Mike Masnick, TechDirt; Thinking About Real Copyright Reform:
"Michael Scott alerts us to a recent paper by professor and copyright expert Jessica Litman about "Real Copyright Reform."...
Litman makes similar arguments that have been made recently by James Boyle and William Patry (among others), wondering why there is little investigation into the actual impact of changes in copyright law, rather than just assuming that "stronger protections" lead to better results, when so much of the evidence suggests otherwise. And, of course, all of this harkens back to the speeches by Thomas Macauley [sic] from over a century and a half ago, back when he was able to point to the lack of evidence from those who wished to extend copyright law...
Litman goes on to suggest that the fact that so many people out there don't have any respect for copyright law at all is pretty clearly the fault of the current copyright holders who have twisted and abused the law to the point that people just don't respect it. So, her ideas for copyright reform are based on bringing back "legitimacy" to copyright law by focusing on four principles:
1. Radically simplifying copyright law
2. Empowering content creators (rather than intermediaries and distributors)
3. Empowering readers, listeners and viewers (who, after all, are supposed to be part of the beneficiaries of copyright law)
4. Disintermediating copyright away from the middlemen who seem to control the law today
To then accomplish this, she suggests the following steps:
1. Focus on commercial exploitation (rather than personal use)
2. Simplify what copyright covers (rather than breaking out each separate exclusive right within copyright)
3. Reconnect creators to their copyright (via a termination right that lets them take copyrights back from third parties)
4. Clearly recognize readers' (or viewers', listeners', users', etc) rights
5. Get rid of existing compulsory license (and similar) intermediaries, such as ASCAP, BMI, SoundExchange and others
It's definitely an interesting proposal, though I think there are some serious problems with it."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091027/0406366692.shtml
Showing posts with label Jessica Litman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jessica Litman. Show all posts
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Research copyright bill would end free health info, Detroit Free Press, 3/5/09
Detroit Free Press: Research copyright bill would end free health info:
"Current law requires scientists to submit NIH-funded work to PubMed Central when it is accepted for publication in a journal. It's free to the public after one year.
The [Fair Copyright in Research Works] bill would keep studies protected under journals' copyrights, often for decades, according to the U.S. Copyright Office.
"I don't think there's a good thing to say about this bill. It's basically a corporate giveaway," said Jessica Litman, a copyright law professor at U-M. "The people own it, they shouldn't have to pay to see it again.""
http://www.freep.com/article/20090305/NEWS15/903050359
"Current law requires scientists to submit NIH-funded work to PubMed Central when it is accepted for publication in a journal. It's free to the public after one year.
The [Fair Copyright in Research Works] bill would keep studies protected under journals' copyrights, often for decades, according to the U.S. Copyright Office.
"I don't think there's a good thing to say about this bill. It's basically a corporate giveaway," said Jessica Litman, a copyright law professor at U-M. "The people own it, they shouldn't have to pay to see it again.""
http://www.freep.com/article/20090305/NEWS15/903050359
Monday, February 2, 2009
Copyright in the Age of YouTube, ABA Journal, February 2009 Issue
Via ABA Journal: Copyright in the Age of YouTube, As user-generated sites flourish, copyright law struggles to keep up:
"“The entertainment industry wants to change the law to protect their existing business models,” he says, “rather than change their business models to adapt to new technology.”
Protectionist behavior by copyright owners is nothing new. “There’s a recurrent pattern whenever a new technology crops up,” [Jessica] Litman says. “Existing content industries insist that the new technology must play by the old copyright rules. ... The new companies say that the old rules fit your technology and business models, but they don’t fit our technology and business models. Sometimes the older companies impose restrictions that try to stop the new technology, but in the end, the old and new companies reach some compromise.”
This time, however, copyright owners may need to compromise with more than just the new online businesses. Content owners may need to reach an understanding with tens of millions of U.S. Internet users.
“History tells us that unless the [copyright] rules will accommodate their interests, there will be no stability,” Litman says. “If the public does not see the rules as legitimate, they won’t obey them.”
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/copyright_in_the_age_of_youtube
"“The entertainment industry wants to change the law to protect their existing business models,” he says, “rather than change their business models to adapt to new technology.”
Protectionist behavior by copyright owners is nothing new. “There’s a recurrent pattern whenever a new technology crops up,” [Jessica] Litman says. “Existing content industries insist that the new technology must play by the old copyright rules. ... The new companies say that the old rules fit your technology and business models, but they don’t fit our technology and business models. Sometimes the older companies impose restrictions that try to stop the new technology, but in the end, the old and new companies reach some compromise.”
This time, however, copyright owners may need to compromise with more than just the new online businesses. Content owners may need to reach an understanding with tens of millions of U.S. Internet users.
“History tells us that unless the [copyright] rules will accommodate their interests, there will be no stability,” Litman says. “If the public does not see the rules as legitimate, they won’t obey them.”
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/copyright_in_the_age_of_youtube
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