movie: flashy, corporate and above all, big."

Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement; Educause, 4/4/12

Joan Cheverie, Educause; Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement:

"On Friday, March 31, 2012, the White House issued its Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement. The 130-page document outlines the Administration’s achievements in and strategies for protecting intellectual property in 2011. Released annually and bearing the seal of the Obama administration's Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, the report notes the steps taken to implement the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. (See earlier blog for background information.)"

A Boss for ‘Six Strikes’ Copyright Enforcement; New York Times, 4/3/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; A Boss for ‘Six Strikes’ Copyright Enforcement:

"Last summer, Internet service providers and entertainment trade groups agreed to a “six strikes” plan for controlling online piracy — a system of escalating pokes, prods and throttled Internet access for users suspected of infringing copyrights.

A new group, the Center for Copyright Information, was set up to put the plan into effect. On Monday the group finally named an executive director and four board members, earning approving if still skeptical nods from some observers."

Appeals Court Revives Viacom Suit Against YouTube; New York Times, 4/5/12

Brian Stelter, New York Times; Appeals Court Revives Viacom Suit Against YouTube:

"A federal appeals court on Thursday reversed a lower court’s decision to throw out a $1 billion lawsuit filed against YouTube by Viacom and other media companies five years ago.

The copyright infringement suit, which has become a symbol of the clash between entrenched media companies and the upstarts that compete with them, sought damages for unauthorized video clips from shows like “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” that had been uploaded by users to YouTube."

The Apple ebook price-fixing lawsuit has terrifying implications; Guardian, 4/13/12

Alison Flood, Guardian; The Apple ebook price-fixing lawsuit has terrifying implications:

"The DoJ lawsuit plays, it seems to me, right into the hands of Amazon. Yes, we'll have cheaper books, but at what cost? Is it worth paying a little bit less for a title if it threatens the future existence of the publishers who are bringing us the books? Or will we be happy getting everything we read from a vastly reduced pool of presses?"