To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties; New York Times, 7/7/11

Ben Sisario, New York Times; To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties:

"Americans who illegally download songs and movies may soon be in for a surprise: They will be warned to stop, and if they don’t, they could find their Internet access slowing to a crawl.

After years of negotiations with Hollywood and the music industry, the nation’s top Internet providers have agreed to a systematic approach to identifying customers suspected of digital copyright infringement and then alerting them via e-mail or other means."

[Podcast] Q&A: Kirby Ferguson; On the Media, 7/1/11

[Podcast] Alex Goldman, On the Media; Q&A: Kirby Ferguson:

"Over the past 9 months, writer, director, and editor Kirby Ferguson has been releasing episodes of Everything is a Remix, a video series about how appropriation, borrowing, and adaptation are inherent in, well, everything we as a culture create. The third installment of the four-part series just came out last week, so we thought we'd ask him a few questions about the project and his personal opinions on copyright and fair use."

Ericsson Recognizes That 'Piracy' Isn't The Problem, But A Symptom Of Failed Business Models; TechDirt.com, 7/1/11

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; Ericsson Recognizes That 'Piracy' Isn't The Problem, But A Symptom Of Failed Business Models:

"Once you realize that "piracy" is a symptom of an unsatisfied consumer base, you begin to recognize that it's often the leading indicator for innovation. That's because it shows you what consumers want, and satisfying the desires of consumers is where innovation comes from."

The Fans Own the Magic; New York Times, 7/1/11

Manohla Dargis and A.O.Scott, New York Times; The Fans Own the Magic:

"Prof. Henry Jenkins of the University of California, an enthusiastic champion of fan power, has framed the fight in near-revolutionary terms, writing on his Web site that PotterWar “may have been the first successful movement of fans to challenge the rather blanket copyright assertions of the major media producers.” Certainly it was a striking moment for plugged-in Potterites, yet it’s debatable whether the type of fan triumph that Professor Jenkins and others celebrate is as radical as sometimes suggested. Warner Brothers, after all, still owns the film rights."

Google may be poised to bid for Hulu; Los Angeles Times, 7/2/11

Jessica Guynn and Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times; Google may be poised to bid for Hulu:

"This spring, YouTube secured a movie rental deal with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios.

But rivals Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures have held back, amid concerns that Google has failed to do enough to combat Internet piracy. Paramount owner Viacom Inc. is still embroiled in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google's YouTube."

Rebecca Black pulls ‘Friday’ from YouTube; Washington Post, 6/17/11

Hayley Tuskayama, Washington Post; Rebecca Black pulls ‘Friday’ from YouTube:

"The partying, partying seems to be over on YouTube. According to a message on the site, teen pop star Rebecca Black has pulled the video due to a copyright claim."

Newspaper chain fights for copyright troll's survival; ArsTechnica.com, 7/1/11

David Kravets, ArsTechnica.com; Newspaper chain fights for copyright troll's survival:

"The roadblock is that several judges have recently cried foul on the business model, ruling Righthaven has no legal standing to bring the cases. That’s because Stephens Media kept ownership of the copyrights in the articles, which meant Righthaven had no right to sue over the work.

Now Righthaven and Stephens Media have reworked their agreement—a contract or “assignment” that Gibson, and now Stephens Media, say grants Righthaven standing to sue."

Berlin Wall artists sue city in copyright controversy; Guardian, 5/3/11

Helen Pidd, Guardian; Berlin Wall artists sue city in copyright controversy:

"The East Side Gallery is one of Berlin's most popular tourist attractions, a 1.3km-long brightly painted stretch of the wall which divided east and west for almost 30 years.

But now the outdoor exhibition space is embroiled in an expensive copyright controversy after Berlin council destroyed some artworks painted on the wall and reproduced others without the permission of the original artists."

A Free Site Helps Find Stolen Cam; New York Times, 6/12/11

Roy Furchgott, New York Times; A Free Site Helps Find Stolen Cam:

"If you see your photos on site that you haven’t given permission to use them, you may be able to go after them for copyright infringement."

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."

Pushing Back Against Legal Threats by Putting Fair Use Forward; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Education; Pushing Back Against Legal Threats by Putting Fair Use Forward:

"A rarely discussed form of self-censorship happens routinely on college campuses. Professors and graduate students choose not to tackle academic arguments that involve music, movies, or other forms of popular culture. They worry that including relevant clips in their work means the hassle and expense of getting copyright permission for each snippet."

Supreme Court Takes Up Scholars' Rights; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Education; Supreme Court Takes Up Scholars' Rights:

"The conductor's fight centers on the concept of the public domain, which scholars depend on for teaching and research. When a work enters the public domain, anyone can quote from it, copy it, share it, or republish it without seeking permission or paying royalties.

The dispute that led to Golan v. Holder dates to 1994, when Congress passed a law that moved vast amounts of material from the public domain back behind the firewall of copyright protection. For conductors like Mr. Golan, that step limited access to canonical 20th-century Russian pieces that had been freely played for years."

What's at Stake in the Georgia State Copyright Case; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/30/11

Chronicle of Higher Education; What's at Stake in the Georgia State Copyright Case:

"A closely watched trial in federal court in Atlanta, Cambridge University Press et al. v. Patton et al., is pitting faculty, libraries, and publishers against one another in a case that could clarify the nature of copyright and define the meaning of fair use in the digital age...

At issue before the court is the practice of putting class readings on electronic reserve (and, by extension, on faculty Web sites)."

What You Don't Know About Copyright, but Should; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education; What You Don't Know About Copyright, but Should:

"If Nancy Sims had to pick one word to describe how researchers, students, and librarians feel about copyright, it would probably be "confused."...

For instance, in a recent informal survey she conducted at the university, only 30 percent or so of the faculty respondents knew the answers to basic questions such as how one gets a copyright and how long it lasts. (Librarians did somewhat better.)"

The Copyright Rebellion; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/29/11

Chronicle of Higher Education; The Copyright Rebellion:

""Copyright law and publishers' business plans are preventing an enormous educational benefit."

Some academics have had enough. In a special report, The Chronicle looks at university faculty and staff members who are pushing, in court and on campus, to keep teaching and research from being starved of material."

From Shelves to Internet: America's Digital Library Takes Shape; Live Science, 5/27/11

Jeremy Hsu, Live Science; From Shelves to Internet: America's Digital Library Takes Shape:

"Palfrey and the library steering committee must also consider how to secure copyright permissions for lending digital materials not in the public domain, so that future library users can enjoy some of the latest best-selling books or Hollywood blockbusters."

[Podcast] Cory Doctorow on copyright and piracy: 'Every pirate wants to be an admiral'; Guardian, 5/30/11

[Podcast] Guardian; Cory Doctorow on copyright and piracy: 'Every pirate wants to be an admiral' :

"Blogger and activist Cory Doctorow argues that all new media – from sheet music to cable TV – is accused of piracy by the mainstream ... until it becomes the mainstream."

British Library creates a "national memory' with digital newspaper archive; Guardian, 5/30/11

Josh Halliday, Guardian; British Library creates a "national memory' with digital newspaper archive:

"The British Library is cautious in its approach to the thorny issue of copyright, initially drawing the line at digitising post-1900 material. The "national memory" still bristles at the mention of James Murdoch, who described himself as "very, very concerned" about the library's plans in May last year. However, archiving a wealth of material from the first world war and Britain's burgeoning suffragette movement remains the ambition."

Citing Public Interest, Judge Rules for ‘Hangover II’; New York Times, 5/24/11

Noam Cohen, New York Times; Citing Public Interest, Judge Rules for ‘Hangover II’:

"A federal judge on Tuesday allowed the movie “Hangover Part II” to be released for the Memorial Day weekend, rejecting a request by a tattoo artist who says that the movie violates his copyright by using a face tattoo he made for Mike Tyson on a central character in the movie."

Doctors and dentists tell patients, "all your review are belong to us"; ArsTechnica.com, 5/24/11

Timothy B. Lee, ArsTechnica.com; Doctors and dentists tell patients, "all your review are belong to us" :

"The agreement that Dr. Cirka's staff asked me to sign on that February morning began by claiming to offer stronger privacy protections than those guaranteed by HIPAA, the 1996 law that governs patient privacy in the United States. In exchange for this extra dollop of privacy, it asked me to "exclusively assign all Intellectual Property rights, including copyrights" to "any written, pictorial, and/or electronic commentary" I might make about Dr. Cirka's services, including on "web pages, blogs, and/or mass correspondence," to Dr. Cirka. It also stipulated that if Dr. Cirka were to sue me due to a breach of the agreement, the prevailing party in the litigation will pay the loser's legal fees."

The GSU Lawsuit: You Don't Know How Lucky You Are | Peer to Peer Review; Library Journal, 5/19/11

Barbara Fister, Library Journal; The GSU Lawsuit: You Don't Know How Lucky You Are | Peer to Peer Review:

"Three publishers—Sage, Cambridge, and Oxford University Press—want to return us to those good old days, only without any subtlety about fair use or four factors tests. The lawsuit (partly funded by the copyright fees that we pay to the Copyright Clearance Center) that pits scholarly presses against a university and its library and, by extension, the faculty and students who use their e-reserves system, has gone to trial, and the outcome the publishers have demanded, if they prevail, would seriously turn the clock back."

On Tyson’s Face, It’s Art. On Film, a Legal Issue; New York Times, 5/20/11

Noam Cohen, New York Times; On Tyson’s Face, It’s Art. On Film, a Legal Issue:

"The range of material that individuals and businesses are seeking to get copyright protection for has only been expanding, often at the insistence of movie studios. Mattel has gone to court to assert the copyright of the face of its Barbie doll; fashion companies have been lobbying Congress to pass a law to protect unique, nontrivial new designs. And trademark, which is governed by different laws and is much more contextual, has been used by athletes and coaches to get a measure of control over terms like “three-peat” or “Revis Island.”"

Photographers Respond to Lady Gaga's New Copyright Demands; Rolling Stone, 3/7/11

Matthew Perpetua, Rolling Stone; Photographers Respond to Lady Gaga's New Copyright Demands:

"Lady Gaga is now demanding that photographers surrender the copyright of photos taken at her concerts – and photographers are incensed."

E-Books Outsell Print Books at Amazon; New York Times, 5/20/11

Claire Cain Miller and Julie Bosman, New York Times; E-Books Outsell Print Books at Amazon:

"In the latest chapter in the unfolding tale of the book evolution from ink to pixels, Amazon.com said Thursday that its customers now buy more e-books than print books....

“But we are not to the point where e-books are a majority of unit sales and certainly not a majority of revenue.”"

New Zealand Libraries Considering Shutting Off Public Internet Access To Avoid Three Strikes Law; TechDirt.com, 5/19/11

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; New Zealand Libraries Considering Shutting Off Public Internet Access To Avoid Three Strikes Law:

"[I]n order to preserve internet access for those who work at the library, many New Zealand libraries are considering turning off internet access for the public (via TorrentFreak."

US ITC Report On China Piracy Shows Billions In Losses: Senators Demand Action; Intellectual Property Watch, 5/18/11

Intellectual Property Watch; US ITC Report On China Piracy Shows Billions In Losses: Senators Demand Action:

"China’s violations of United States intellectual property rights costs the US tens of billions of dollars in economic activity and millions of jobs, according to a report released today from the US International Trade Commission."

Class-action lawsuit targets Righthaven's "extortion litigation"; ArsTechnica.com, 5/18/11

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Class-action lawsuit targets Righthaven's "extortion litigation" :

"Righthaven has gone after more than 250 publishers for allegedly violating newspaper copyrights, and it has extracted settlements from many of them. But one defendant is fighting back in Colorado, launching a class-action counterclaim against Righthaven.

"Class Plaintiffs are victims of extortion litigation by Righthaven,” says the counterclaim, “which has made such extortion litigation a part of its, if not its entire, business model.”"

U. of Michigan Copyright Sleuths Start New Project to Investigate Orphan Works; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/16/11

Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Education; U. of Michigan Copyright Sleuths Start New Project to Investigate Orphan Works:

"The University of Michigan on Monday announced a new project to identify orphan works among the millions of volumes in the HathiTrust Digital Library...

The 8.7-million-volume HathiTrust collection, pooled by a consortium of research libraries largely from scans made by Google, may contain in the neighborhood of 2.5 million orphan works, according to one recent estimate."

EDUCAUSE Live! Web Seminar: Alphabet Soup: A P2P, DMCA, and HEOA FAQ, 5/18/11 1 PM EDT

EDUCAUSE Live! Web Seminar: Alphabet Soup: A P2P, DMCA, and HEOA FAQ:

"Three speakers with hard-won experience will provide practical advice on dealing with copyright infringement on campus networks in this free hour-long webinar, “Alphabet Soup: A P2P, DMCA, and HEOA FAQ.”"

The "PROTECT IP" Act: COICA Redux; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 5/12/11

Abigail Phillips, Electronic Frontier Foundation; The "PROTECT IP" Act: COICA Redux:

"Last year’s rogue website legislation is back on the table, with a new name: the "Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011"—or (wink, wink) "PROTECT IP". The draft language is available here."

LimeWire settles filesharing legal battle for $105m; Guardian, 5/13/11

Josh Halliday, Guardian; LimeWire settles filesharing legal battle for $105m:

"LimeWire has agreed to pay record companies $105m (£64m) to end a five-year legal battle over illegal filesharing.

The out-of-court settlement with 13 record companies, including labels owned by the four major groups, comes days after the start of a trial to decide damages following a decision that the service was liable for "massive scale infringement" for helping users pirate digital music files.

LimeWire, which the music groups blame for $1bn in lost sales, was shut down in October following a court ruling."

ACTA Still Open To Interpretation, Legal Experts Say; Transparency Fight Ongoing; Intellectual Property Watch, 5/10/11

Monika Ernert, Intellectual Property Watch; ACTA Still Open To Interpretation, Legal Experts Say; Transparency Fight Ongoing:

"In the United States, ACTA is planned to be passed by executive order and without involvement of Congress, which is possible as long as there is no need to update national law in the US. Yet a study by Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress done on request of Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and kept under the wraps until recently notes that “Depending on how broadly or narrowly several passages from the ACTA draft text are interpreted, it appears that certain provisions of federal intellectual property could be regarded as inconsistent with ACTA.""

Trial Date Set for High-Stakes Copyright Case Involving Georgia State U.; Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/31/11

Josh Fischman, Chronicle of Higher Education; Trial Date Set for High-Stakes Copyright Case Involving Georgia State U.:

"...Georgia case, Cambridge University Press et al. v. Patton et al., may have a profound effect on how much previously published material professors can safely use."