Independent writer's admission highlights news copyright issues; Guardian, 6/28/11

David Banks, Guardian; Independent writer's admission highlights news copyright issues:

"Copyright in news is complicated. There is no copyright in news itself: you cannot claim you have the only right to tell your readers, viewers or listeners about the facts of an event...

However, when interviewing someone, a journalist uses skill and labour in recording quotes accurately and selecting those most appropriate for publication. So the quotes in an interview are protected by copyright. If any are to be used by another publication then the fair dealing defence would have to be used and the copyright owner, possibly a competitor, would have to be credited."

Tom Petty To Michele Bachmann: Stop Playing 'American Girl' ; HuffingtonPost.com, 6/28/11

HuffingtonPost.com; Tom Petty To Michele Bachmann: Stop Playing 'American Girl' :

"Renowned rocker Tom Petty hit Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann with a cease-and-desist letter Monday following the congresswoman's decision to close out her campaign announcement to the tune of "American Girl," Rolling Stone reports."

Interview With the U.S. Copyright Czar; New York Times, 6/8/11

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Interview With the U.S. Copyright Czar:

"As the first United States intellectual property enforcement coordinator, Victoria A. Espinel reports to President Obama and Congress on copyright, trademarks and other intellectual property issues, and works with an array of federal agencies — the Justice Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others — to enforce the law."

Recycled riffs – samples of music biz justice; Guardian, 6/23/11

Angus Batey, Guardian; Recycled riffs – samples of music biz justice:

"One possibility is that samplers are ignoring the law and just sampling anyway, and because the sampled artists don't have the resources to hire lawyers, the samplers get away with it," Joo says. "Another possibility is that sampled artists do negotiate deals, but they get ripped off. The third possibility is that the sampled artists negotiate a good deal, and end up better off. All three of those things are definitely happening. The question is, which happens more? I don't know. But at least the existence of a copyright regime means there is a possibility of the third result."

Marvel Superheroes and the Fathers of Invention; New York Times, 6/25/11

Brent Staples, New York Times; Marvel Superheroes and the Fathers of Invention:

"Courts have already granted a share of the copyright for Superman to the heirs of a co-creator, and sided with Captain America’s creator in another copyright fight. These cases are small fry compared with the battle now being waged between Marvel and the heirs of the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby, who breathed life into such pop culture icons as the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor and the Silver Surfer."

The Cloud That Ate Your Music; New York Times, 6/22/11

Jon Pareles, New York Times; The Cloud That Ate Your Music:

"Apple’s Match is a sign that copyright holders are starting to rethink their licensing terms for the cloud, which will make subscription catalogs even larger."

Ask Ars: which image services might commercialize my photos?; ArsTechnica.com, 6/22/11

Jacqui Cheng, ArsTechnica.com; Ask Ars: which image services might commercialize my photos? :

"Q: I heard about Twitpic commercializing user-uploaded photos and became curious. There are alternatives out there, but what are the chances they all have similar terms of service? Is there any service that isn't my own website that won't commercialize my photos? Is this just a standard agreement, or what?"

Time For A Positive Agenda, WIPO’s Gurry Tells Copyright Crowd; Intellectual Property Watch, 6/13/11

William New, Intellectual Property Watch; Time For A Positive Agenda, WIPO’s Gurry Tells Copyright Crowd:

"In remarks that have raised questions among libraries and the information technology industry, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis last week told a copyright industry gathering that it is time to move away from a “negative” agenda of limitations and exceptions to copyright."

Tattoo Artist Settles Tyson Dispute With ‘Hangover 2’; New York Times, 6/21/11

Noam Cohen, New York Times; Tattoo Artist Settles Tyson Dispute With ‘Hangover 2’ :

"A lawsuit by a Missouri tattoo artist that threatened to stop the distribution of the blockbuster sequel “Hangover Part II” has been settled, the movie’s studio, Warner Brothers Entertainment, announced this week."

Whose song is it anyway? Boston Bruins fans co-opt Steelers song; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/15/11

Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Whose song is it anyway? Boston Bruins fans co-opt Steelers song:

"It was at about the same time that the song was noticed by Dan Fleming, 24, an aspiring hip-hop and rap artist from Peabody, Mass., just north of Boston. Fleming writes his own songs, mostly remixes, and posts them on YouTube and Facebook."

[Slide Show] Major Works Affected by U.S. Copyright Law; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

[Slide Show] Chronicle of Higher Education; Major Works Affected by U.S. Copyright Law

Lady Gaga Okays Weird Al 'Poker Face' Parody (Video); Billboard via Hollywood Reporter, 6/4/11

Sofia M. Fernandez and Gary Graff, Billboard via Hollywood Reporter; Lady Gaga Okays Weird Al 'Poker Face' Parody (Video) :

"Lady Gaga has given the okay to Weird Al Yankovic to parody her song "Poker Face.""

[Podcast] Can You Copyright the Human Body? ; On the Media, 6/3/11

[Podcast] On the Media; Can You Copyright the Human Body? :

"The artist who inked Mike Tyson’s infamous face tattoo unsuccesfully tried to block Warner Brothers from releasing the movie "The Hangover: 2", claiming copyright infringement because the film features a character with a similar face tattoo. The judge thought blocking the film's release would harm too many people financially, but found that the artist would likely win monetary damages at trial. Duke University Law Professor James Boyle says allowing people to copyright human bodies could set a dangerous precedent."

Google's YouTube policy for Android users is copyright extremism; Guardian, 5/31/11

Cory Doctorow, Guardian; Google's YouTube policy for Android users is copyright extremism:

"Clearly, YouTube has something the entertainment industry wants – reach. And the entertainment industry has something YouTube wants – popular video. While it's true that the vast majority of video on YouTube is "home-made", or at least not the mainstream content produced by large commercial rights holders, there's no denying that there is lots of infringing material from the big studios and broadcasters up there too."

No Progress on Google Book Settlement Talks;Tone Changing? ; Publishers Weekly, 6/1/11

Albanese, A., Publishers Weekly; No Progress on Google Book Settlement Talks; Tone Changing? :

"The parties have made no progress on the underlying copyright dispute behind the lawsuits: whether Google’s scanning and limited display of library books is fair use, or infringement."

[Press Release] Former US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters Named to Copyright Clearance Center's Board of Directors; CCC, 2/16/11

[Press Release] Copyright Clearance Center; Former US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters Named to Copyright Clearance Center's Board of Directors:

"Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) CEO Tracey Armstrong announced the appointment of the just-retired US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters to its Board of Directors. With service at the US Copyright Office spanning four decades, Peters adds another seasoned copyright policy expert to CCC."

[Press Release] Maria Pallante Appointed 12th Register of Copyrights; Library of Congress, 6/1/11

[Press Release] Library of Congress; Maria Pallante Appointed 12th Register of Copyrights:

"Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Maria A. Pallante as the 12th Register of Copyrights and director of the United States Copyright Office, effective today. Pallante served as the Acting Register for the past five months, following the retirement of Marybeth Peters on December 31, 2010."

Out of Fear, Colleges Lock Books and Images Away From Scholars; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Education; Out of Fear, Colleges Lock Books and Images Away From Scholars:

"A library of 8.7 million digital volumes. A trove of 100,000 ocean-science photos. An archive of 57,000 Mexican-music recordings.

A common problem bedevils those different university collections. Wide online access is curtailed, in part because they contain "orphan works," whose copyright owners can't be found. And the institutions that hold the collections—a consortium of major research libraries and the University of California campuses at San Diego and Los Angeles—must deal with legal uncertainty in deciding how to share the works. A university that goes too far could end up facing a copyright-infringement lawsuit."