Michael Cieply, New York Times; Even at a Comics Event, You Can’t Defy Gravitas:
"Topics for panels at this year’s conference at the San Diego Convention Center include comics and the plight of indigenous peoples, feminist writers and censorship, progressive politics in comics and of course the many financial and copyright issues created by the explosion in Hollywood’s interest.
As a certain archvillain might ask: Why so serious?
“It’s frightening,” said Lisa Vizcarra, a science teacher at Carquinez Middle School in Crockett, Calif. Ms. Vizcarra, who seemed to set the day’s tone, was speaking to a Comic-Con audience about a looming pedagogical crisis: Students, distracted by video, are no longer responding to comics as an educational tool, even as schools increasingly use them in their curriculums...
On the opposite end of the sprawling convention hall, at a seminar called “The Comic Book Law School,” Michael L. Lovitz, a copyright lawyer, was hammering away on another serious matter: the ins and outs of work for hire, the employment term that has become a critical legal issue in multimillion-dollar battles over the ownership of characters like Superman and the Fantastic Four."
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Extradition Suspect Calculated the Savings From Piracy; New York Times, 7/13/12
Somini Sengupta, New York Times; Extradition Suspect Calculated the Savings From Piracy:
"Helpfully for the authorities, Mr. O’Dwyer also did the math for his users, spelling out, according to the Justice Department, exactly how much money its users were saving. It reminded users that they could have spent up to $10 on a movie ticket, $10 on “a typical US nacho-Coke or popcorn-Coke combo,” and another $5 on “typical US parking.”
Part of the Justice Department’s case against Mr. O’Dwyer seems to be show that he sought to make it as simple as possible to watch movies and shows available on other sites, including copyrighted material...
Meanwhile, Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikimedia, who has stepped up to defend Mr. O’Dwyer from extradition, was quoted by The Hill, a Washington-based news site, as offering the entertainment industry some unsolicited advice: Make it easier for consumers to buy content online."
"Helpfully for the authorities, Mr. O’Dwyer also did the math for his users, spelling out, according to the Justice Department, exactly how much money its users were saving. It reminded users that they could have spent up to $10 on a movie ticket, $10 on “a typical US nacho-Coke or popcorn-Coke combo,” and another $5 on “typical US parking.”
Part of the Justice Department’s case against Mr. O’Dwyer seems to be show that he sought to make it as simple as possible to watch movies and shows available on other sites, including copyrighted material...
Meanwhile, Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikimedia, who has stepped up to defend Mr. O’Dwyer from extradition, was quoted by The Hill, a Washington-based news site, as offering the entertainment industry some unsolicited advice: Make it easier for consumers to buy content online."
Gay Couple Eyes Lawsuit After Finding Pic on 'Hate Group' Mailer; Good Morning America via Yahoo News, 7/12/12
Susan Donaldson James, Good Morning America via Yahoo News; Gay Couple Eyes Lawsuit After Finding Pic on 'Hate Group' Mailer:
"[Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer Christine Sun] said Public Advocate has 10 days to respond to her letter and then SPLC will make legal copyright claims for Hill and state law privacy claims and infliction of emotion distress on behalf of Edwards and Tom Privitere.
"Beyond a lawsuit ... we decided to get involved because these actions are truly reprehensible -- to take a personal photo of the happiest day in a couple's life and use it in a homophobic attack ad," said Sun. "It's demonizing, unfair and unjustifiable."
The couple learned the photo had been taken without authorization from a friend who saw it in a mailer from Sen. White and called them in June."
"[Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer Christine Sun] said Public Advocate has 10 days to respond to her letter and then SPLC will make legal copyright claims for Hill and state law privacy claims and infliction of emotion distress on behalf of Edwards and Tom Privitere.
"Beyond a lawsuit ... we decided to get involved because these actions are truly reprehensible -- to take a personal photo of the happiest day in a couple's life and use it in a homophobic attack ad," said Sun. "It's demonizing, unfair and unjustifiable."
The couple learned the photo had been taken without authorization from a friend who saw it in a mailer from Sen. White and called them in June."
Rostrum defends Mac Miller; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/13/12
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Rostrum defends Mac Miller:
"Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller's record label Rostrum Records said Friday Miller did not unlawfully sample and distribute New York rapper Lord Finesse's beat, "Hip 2 Da Game," in Miller's tune "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza.""
"Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller's record label Rostrum Records said Friday Miller did not unlawfully sample and distribute New York rapper Lord Finesse's beat, "Hip 2 Da Game," in Miller's tune "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza.""
Lord Finesse hits Mac Miller with $10 million copyright lawsuit; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/12/12
Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Lord Finesse hits Mac Miller with $10 million copyright lawsuit:
"Mac Miller is facing a $10 million lawsuit over "Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza," a track he recorded on his way to fame two years when he was 18.
Lord Finesse, a 42-year-old rapper and producer from New York who has worked with the Notorious B.I.G., alleges that the Pittsburgh rapper unlawfully used his 1995 "Hip 2 Da Game" beat for a song that appeared on Miller's mixtape "K.I.D.S."
The complaint, filed Monday in the United States District Court Southern District of New York, claims that Miller, whose legal name is Malcolm McCormick, his label Rostrum Records and mixtape website DatPiff.com "willfully infringed [Finesse's] exclusive copyrights." It further alleges unfair competition, unjust enrichment, interference and deceptive trade practices."
"Mac Miller is facing a $10 million lawsuit over "Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza," a track he recorded on his way to fame two years when he was 18.
Lord Finesse, a 42-year-old rapper and producer from New York who has worked with the Notorious B.I.G., alleges that the Pittsburgh rapper unlawfully used his 1995 "Hip 2 Da Game" beat for a song that appeared on Miller's mixtape "K.I.D.S."
The complaint, filed Monday in the United States District Court Southern District of New York, claims that Miller, whose legal name is Malcolm McCormick, his label Rostrum Records and mixtape website DatPiff.com "willfully infringed [Finesse's] exclusive copyrights." It further alleges unfair competition, unjust enrichment, interference and deceptive trade practices."
Why we are breaking the Pirate Bay ban; Guardian, 7/11/12
Loz Kaye, Guardian; Why we are breaking the Pirate Bay ban:
"If the government is unwilling to act, it falls to the rest of us. Since April the Pirate party has provided a proxy – pirateparty.org.uk – allowing people to connect to Pirate Bay. Initially this was in support of our sister party in the Netherlands where there is a similar crackdown. However, it has become a political protest to highlight the futility of the UK injunction and impotency of the coalition.
This proxy continues to be a legitimate route for those affected by the court orders. Not surprisingly to anyone who knows how the internet (or human nature) works, we have also experienced a huge Streisand effect. The Pirate party's website is now in the top 500 websites in the UK – above any other political party. If the aim was to change people's behaviour, the most noticeable change we have seen is an upsurge in interest in our kind of politics. I doubt this was the BPI's intention.
We must not hand courts and governments censorship powers without public debate. The Lib Dems and Conservatives need to decide where policy is headed, not just make noises about digital rights. Until that point it is left to the Pirate party to defend them."
"If the government is unwilling to act, it falls to the rest of us. Since April the Pirate party has provided a proxy – pirateparty.org.uk – allowing people to connect to Pirate Bay. Initially this was in support of our sister party in the Netherlands where there is a similar crackdown. However, it has become a political protest to highlight the futility of the UK injunction and impotency of the coalition.
This proxy continues to be a legitimate route for those affected by the court orders. Not surprisingly to anyone who knows how the internet (or human nature) works, we have also experienced a huge Streisand effect. The Pirate party's website is now in the top 500 websites in the UK – above any other political party. If the aim was to change people's behaviour, the most noticeable change we have seen is an upsurge in interest in our kind of politics. I doubt this was the BPI's intention.
We must not hand courts and governments censorship powers without public debate. The Lib Dems and Conservatives need to decide where policy is headed, not just make noises about digital rights. Until that point it is left to the Pirate party to defend them."
Kim Dotcom: I'll extradite myself to US if they give my money back; Guardian, 7/11/12
Toby Manhire, Guardian; Kim Dotcom: I'll extradite myself to US if they give my money back:
"The German-born New Zealand resident's remarks, in an email interview with the Guardian, follow Tuesday's announcement that his extradition hearing, scheduled to begin in less than a month, has been put back until April next year.
On Wednesday morning Dotcom laid down the gauntlet to the US department of justice, offering to travel to the US under his own steam and faces charges – with conditions. "Hey DOJ," Dotcom said on his Twitter account, "we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers and living expenses.""
"The German-born New Zealand resident's remarks, in an email interview with the Guardian, follow Tuesday's announcement that his extradition hearing, scheduled to begin in less than a month, has been put back until April next year.
On Wednesday morning Dotcom laid down the gauntlet to the US department of justice, offering to travel to the US under his own steam and faces charges – with conditions. "Hey DOJ," Dotcom said on his Twitter account, "we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers and living expenses.""
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