Proposed Update to Copyright Rules Eases Barriers to Security Research; National Journal, 4/20/15

Kaveh Waddell, Comic Book Resources; Proposed Update to Copyright Rules Eases Barriers to Security Research:

"Researchers who hack into everything from thermostats to Facebook so they can identify and help patch security holes may get a little assistance from Congress.

Legislation proposed last week would change copyright law to make it easier for these security researchers—not malicious hackers—to find and expose software vulnerabilities without getting in trouble for it.

The 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act made it illegal to get around technology protections—that includes ripping DVDs, copying video games, and in some cases, even jailbreaking your own smartphone. One provision of the act offers exemptions for certain activities. Ostensibly, security research is one of those activities, but the way the law is set up makes it difficult to get exemptions for research, critics say...

The bill likely faces an uphill battle."

'Fantastic Four' trailer leaked, pulled fast on copyright grounds; CNet, 4/19/15

Michael Franco, CNet; 'Fantastic Four' trailer leaked, pulled fast on copyright grounds:

"Summer's the season for blockbuster movie releases, which means spring is the time for blockbuster-movie trailers. And this spring, it seems leaked trailers are going to be all the rage. Just last week, director Zack Snyder announced that a special screening for the trailer for the upcoming "Batman v Superman" film was to be held in IMAX theaters around the US on Monday. Then the trailer leaked online, forcing the studio to release the official trailer earlier than they'd have liked.

Now we have a just-leaked version of the new "Fantastic Four" film that's been posted online a day earlier than its official release date on Monday.

The trailer was leaked by a YouTube user going by the name of lioonelx. It's the only video posted by the user, who remains completely anonymous in his YouTube profile."

HBO tracking down pirates who downloaded leaked Game of Thrones episodes; Sydney Morning Herald, 4/20/15

Sydney Morning Herald; HBO tracking down pirates who downloaded leaked Game of Thrones episodes:

"If you've received a letter in the mail, you'll be relieved to know it carries no legal ramifications, as it's impossible to determine the individual who breached copyright from an IP address. However, repeated incidents could put a user in breach of their ISP's terms of service and result in termination of their account.

It's likely HBO simply hopes notifying users will make them think twice about their options before pirating next time (those options currently being Foxtel or wait, as HBO has announced they'll be blocking Australians from sneaking into their HBO Now service). The reminder that rights holders can track users down is particularly timely for viewers in Australia, where Dallas Buyers Club LLC recently won the right to request ISPs hand over subscriber details, and the looming Trans-Pacific Partnership has scary implications for pirates as well.

Of course any BitTorrent users hiding their locations behind virtual private networks (VPNs) — which are used increasingly in Australia — would have been invisible to HBO's investigations."

Copyright claims asserted in viral video of cop shooting fleeing suspect; Ars Technica, 4/17/15

David Kravets, Ars Technica; Copyright claims asserted in viral video of cop shooting fleeing suspect:

"The April 4 viral video of a South Carolina police officer shooting a fleeing suspect has cost the cop his job and his freedom. But there's now another cost attached to the video, perhaps in the $10,000 range or more. A publicist for the man who captured the footage—which led to homicide charges against North Charleston officer Michael Slager— says news outlets must pay a licensing fee to carry the footage."

Don’t Keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Secret; New York Times, 4/14/15

Margot E. Kaminski, New York Times; Don’t Keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Secret:

"WHEN WikiLeaks recently released a chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, critics and proponents of the deal resumed wrestling over its complicated contents. But a cover page of the leaked document points to a different problem: It announces that the draft text is classified by the United States government. Even if current negotiations over the trade agreement end with no deal, the draft chapter will still remain classified for four years as national security information. The initial version of an agreement projected by the government to affect millions of Americans will remain a secret until long after meaningful public debate is possible.

National security secrecy may be appropriate to protect us from our enemies; it should not be used to protect our politicians from us. For an administration that paints itself as dedicated to transparency and public input, the insistence on extensive secrecy in trade is disappointing and disingenuous. And the secrecy of trade negotiations does not just hide information from the public. It creates a funnel where powerful interests congregate, absent the checks, balances and necessary hurdles of the democratic process.

Free-trade agreements are not just about imports, tariffs or overseas jobs. Agreements bring complex national regulatory systems together, such as intellectual property law, with implications for free speech, privacy and public health...

Secrecy also delegitimizes trade agreements: The process has been internationally criticized as undemocratic. The European Parliament, for example, rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in large part over legitimacy concerns."

New State of America’s Libraries Report finds shift in role of U.S. libraries; American Library Association (ALA), 4/12/15

Macey Morales, American Library Association (ALA); New State of America’s Libraries Report finds shift in role of U.S. libraries:

"Copyright updates

There were some positive developments in the realm of copyright. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the ruling in Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, deciding that providing a full text search database and providing access to works for people with print disabilities constitutes fair use.

In October 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit handed down an important decision in Cambridge University Press et al. v. Carl V. Patton et al. (the Georgia State University e-reserves case). This decision emphasizes a thoughtful analysis of fair use and a rejection of the highly restrictive guidelines promoted by many publishers. Critically, this decision affirms the importance of flexible limitations on publisher’s rights, such as fair use. Overall, federal court cases continue to favor reasonable fair use rights, especially those that add value to an original work or serve a different, socially beneficial purpose.

While Congress continues to hold hearings about various aspects of copyright, the US Copyright Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office (PDF) published studies on orphan works, music licensing, and other topics to inform decision-making."

Through a Touch-Screen Looking Glass; New York Times, 4/10/15

J.D. Biersdorfer, New York Times; Through a Touch-Screen Looking Glass:

"As Hollywood has repeatedly shown, dressing up well-worn stories in shiny packages can gain another generation of fans. App designers are now taking a turn at the reboot game with some of literature’s most beloved characters. Public-domain works have appeal because, with time-tested narratives in place, software makers can focus on creating a fresh storytelling experience aided by technology.

Take, for example, Sherlock Holmes. Most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s material is now out of copyright and reliably available in the “free” section of e-bookstores. But the great detective has traveled deeper into the digital realm than mere text in the immersive SHERLOCK: INTERACTIVE ADVENTURE for iOS ($1.99 for the full version)...

While “Sherlock” and “Alice” date back to 19th-century Britain, even older stories from other cultures are popping up online with striking visual interpretations. PIXEL FABLE, created by the designer and illustrator Senongo Akpem, is a website devoted to reworking a handful of African folk stories like “Why the Sky Is Far Away.”"

John E. Walsh, Who Distilled the Bible, Dies at 87; New York Times, 4/8/15

Sam Roberts, New York Times; John E. Walsh, Who Distilled the Bible, Dies at 87:

"The abridged Reader’s Digest version, supervised by the Rev. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament language and literature at Princeton, did not skimp on any of the Ten Commandments and considered favorites like the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer to be sacrosanct. But in the end, it boiled down the Old Testament by 50 percent and the New Testament by 25 percent. None of Jesus’ words were changed, but about 10 percent were deleted.

Mr. Walsh said he was initially appalled by the notion of tinkering with Scripture, where the Book of Revelation warned against changing “the words of the book of this prophecy.” But Mr. Metzger concluded that the warning really amounted to “an ancient copyright notice.”"

YouTube’s copyright system has taken Rand Paul’s presidential announcement offline; Washington Post, 4/7/15

Philip Bump, Washington Post; YouTube’s copyright system has taken Rand Paul’s presidential announcement offline:

"During his announcement on Tuesday, Rand Paul entered and left to the song, "Shuttin' Detroit Down," as Business Insider notes. The song is a twangy lament about the state of the economy that dates back a few years; the copyright stamp on the YouTube video reads "(c) 2009 WMG." WMG, of course, is Warner Music Group.

We've reached out to both WMG and YouTube for comment, and will update this article when we hear back. But it's hard not to see some humor in the situation. Rand Paul's spirited cry against government intervention has been blocked from view because YouTube lets huge music companies preemptively apply copyright law.

Looks like Paul just got another plank in his campaign platform."

Over 50 and Back in College, Preparing for a New Career; New York Times, 4/3/15

Kerry Hannon, New York Times; Over 50 and Back in College, Preparing for a New Career:

"Students not seeking degrees often can audit classes at a local college or enroll in massive open online courses, or MOOCs, at little or no cost, via Coursera, Udacity, EdX and Lynda.com. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes allow students 50 and older who aren’t seeking to earn credit to attend classes at more than 100 universities.

One-year adult education programs aimed at professionals are also on the increase."

Online Test-Takers Feel Anti-Cheating Software’s Uneasy Glare; New York Times, 4/5/15

Natasha Singer, New York Times; Online Test-Takers Feel Anti-Cheating Software’s Uneasy Glare:

"In hopes of alleviating students’ concerns, Verificient recently posted a pledge on its blog saying that Proctortrack did not share students’ data with third parties; that it typically deleted students’ data after 30 to 60 days; and that students could remove the software from their computers once they had uploaded their test data.

But the company has not changed its privacy policy — which states that it may unilaterally amend its policies at any time and that it may disclose users’ personal information to third-party service providers or in the event of a company merger, sale or bankruptcy.

Students like Ms. Chao say they hope university administrators will consider the civil liberties implications of emergent tracking technologies, not just the expediency.

“They are trying to make recording students a regular part of online courses,” Ms. Chao said. “You don’t know what new norms are going to be established for what privacy is.”"

[Book Review of ‘Culture Crash,’ by Scott Timberg], New York Times, 3/17/15

[Book Review of ‘Culture Crash,’ by Scott Timberg] Ben Yagoda, New York Times:

CULTURE CRASH

The Killing of the Creative Class

By Scott Timberg 310 pp. Yale University Press. $26

"In 1999, recordings generated $14.6 billion in revenue to the music business; by 2012, the figure was down to $5.35 billion. Of course, owing to the change in the dominant distribution model from physical CDs to (first) downloading MP3 files and (now) streaming on services like Pandora and Spotify, performing artists get a thinner slice of the smaller pie. Timberg puts a human face on the statistics with portraits, scattered throughout the book, of poets, artists, moviemakers and reporters who had been doing good work and making not great but decent livings, when all of a sudden the rug was pulled out from under them..."

As Timberg himself acknowledges elsewhere, artistic expression is essential to human existence. Its forms are rapidly changing. Its economics are, too, and at this moment artists are finding it harder and harder to make a living from their work. But it will persevere. Who knows? Maybe the commenters were right, and an old-fashioned symphony orchestra isn’t sustainable any­more. Music will survive — including, for the time being, in Louisville, where, after the bankruptcy filing, the orchestra cut back on its schedule and staffing, and suffered a musicians’ strike as a consequence, but posted a $20,000 surplus last August."

Card expired: The head of the Library of Congress must go; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/3/15

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Card expired: The head of the Library of Congress must go:

"In a scathing report issued this week, the federal watchdog agency assigned much of the blame for the library’s inefficiency to director James H. Billington, an 85-year-old Ronald Reagan appointee who rarely uses a cell phone, does not use email and does not keep abreast of technological change. Mr. Billington’s annual salary is $179,700, so his reluctance to step down is partly understandable.

But the Library of Congress has a $630 million annual budget and 3,200 employees whose primary task is to run the Copyright Office and provide Congress with research and legal advice. Among the problems identified in the GAO report is the institution’s lack of a chief information officer.

Mr. Billington and his lieutenants have not moved to appoint anyone to this crucial role. They continue to run what is supposed to be one of the most important sources of information in the nation as if it were a neglected school library in rural America. The library doesn’t keep track of costs or log or respond to complaints...

Mr. Billington should retire honorably and make way, after three decades, for fresh, tech-savvy management."

IT troubles plague Federal Copyright Office; NetworkWorld.com, 3/31/15

Michael Cooney, NetworkWorld.com; IT troubles plague Federal Copyright Office:

"A report out this week from the watchdogs at the Government Accountability Office points out a number of different technical and management woes that see to start at the top – with the CIO (a position that has a number of problems in its own right) and flows down to the technology, or lack-thereof.

As the nation’s copyright center it is imperative that it operate efficiently to effectively protect all manner of written and recorded material but according to the GAO it doesn’t.

And it is a big job. For example, according to the Copyright Office, which falls organizationally under the Library of Congress, in fiscal year 2014 it registered about 476,000 creative works for copyright, including about 219,000 literary works and 65,000 sound recordings and recorded 7,600 copyright records. In addition in fiscal year 2014 the office collected approximately $315 million in royalties and made disbursements in accordance with the decisions of the Copyright Royalty Board."

Citing ‘Greatest American Hero’ Case, Judge Rules ‘Three’s Company’ Parody Doesn’t Violate Copyright: Media; Deadline.com, 3/31/15

Jeremy Gerard, Deadline.com; Citing ‘Greatest American Hero’ Case, Judge Rules ‘Three’s Company’ Parody Doesn’t Violate Copyright: Media:

"In a significant free-speech victory, Loretta A. Preska, Chief United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, ruled Tuesday that 3C, a play that parodies the 1970s sitcom Three’s Company, does not infringe on that copyrighted program. The ruling ends nearly three years of court tennis during which playwright David Adjmi was prohibited from publishing the script of his black comedy and pursuing new productions. And in her ruling, Judge Preska cites the famous Superman v. Greatest American Hero case still discussed today."

Roger L. Mayer, Pioneer of Film Preservation, Dies at 88; New York Times, 3/29/15

Sam Roberts, New York Times; Roger L. Mayer, Pioneer of Film Preservation, Dies at 88:

"Roger L. Mayer, a film executive who was instrumental in preserving and restoring countless classic movies and who also courted controversy by coloring some black-and-white ones, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 88...

At the 2005 Oscar ceremonies in Hollywood, the director Martin Scorsese, a leading advocate of saving films, presented Mr. Mayer with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in recognition of his chairmanship of the National Film Preservation Foundation, which has rescued more than 2,100 “orphaned” movies that were abandoned by their copyright holders. He also served on the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board, which each year chooses 25 of what it calls “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films” worth safeguarding."

Access denied: Reporters say federal officials, data increasingly off limits; Washington Post, 3/30/15

Paul Farhi, Washington Post; Access denied: Reporters say federal officials, data increasingly off limits:

"Tensions between reporters and public information officers — “hacks and flacks” in the vernacular — aren’t new, of course. Reporters have always wanted more information than government officials have been willing or able to give.

But journalists say the lid has grown tighter under the Obama administration, whose chief executive promised in 2009 to bring “an unprecedented level of openness” to the federal government.

The frustrations boiled over last summer in a letter to President Obama signed by 38 organizations representing journalists and press-freedom advocates. The letter decried “politically driven suppression of news and information about federal agencies” by spokesmen. “We consider these restrictions a form of censorship — an attempt to control what the public is allowed to see and hear,” the groups wrote.

They asked for “a clear directive” from Obama “telling federal employees they’re not only free to answer questions from reporters and the public, but actually encouraged to do so.”

Obama hasn’t acted on the suggestion. But his press secretary, Josh Earnest, defended the president’s record, noting in a letter to the groups that, among other things, the administration has processed a record number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, established more protection for whistleblowers and posted White House visitor logs for the first time."

The White House’s first chief data scientist is no stranger to Washington; Washington Post, 3/29/15

Amrita Jayakumar, Washington Post; The White House’s first chief data scientist is no stranger to Washington:

"DJ Patil, who was named the nation’s first chief data scientist last month, shares credit for coining the term “data science.” He is the latest Silicon Valley transplant to join the Obama administration, working under former Google executive Megan Smith, the White House’s chief technology officer...

Q. What does the first chief data scientist do?

A. To me, the government says, “Okay, we have data, but how do we use that responsibly to create efficiencies, to create transparency, to unlock economic potential? How do we get that data to preserve American competitiveness and advance innovation?”

The mission of this role is an amplification of things that have been happening.

How will you achieve those goals?

There are three areas where we have the biggest chance to succeed in our mission...

The next one is open data. We’ve got data.gov [a Web site that features machine-readable government data], which has really changed the game. Think about the billions of dollars that rest on open data infrastructure. People do research on that data, that research turns into insight, that insight turns into wisdom and that wisdom is put back into models and scientific results. The foundation of all this is open data. How do we enhance that across-the-board?"

Meerkat, Game of Thrones and a Brewing Copyright Nightmare; Natinonal Journal, 3/26/15

Kaveh Waddell, National Journal; Meerkat, Game of Thrones and a Brewing Copyright Nightmare:

"Meerkat, a weeks-old service that allows users to broadcast live video over the Internet via Twitter, is the app du jour. It hit the popularity jackpot at this month's South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. And political media have fallen in love with the prospect of live streaming every speech and candidate interaction for the next 18 months...

But as Meerkat tries to keep up with its exploding user base (Rubin says the app hit the 400,000-user mark Tuesday) it may be loping into a legal minefield. The same characteristics that make the app attractive to the hundreds of thousands of people who are downloading it—its ease of use and engaged users—make it perfect for another of the Internet's favorite pastimes: piracy.

Copyright infringement has been a problem since before the Internet existed, and every new generation of technology presents an easier, faster way to share movies and TV without paying."

EU announces plans to banish geo-blocking, modernize copyright law; Ars Technica, 3/271/5

Glyn Moody, Ars Technica; EU announces plans to banish geo-blocking, modernize copyright law:

"At the heart of the European Union lies the Single Market—the possibility for people to buy and sell goods and services anywhere in the EU. So it is ironic that the European sector least constrained by geography—the digital market—is also the least unified. To remedy that situation, the European Commission has announced its Digital Single Market Strategy, which addresses three main areas.

The first is "Better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services" and includes two of the thorniest issues: geo-blocking and copyright. As the EU's strategy notes, "too many Europeans cannot use online services that are available in other EU countries, often without any justification; or they are re-routed to a local store with different prices. Such discrimination cannot exist in a Single Market."

There is strong resistance to removing geo-blocking, particularly from copyright companies that have traditionally sold rights on a national basis and which therefore want geo-blocking to enforce that fragmentation."

Judge Hears Copyright Fight Over 'Happy Birthday To You'; National Law Journal, 3/23/15

Amanda Bronstad, National Law Journal; Judge Hears Copyright Fight Over 'Happy Birthday To You' :

"In a court battle involving perhaps the only song more popular than “Blurred Lines,” a federal judge is set to decide whether a Los Angeles-based music publisher has unlawfully been collecting licensing fees for the copyright to “Happy Birthday to You.”

U.S. District Judge George King of the Central District of California heard more than two hours of arguments on Monday on whether to declare Warner/Chappell Music Inc.’s copyright invalid and find that “Happy Birthday to You” should be in the public domain.

At stake are potentially millions of dollars in licensing fees to what the complaint calls the “world’s most popular song.”"

Seth MacFarlane Wins in Lawsuit Claiming He Stole 'Ted' Idea; Reuters via New York Times, 3/24/15

Reuters via New York Times; Seth MacFarlane Wins in Lawsuit Claiming He Stole 'Ted' Idea:

"A California production company that sued Seth MacFarlane for allegedly stealing its idea for a foul-mouthed talking bear with a penchant for drinking, drugs and prostitutes for his 2012 hit movie "Ted" has withdrawn its copyright lawsuit.

Bengal Mangle Productions LLC had contended in a July 2014 complaint that Ted was "strikingly similar" to its own teddy bear Charlie, who was created in 2008 and has appeared on websites such as YouTube and FunnyorDie.

But in a Monday court filing, Bengal Mangle said it cannot pursue its case, being "satisfied that, based on discovery produced in the action, the character Ted was independently created by Seth MacFarlane using his own efforts and creativity and was not copied from plaintiff's Charlie character.""

Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data; New York Times, 3/22/15

Natasha Singer, New York Times; Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data:

"Is the digital revolution in the classroom giving the education technology industry carte blanche to exploit student data?

That was the question some teacher and parents groups have posed in their public responses to the news last week that Pearson, the education publisher, had been covertly monitoring social media sites to identify students who might have disclosed questions from its assessment tests.

In an effort to ease parent and teacher concerns, two congressmen are planning to introduce a bill on Monday that would place limits on how education technology companies can use information about kindergarten through 12th-grade students.

Called the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act, the bill would prohibit companies that operate school services — like online homework portals, digital grade books for teachers or student email programs — from knowingly using or disclosing students’ personal information to tailor advertisements to them. It would also bar them from collecting or using student data to create marketing profiles."

In the Age of Information, Specializing to Survive; New York Times, 3/19/15

J. Peder Zane, New York Times; In the Age of Information, Specializing to Survive:

"Of course, not all information is equal. Those exabytes do include a few great novels, stirring films and groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Most are flotsam wrapped in jetsam: insipid blog posts and text messages, YouTube videos of cuddly cats and pornographic acts, ignorance that poses as knowledge.

“We are overloaded with junk,” said Daniel Levitin, a professor of psychology and behavioral neuroscience at McGill University whose books include “The Organized Mind.” “It’s becoming harder and harder to separate the wheat from the digital chaff. The problem with the Internet is anyone can post, so it’s hard to know whether you are looking at a fact or pseudofact, science or pseudoscience.”...

If the information age makes knowledge seem like a straitjacket, David Galenson, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, notes that progress often hinges on those rare individuals who have escaped its bonds. Artists from Picasso to Bob Dylan and entrepreneurs including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs changed the world by finding “radically new ways of looking at old problems,” Mr. Galenson said. “They cut through all the accumulated stuff — forget what’s been done — to see something special, something new.”...

For many who don’t share that kind of vision, the response to information overload is simple: Just search and forget (repeat as necessary). Even more ambitious absorbers of knowledge like Jonathan Haber will most likely find that the key to lifelong learning is a human mediator, someone who has engaged in the ancient task of searching and sorting through knowledge.

Until, of course, a modern-day Leonardo invents a machine that can do that too."

As Artworks Enter Public Domain, Rules Remain Confusing; New York Times, 3/13/15

Nina Siegal, New York Times; As Artworks Enter Public Domain, Rules Remain Confusing:

"Piet Mondrian, the Dutch modern master, died 71 years ago. Are his works now copyright-free?

The answer — a highly qualified “yes, but” — has ramifications for scholars, publishers, museums, heirs and anyone else who has an interest in seeing and studying works of art in a global context.

The issue turns on a discrepancy between European and American copyright law that is coming to light this year because, as of Jan. 1, 2015, Mondrian’s works enter the public domain in Europe. Under European Union law, the term of copyright for works of art expires on the 1st of January following 70 years after the author or artist’s death.

But the case is particularly complex with Mondrian because he produced part of his work while living in Europe and part of it in the United States, where copyright laws are different.

Although the lack of uniformity in national copyright laws affects reproduction rights for works by any artist, it is becoming a more complicated issue with the growth of online sharing, especially as museums are increasingly interested in offering the public access to their collections on the web."

Healthful alliance: UPMC, Pitt and CMU join forces in a big way; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/19/15

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Healthful alliance: UPMC, Pitt and CMU join forces in a big way:

"The announcement Monday by the heads of UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University that they were forming the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance was the unveiling of no mere partnership or collaboration. The alliance aims to marshal the strengths of all three institutions on behalf of the public’s health and well-being.

The initiative, which will be funded largely by UPMC to the tune of $10 million to $20 million a year, will process massive amounts of electronic health data — from insurance records, patient information, genomic profiles, wearable sensors and other sources — to help guide an individual’s medical treatment. This “big data” could also help physicians detect when a new outbreak in a personal ailment might occur and respond more rapidly, before a health problem grows larger.

Success of the alliance will hinge on UPMC’s vast patient data, Pitt’s health science research capabilities and CMU’s leadership in computer science and machine learning. Beyond the real-world diagnosis and care benefits for individual patients, the effort also seeks to spin off commercial businesses and create jobs."

Musicians Can Avoid Copyright Suits by Showing Sense and Respect; New York Times, 3/17/15

Jonathan Horn, New York Times; Musicians Can Avoid Copyright Suits by Showing Sense and Respect:

"Fortunately, there is a simple solution – seek and obtain any arguably necessary clearances and permissions. Do so in advance. It happens every day – and it works.

Artists and producers, show your affection for the music that came before you and your respect for those who created that music by erring on the side of caution. If you are not sure whether or not you need permission to use something, run it by your team. Ask your counsel. When in doubt, ask for a license!

If you've been asked to license your music, take to heart your responsibility to mentor and assist younger musicians. Be thoughtful and reasonable when evaluating requests for licenses – and instruct record labels and publishers who hold rights in your works to do likewise. It is a tangible way to connect generations. Extend yourself even when the discussion about permission comes later than it should (i.e., after a record has been released). Remember, too, that a new song can rekindle interest in the original and in the original artist. Finally, keep in mind that while you are on the receiving end today, you may be the one seeking permission tomorrow."

Update Our Culture, Not Just Copyright Laws; New York Times, 3/17/15

M.K. Asante, New York Times; Update Our Culture, Not Just Copyright Laws:

"A much-needed change in copyright laws will certainly usher in a ton of new cases. Cases even more egregious and blatant than “Blurred Lines.” Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) reminds us in his song “Rock N Roll”:

You may dig on the Rolling Stones

But they ain't come up with that ... on they own

He was speaking about the dark history of copyright infringement, and often downright theft, from black musicians. The Rolling Stones biographer Stanley Booth described their music as “the songs of old black men too poor to put glass in their windows.""

Pitt, CMU and UPMC hope to remake health care via new big data alliance; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/16/15

Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pitt, CMU and UPMC hope to remake health care via new big data alliance:

"Pittsburgh is making a big bet on big data.

UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University on Monday announced the formation of the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance to “revolutionize health care and wellness” by using data to detect potential outbreaks as well as create health care innovations that will spawn spinoff companies.

The clinical goal, the leaders of the three institutions said, is to remake health care so that it is at once more computerized, yet more personalized, using millions of gigabytes of accumulated health records to predict and treat patients’ health issues in a manner far more specific than is possible today.

And the business development goal, the leaders said, is no less than a Pittsburgh-based “moonshot” for health information technology, one that could make Pittsburgh the global epicenter for such research.

If the alliance unfolds as outlined, it someday could rival the scope of the nation’s largest university-led data-sharing projects (such as the ongoing Dartmouth Atlas health policy research partnership with Dartmouth College) and its biggest artificial clinical intelligence projects (such as the IBM Watson team’s foray into the health care realm)."

What’s Wrong With the ‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Ruling; New York Times, 3/11/15

Jon Caramanica, New York Times; What’s Wrong With the ‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Ruling:

"Besides, in an age in which popular music is incredibly diverse, with more sonic references, instruments and digital trickery available than ever, using sheet music as a measure of a song’s originality is a weak tactic, and possibly an irresponsible one. The “Blurred Lines” verdict is a victory for an outmoded law, but also an outmoded way of thinking about music.

There are untold things that static sheet music can’t capture: tone, feel and intensity or texture, all of which are as important to modern songwriting as the notes, and probably more so. Relying on the sheet music exposes a generational bias, too — implicit in the premise of the case is that Mr. Gaye’s version of songwriting is somehow more serious than what Mr. Williams does, since it is the one that the law is designed to protect.

There is, it should be said, a similarity in the bass lines of the two songs, and perhaps, more broadly, in their shared lite-funk feel. And it’s likely that Mr. Thicke and Mr. Williams didn’t help their case by contending in interviews around the song’s release — including one in The New York Times — the psychic and literal debts they owed Mr. Gaye, and specifically “Got to Give It Up.” (Mr. Thicke testified, though, that he had barely any input in the writing of the song, a different explanation from what he gave the news media.) Often in the credits that come with an album, the phrase “contains an interpolation of” will appear. That generally means the song borrows from something else, but in a way that’s less than an actual sample or a heavily repurposed lyric or melody. It can feel like a legally codified version of a good-will gesture — certainly “Blurred Lines” might have benefited from such a designation up front."

Industry Urges Congress to Support Copyright Law; Hollywood Reporter, 3/10/15

Alex Ben Block, Hollywood Reporter; Industry Urges Congress to Support Copyright Law:

"The industry group CreativeFuture and the Copyright Alliance announced Tuesday they have joined forces to have more than 1,200 of their members send letters to members of the Senate and of Representatives in support of copyright law, which is under review by the 114th Congress.

“Our copyright system is not perfect,” say the letters, “but, like democracy, it is better than the alternatives. It works. We urge Congress to resist attempts to erode the right of creatives to determine when and how they share their works in the global marketplace.”"

‘Blurred Lines’ Infringed on Marvin Gaye Copyright, Jury Rules; New York Times, 3/10/15

Ben Sisario and Noah Smith, New York Times; ‘Blurred Lines’ Infringed on Marvin Gaye Copyright, Jury Rules:

"According to the jury’s decision, Nona and Frankie Gaye, two of Marvin Gaye’s children, are to receive $4 million in damages, plus $3.3 million in profits attributed to Mr. Thicke and Mr. Williams, as well as about $9,000 in statutory damages for the infringement of copyright. Clifford Harris Jr., better known as T.I., who contributed a rap in the song, was found not liable.

The decision is one of the largest damage awards in a music copyright case, some legal experts said. In one of the few comparable cases, Michael Bolton and Sony were ordered to pay $5.4 million in 1994 for infringing on a 1960s song by the soul group the Isley Brothers."

Jurors hit Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams with $7.4-million verdict; Los Angeles Times, 3/10/15

Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times; Jurors hit Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams with $7.4-million verdict:

"A federal jury found Tuesday that the 2013 hit song "Blurred Lines" infringed on the Marvin Gaye chart-topper "Got to Give It Up," awarding nearly $7.4 million to Gaye's children.

Jurors found against singer-songwriters Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, but held harmless the record company and rapper T.I."

CrowdFlower Launches Open Data Project Covering Everything From Climate Change To #ThatDress; TechCrunch, 3/3/15

Anthony Ha, TechCrunch; CrowdFlower Launches Open Data Project Covering Everything From Climate Change To #ThatDress:

"Crowdsourcing company CrowdFlower allows businesses to tap into a distributed workforce of 5 million contributors for basic tasks like sentiment analysis. Today it’s releasing some of that data to the public through its new Data for Everyone initiative.

Founder and CEO Lukas Biewald (a friend of mine from college) told me that last year, the company quietly began asking some of its customers if they were willing to make the data they gathered through CrowdFlower public, and now it’s officially launching the initiative with its first batch of data sets.

Biewald said this grew out of his own frustrations about the lack of open data during his time as a grad student and as a scientist at search startup Powerset. His hope is to turn CrowdFlower into a central repository where open data can be found by researchers and entrepreneurs. (Factual was another startup trying to become a hub for open data, though in recent years, it’s become more focused on gathering location data to power mobile ads.)"

Here’s What Will Truly Change Higher Education: Online Degrees That Are Seen as Official; New York Times, 3/5/15

Kevin Carey, New York Times; Here’s What Will Truly Change Higher Education: Online Degrees That Are Seen as Official:

"The failure of MOOCs to disrupt higher education has nothing to do with the quality of the courses themselves, many of which are quite good and getting better. Colleges are holding technology at bay because the only thing MOOCs provide is access to world-class professors at an unbeatable price. What they don’t offer are official college degrees, the kind that can get you a job. And that, it turns out, is mostly what college students are paying for.

Now information technology is poised to transform college degrees. When that happens, the economic foundations beneath the academy will truly begin to tremble...

Free online courses won’t revolutionize education until there is a parallel system of free or low-fee credentials, not controlled by traditional colleges, that leads to jobs. Now technological innovators are working on that, too.

The Mozilla Foundation, which brought the world the Firefox web browser, has spent the last few years creating what it calls the Open Badges project. Badges are electronic credentials that any organization, collegiate or otherwise, can issue. Badges indicate specific skills and knowledge, backed by links to electronic evidence of how and why, exactly, the badge was earned.

Traditional institutions, including Michigan State and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are experimenting with issuing badges. But so are organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 4-H, the Smithsonian, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Y.M.C.A. of Greater New York."

What Happens When Mein Kampf's Copyright Expires?; New Republic, 3/6/15

Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, New Republic; What Happens When Mein Kampf's Copyright Expires? :

"Later this year, the official copyright for Mein Kampf expires—70 years after the demise of its author. Since 1945, the Bavarian State (which owns the copyright) has refused to allow anyone to publish the volume. But in expectation of the copyright’s expiration (and in the hope of getting a jump on neo-Nazis who may try to publish their own slanted versions of the text) the esteemed Munich and Berlin-based Institute for Contemporary History decided some years ago to publish its own, critically annotated version. The move has generated some opposition, with some arguing against the release of any new version; “Can you annotate the Devil?” one critic asks."

Pharrell Williams Acknowledges Similarity to Gaye Song in ‘Blurred Lines’ Case; New York Times, 3/4/15

Ben Sisario and Noah Smith, New York Times; Pharrell Williams Acknowledges Similarity to Gaye Song in ‘Blurred Lines’ Case:

"How closely does Robin Thicke’s hit “Blurred Lines” resemble a classic by Marvin Gaye?

That question is central to a closely watched copyright case here, and on Wednesday, Pharrell Williams, the producer behind “Blurred Lines,” acknowledged a similarity to Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up” but denied that there had been any intention to copy it.

“I must have been channeling that feeling, that late-’70s feeling,” Mr. Williams testified in the case, which pits him and Mr. Thicke against the family of Gaye, who died in 1984...

Mr. Busch then asked Mr. Williams whether “Blurred Lines” had a similar “feel” to “Got to Give It Up” and others from its era.

“Feel,” Mr. Williams said, “not infringement.”"

Industry Issues Intrude in ‘Blurred Lines’ Case; New York Times, 3/1/15

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Industry Issues Intrude in ‘Blurred Lines’ Case:

"Copyright cases can be esoteric affairs. But the “Blurred Lines” trial, which began Tuesday before Judge John A. Kronstadt in United States District Court for the Central District of California, has provided a rare window into an unseemly and embarrassing side of the music industry. Testimony and a flurry of pretrial documents have revealed lurid details of drugs, unearned songwriting credits, and intentional deception of the news media employed as a standard promotional practice...

If Mr. Thicke’s side loses, the potential damages could be large. “Blurred Lines” has sold 7.3 million copies in the United States, and Richard S. Busch, the Gaye family’s lawyer, claimed in his opening statement that the song had earned at least $30 million in profit — a figure Mr. Thicke’s lawyers disputed. If Mr. Thicke’s side is found liable of infringement, then the jury would decide what percentage of the song’s profits should be shared with the Gayes as damages."

How Copyright Terms Restrict Scholarship; Pacific Standard, 2/17/15

Noah Bertlatsky, Pacific Standard; How Copyright Terms Restrict Scholarship:

"Copyright in the United States is supposed "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries," according to the Constitution. Yet, in the case of the early Marston and Peter comics, copyright appears to have failed. DC is not keeping the comics in print: So, in order to read the complete run of Wonder Woman in her two comics (Wonder Woman and Sensation Comics) for my research, I had to find unlicensed digital editions. Without piracy, my book would have been impossible to complete."

A Cheat Sheet for Copyright Reforms: Radio Royalties, Simplified Licensing and More; Billboard, 2/17/15

Ed Christman and Glenn Peoples, Billboard; A Cheat Sheet for Copyright Reforms: Radio Royalties, Simplified Licensing and More:

"The complex issue of copyright reform took center stage during the Grammy Awards telecast on Feb. 8 when Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow urged Congress to ensure that "new technology [pays] artists fairly." His comments echoed some of the contents of a 250-page music-licensing report issued just three days earlier by the U.S. Copyright Office. Congress may or may not enact some of those recommendations into law -- but if it does, the ramifications are enormous."

A New Copyright Complaint Against Richard Prince; New York Times, 2/16/15

Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times; A New Copyright Complaint Against Richard Prince:

"A lawyer for the photographer Donald Graham has sent cease-and-desist letters to the artist Richard Prince and the Gagosian Gallery, requesting that they stop displaying or disseminating any artworks or other materials that include Mr. Graham’s images.

The complaint, which was first reported by the website Hyperallergic, stems from a work shown last fall at Gagosian in the exhibit “New Portraits,” which featured ink jet prints of images Mr. Prince had taken from Instagram. The work shows Mr. Graham’s photograph “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint, Jamaica” as it appeared on the Instagram feed of a third party, with the comment “Canal Zinian da lam jam” added by Mr. Prince."

Indonesia Fails to Solve Olympic Ring Row Amid IOC Ban Talks; Reuters via New York Times, 2/18/15

Reuters via New York Times; Indonesia Fails to Solve Olympic Ring Row Amid IOC Ban Talks:

"The Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) and the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) failed this week to resolve a copyright row involving the Olympic rings logo which has put the country's hosting of the 2018 Asian Games in jeopardy.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told the Indonesian government last month they faced a ban unless KONI stopped using the Olympic rings in its logo, saying only their member, KOI, was allowed to do so."

'Dumb and Dumber To' Piracy Leads to Copyright Lawsuits (Exclusive); Hollywood Reporter, 2/13/15

Hollywood Reporter; 'Dumb and Dumber To' Piracy Leads to Copyright Lawsuits (Exclusive) :

"The rights-holder of Dumb and Dumber To, last year's sequel starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, is the latest to jump aboard the legal stratagem of suing anonymous users of BitTorrent for sharing copyrighted work.

At least five lawsuits were filed in Oregon federal court on Thursday with "Does" and their IP addresses listed as defendants. In court papers, the rights-holder says that the film is currently one of the top 10 most downloaded movies though BitTorrent and with over 1,000 IP addresses from Oregon alone. The plaintiff says it is seeking relief because it is "suffering notable and irreparable harm though piracy."

Open data: how mobile phones saved bananas from bacterial wilt in Uganda; Guardian, 2/11/15

Anna Scott, Guardian; Open data: how mobile phones saved bananas from bacterial wilt in Uganda:

"Bananas are a staple food in Uganda. Ugandans eat more of the fruit than any other country in the world. Each person eats on average 700g (about seven small bananas) a day, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, and they provide up to 27% of the population’s calorie intake.

But since 2002 a disease known as banana bacterial wilt (BBW) has wiped out crops across the country. When plants are infected, they cannot absorb water so their leaves start to shrivel and they eventually die...

The Ugandan government drew upon open data – data that is licensed and made available for anyone to access and share – about the disease made available by Unicef’s community polling project Ureport to deal with the problem.

Ureport mobilises a network of nearly 300,000 volunteers across Uganda, who use their mobiles to report on issues that affect them, from polio immunisation to malaria treatment, child marriage, to crop failure. It gathers data from via SMS polls and publishes the results as open sourced, open datasets.

The results are sent back to community members via SMS along with treatment options and advice on how best to protect their crops. Within five days of the first SMS being sent out, 190,000 Ugandans had learned about the disease and knew how to save bananas on their farms."

Can We Strengthen our Fragile Public Domain?; Library Journal, 2/12/15

Kevin L. Smith, Library Journal; Can We Strengthen our Fragile Public Domain? :

"In fact, even in the United States there has been some recognition that the Sonny Bono extension has done more harm than good. In a 2013 paper called, apparently without irony, “The Next Great Copyright Act,” Registrar of Copyrights Maria Pallante acknowledges that the copyright term is very long and that its length “has consequences” and needs to be made “more functional” (see pages 336-7). Although she stops short of asking Congress to repeal the 20-year extension, she does suggest “offsets” to mitigate the harm that has been done. Pallante is a far cry from being a “copyleft” radical; like previous Registrars, she tends to favor the interests of big content industries. So her suggestion that the term of copyright be readjusted because it is too long is a remarkable acknowledgement of the problem we have created.

Public Domain Day is one more reminder that our copyright laws in the U.S. have tipped the balance of protection too far away from its public interest roots."

Estonian Man Pleads Guilty in Megaupload Piracy Case; Associated Press via New York Times, 2/13/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Estonian Man Pleads Guilty in Megaupload Piracy Case:

"An Estonian man who worked as a computer programmer for the now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload has pleaded guilty in what prosecutors say was a massive copyright-piracy scheme run through the site.

Andrus Nomm, 36, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Prosecutors say Megaupload was used to illegally download millions of songs and movies in one of the biggest copyright cases in history.

Nomm was one of seven men indicted in the case three years ago and the first to be brought to the U.S. to face charges."

Court Revives Copyright Lawsuit Against Singer Frankie Valli; Associated Press via New York Times, 2/10/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Court Revives Copyright Lawsuit Against Singer Frankie Valli:

"A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a copyright lawsuit against Frankie Valli and fellow "Four Seasons" band member Robert Gaudio over "Jersey Boys," the popular musical about the band.

Donna Corbello sued Valli and Gaudio in 2011 for copyright infringement, claiming the musical was based in part on an unpublished autobiography of "Four Seasons" band member Thomas DeVito that her late husband ghost-wrote. She said she deserved to share in the profits from the musical's success."

Google boss warns of 'forgotten century' with email and photos at risk; Guardian, 2/13/15

Ian Sample, Guardian; Google boss warns of 'forgotten century' with email and photos at risk:

"Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have made headway towards a solution to bit rot, or at least a partial one. There, Mahadev Satyanarayanan takes digital snapshots of computer hard drives while they run different software programs. These can then be uploaded to a computer that mimics the one the software ran on. The result is a computer that can read otherwise defunct files. Under a project called Olive, the researchers have archived Mystery House, the original 1982 graphic adventure game for the Apple II, an early version of WordPerfect, and Doom, the original 1993 first person shooter game.

Inventing new technology is only half the battle, though. More difficult still could be navigating the legal permissions to copy and store software before it dies. When IT companies go out of business, or stop supporting their products, they may sell the rights on, making it a nightmarish task to get approval.

“To do this properly, the rights of preservation might need to be incorporated into our thinking about things like copyright and patents and licensing. We’re talking about preserving them for hundreds to thousands of years,” said Cerf."

Law Firm Founds Project to Fight ‘Revenge Porn’; Deal Book, 1/29/15

Deal Book, Matthew Goldstein; Law Firm Founds Project to Fight ‘Revenge Porn’ :

"The litigation is the handiwork of a new initiative by K&L Gates, a Pittsburgh-based law firm. Begun in late September, its Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project has roughly 50 lawyers at the firm volunteering their time...

The K&L program not only advises victims as to what legal steps can be taken to sue for damages, it also works with victims to consider the pros and cons of reporting online abuse to prosecutors. In instances where the victims have taken nude selfies or videos of themselves, the K&L lawyers are using the protections offered by federal copyright law to demand that the websites take down the images or risk being sued along with the perpetrators.

More often than not, commercial pornography websites, especially those based in the United States, will comply with a request to avoid any further legal entanglement.

But if a victim wants to bring a federal copyright lawsuit, there is a catch. In many cases, she or he would first need to register any videos or photos to be protected with the United States Copyright Office. In other words, to use copyright law as a hammer, a victim must publicly register a photo or video that she or he would rather no one ever see."

The NFL wants you to think these things are illegal; Ars Technica, 1/31/15

Sherwin Siy, Ars Technica; The NFL wants you to think these things are illegal:

"The voiceover in the clip says:

"This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited."

That second sentence is bunk from a legal standpoint. It is not illegal to describe or give an account of one of the biggest media events of the year. You can talk about the Super Bowl without infringing copyright. This is not a case of the NFL politely looking the other way while most of America, in public and private, in casual conversations and in commercial broadcasts, discusses the game without the NFL’s permission. The NFL would be laughed out of court for trying to prevent them from doing so—just because you have a copyright in a work doesn’t mean you can prevent people from talking about it. Copyright simply doesn’t extend that far."