Saturday, March 31, 2012

[Op-Ed] When Stealing Isn’t Stealing; New York Times, 3/28/12

[Op-Ed] Stuart P. Green, New York Times; When Stealing Isn’t Stealing:

"The problem is that most people simply don’t buy the claim that illegally downloading a song or video from the Internet really is like stealing a car. According to a range of empirical studies, including one conducted by me and my social psychologist collaborator, Matthew Kugler, lay observers draw a sharp moral distinction between file sharing and genuine theft, even when the value of the property is the same."

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Google Begins to Scale Back Its Scanning of Books From University Libraries; Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/9/12

Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education; Google Begins to Scale Back Its Scanning of Books From University Libraries:

"Google has been quietly slowing down its book-scanning work with partner libraries, according to librarians involved with the vast Google Books digitization project. But what that means for the company's long-term investment in the work remains unclear."

Drilling Down: What Small Businesses Should Know About Pinterest; New York Times, 3/26/12

Gene Marks, New York Times; Drilling Down: What Small Businesses Should Know About Pinterest:

"Q: What are the risks of using Pinterest versus other social media sites?

A: Everyone keeps talking about copyright issues. So I guess the big risk is that Pinterest might be shut down one day because of copyright violations, or Pinterest would be forced to change the functionality and severely limit the way Pinners use the service. The other risk is that, like Facebook, you don’t own your Pinterest account. So you are at the mercy of a third party. This is why it’s always good for a business to have their own Web site and own real estate on the Internet."

Monday, March 19, 2012

Op-ed: Imminent "six strikes" Copyright Alert System needs antitrust scrutiny; ArsTechnica.com, 3/18/12

Sean M. Flaim, ArsTechnica.com; Op-ed: Imminent "six strikes" Copyright Alert System needs antitrust scrutiny:

"In her recent book, Consent of the Networked, author Rebecca MacKinnon discusses how many consumers are now residents of "Facebookistan" and "Googledom," reminding us of the power these two companies hold over consumers. But this power pales in comparison to the power exercised over consumers by their local ISPs, which control the very pipes that connect people to Google and Facebook.

Congress is the body that writes laws affecting interstate commerce. Antitrust, at least in part, offers protection against private companies doing the same. Recent reports indicate that the alert system, until now off to a slow start, will soon start affecting Internet users. Once it does, regulators must look closely to make sure the system lives up to its main promise as an educational tool rather than a system of vigilante justice."

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action; BBC News, 3/13/12

BBC News; Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action:

"A popular pub and music venue called The Hobbit has been threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers.

The Southampton pub has been accused of copyright infringement by lawyers representing the Saul Zaentz Company (SZC) in California...

Landlady Ms Roberts said: "We were absolutely stunned. It was completely unexpected, we never intended to infringe anyone's copyright.

"Are we doing any harm? I don't think so. We're bringing people to the books and the stories who haven't heard of JRR Tolkien.

"We don't have the financial resources to fight it - I can't fight Hollywood."...

"How long do we need to protect works for? Do we protect the works of Mozart and Shakespeare?" she added."

Monday, March 12, 2012

Justice Department Threatens Apple, Publishers over E-Book Pricing; Time, 3/8/12

Jared Newman, Time; Justice Department Threatens Apple, Publishers over E-Book Pricing:

"Did you notice that e-books became a little more expensive after Apple entered the game with iBooks? So did the U.S. Department of Justice, which may be threatening to sue Apple and e-book publishers for allegedly colluding to raise prices.

The Wall Street Journal reports that along with Apple, five publishers are facing a potential government lawsuit: Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, Macmillan and HarperCollins. Some publishers are trying to settle before the Justice Department takes legal action, but not every publisher is involved in negotiations, the Journal reports."