Fair Use Is Not An Exception to Copyright, It’s Essential to Copyright; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 1/21/15

Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); Fair Use Is Not An Exception to Copyright, It’s Essential to Copyright:

"Over the past two years, as talk of copyright reform has escalated, we’ve also heard complaints about the supposed expansion of fair use, or "fair use creep.” That kind of talk woefully misunderstands how fair use works.

Fair use provides breathing space in copyright law, making sure that control of the right to copy and distribute doesn’t become control of the right to create and innovate. New technologies and services depend on the creation of multiple copies as a matter of course. At the same time, copyright terms cover works many decades old and copyrighted software appears in more and more devices. Taken together, these developments mean the potential reach of copyright may extend ever further. Fair use makes sure that the rights of the public expand at the same time, so add-on creativity and innovation can continue to thrive. In other words, “fair use creep” is an essential corollary to “copyright creep.”"

Mein Kampf: The world’s most dangerous book?; BBC News, 1/13/15

Fiona Macdonald, BBC News; Mein Kampf: The world’s most dangerous book? :

"Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf falls out of copyright in Germany at the end of 2015. What will happen when authorities can no longer control its publication and distribution? A new BBC programme examines the issues."

Ford Tries to Shut Down Independent Repair Tool with Copyright; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 1/6/15

Kit Walsh, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Ford Tries to Shut Down Independent Repair Tool with Copyright:

"At EFF, we think people ought to be able to understand how their devices work and repair them without asking permission of the manufacturer. We also think independent repair companies should to be able to compete with manufacturers in the aftermarket. Simply put, you should be able to fix your stuff or choose someone you trust to do it for you.

The Ford Motor Company, however, takes a different view. It recently sued Autel, a manufacturer of third-party diagnostics for automobiles, for creating a diagnostic tool that includes a list of Ford car parts and their specifications. Ford claims that it owns a copyright on this list of parts, the "FFData file," and thus can keep competitors from including it in their diagnostic tools. It also claims that Autel violated the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by writing a program to defeat the "encryption technology and obfuscation" that Ford used to make the file difficult to read."

The Facebook ‘copyright notice’ hoax; Washington Post, 1/6/15

Alexandra Petri, Washington Post; The Facebook ‘copyright notice’ hoax:

"If you see friends on Facebook posting this — “In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!” — well, these words are as dust blown on the wind. They do not signify anything, legally speaking. For all the good that it will do you in terms of dealing with/weaseling out of/shaking off the uncomfortable coil of your contract with Facebook, you might as well type something like “DEAR FACEBOOK, I HEREBY CLAIM THIS LAND FOR SPAIN.”

As Andrew Noyes (a Facebook spokesman) said in a statement, according to ABC News, that “Under our terms (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms), you grant Facebook permission to use, distribute, and share the things you post, subject to the terms and applicable privacy settings.”

You cannot simply announce that you do not want to abide by the permission you already granted. This is one case where you cannot revoke consent. As Snopes notes, “Facebook users cannot retroactively negate any of the privacy or copyright terms they agreed to when they signed up for their accounts, nor can they unilaterally alter or contradict any new privacy or copyright terms instituted by Facebook, simply by posting a contrary legal notice on their Facebook walls.”"

‘Game of Thrones’ Most Pirated Show For Third Straight Year; ComicBookResources.com, 12/29/14

TJ Dietsch, ComicBookResources.com; ‘Game of Thrones’ Most Pirated Show For Third Straight Year:

"Game of Thrones is the reigning champion, emerging as the most pirated television series for the third consecutive year. Not only does the HBO fantasy drama top TorrentFreak‘s 2014 list, but the estimated 8.1 million downloads rank higher than the 7.6 million legal viewers."

A Parody of a Mockumentary. Now That’s Meta; New York Times, 12/17/14

Suzy Evans, New York Times; A Parody of a Mockumentary. Now That’s Meta:

"And while Corky may have wished for mainstream recognition, Mr. Griggs realizes that the national spotlight might come at a cost.

“We don’t have any rights,” he said. “We’re doing it as a parody, and that’s worrisome.” He added that he is terrified about receiving a call from the movie studio. “I also know full well that it being in The New York Times, this’ll get us closed.”"

Rare Dylan Recordings Set for Release in Copyright-Extension Bid; New York Times, 12/5/14

Allan Kozinn, New York Times; Rare Dylan Recordings Set for Release in Copyright-Extension Bid:

"Thanksgiving has come and gone, and there’s a nip in the air — no question about it, European Copyright Extension season is upon us.

Since 2012, when the European Union passed a revised copyright law, extending the copyright on recordings from 50 years to 70 – but only if the recording was published during its first 50 years – record companies have been exploring their vaults for potentially marketable material in danger of losing its copyright protection if it is not released."