Michelle Griffin, Sydney Morning Herald; Tourism puts copyright in the picture:
"ARTS law organisations are campaigning against the terms of Tourism Australia's campaign, ''Nothing Like Australia'', claiming the fine print lets the government agency license and sell photographs without paying, crediting or informing creators.
''This is the worst example of any kind of arts competition practice that we've seen,'' says the Arts Law Centre's chief executive, Robyn Ayres.
Tourism Australia originally claimed copyright over all 30,000 personal snaps submitted to its international campaign. The winners (to be announced on June 30) will get travel vouchers ($25,000 and $5000).
After complaints from the Arts Law Centre, the National Association for the Visual Arts and the Australian Copyright Council, conditions were amended to allow entrants to make (and perhaps to sell) copies of their own images.
But in a letter sent to the three arts organisations last week, Tourism Australia said it still required perpetual rights to use and license the images to ''approved co-operative partners such as state tourism organisations and industry partners''.
It also retained a clause requiring entrants to waive moral rights, such as attribution, arguing it wouldn't be ''feasible'' to guarantee photo credits.
Tourism Australia declined to comment, but has said it won't use the photos as an image database.
Entrant Cathy Raeburn, of Jamieson, Victoria, is unhappy that her photo of two girls cuddling wombats at her wildlife refuge might be sold.
''I don't think I'd like that, if they were selling it,'' she said. ''I only put the photo in to show we've got more animals than just kangaroos. I didn't think to look at the copyright when I entered.''"
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tourism-puts-copyright-in-the-picture-20100525-wawl.html
Saturday, May 29, 2010
U.S. government sues operator of pirate comics website; ComicBookResources.com, 5/29/10
Kevin Melrose, ComicBookResources.com; U.S. government sues operator of pirate comics website:
"The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Gregory Steven Hart, who operated HTMLcomics and five similar pirate websites.
The complaint asks for a federal judge to order Hart to forfeit the domain names of the sites -- among them, HTMLcomics.com, ComicBooksFree.com and PlayboyMonthly.com -- which the government says were used to commit criminal copyright infringement.
HTMLcomics hosted more than 100,000 copyrighted titles, from Batman and The Amazing Spider-Man to Hellboy and Dilbert. Hart had asserted that because the comics couldn't be downloaded, the website was legal and "like a lending library." He reportedly told his attorney the site received up to 500,000 hits a day.
In April the FBI searched Hart's home in Tampa, Florida, seizing records, hard drives, computers and DVDs containing copyrighted images. The raid followed an investigation spurred by a consortium of publishers and copyright owners, including Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Bongo Comics, Archie Comics, Conan Properties International, Mirage Studios and United Media.
Hart claimed as recently as December that he had spoken with Marvel representatives, and "all is good." "Our approach is not distribution," he wrote on a comics forum, "hence the reason we've been around for over a year, and will be around for a long time to come. Google is using our site as a reference of how to create an online library, and not violate copyright laws."
However, according to the lawsuit, Marvel and other companies sent letters to Hart demanding that he remove their publications from the site. Curiously, Hart reportedly said that if no publisher agreed to a revenue-sharing arrangement, he would continue to operate the site without charging users.
At the time of the HTMLcomics shutdown, Hart had more than 6 million pages from some 5,700 separate series."
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/u-s-government-sues-operator-of-pirate-comics-website/
"The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Gregory Steven Hart, who operated HTMLcomics and five similar pirate websites.
The complaint asks for a federal judge to order Hart to forfeit the domain names of the sites -- among them, HTMLcomics.com, ComicBooksFree.com and PlayboyMonthly.com -- which the government says were used to commit criminal copyright infringement.
HTMLcomics hosted more than 100,000 copyrighted titles, from Batman and The Amazing Spider-Man to Hellboy and Dilbert. Hart had asserted that because the comics couldn't be downloaded, the website was legal and "like a lending library." He reportedly told his attorney the site received up to 500,000 hits a day.
In April the FBI searched Hart's home in Tampa, Florida, seizing records, hard drives, computers and DVDs containing copyrighted images. The raid followed an investigation spurred by a consortium of publishers and copyright owners, including Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Bongo Comics, Archie Comics, Conan Properties International, Mirage Studios and United Media.
Hart claimed as recently as December that he had spoken with Marvel representatives, and "all is good." "Our approach is not distribution," he wrote on a comics forum, "hence the reason we've been around for over a year, and will be around for a long time to come. Google is using our site as a reference of how to create an online library, and not violate copyright laws."
However, according to the lawsuit, Marvel and other companies sent letters to Hart demanding that he remove their publications from the site. Curiously, Hart reportedly said that if no publisher agreed to a revenue-sharing arrangement, he would continue to operate the site without charging users.
At the time of the HTMLcomics shutdown, Hart had more than 6 million pages from some 5,700 separate series."
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/u-s-government-sues-operator-of-pirate-comics-website/
Judge Urges Resolution in Use of Obama Photo; New York Times, 5/28/10
Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; Judge Urges Resolution in Use of Obama Photo:
"A federal judge on Friday encouraged the parties involved in a dispute over Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” poster of Barack Obama, which is based on an Associated Press photograph, to come to a resolution, suggesting that The A.P. was likely to prevail in court.
Mr. Fairey filed suit against The A.P. last year seeking a judge’s declaration that his poster was protected from copyright infringement claims. The A.P. then filed an infringement suit against Mr. Fairey, who has acknowledged the poster was based on a photograph of Mr. Obama taken in 2006 by Mannie Garcia, a freelance photographer.
On Friday, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York said in a hearing that “whether it’s sooner or later, The Associated Press is going to win” the case.
Though Mr. Garcia has said that he was not working for The A.P. when he took the photograph, lawyers for The A.P. presented evidence at the hearing, including human resources forms and other documents, that Mr. Garcia was employed by the news service at that time and that the photograph was a work for hire.
Mr. Fairey admitted last year that he lied about which photograph from The Associated Press he used to create his poster, and covered up evidence to substantiate his lie.
On Friday, Geoffrey S. Stewart, a lawyer for Mr. Fairey, said, “Mr. Fairey would of course be happy to resolve his differences on an amicable basis with The A.P., but it does not appear The A.P. is interested in it.”
Dale Cendali, a lawyer for The A.P., said, “The A.P. was very encouraged by the hearing today and remains committed to vindicating the rights of photojournalists everywhere.”
George Carpinello, a lawyer for Mr. Garcia, had asked at the hearing to be removed from representing the photographer, but said in a phone interview that he would stay on and hoped to meet with The A.P. next week."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/judge-urges-resolution-in-use-of-obama-photo/?scp=2&sq=fairey&st=cse
"A federal judge on Friday encouraged the parties involved in a dispute over Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” poster of Barack Obama, which is based on an Associated Press photograph, to come to a resolution, suggesting that The A.P. was likely to prevail in court.
Mr. Fairey filed suit against The A.P. last year seeking a judge’s declaration that his poster was protected from copyright infringement claims. The A.P. then filed an infringement suit against Mr. Fairey, who has acknowledged the poster was based on a photograph of Mr. Obama taken in 2006 by Mannie Garcia, a freelance photographer.
On Friday, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York said in a hearing that “whether it’s sooner or later, The Associated Press is going to win” the case.
Though Mr. Garcia has said that he was not working for The A.P. when he took the photograph, lawyers for The A.P. presented evidence at the hearing, including human resources forms and other documents, that Mr. Garcia was employed by the news service at that time and that the photograph was a work for hire.
Mr. Fairey admitted last year that he lied about which photograph from The Associated Press he used to create his poster, and covered up evidence to substantiate his lie.
On Friday, Geoffrey S. Stewart, a lawyer for Mr. Fairey, said, “Mr. Fairey would of course be happy to resolve his differences on an amicable basis with The A.P., but it does not appear The A.P. is interested in it.”
Dale Cendali, a lawyer for The A.P., said, “The A.P. was very encouraged by the hearing today and remains committed to vindicating the rights of photojournalists everywhere.”
George Carpinello, a lawyer for Mr. Garcia, had asked at the hearing to be removed from representing the photographer, but said in a phone interview that he would stay on and hoped to meet with The A.P. next week."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/judge-urges-resolution-in-use-of-obama-photo/?scp=2&sq=fairey&st=cse
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Disney joins Marvel in copyright fight with Kirby family; ComicBookResources.com, 5/27/10
Kevin Melrose, ComicBookResources.com; Disney joins Marvel in copyright fight with Kirby family:
"The Walt Disney Co. has waded into the legal battle over many of Marvel's best-known characters, filing a memo in support of the publisher's efforts to dismiss copyright claims by the heirs of Jack Kirby.
Marvel sued the Kirby children in January, seeking to invalidate notices sent almost four months earlier to terminate copyrights to such characters as the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man. The Kirby family responded in March by suing Marvel and its new parent company Disney.
In the Disney memo, filed on Monday, the media giant asks the court to delay to delay ordering an accounting of profits from the properties Kirby created or co-created, arguing that the copyright claims of his heirs haven't been validated. Disney also seeks to dismiss the Kirby family's claims about unreturned original artwork and lack of credit in The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine films.
You can read the full complaint at THR, Esq."
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/disney-joins-marvel-in-copyright-fight-with-kirby-family/
"The Walt Disney Co. has waded into the legal battle over many of Marvel's best-known characters, filing a memo in support of the publisher's efforts to dismiss copyright claims by the heirs of Jack Kirby.
Marvel sued the Kirby children in January, seeking to invalidate notices sent almost four months earlier to terminate copyrights to such characters as the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man. The Kirby family responded in March by suing Marvel and its new parent company Disney.
In the Disney memo, filed on Monday, the media giant asks the court to delay to delay ordering an accounting of profits from the properties Kirby created or co-created, arguing that the copyright claims of his heirs haven't been validated. Disney also seeks to dismiss the Kirby family's claims about unreturned original artwork and lack of credit in The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine films.
You can read the full complaint at THR, Esq."
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/disney-joins-marvel-in-copyright-fight-with-kirby-family/
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Conference explores Canadian side of Google book settlement; Financial Post, 5/25/10
Julius Melnitzer, Financial Post; Conference explores Canadian side of Google book settlement:
"The Google book settlement has been controversial, but so far most of the debate has focused on the US. The Centre for Innovation Law and Policy hopes to start correcting this with a one-day conference on Friday, May 28 that will explore the implications of the settlement for Canada. The conference is free but registration is required."
http://business.financialpost.com/2010/05/25/conference-explores-canadian-side-of-google-book-settlement/#ixzz0oziN7vev
"The Google book settlement has been controversial, but so far most of the debate has focused on the US. The Centre for Innovation Law and Policy hopes to start correcting this with a one-day conference on Friday, May 28 that will explore the implications of the settlement for Canada. The conference is free but registration is required."
http://business.financialpost.com/2010/05/25/conference-explores-canadian-side-of-google-book-settlement/#ixzz0oziN7vev
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mark Gorton, Man Behind the Music Service; New York Times, 5/24/10
New York Times; Mark Gorton, Man Behind the Music Service:
"Mark Gorton is a confident guy. He’s confident about his ideas. He’s confident about his enthusiasms. And he’s confident that his successes — like making money on Wall Street and promoting alternative transportation in New York — provide a record that backs him up.
But that confidence faces a new test, Joseph Plambeck writes in The New York Times. Two weeks ago, a federal judge ruled that he and the popular file-sharing service he created, LimeWire, were liable for copyright infringement and could be forced to pay up to $450 million in damages.
Mr. Gorton, 43, says he did not think it would come to this point. He thought that the record industry, sometime since the lawsuit was filed in 2006, would come to appreciate his vision for the future of LimeWire — a paid subscription service providing unlimited downloads of licensed songs — and want to join forces instead of continuing litigation...
The Recording Industry Association of America, the industry group that managed the lawsuit on behalf of 13 record companies, said it thought he had willfully skirted the law, motivated by the money generated by the millions of users of LimeWire. Total revenue increased to an estimated $20 million in 2006 from $6 million two years earlier, according to the court ruling, much of it from a paid service that allowed for faster downloads.
“He thought with his cleverness that he could get away with it,” Mitch Bainwol, the association’s chief executive, said. “He’s the Bernie Madoff of Internet crime. He was thumbing his nose at the rule of law to profiteer enormously.”...
“People have a short memory, and they’ve gotten caught up in the mythology of P2P’s being run by ne’er-do-wells and eye-patch pirates,” said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has represented some of the file-sharing services in copyright cases. (Mr. Lohmann was named in the ruling as having given legal advice to the company about how to protect itself from liability.)
“LimeWire was not a fly-by-night operation,” he said...
Mr. Gorton says he has tried to take that same strategy to the record labels to explain the new service he is proposing.
“I tell them to think of Woodstock,” he said. “The first one was free, but it ended up making the industry a lot of money and was a huge success. The second and third ones were very expensive for fans and were failures.”
But before he can hope to make any progress with the labels on his paid service, he will need to get the lawsuit behind him. And given the heated rhetoric from Mr. Bainwol and the record association, the coming negotiations may not be easy.
At a minimum, the record association says, LimeWire needs to shut the current service and Mr. Gorton needs to pay for damages out of his own pocket. A status conference with Judge Wood is scheduled for June 7.
Mr. Gorton says he knows that the music industry needs to alter the behavior of a generation of people who have grown accustomed to getting their music free.
Still, he says that LimeWire has a relationship with that generation that can help make the change. And he says he remains optimistic that, in the end, his idea will triumph.
“I don’t want to be on my deathbed thinking that I kept a bunch of musicians from making money,” Mr. Gorton said. “I have a lot of work to do to get my karma scores up.”"
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/mark-gorton-man-behind-the-music-service/?scp=2&sq=limewire&st=cse
"Mark Gorton is a confident guy. He’s confident about his ideas. He’s confident about his enthusiasms. And he’s confident that his successes — like making money on Wall Street and promoting alternative transportation in New York — provide a record that backs him up.
But that confidence faces a new test, Joseph Plambeck writes in The New York Times. Two weeks ago, a federal judge ruled that he and the popular file-sharing service he created, LimeWire, were liable for copyright infringement and could be forced to pay up to $450 million in damages.
Mr. Gorton, 43, says he did not think it would come to this point. He thought that the record industry, sometime since the lawsuit was filed in 2006, would come to appreciate his vision for the future of LimeWire — a paid subscription service providing unlimited downloads of licensed songs — and want to join forces instead of continuing litigation...
The Recording Industry Association of America, the industry group that managed the lawsuit on behalf of 13 record companies, said it thought he had willfully skirted the law, motivated by the money generated by the millions of users of LimeWire. Total revenue increased to an estimated $20 million in 2006 from $6 million two years earlier, according to the court ruling, much of it from a paid service that allowed for faster downloads.
“He thought with his cleverness that he could get away with it,” Mitch Bainwol, the association’s chief executive, said. “He’s the Bernie Madoff of Internet crime. He was thumbing his nose at the rule of law to profiteer enormously.”...
“People have a short memory, and they’ve gotten caught up in the mythology of P2P’s being run by ne’er-do-wells and eye-patch pirates,” said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has represented some of the file-sharing services in copyright cases. (Mr. Lohmann was named in the ruling as having given legal advice to the company about how to protect itself from liability.)
“LimeWire was not a fly-by-night operation,” he said...
Mr. Gorton says he has tried to take that same strategy to the record labels to explain the new service he is proposing.
“I tell them to think of Woodstock,” he said. “The first one was free, but it ended up making the industry a lot of money and was a huge success. The second and third ones were very expensive for fans and were failures.”
But before he can hope to make any progress with the labels on his paid service, he will need to get the lawsuit behind him. And given the heated rhetoric from Mr. Bainwol and the record association, the coming negotiations may not be easy.
At a minimum, the record association says, LimeWire needs to shut the current service and Mr. Gorton needs to pay for damages out of his own pocket. A status conference with Judge Wood is scheduled for June 7.
Mr. Gorton says he knows that the music industry needs to alter the behavior of a generation of people who have grown accustomed to getting their music free.
Still, he says that LimeWire has a relationship with that generation that can help make the change. And he says he remains optimistic that, in the end, his idea will triumph.
“I don’t want to be on my deathbed thinking that I kept a bunch of musicians from making money,” Mr. Gorton said. “I have a lot of work to do to get my karma scores up.”"
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/mark-gorton-man-behind-the-music-service/?scp=2&sq=limewire&st=cse
Talking Head Sues Charlie Crist; New York Times, 5/24/10
Ben Sisario, New York Times; Talking Head Sues Charlie Crist:
"The singer and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has sued Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, saying that he used the Talking Heads’ song “Road to Nowhere” in a Senate campaign ad without permission. The song was used in an online video posted in January that attacked Marco Rubio, a Republican who is Governor Crist’s opponent for the seat that will be vacated this year by Mel Martinez. The governor, a longtime Republican, is now running as an independent.
The suit, which was filed on Monday in United States District Court in Tampa, and first reported by Billboard, accused Gov. Crist of copyright infringement and false endorsement, and seeks $1 million in damages. Mr. Byrne’s lawyer, Lawrence Iser, represented Jackson Browne in his suit against John McCain for using the song “Running on Empty” in a presidential campaign ad in Ohio in 2008; as part of a settlement, the Republican National Committee apologized to Mr. Browne and promised to seek artists’ approval when using their music in commercials.
“As an attorney and the former attorney general of Florida, Gov. Crist knows better,” Mr. Iser said in a statement. “A political candidate may not incorporate the artistry of musicians and a songwriter into a campaign commercial without getting a license.”
A spokeswoman for Governor Crist said he had no comment."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/talking-head-sues-charlie-crist/
"The singer and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has sued Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, saying that he used the Talking Heads’ song “Road to Nowhere” in a Senate campaign ad without permission. The song was used in an online video posted in January that attacked Marco Rubio, a Republican who is Governor Crist’s opponent for the seat that will be vacated this year by Mel Martinez. The governor, a longtime Republican, is now running as an independent.
The suit, which was filed on Monday in United States District Court in Tampa, and first reported by Billboard, accused Gov. Crist of copyright infringement and false endorsement, and seeks $1 million in damages. Mr. Byrne’s lawyer, Lawrence Iser, represented Jackson Browne in his suit against John McCain for using the song “Running on Empty” in a presidential campaign ad in Ohio in 2008; as part of a settlement, the Republican National Committee apologized to Mr. Browne and promised to seek artists’ approval when using their music in commercials.
“As an attorney and the former attorney general of Florida, Gov. Crist knows better,” Mr. Iser said in a statement. “A political candidate may not incorporate the artistry of musicians and a songwriter into a campaign commercial without getting a license.”
A spokeswoman for Governor Crist said he had no comment."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/talking-head-sues-charlie-crist/
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