Friday, December 31, 2010

E-Books Outsell Paper Books On Barnes & Noble's Online Store; AP/Huffington Post, 12/30/10

AP/Huffinton Post; E-Books Outsell Paper Books On Barnes & Noble's Online Store:

"Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. on Thursday said its line of Nook e-reading devices are the biggest-selling items in its history, and added it sold nearly 1 million e-books on Christmas Day."

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Uncertainty About 'Fair Use' Is Hurting Academic and Research Libraries, ARL Report Says; Library Journal, 12/28/10

Michael Kelley, Library Journal; Uncertainty About 'Fair Use' Is Hurting Academic and Research Libraries, ARL Report Says:

"A lack of consensus about how to apply the fair use provision of copyright law is consistently impairing the mission of academic and research libraries, according to a new report.

The report, released December 20 by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), concludes that librarians often feel ill-equipped to make decisions about fair use and increasingly have as their primary goal avoiding litigation and harm to their institution, regardless of what the law allows and what the user community needs."

Oracle Owed Interest by SAP in Infringement Case, Judge Rules; Bloomberg, 12/29/10

Joel Rosenblatt, Bloomberg; Oracle Owed Interest by SAP in Infringement Case, Judge Rules:

"Oracle Corp. must be paid interest on the $1.3 billion copyright-infringement jury verdict it won against SAP AG last month, a federal judge said."

Righthaven responds to fair use defense in suit; Miami Herald, 12/27/10

Miami Herald; Righthaven responds to fair use defense in suit:

"A company suing websites on behalf of the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal says an Oregon nonprofit that helps immigrants isn't exempt from copyright laws."

Looking at the cloud from both sides now; Los Angeles Times, 12/28/10

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times; Looking at the cloud from both sides now:

"I recognize that one can't "own" a Kindle book any more than one can own a cat. One can only "license" the book — on terms that are part of a 2,000-word user agreement. The agreement allows a licensee to keep a permanent copy of the book and view it an unlimited number of times. But it also encrusts every book with restrictions on what else can be done with it, including how many reading devices it can be installed on at a time.

These restrictions only proliferate. In a famous example, the terms of use of a digital version of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" included: "This book cannot be read aloud." The digital publisher also tried to limit how many pages of the text a user could print in a given time period. The author's copyright on "Alice," it should be noted, expired in 1907."

GEMA Music Collection Society No Longer Will Let Kindergartens Get Away With Teaching Music For Free; TechDirt, 12/30/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; GEMA Music Collection Society No Longer Will Let Kindergartens Get Away With Teaching Music For Free:

"We've discussed a few times how the German music collection society GEMA often appears to be one of the worst of the worst when it comes to copyright maximalism."

Google Streamlining its Approach to Digital Copyright; Wired.com, 12/2/10

Sam Gustin, Wired.com; Google Streamlining its Approach to Digital Copyright:

"As the battle over intellectual property and online piracy heats up, web titan Google is announcing some significant changes to the way it deals with copyright infringement on its ubiquitous search engine."

Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2010: Copyright Fights, ACTA, Medicines Access; Intellectual Property Watch, 12/30/10

William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch; Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2010: Copyright Fights, ACTA, Medicines Access:

"At Intellectual Property Watch, a list of the top 25 posts of 2010 reveals your – our readers’ – top interests of the past year.

The clear winner in terms of frequency on the list was the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), as about a third of the top stories dealt with that treaty in the headline and several more indirectly. But the top two on the list were articles about the ongoing struggle to balance the push by copyright holders for greater protection in the digital environment with the push to ensure that knowledge may be accessed by the maximum number of people. Given that stories about enforcement far outnumber stories about new ideas to spread open access or to generate revenue, one might conclude that enforcement may be the core business model for many."

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

50 Cent Named In NY Copyright Infringement Lawsuit; NPR, 12/15/10

NPR; 50 Cent Named In NY Copyright Infringement Lawsuit:

"Lawyers for Tyrone Simmons, an Atlanta rapper who goes by "Caliber," filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn."

Viacom Replays Copyright Claims In YouTube Appeal; NPR, 12/3/10

NPR; Viacom Replays Copyright Claims In YouTube Appeal:

"Viacom Inc., the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, is trying to revive a federal lawsuit that seeks more than $1 billion in damages from YouTube for showing tens of thousands of pirated video clips from its shows."

[Podcast] They Say That I Stole This; NPR's On the Media, 12/24/10

NPR's On the Media; They Say That I Stole This:

"Twenty years ago a series of lawsuits criminalized the hip-hop sampling of artists like Hank Shocklee and Public Enemy. And yet, two decades later, artists like Girl Talk have found success breaking those same sampling laws. OTM producer Jamie York talks to Girl Talk, Shocklee and Duke Law professor James Boyle about two decades of sampling - on both sides of the law."

Watch out Big Content—RapidShare has hired a lobbying firm; ArsTechnica.com, 12/28/10

Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica.com; Watch out Big Content—RapidShare has hired a lobbying firm:

"The registration form that RapidShare filed with the government makes it pretty clear what the three lobbyists the company has hired will be focusing on: "Develop and implement a coordinated government affairs/public relations program for RapidShare targeted at Congress, the Administration and the media to help counter negative attacks on the company from US copyright interests.""

Cheaters Find an Adversary in Technology; New York Times, 12/28/10

Trip Gabriel, New York Times; Cheaters Find an Adversary in Technology:

"For the Law School Admission Council, which administers the LSAT four times a year to a total of more than 140,000 people, Caveon patrols the Internet looking for leaked questions on sites it calls “brain dumps,” where students who have just taken an exam discuss it openly.

“There’s all kinds of stuff on the blogs after the test trying to guess which stuff will show up in the future; there’s a whole cottage industry,” said Wendy Margolis, a spokeswoman for the council.

Caveon, which declined to reveal what it charges clients, sends letters to the people who operate those Web sites requiring them to take down the material under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Creative Cocktail: A Guest Post; New York Times, 12/23/10

New York Times; The Creative Cocktail: A Guest Post:

"Kal Raustiala, a professor at UCLA Law School and the UCLA International Institute, and Chris Sprigman, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School, are experts in counterfeiting and intellectual property. They have been guest-blogging for us about copyright issues. This week, they write about the role of copyright in cocktails."

Porn site: publicizing takedown notices is copyright infringement; ArsTechnica.com, 12/23/10

David Kravets, ArsTechinca.com; Porn site: publicizing takedown notices is copyright infringement:

"...Perfect 10 alleges Google’s forwarding of Perfect 10’s takedown notices to the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse website constitutes copyright infringement."

[Editorial] China and Intellectual Property; New York Times, 12/24/10

[Editorial] New York Times; China and Intellectual Property:

"The United States has made some progress at the World Trade Organization against the theft of intellectual property in China. But it must be much more vigilant and aggressive."

Avatar Tops List as Most Pirated Movie of 2010; Tech Week, 12/25/10

Tech Week; Avatar Tops List as Most Pirated Movie of 2010:

"According to a file-sharing blog, the classic blockbuster Avatar has turned out to be the most illegally copied movie of 2010. It is also the highest-grossing film ever as it earned $2.8 bn (£1.8bn) in the world wide box office."

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Split Decision Settles Few Questions in Supreme Court Copyright Case; Library Journal, 12/16/10

Josh Hadro, Library Journal; Split Decision Settles Few Questions in Supreme Court Copyright Case:

"What happens to library acquisitions now that the Supreme Court has issued a 4-4 split ruling [PDF] in the case of Costco v. Omega, a case library advocates were worried could stymie the lending of some 200 million foreign-made titles? The answer, at least for now, is business as usual—until the court takes up another copyright case, or Congress intervenes.

The split ruling—a result of Associate Justice Elena Kagan's recusal on account of her previous role as Solicitor General—in effect upholds the Ninth Circuit's ruling that the "first sale" doctrine does not apply to goods manufactured outside the country without setting nationwide precedent."

Sunday, December 19, 2010

US Ambassador: Over-Focus On Development “Will Kill” WIPO; Intellectual Property Watch, 12/17/10

William New, Intellectual Property Watch; US Ambassador: Over-Focus On Development “Will Kill” WIPO:

"There are two sides to the argument, and [US Ambassador Betty] King took the copyright holder side, indicating that while access is desirable, the denial or abrogation of book authors’ rights “would eventually mean we will never have a book.”

She also referred to the US bringing musician Stevie Wonder – who is visually impaired -to WIPO earlier this autumn (IPW, Copyright Policy, 20 September 2010), and that his message was he wants people to have access but he also values the importance of royalties to the creators. “We have to maintain certain procedures to continue to get movies and books and all of that,” she concluded."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/12/17/us-ambassador-over-focus-on-development-will-kill-wipo/

School librarians: Headed for the history books?; Minneapolis Star Tribune, 12/11/10

Daarel Burnette II, Minneapolis Star Tribune; School librarians: Headed for the history books?:

""Everything has been impacted by technology," said Nancy Walton, the director of Minnesota's State Library Services. "Students need to know how to go online to use it safely, use it appropriately and understand the issues of intellectual freedom and copyright. Kids assume because it's on the Internet, it's free and they can use it as they want.""

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/111702274.html

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Funk Legend George Clinton Sues the Black Eyed Peas for alleged Copyright Infringement, Entertainment Weekly, 12/14/10

Brad Wete, Entertainment Weekly; Funk Legend George Clinton Sues the Black Eyed Peas for alleged Copyright Infringement:

"Parliament Funkadelic leader George Clinton has filed a copyright lawsuit against each member of the Black Eyed Peas, UMG Recordings, and Cherry Lane Music, accusing them of wrongfully sampling his “(Not Just) Knee Deep” from 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You on two remixes of the will.i.am-produced “Shut Up”: “Shut the Phunk Up Remix” and “Shut Up Remix” from their 2003 Grammy-nominated Elephunk album. The case was filed Dec. 10 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles."

Thursday, December 9, 2010

No harm, no foul? P2P user says $1.5M award should be zeroed out; ArsTechnica.com, 12/8/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; No harm, no foul? P2P user says $1.5M award should be zeroed out:

"Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the first US citizen to take her file-sharing lawsuit all the way to a verdict, has been hit with three separate damage awards: $222,000, $1.92 million, and recently $1.5 million. The judge has made clear that these figures are absurd; after the second trial, he declared $54,000 the most that he could possibly allow.

But what does Thomas-Rasset think she owes? Nothing."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/12/no-harm-no-foul-p2p-user-says-15m-award-should-be-zeroed-out.ars

Koslowski’s Lament; Eye on Comics, 12/8/10

Don MacPherson, Eye on Comics; Koslowski’s Lament:

"An independent comics creator in the United States who won a copyright-infringement judgment against a Canadian businessman last year says the court order has proven to be worthless because the man who used his art without permission — and continues to do so — simply chooses to ignore it."

http://www.eyeoncomics.com/?p=1467

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wikileaks cables reveal that the US wrote Spain's proposed copyright law; BoingBoing.net, 12/3/10

Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net; Wikileaks cables reveal that the US wrote Spain's proposed copyright law:

"Spain's Congress is about to vote on a new and extremely harsh copyright/Internet law. It's an open secret that the law was essentially drafted by American industry groups working with the US trade representative."

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/03/wikileaks-cables-rev.html

Is it time for term limits for the Copyright Office's Register?; ArsTechnica.com, 12/7/10

Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica.com; Is it time for term limits for the Copyright Office's Register?:

""The discussions surrounding copyright policy impact more constituencies than ever before," A Copyright Office for the 21st Century recommends. All the more reason for the Register to have a "nuanced understanding" of all the stakeholders affected by copyright rules.

"Unfortunately, each year that the Register is head of the Copyright Office makes it harder to maintain that type of connection," PK notes. "Furthermore, it increases the possibility that he or she will favor one or more existing stakeholders groups over newly emergent ones. Effective policy making requires the regular infusion of new blood and new ideas.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/12/is-it-time-for-term-limits-for-the-copyright-offices-register.ars

MPAA Sends Letter to Thousands of Colleges About Copyright Rules; Wired Campus, 12/6/10

Jeff Young, Wired Campus; MPAA Sends Letter to Thousands of Colleges About Copyright Rules:

"The Motion Picture Association of American began sending letters to thousands of colleges and university presidents today, alerting them that the industry group will start notifying colleges whenever it detects illegal trading of Hollywood films and hit TV shows on their campuses."

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/mpaa-sends-letter-to-thousands-of-colleges-about-copyright-rules/28552

Saturday, December 4, 2010

US Online Counterfeit Crackdown Has Industry Beaming; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/29/10

Intellectual Property Watch; US Online Counterfeit Crackdown Has Industry Beaming:

"In a move aimed to protect domestic intellectual property rights, the United States Justice Department today announced the suspension of 82 internet domain names on suspicion of selling counterfeit sports equipment, clothes and DVDs, music and software. But some used the opportunity to engage in scaremongering such as safety of families from harmful counterfeits, though none of the products involved appeared to fit that fear."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/29/us-counterfeit-crackdown-has-industry-beaming/

U.S. Government Seizes 82 Websites: A Glimpse at the Draconian Future of Copyright Enforcement?; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 11/29/10

Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation; U.S. Government Seizes 82 Websites: A Glimpse at the Draconian Future of Copyright Enforcement?:

"This type of seizure is not unprecedented, but we haven’t seen it happen on such a broad scale before. This kind of mass action raises at least three concerns"...

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/us-government-seizes-82-websites-draconian-future

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Google's bookstore may launch in time for the holidays; ArsTechnica.com, 12/1/10

John Timmer, ArsTechnica.com; Google's bookstore may launch in time for the holidays:

"Google's settlement with book copyright owners may still be meandering through the courts, but that's apparently not going to stop the search giant from launching an online bookstore. The company's book settlement, which would give Google the right to offer out-of-print books for sale, is still awaiting approval or modification by a New York court...

For now, however, the books on offer will simply mirror what's available from other retailers, which primarily means books currently in print and a back catalog of works old enough to be out of copyright."

http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2010/12/googles-book-store-may-launch-in-time-for-the-holidays.ars

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Why is the Department of Homeland Security shutting down popular rap sites?; Entertainment Weekly, 11/30/10

Simon Vozick-Levinson, Entertainment Weekly; Why is the Department of Homeland Security shutting down popular rap sites?:

"Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized over 80 websites for alleged copyright and trademark violations. Caught up along with many sites alleged to be selling counterfeit clothing and other products were five entertainment websites, including the popular hip-hop blogs OnSmash.com and dajaz1.com."

http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/11/30/homeland-security-rap-blog/

Monday, November 29, 2010

Feds seize 82 domains accused of selling counterfeit goods; ArsTechnica.com, 11/29/10

Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica.com; Feds seize 82 domains accused of selling counterfeit goods:

"The Department of Justice has obtained seizure orders against a slew of commercial websites accused of selling a wide variety of counterfeit commodities, including DVD box sets, music, software, sports equipment and handbags—82 sites all told."

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/11/feds-seize-82-domains-selling-counterfeit-goods.ars

Supreme Court Won’t Hear RIAA File Sharing Case; Wired.com, 11/29/10

David Kravets, Wired.com; Supreme Court Won’t Hear RIAA File Sharing Case:

"The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear the first Recording Industry Association of America file sharing case to cross its desk, in a case that tested the so-called “innocent infringer” defense to copyright infringement."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/11/innocent/

Saturday, November 27, 2010

U.S. Shuts Down Web Sites in Piracy Crackdown; New York Times, 11/27/10

Michael Sisario, New York Times; U.S. Shuts Down Web Sites in Piracy Crackdown:

"In announcing that operation, John T. Morton, the assistant secretary of ICE, and representatives of the Motion Picture Association of America called it a long-term effort against online piracy, and said that suspected criminals would be pursued anywhere in the world. “American business is under assault from counterfeiters and pirates every day, seven days a week,” Mr. Morton said. “Criminals are stealing American ideas and products and distributing them over the Internet.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/technology/27torrent.html?_r=1&hpw

U.S. seizes sites linked to copyright infringement; CNet News, 10/26/10

Steven Musil, CNet News; U.S. seizes sites linked to copyright infringement:

"The U.S. government has launched a major crackdown on online copyright infringement, seizing dozens of sites linked to illegal file sharing and counterfeit goods."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20023918-93.html

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Can We Create a National Digital Library?; New York Review of Books, 10/28/10

Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books; Can We Create a National Digital Library?:

"The following talk was given at the opening of a conference at Harvard on October 1 to discuss the possibility of creating a National Digital Library.

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss a question of vital importance to the cultural life of our country: Can we create a National Digital Library? That is, a comprehensive library of digitized books that will be easily accessible to the general public. Simple as it sounds, the question is extraordinarily complex. It involves issues that concern the nature of the library to be built, the technological difficulties of designing it, the legal obstacles to getting it off the ground, the financial costs of constructing and maintaining it, and the political problems of mobilizing support for it."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/oct/28/can-we-create-national-digital-library/

Nevada court hits copyright troll with Fair Use surprise; ArsTechnica.com, 11/24/10

Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica.com; Nevada court hits copyright troll with Fair Use surprise:

"A Nevada judge has given copyright troll Righthaven until mid-December to explain why one of the law firm's targets wasn't exercising its right to Fair Use when it republished a newspaper article on its website."

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/11/nevada-court-hits-righthaven-with-fair-use-surprise.ars

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What do we want copyright to do?; (London) Guardian, 11/23/10

Cory Doctorow, (London) Guardian; What do we want copyright to do?: Without posing this question, asking whether intellectual property laws are working is like asking how long is a piece of string:

"Copyright is in tremendous flux at the moment; governments all over the world are considering what their copyright systems should look like in the 21st century, and it's probably a good idea to nail down what we want copyright to do. Otherwise the question "Is copyright working?" becomes as meaningless as "How long is a piece of string?""

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/nov/23/copyright-digital-rights-cory-doctorow

French authors' body warns over Google-Hachette deal; (London) Guardian, 11/22/10

Benedicte Page, (London) Guardian; French authors' body warns over Google-Hachette deal: La Sociéte des Gens de Lettres de France advises writers to scrutinise contracts carefully in the wake of groundbreaking digitisation agreement:

"Last week's deal between Google and the publisher Hachette Livre should put authors on high alert, according to the French authors' body, La Société des Gens de Lettres de France (SGDLF). They have called today for authors to scrutinise contracts with "the highest degree of vigilance" in the light of the search engine's agreement over scanning works that are out of print."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/22/google-hachette-copyright

French publishing giants cave in to Google's great copyright heist; (London) Guardian, 11/22/10

Robert McCrrum, (London) Guardian; French publishing giants cave in to Google's great copyright heist: With Hachette opening up its archives to Google, calls for a public digitisation project are getting more urgent than ever:

"Robert Darnton's response, in the same issue, is intriguing. No one, I think, has looked harder at this issue, or addressed it with such a fine sense of historical precedent and nuance. Basically, what Darnton now advocates is the incremental construction of a US digital library in which each separate copyright category (and there are several) would be accommodated by special agreements between interested parties. In stark contrast to the senior executives of Google who contrive to seem both arrogant and secretive, Darnton now says that "the Digital Public Library of America", a model for libraries the world over, should emerge from "a broad debate on a national scale" and that "the people themselves should have a voice in its design"."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/nov/22/hachette-google-digital-public-library

SAP Ordered to Pay Oracle $1.3 Billion; New York Times, 11/24/10

Verne G. Kopytoff, New York Times; SAP Ordered to Pay Oracle $1.3 Billion:

"A clash of technology titans and two of the most powerful executives in Silicon Valley ended on Tuesday with a $1.3 billion federal jury award against SAP for stealing software from Oracle to try to woo away customers.

The award, the largest ever for copyright infringement, comes as big technology companies, including Apple, Google and Motorola, have increasingly resorted to the courts to resolve patent and intellectual property disputes instead of quietly working out a deal."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/business/24oracle.html?hp

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Sarah Palin Book Excerpts Must Be Removed From Gawker, Judge Rules; HuffingtonPost.com, 11/20/10

Associated Press via HuffingtonPost.com; Sarah Palin Book Excerpts Must Be Removed From Gawker, Judge Rules:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/20/sarah-palin-book-excerpts-gawker-_n_786453.html

Sarah Palin Is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book; Gawker, 11/18/10

Gawker; Sarah Palin Is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book:

http://gawker.com/5693797/sarah-palin-is-mad-at-us-for-leaking-pages-from-her-book

Palin's publisher sues Gawker over book excerpts; Associated Press, 11/20/10

Associated Press; Palin's publisher sues Gawker over book excerpts:

"The lawsuit asks that Gawker be banned from what it terms "further copyright infringement" and that Gawker deliver the source material to the publisher so it can be destroyed.
HarperCollins is also seeking financial damages."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQrUWupgCs_sxMxtLJ32mfyioZ4A?docId=407b37d7ab4949f0bad1b6348cb6d9a6

Global Copyright Reform: A View From The South In Response To Lessig; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/12/10

Ahmed Abdel Latif, Intellectual Property Watch; Global Copyright Reform: A View From The South In Response To Lessig:

"Global copyright reform is badly needed. It is ultimately up to WIPO member states to decide how to go about it. For the moment, hopes for ‘reform’ are embodied by the above mentioned proposals made by developing countries and they should be actively supported. Any future reform process of the global copyright system needs careful thinking and broad discussion about its objectives. Given that global copyright rules have acquired such a pervasive impact in many facets of our lives, their reform needs to take place through an open, inclusive and participatory consultation process where ‘all of us’ have a say."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/12/global-copyright-reform-a-view-from-the-south-in-response-to-lessig/

Lessig Calls For WIPO To Lead Overhaul Of Copyright System; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/5/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; Lessig Calls For WIPO To Lead Overhaul Of Copyright System:

"Influential copyright scholar Larry Lessig yesterday issued a call for the World Intellectual Property Organization to lead an overhaul of the copyright system which he says does not and never will make sense in the digital environment."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/05/lessig-calls-for-wipo-to-lead-overhaul-of-copyright-system/

WIPO Copyright Committee Agrees To Extra Time On Visually Impaired Access; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/15/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; WIPO Copyright Committee Agrees To Extra Time On Visually Impaired Access:

"The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee has reached an eleventh-hour agreement on a work programme that could help ease access to reading materials for the visually impaired.

The compromise text, reached in negotiations that stretched past midnight on the last evening of the 8-12 November meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), stipulates three extra working days for the next three meetings of the SCCR. These three working days will be dedicated to discussions on limitations and exceptions to copyright law."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/15/wipo-copyright-committee-agrees-to-extra-time-on-visually-impaired-access/

WIPO Copyright Committee In Fight To Overcome Differences On Exceptions, Limitations; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/12/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; WIPO Copyright Committee In Fight To Overcome Differences On Exceptions, Limitations:

"On the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright’s final day of weeklong negotiations, the hopes of visually impaired readers and others – librarians, schools – looking for an agreement on copyright exceptions and limitations hang on whether delegates can resolve differences and create a plan for future work."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/12/wipo-copyright-committee-in-fight-to-overcome-differences-on-exceptions-limitations/

Twain's private wish a copyright conundrum; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/11/10

George Croft and Natalie Hickey, Sydney Morning Herald; Twain's private wish a copyright conundrum:

"Enter another avenue for protection. In a nutshell, if, before the author's death, the work in question hasn't been published, performed, or broadcast, and records of the work haven't been offered for sale, then copyright will subsist for 70 years from the year in which the first of these events takes place.

So, the fact that Twain's autobiography has been under "lock and key" since it was written (under our scenario anyway) means that the clock would start running this year. And his estate would have another 70 years of protection."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/twains-private-wish-a-copyright-conundrum-20101111-17ow9.html

Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak; (London) Guardian, 11/18/10

Xan Brooks, (London) Guardian; Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak: Warner Bros launches inquiry into how pirated footage from latest Harry Potter film appeared across download sites:

"An abridged version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has jumped the gun on the film's official release after leaking across download sites on Tuesday night. Warner Bros has launched an inquiry to discover the source of the 36 minutes of pirated footage."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/18/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-leak

Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb"; ArsTechnica.com, 11/19/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb":

"Ed Black, CEO of computing industry trade group CCIA, was testifying at the hearing, and he agreed that COICA was a "good example of what not to do in an important, complicated digital ecosystem."...

While the bill looks dead this year, the idea has met with thunderous applause from the movie and music industries, who are sure to back it next year."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/senator-web-censorship-bill-a-bunker-busting-cluster-bomb.ars

Pirate-slaying censorship bill gets unanimous support; ArsTechnica.com, 11/19/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Pirate-slaying censorship bill gets unanimous support:

"This morning, COICA unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We are disappointed that the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning chose to disregard the concerns of public-interest groups, Internet engineers, Internet companies, human-rights groups and law professors in approving a bill that could do great harm to the public and to the Internet," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, who pledged to craft a "more narrowly tailored bill" next year to deal with "rogue websites.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/pirate-slaying-censorship-bill-gets-unanimous-support.ars

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Panellists: Copyright Law’s ‘Byzantine Maze’ Stalling New Business Models; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/9/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; Panellists: Copyright Law’s ‘Byzantine Maze’ Stalling New Business Models:

"While piracy remains an oft-cited problem for the creative content industry, it is the ‘Byzantine maze’ of copyright law that is stalling monetisation of new business models better designed to deliver content in the digital age, panellists at the World Intellectual Property Organization said last week."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/09/panellists-copyright-law%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98byzantine-maze%e2%80%99-stalling-new-business-models/

EXCLUSIVE: 'Superman' Lawsuit Delay Lifted; Depositions of Siegel and Shuster Families to Begin Immediately; Hollywood Reporter, 11/17/10

Matthew Belloni, Hollywood Reporter; EXCLUSIVE: 'Superman' Lawsuit Delay Lifted; Depositions of Siegel and Shuster Families to Begin Immediately:

"The Nov. 16 order is the latest in the cartoonishly nasty battle between Warners and the Superman heirs over rights to the lucrative character. After a judge ruled a few years back that the studio might lose certain copyrights associated with the Man of Steel, Warners sued Marc Toberoff, the attorney for the families, claiming he improperly convinced them to back out of deals and terminate their copyright assignments relating to Superman."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/superman-lawsuit-delay-lifted-depositions-46688

Google Strikes Deal With French Publisher; New York Times, 11/18/10

Eric Pfanner and David Jolly, New York Times; Google Strikes Deal With French Publisher:

"Google said Wednesday that it had reached a deal with the publisher Hachette Livre, which has broken ranks with its French rivals and agreed to allow Google to scan thousands of out-of-print books for its digital library project."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/business/global/18book.html

The Case Against COICA; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 11/16/10

Peter Eckersley, Electronic Frontier Foundation; The Case Against COICA:

"In September, digital rights advocates and Internet engineers helped to delay the Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), a terrible bill that would have allowed the Attorney General to censor the Internet in the name of copyright enforcement. Now that the November elections are over, COICA is back on the Senate Judiciary Committee schedule for markup this Thursday and could pass out of committee during the "lame duck" session of Congress."

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/case-against-coica

Professors Publish Guide to Copyright Issues of Multimedia Projects; Wired Campus, 11/17/10

Paige Chapman, Wired Campus; Professors Publish Guide to Copyright Issues of Multimedia Projects:

"Students often create multimedia projects for classes that blend in clips from YouTube videos or hit songs, and many want to post their creations online for a wider audience. But does that violate copyright law?

It might, and many students fail to understand the legal risks. A new study, titled “Copying Right and Copying Wrong With Web 2.0 Tools in the Teacher Education and Communications Classrooms,” attempts to educate students about both the appropriate and inappropriate ways to use copyrighted materials that are available to mass audiences on the Internet."

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/professors-publish-guide-to-copyright-issues-of-multimedia-projects/28254

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Suit Accuses ‘South Park’ of Copyright Infringement; New York Times, 11/15/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; Suit Accuses ‘South Park’ of Copyright Infringement:

"The producers of “South Park” are once again in trouble for using a Web video as source material for their comedy – this time, for parodying a viral video so closely that the video’s creators say the parody constitutes copyright infringement."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/suit-accuses-south-park-of-copyright-infringement/?scp=1&sq=south%20park&st=cse

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Review: Nifty scanner eases farewell to paper; Washington Post, 11/10/10

Peter Svensson, Washington Post; Review: Nifty scanner eases farewell to paper:

"Because the ScanSnap is so fast, it's tempting to scan books as well. You could carry a couple of bookshelves worth of scanned books on the iPad.

Copyright law gets in the way of that vision, though. You don't have a blanket right to scan your books. This probably comes as a surprise to people who have been "ripping" their CDs for a decade. The music industry doesn't challenge this practice, but that doesn't mean it's legal, strictly speaking."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/10/AR2010111003172.html

Google: Android doesn't infringe Oracle's copyrights; ArsTechnica.com, 11/13/10

Ryan Paul, ArsTechnica.com; Google: Android doesn't infringe Oracle's copyrights:

"Google has also weighed in on Oracle's more recent claim that Android's Java code infringes on Oracle's copyrights in addition to patents."

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/11/google-android-doesnt-infringe-oracles-copyrights.ars

Saturday, November 13, 2010

[Podcast] How to Anger the Internet; NPR's On the Media, 11/12/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; How to Anger the Internet:

"Two weeks ago, the internet erupted in anger over unapologetic plagiarism by a small Massachusetts magazine Cooks Source. Bob and Brooke ponder what happens the internet becomes an angry mob."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/11/12/04

[Podcast] Backroom Dealing on ACTA; NPR's On the Media, 11/12/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Backroom Dealing on ACTA:

"For several years, dozens of countries – including the U.S. and members of the European Union – have been negotiating what’s called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It’s a kind of treaty involving copyright and intellectual property rights, matters of great public concern – only it’s been hammered out largely behind closed doors and subject to virtually no public input. Earlier this year an official draft of the treaty was finally released, allowing legal scholars to see what our trade reps have been up to. And many are not happy. Harvard Law School’s Jonathan Zittrain explains."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/11/12/03

Friday, November 12, 2010

Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m; (London) Guardian, 11/9/10

Joel Tenenbaum, (London) Guardian; Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m: Last month, the RIAA shut down the peer-to-peer site Limewire. I was sued by the same organisation for sharing 30 songs online – 12 months on, my battle with them continues:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/nov/09/joel-tenenbaum-a-year-on

How to save the music industry; GQ.com, 8/13/10

Paul McGuinness, GQ.com; How to save the music industry:

"Bourget's action was a milestone in the history of copyright law. The legal wrangling that followed led to the establishment of the first revenue-collection system for composers and musicians."

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-08/13/gq-music-paul-mcguinness-on-music-piracy/file-sharing-on-spotify-and-piracy

Thursday, November 11, 2010

‘Fela!’ Is Sued for Copyright Infringement; New York Times, 11/9/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; ‘Fela!’ Is Sued for Copyright Infringement:

"The author of a biography of the Afrobeat musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti has filed suit against the producers and creative team of the Broadway musical “Fela!”, saying the stage production infringes on the copyright to his book and seeking an injunction against the show."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/fela-musical-is-sued-for-copyright-infringement/?scp=1&sq=copyright&st=cse

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Trial Opens Over Damages in Oracle Copyright Case With SAP; New York Times, 11/3/10

Verne G. Kopytoff, New York Times; Trial Opens Over Damages in Oracle Copyright Case With SAP:

"The dispute between the software giants Oracle and SAP, in one of the most closely watched court cases in Silicon Valley history, is not over whether SAP engaged in a copyright infringement scheme, but over how much damage was done to Oracle."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/technology/03oracle.html?scp=1&sq=copyright&st=cse

Chasing Pirates: Inside Microsoft’s War Room; New York Times, 11/7/10

Ashlee Vance, New York Times; Chasing Pirates: Inside Microsoft’s War Room:

"The arrival of organized criminal syndicates to the software piracy scene has escalated worries at companies like Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe. Groups in China, South America and Eastern Europe appear to have supply chains and sales networks rivaling those of legitimate businesses, says David Finn, Microsoft’s anti-piracy chief. Sometimes they sell exact copies of products, but often peddle tainted software that opens the door to other electronic crime."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/technology/07piracy.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=piracy%20microsoft&st=cse

The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie; NPR, 11/5/10

Linda Holmes, NPR; The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie:

"On Wednesday evening, a blogger named Monica Gaudio posted a story in which she told of learning that Cooks Source had taken a piece she wrote about apple pie — specifically this one — and simply copied it into the magazine. As you can see from the scanned page (Gawker, for instance, has it), the magazine credited Gaudio with a byline. It didn't pretend to have come up with her story itself; it just seemed to believe it could copy her story and run it in a free, ad-supported (and therefore revenue-generating) magazine without telling her, let alone compensating her."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/11/05/131091599/the-day-the-internet-threw-a-righteous-hissyfit-about-copyright-and-pie

The cook and the thieves: a win for internet IP; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/8/10

Sydney Morning Herald; The cook and the thieves: a win for internet IP:

"It's worth of cutting and pasting in a big chunk of what she said next for those who haven't yet seen it:

"If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free""

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/blogs/the-geek/the-cook-and-the-thieves-a-win-for-internet-ip/20101108-17jmf.html

KISS Videos Removed Due To Copyright Claims; TechDirt.com, 11/8/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; KISS Videos Removed Due To Copyright Claims:

"We noted recently that Kiss's Gene Simmons has (not for the first time) declared war on people who infringe on his copyrights, declaring that they should all be sued..."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101108/10533311763/kiss-videos-removed-due-to-copyright-claims.shtml

Monday, November 8, 2010

Did Jammie Thomas case backfire on file sharers?; CNet News, 11/7/10

Greg Sandoval, CNet News; Did Jammie Thomas case backfire on file sharers?:

"Tyler Ochoa, a law professor at Santa Clara University, said that the big problem isn't Thomas-Rasset's case.

"The law is on [the copyright owners'] side right now," Ochoa said. "The notion that there is a personal use exception to copyright has pretty much disappeared in recent years.""

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20021947-261.html?tag=mncol;mlt_related#ixzz14keFz6mX

Third P2P verdict for Jammie Thomas: $1.5 million; ArsTechnica.com, 11/4/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Third P2P verdict for Jammie Thomas: $1.5 million:

"The first P2P case to come to trial in the US has lasted five years and now has three verdicts, this one coming after just two hours of deliberation. Jammie Thomas-Rasset must pay $62,500 for each of the 24 songs at issue in the case, for total of $1.5 million."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/the-first-p2p-case-to.ars

Prime Minister: UK needs US-style fair use to spur innovation; ArsTechnica.com, 11/5/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Prime Minister: UK needs US-style fair use to spur innovation:

""The problem David Cameron will come up against is that 'fair use' may be difficult, if not impossible, to establish in current European law," he wrote today. "EU copyright does not allow a general, US-style 'fair use' provision, but has an exhaustive list of possible user rights, like format shifting, back ups and parodies. Each EU country chooses which rights they wish to allow.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/prime-minister-uk-needs-us-style-fair-use-to-spur-innovation.ars

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

"It is Groundhog Day": Third Jammie Thomas P2P trial begins; ArsTechnica.com, 11/2/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; "It is Groundhog Day": Third Jammie Thomas P2P trial begins:

"The reference, to the Bill Murray film in which the main character continually repeats one particular day, makes particular sense in this case. Thomas-Rasset was the first of the RIAA's litigation targets to take her case all the way to a trial and a verdict, but Judge Davis has twice tossed the results. In the first trial, a bad jury instruction was to blame; in the second, the jury returned a shocking $1.92 million verdict that Davis slashed to $54,000, calling it "monstrous." Neither side was pleased, however, and the recording industry asked for yet another trial, this one on damages alone."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/third-jammie-thomas-p2p-trial-begins-it-is-groundhog-day.ars

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Another New Twist in ‘Rear Window’ Dispute; New York Times, 11/1/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; Another New Twist in ‘Rear Window’ Dispute:

"An Alfred Hitchcock thriller may wrap up its loose ends in under two hours, but a longstanding legal dispute over whether the 2007 movie “Disturbia” infringes on the copyright of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and its source material is far from over."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/another-new-twist-in-rear-window-dispute/?scp=3&sq=copyright&st=cse

Friday, October 29, 2010

'Night of the Living Dead': How a 42-year-old zombie movie refuses to die; Entertainment Weekly, 10/28/10

Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly; 'Night of the Living Dead': How a 42-year-old zombie movie refuses to die:

"Alas, by then, Night of the Living Dead had fallen into the public domain, which meant the film’s rights were of extremely limited use and worth. In fact, as far as the U.S. Copyright Office was concerned, the movie had always been in the public domain. This was the fault of the Walter Reade Organization, who neglected to put a copyright notice on the title card of the movie after the name change to Night of the Living Dead. “It was our first film; we didn’t know what we were doing,” says Romero. “When they took that title off and replaced it with Night of the Living Dead, they didn’t put the copyright bug there because it normally shouldn’t be there. It should be at the end of the film.”"

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/28/walking-dead-zombies-night-of-the-living-dead/

Friday, October 22, 2010

Film Director Comes to the Defense of a Convicted Internet Pirate; New York Times, 9/22/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; Film Director Comes to the Defense of a Convicted Internet Pirate:

"A Frenchman convicted of copyright theft for illegally downloading thousands of songs on the Internet has found an unlikely patron: a famous film director."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/technology/22iht-godard.html?_r=1&scp=9&sq=copyright&st=cse

Chilean Miner Copyrights Note Announcing Trapped Miners Were OK; TechDirt.com, 10/22/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; Chilean Miner Copyrights Note Announcing Trapped Miners Were OK:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101022/09275111543/chilean-miner-copyrights-note-announcing-trapped-miners-were-ok.shtml

Judge: Third trial against P2P user Jammie Thomas will go ahead; ArsTechnica.com, 10/22/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Judge: Third trial against P2P user Jammie Thomas will go ahead:

"The first file-swapper to take her copyright infringement case all the way to a verdict will have a remarkable third trial next month. Jammie Thomas-Rasset has fought the RIAA through four years, two trials, a name change, and a $1.92 million judgment; on November 2, she gets to do it again."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/judge-third-trial-against-p2p-user-jammie-thomas-will-go-ahead.ars

Friday, October 15, 2010

British Judge Refuses to Throw Out Suit Accusing Rowling of Plagiarism; New York Times, 10/14/10

Julie Bosman, New York Times; British Judge Refuses to Throw Out Suit Accusing Rowling of Plagiarism:

"A lawsuit in a British court accusing Ms. Rowling of partly copying a 1987 book, “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard,” by Adrian Jacobs, may go to trial now that a judge has turned down an application by Ms. Rowling’s lawyers to dismiss the case, according to Reuters."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/british-judge-refuses-to-throw-out-suit-accusing-rowling-of-plagiarism/?scp=2&sq=rowling&st=cse

Monday, October 11, 2010

Library of Congress Study Shows Dire State of Sound Recording Preservation; Library Journal, 10/7/10

Candice Herman, Library Journal; Library of Congress Study Shows Dire State of Sound Recording Preservation:

"The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) has released a study, "The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States: A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age," warning that digital technology alone will not ensure the preservation and survival of the nations sound history.

The study proposes that librarians and archivists be trained in copyright law. In the study, interviewees said they had tried to use materials in a library or an archive but had been told that the rights to those materials were unclear."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887137-264/library_of_congress_study_shows.html.csp

Georgia State Ereserves Case Narrowed Yet Again; Library Journal, 10/7/10

Josh Hadro, Library Journal; Georgia State Ereserves Case Narrowed Yet Again:

"According to a ruling on October 1, the closely watched Georgia State University (GSU) ereserves lawsuit will come down to whether the named defendants participated in the specific act of "contributory infringement," as two other original accusations were removed from the case.

This narrows the scope of the charges lodged by the publisher plaintiffs—Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and SAGE Publications—and has Fair Use advocates cautiously optimistic as the case moves closer to trial."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887124-264/georgia_state_ereserves_case_narrowed.html.csp

Saturday, October 9, 2010

[Podcast] Take my Joke, Please; NPR's On the Media, 10/8/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Take my Joke, Please:

"The writers of Saturday Night Live were accused of joke plagiarism last month by sketch comedy writer Tim Heidecker. Whether or not Heidecker’s right, he can’t sue: like fashion, comedy is a world where copyright law barely applies. Comedians don't copyright their jokes; instead, they rely on an informal system of intellectual property enforcement. Chris Sprigman and Dotan Oliar, two law professors, decided to study how that system works."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/08/06

[Podcast] A Copyright Law for Fashionistas; NPR's On the Media, 10/8/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; A Copyright Law for Fashionistas:

"The fashion industry in the United States operates without copyright protection. Which means that although designers own trademarks on their logos, there’s no law that prohibits copying the cut of a garment. Fashion law expert Susan Scafidi talks about a new bill, the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, that could change that."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/08/05

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Copyright's Futures: Law profs draw on comic talents; San Francisco Chronicle, 9/26/10

San Francisco Chronicle; Copyright's Futures: Law profs draw on comic talents:

"The comic we are currently writing - "Theft: A History of Music" - from which these pages are adapted, is a 2,000-year-long history of music borrowing, written in the hope of bringing some historical perspective to today's music wars."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/26/INDO1FI7I0.DTL

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market; New York Times, 9/27/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market:

"Last week [the European Parliament] called for a long-overdue overhaul of European copyright laws, aimed at fostering the development of a single European media market. For now, there is no such thing; even on the supposedly borderless Internet, most music and video services are fragmented according to European national boundaries."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/media/27cache.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=copyright&st=cse

When It’s Illegal to Photograph Artwork; New York Times, 9/21/10

Jennifer Saranow Schultz, New York Times; When It’s Illegal to Photograph Artwork:

"Having recently explored the legality of copying your favorite clothes, I decided to also consult with some lawyers about snapping a shot of art at a gallery or a museum for personal use."

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/when-its-illegal-to-photograph-artwork/?scp=9&sq=copyright&st=cse

Postscript to Crosby’s Wine Cellar Treasure; New York Times, 10/2/10

Richard Sandomir, New York Times; Postscript to Crosby’s Wine Cellar Treasure:

"The discovery of a copy of the broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series in Bing Crosby’s former wine cellar led some readers to raise an interesting question: if Major League Baseball owns the copyright to World Series broadcasts, why did it have to pay the Crosby estate for the rights to televise the game on the MLB Network in December and release a DVD?"

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/postscript-to-crosbys-wine-cellar-treasure/?scp=5&sq=copyright&st=cse

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Ebook Summit Webcast Tackles Google Books Project; Library Journal, 9/27/10

Raya Kuzyk, Library Journal; Ebook Summit Webcast Tackles Google Books Project: Two librarians, a Google rep, and a PW editor walk into an ebook summit...and share their varying takes on the pending Google Books settlement:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887025-264/ebook_summit_webcast_tackles_google.html.csp

LJ/SLJ's First Virtual Summit on Ebooks Draws Over 2100 Attendees; Library Journal, 10/1/10

LJ Staff, Library Journal; LJ/SLJ's First Virtual Summit on Ebooks Draws Over 2100 Attendees:

"Library Journal and School Library Journal's inaugural virtual summit, Ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point, confirmed both librarians' frustration over their exclusion from decisions being made regarding ebooks and their willingness to embrace ebook delivery and access for their users."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887063-264/ljsljs_first_virtual_summit_on.html.csp

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Authors Feel Pinch In Age of E-Books; Wall Street Journal, 9/28/10

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Wall Street Journal; Authors Feel Pinch In Age of E-Books:

"It has always been tough for literary fiction writers to get their work published by the top publishing houses. But the digital revolution that is disrupting the economic model of the book industry is having an outsize impact on the careers of literary writers."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703369704575461542987870022.html#ixzz11DDOVRsK

Victory: Internet Censorship Bill is Delayed, For Now; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 9/30/10

Tim Jones, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Victory: Internet Censorship Bill is Delayed, For Now:

"The Senate Judiciary Committee won't be considering the dangerously flawed "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" (COICA) bill until after the midterm elections, at least."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/victory-internet-censorship-bill-delayed

[Podcast] Fox Sues Candidate Over Campaign Ad; NPR's On the Media, 10/1/10

Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Fox Sues Candidate Over Campaign Ad:

"Fox News has sued Senate candidate Robin Carnahan over an ad she released containing footage of her opponent being interviewed by a Fox correspondent. Fordham Law School professor Sonia Katyal talks about what the suit could mean for political free speech."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/01/05

Friday, October 1, 2010

Antipiracy lawyers pirate from other antipiracy lawyers; ArsTechnica.com, 9/30/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Antipiracy lawyers pirate from other antipiracy lawyers:

"Crafting original content takes real time and effort; it's much easier to customize something created by others (see, for instance, the copyright page for Dunlap, Grubb, & Weaver, the law firm behind the US Copyright Group; then compare to this and this).

So many people license material, as Crossley did (and as Ars does with the stock photo elements that our graphic design genius, Aurich Lawson, turns into pictures of, say, a tie-wearing praying mantis). Others just take it without permission—but grabbing it from a firm that specializes in copyright prosecutions seems like a pretty dim idea."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/antipiracy-lawyers-pirate-from-other-antipiracy-lawyers.ars

Bomb threat as US Copyright Group sues 2,000 more file-swappers; Ars Technica, 10/1/10

Nate Anderson, Ars Technica; Bomb threat as US Copyright Group sues 2,000 more file-swappers:

"These new cases bring the total number of people sued by US Copyright Group to over 16,200—and that's in just nine months."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/bomb-threat-as-us-copyright-group-sues-2000-more-file-swappers.ars

Google Cake Doodle Marks 12th Birthday: A Look Back; PC World, 9/27/10

Ian Paul, PC World; Google Cake Doodle Marks 12th Birthday: A Look Back: Google celebrated its 12th birthday with a 'doodle' of a cake featured on its homepage. Here is a tour of past birthday doodles:

"2005: Happy 7th Birthday

Perhaps making up for going without cake the year previous, Google went all out for its seventh birthday on September 27. The search giant's doodle included 7 pieces of cake and the "L" became a 7. This was a big year for Google, with notable launches including Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Scholar, personalized home pages (later to be called iGoogle), Google Talk, and Google Reader. Google also experienced its first headaches with Google Book Search when a group of 8000 writers opposed the search giant's plans to scan and index the libraries at Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, and Oxford universities, according to The Boston Globe."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/206246/google_cake_doodle_marks_12th_birthday_a_look_back.html?tk=hp_new

[Movie Review] 'The Social Network'; Los Angeles Times, 10/1/10

[Movie Review] Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times; 'The Social Network':

"Presented with an involving central character cold enough to suit his chilly but considerable filmmaking talents, the director does his best work, convincingly presenting a story about conflicts over intellectual property as if it were a fast-paced James Bond thriller."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-social-network-20101001,0,1914455.story

[Movie Review] 'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web; NPR's Morning Edition, 9/30/10

[Movie Review] Bob Mondello, NPR's Morning Edition; 'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web:

"And The Social Network is terrific entertainment — an unlikely thriller that makes business ethics, class distinctions and intellectual-property arguments sexy, that zips through two hours quicker than you can say "relationship status," and that'll likely fascinate pretty much anyone not named Zuckerberg."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130157106

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Online IP protection bill sparks outrage; Computer World, 9/29/10

Jaikumar Vijayan, Computer World; Online IP protection bill sparks outrage: Privacy groups, tech gurus call proposed legislation an attempt by the U.S to censor Internet content:

"Proposed federal legislation that would require domain registrars, Internet Service Providers and others to block access to Web sites that the U.S. contends contribute to copyright infringement has generated outrage among privacy advocates and prominent industry personalities."

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9188618/Online_IP_protection_bill_sparks_outrage

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Using Netflix in a Library; LibraryLaw Blog, 9/18/10

Peter Hirtle, LibraryLaw Blog; Using Netflix in a Library:

"One of the things that Napster taught us is that just because it is easy to do something, it is not always legal.

There is a recent post that has been getting some buzz. In “Using Netflix at an Academic Library,” Rebecca Fitzgerald describes how Concordia College uses a Netflix subscription to supply movies to students. She reports that using Netflix subscriptions has been a great success, saving the library over $3,000 so far by substituting film purchases and licensing with Netflix rentals and instant play.

The program appears to be popular with the students and saves the college money. It is easy - but is it legal? I don’t see how."

http://blog.librarylaw.com/librarylaw/2010/09/using-netflix-in-a-library.html

Academic Libraries Add Netflix Subscriptions; Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/18/10

Travis Kaya, Chronicle of Higher Education; Academic Libraries Add Netflix Subscriptions:

"The company knows that its service is being used by librarians, but so far it has not taken legal action to stop them. "We just don't want to be pursuing libraries," Mr. Swasey said. "We appreciate libraries and we value them, but we expect that they follow the terms of agreement.""

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Academic-Libraries-Add-Netflix/27018/

The Kafkaesque Question Of Who Owns Kafka's Papers; TechDirt.com, 9/24/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; The Kafkaesque Question Of Who Owns Kafka's Papers:

"[T]his also raises separate questions about the ownership of the physical papers vs. the copyright on the works. The two are not the same, though it makes life even more confusing when you start to dig into what the copyright situation might be on some of these works. Considering that Kafka's own desire was to have them burned, only adds to the mess of questions...

[T]hat question of "ownership" is really what's (rightfully) bugging Friedman, and is one of the points that we continually try to raise here at Techdirt, with our concern over how copyright has turned away from its intended purpose (promoting the progress) into this false belief that it is about "ownership.""

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100923/04231311133/the-kafkaesque-question-of-who-owns-kafka-s-papers.shtml

Kafka’s Last Trial; New York Times, 9/26/10

Elif Batuman, New York Times; Kafka’s Last Trial:

"The situation has repeatedly been called Kafkaesque, reflecting, perhaps, the strangeness of the idea that Kafka can be anyone’s private property. Isn’t that what Brod demonstrated, when he disregarded Kafka’s last testament: that Kafka’s works weren’t even Kafka’s private property but, rather, belonged to humanity?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/magazine/26kafka-t.html?_r=3&hp=&pagewanted=all

ACTA Negotiators Still Aiming At Agreement By Year’s End; Intellectual Property Watch, 9/25/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; ACTA Negotiators Still Aiming At Agreement By Year’s End:

"Countries negotiating a semi-secret trade agreement against piracy and counterfeiting this week in Tokyo are still aiming to reach agreement by the end of this year, a negotiator told Intellectual Property Watch today. The negotiator also did not reject outright the notion that patents might still be included in the draft treaty text, instead saying it is still a matter for discussion.

Negotiators for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are meeting from 23 September to 1 October in Tokyo for what some have said could be the final round of the negotiation."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/09/25/acta-negotiators-still-aiming-at-completion-by-year%e2%80%99s-end/

Judge puts hammer down on Hurt Locker P2P subpoena; ArsTechnica.com,

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Judge puts hammer down on Hurt Locker P2P subpoena:

"A federal judge in South Dakota this week quashed a US Copyright Group subpoena targeting an ISP in his state. Why? Jurisdiction, and a fax machine."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/judge-puts-hammer-down-on-hurt-locker-p2p-subpoenas.ars

Telstra left hanging on copyright ruling; Sydney Morning Herald, 8/23/10

Clare Kermond, Sydney Morning Herald; Telstra left hanging on copyright ruling:

"TELSTRA faces an anxious wait, likely to be several months, to learn the fate of its legal battle to protect the copyright of its Yellow Pages and White Pages directories."

http://www.smh.com.au/business/telstra-left-hanging-on-copyright-ruling-20100822-13aud.html

Arianna Huffington hits back at Washington Post veteran; (London) Guardian, 9/24/10

James Robinson, (London) Guardian; Arianna Huffington hits back at Washington Post veteran: HuffPo founder accuses Leonard Downie Jr, who branded aggregators as 'parasites', of 'pointing fingers and calling names':

"Huffington responded: "People like Downie continue to confuse aggregation with wholesale misappropriation, which violates copyright law."

She said that although her site does feature news from other providers, "aggregation goes along with a tremendous amount of original content, including original reporting and over 300 original blogposts a day".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/24/huffington-post-washington-post

Disturbia did not steal Rear Window plot, judge rules; (London) Guardian, 9/22/10

Xan Brooks, (London) Guardian; Disturbia did not steal Rear Window plot, judge rules: US judge throws out lawsuit accusing Spielberg-backed 2007 film of copying the Cornell Woolrich short story on which Hitchcock's 1954 thriller was based:

"On the face of it, the 2007 thriller Disturbia may look like a direct steal from Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window. Yesterday, however, the courts decided otherwise.

"The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality," ruled New York district court judge Laura Taylor Swan, throwing out a lawsuit that accused Disturbia's makers of copyright infringement."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/22/disturbia-plot-re

YouTube Can’t Be Liable on Copyright, Spain Rules; New York Times, 9/24/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; YouTube Can’t Be Liable on Copyright, Spain Rules:

"A Spanish court on Thursday sided with Google in a dispute with the broadcaster Telecinco, saying Google’s online video-sharing service, YouTube, did not have to screen television clips for potential copyright violations before posting them on the site.

The decision, by a commercial court in Madrid, follows a similar ruling in the United States in June, when a judge rejected copyright infringement claims against YouTube by the media company Viacom. Like the American court, the judge in Madrid said YouTube was not liable as long as it removed copyrighted material when notified by the rights holder."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/technology/24google.html?scp=1&sq=copyright&st=cse

Copyright and Football: A Guest Post; New York Times, Freakonomics, 9/17/10

Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman, New York Times, Freakonomics; Copyright and Football: A Guest Post:

"Kal Raustiala, a professor at UCLA Law School and the UCLA International Institute, and Chris Sprigman, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School, are experts in counterfeiting and intellectual property. They have been guest-blogging for us about copyright issues. Today, they write about copyrighting and football."

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/copyrighting-football-a-guest-post/?scp=2&sq=copyright&st=cse

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Stevie Wonder to UN: Ease Copyrights for the Blind; ABC News via Associated Press, 9/20/10

Bradley S. Klapper, ABC News via Associated Press; Stevie Wonder to UN: Ease Copyrights for the Blind: Stevie Wonder urges UN diplomats to pass treaty helping the blind or face his musical wrath:

"Stevie Wonder pressed global copyright overseers on Monday to help blind and visually impaired people access millions of science, history and other audiobooks, which they cannot read in electronic form.

The blind singer told the U.N.'s 184-nation World Intellectual Property Organization that more than 300 million people who "live in the dark" want to "read their way into light," and the current copyright system denies them an equal opportunity...

But the problem of access for such copyrighted material goes to the heart of a growing crisis in the world of copyright protection, as the Internet increasingly muddies laws that were created for traditional media. Whereas wide exceptions exist for books in Braille, WIPO officials say there is confusion over how these benefits can be translated into the digital age."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11679443

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Google's publishing free for all undermines our literary tradition; (London) Guardian, 9/19/10

Robert McCrum, (London) Guardian; Google's publishing free for all undermines our literary tradition: The 'dark threat of digitisation' is being underestimated, warns Robert McCrum, even by enlightened critics such as Andre Schiffrin:

"There's a lot that's passionate and useful in Schiffrin's anguished analysis. He is right to identify a healthy market as the key to a vital culture and vigorous democracy. His heart is certainly in the right place, but strangely, for a book entitled Words and Money, he never fully addresses the thorny question of "free", as articulated by Anderson, James Boyle (The Public Domain) and Lawrence Lessig (Free Culture). I wish he had because this goes to the heart of the crisis faced by print at the moment...

Johnson was right. Words that get written for money are likely to be superior to words spun out for nothing, on a whim. California's "free" movement wants to argue that literary copyright is an intolerable restriction of the public's right to access information, and that words should be free. That's a profound threat to the western intellectual tradition. I hope that André Schiffrin, having raised the alarm about the demise of serious publishing and journalism, will urgently turn his attention to the new, possibly darker, threat of digitisation and its consequences."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/19/literature-google-publishing-threat-mccrum

Friday, September 17, 2010

Designers Get Fierce With Copyright On The Catwalk; NPR's Morning Edition, 9/16/10

Kaomi Goetz, NPR's Morning Edition; Designers Get Fierce With Copyright On The Catwalk:

"The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, introduced in August by New York Sen. Charles Schumer and now pending in Congress, would be the first piece of legislation to provide copyright protection — for three years in this case — to new and inventive designs. It's not much compared with the 25 years of protection European laws provide, but it's a start...

That's because the U.S. is one of a few countries that don't have copyright protection for fashion, which American courts have long viewed as utilitarian — a craft rather than an art — and therefore haven’t protected in the same way as other creative fields like film or music."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129834984

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Marley family loses copyright battle; MSN Music News, 9/14/10

MSN Music News; Marley family loses copyright battle:

"The family of reggae legend Bob Marley has lost a lawsuit seeking ownership of his most famous tracks.

Executives at UMG Recordings were declared the rightful owners of copyrights to five albums that Marley recorded between 1973 and 1977 for Island Records...

...U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled that Bob Marley's recordings were "works made for hire" as defined under U.S. copyright law, entitling UMG to be designated the owner of those recordings, for both the initial 28-year copyright terms and for renewals."

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=595415

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Lost tapes of classic British television found in the US; (London) Guardian, 9/12/10

Vanessa Thorpe, (London) Guardian; Lost tapes of classic British television found in the US: Treasure trove of drama from the 'golden age of television' discovered in Library of Congress after more than 40 years:

"The Library of Congress initially approached Kaleidoscope, the classic TV experts, who took the good news to the BBC and ITV this spring. "We brokered the deal for the BFI because so many different companies have copyright over the material," wrote Kaleidoscope's Chris Perry in a blog this weekend."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/sep/12/lost-tapes-classic-british-television

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

European Parliament passes anti-ACTA declaration; ArsTechnica.com, 9/8/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; European Parliament passes anti-ACTA declaration:

"Today 377 members of the European Parliament adopted a written declaration on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in which they demand greater transparency, assert that ISPs should not up end being liable for data sent through their networks, and say that ACTA "should not force limitations upon judicial due process or weaken fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy."

The "written declaration" has no binding force".

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/european-parliament-passes-anti-acta-declaration.ars

Film Piracy is Robbing American Workers; HuffingtonPost.com, 9/3/10

Matthew D. Loeb, HuffingtonPost.com; Film Piracy is Robbing American Workers:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-d-loeb/film-piracy-is-robbing-am_b_705121.html

The High Cost of Free Culture; HuffingtonPost.com, 8/24/10

Bevin Carnes, HuffingtonPost.com; The High Cost of Free Culture:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bevin-carnes/post_740_b_692901.html

Village Voice writer sues author Gerald Posner for lifting chunks of mob book for 'Miami Babylon'; New York Daily News, 9/7/10

Scott Shifrel, New York Daily News; Village Voice writer sues author Gerald Posner for lifting chunks of mob book for 'Miami Babylon':

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/07/2010-09-07_village_voice_writer_sues_author_gerald_posner_for_lifting_chunks_of_mob_book_fo.html#ixzz0yzkUUJgn

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Un-Google That; ABA Journal, 9/1/10

Brendan L. Smith, ABA Journal; Un-Google That: Google's new pact may have crisscrossed copyright law:

"At the fairness hearing for the Google Books settlement, an overflow crowd filled U.S. District Judge Denny Chin's Manhattan courtroom and spilled into a separate room where spectators watched a video feed.

"Voluminous materials have been submitted, and we are working our way through them," Chin said at the Feb. 18 hearing. "There is a lot of repetition. Some of the submissions even quote some of the other submissions. I'm reading them twice."

The agreement weighs in at 179 pages with 16 attachments, and it has been opposed on several fronts, with the Justice Department raising antitrust concerns alongside authors' claims of copyright infringement."

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/un-google_that/78714/

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Appeals court rules game films showing NFL team's 1st logo violates artist's copyright; Los Angeles Times, 9/2/10

Larry O'Dell, Los Angeles Times; Appeals court rules game films showing NFL team's 1st logo violates artist's copyright:

"An amateur artist who designed the original logo used by the Baltimore Ravens won a partial victory Thursday when a federal appeals court ruled the commercial use of game and highlight films from the Ravens' first three seasons violates his copyright."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-ravens-logo-suit,0,6282798.story

Sharron Angle hit with R-J copyright infringement lawsuit; Las Vegas Sun, 9/3/10

Steve Green, Las Vegas Sun; Sharron Angle hit with R-J copyright infringement lawsuit:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/03/sharron-angle-hit-r-j-copyright-lawsuit/

Is The Contract Cast Members Sign To Be On Survivor Covered By Copyright? CBS Thinks So...; TechDirt.com, 9/3/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; Is The Contract Cast Members Sign To Be On Survivor Covered By Copyright? CBS Thinks So...:

"Eric Goldman points us to the news that CBS sent a DMCA takedown to Scribd after the reality TV site RealityBlurred.com uploaded a copy of the contract castmembers sign before being able to go on the show Survivor, as well as a copy of the "rulebook" they receive. CBS apparently claimed that both of these were covered by copyright. Thankfully, RealityBlurred filed a counternotice, claiming fair use due to its use for reporting and commentary -- leading to a scary two week period where CBS would have to sue if it wanted to keep the document offline. However, the two weeks passed and CBS did not respond to notification from Scribd, meaning that the Survivor Contract and the Survivor Rulebook are back online."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100901/15345210865.shtml

Bartenders Looking For Greater Intellectual Property Protection For Drinks; TechDirt.com, 9/2/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; Bartenders Looking For Greater Intellectual Property Protection For Drinks:

"Copycense points us to yet another story about another person in another industry whining about not getting enough monopoly privileges from the government. This time, believe it or not, it's bartenders wanting to protect mixed drink recipes. Seriously. Unfortunately, the writeup at the Atlantic, by food writer Chantal Martineau seems to get an awful lot of points about intellectual property totally mixed up. The article slips back and forth between trademark law and copyright law (which are extremely different) and then has this whopper:

The publication of a recipe can be legally protected, but the "expression of an idea," as the lawyers in the seminar explained, cannot. It's the reason musicians can't be sued for covering another band's song in a live show.

So many things wrong in two short sentences. First of all, no, the publication of a recipe cannot be protected. Straight from the US Copyright Office: "Mere listings of ingredients as in recipes, formulas, compounds, or prescriptions are not subject to copyright protection." That said, if there is "substantial literary expression" in, say, the description of how to prepare the recipe that part (and that part alone) could be covered by copyright, but that should have little impact on bartenders making similar mixed drinks. Also, copyright is, in fact, supposed to protect the expression, contrary to the statement above. This is the whole basis of the idea-expression dichotomy, which Martineau seems to get backwards. As for why musicians can't be sued for covering another band's song in a live show, that's got nothing to do with the difference between an expression and an idea, and everything to do with performance rights licenses from venues to PROs like ASCAP and BMI that (in theory) are supposed to cover the copyright (yes, there is one) on the composition."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100901/17381410868.shtml

The Era of Copyrighted Cocktails?; Atlantic, 8/31/10

Chantal Martineau, Atlantic; The Era of Copyrighted Cocktails?:

"So, can a cocktail be copyrighted? In short, no. The publication of a recipe can be legally protected, but the [following portion between brackets crossed out as correction for error in updated version of article] ["expression of an idea,"] idea of the recipe, as the lawyers in the seminar explained, cannot. [following portion between brackets crossed out as correction for error in updated version of article] [It's the reason musicians can't be sued for covering another band's song in a live show.] But few bartenders publish their recipes. They tend to pass them on as an oral tradition."

http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/08/the-era-of-copyrighted-cocktails/62153/

Copyright breaches land group in trouble; Sydney Morning Herald,

Kate Benson, Sydney Morning Herald; Copyright breaches land group in trouble:

"An anti-vaccination group is under fire for allegedly breaching copyright laws by selling newspaper and medical journal articles online without permission from the authors.

The Australian Vaccination Network, which was the subject of a public warning issued by the Health Care Complaints Commission last month, withdrew 11 information packs from its website yesterday after complaints from authors.

The packs, which were selling for up to $128, included home-made books filled with articles photocopied from journals around the world, information on drugs taken from MIMS, the medical guide used by doctors and nurses, and copies of brochures inserted in medication boxes by pharmaceutical companies.

Under the Copyright Act, articles can be copied for personal research or for use by students but cannot be disseminated widely or sold...

Mary-Anne Toy, from The Age newspaper, said she did not recall giving the network permission to sell her work and would seek payment. Leigh Dayton, a science reporter at The Australian newspaper, was also unaware her story was being sold.

Kate Haddock, a copyright lawyer, said those found breaching the law could face substantial damages.

Damages would increase if articles were reproduced in a way which would cause readers to think less of the writers, Ms Haddock said."

http://www.smh.com.au/national/copyright-breaches-land-group-in-trouble-20100831-14fna.html

German court rules against YouTube over copyright; Sydney Morning Herald, 8/27/10

Sydney Morning Herald; German court rules against YouTube over copyright:

"A German court ruled Friday that Google Inc.'s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay compensation after users uploaded several videos of performances by singer Sarah Brightman in violation of copyright laws.

The Hamburg state court said the standardized question to users about whether they have the necessary rights to publish material is not enough to relieve YouTube of the legal responsibility for the content, especially because the platform can be used anonymously.

The wording of the court statement appears to be a major blow to YouTube's business model, but Google Germany spokesman Henning Dorstewitz told The Associated Press YouTube will appeal the decision detailed in the 60-page ruling."

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/german-court-rules-against-youtube-over-copyright-20100827-13w8o.html

Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate centre: survey; Sydney Morning Herald, 8/25/10

Sydney Morning Herald; Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate centre: survey:

"Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday...

"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labour limitations," PERC said.

China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC."

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/indonesia-is-asia-copyright-pirate-centre-survey-20100825-13rzi.html