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