The benefits of studying copyright law? They're patently obvious; Guardian, 5/14/15

Oli Palmer, Guardian; The benefits of studying copyright law? They're patently obvious:

"Copyright law is at the forefront of a changing technological world. It moves incredibly fast in unexpected capacities, which makes it a fascinating subject to study at university...

Studying copyright law forces you to become creative. This form of law is relatively young, which means there are many grey areas you’ll have to make decisions on. In effect, you become the judge.

Studying copyright law can also help you to acquire skills many law firms and other businesses desire, such as an acute attention to detail...

“A student who wishes to acquire commercial awareness would find the study of copyright law extremely useful for his or her professional development.”...

But the best thing about copyright law is how enjoyable it is and how applicable it is to everyday life, which is bizarre when you consider the intangible nature of its rights.

Rachel Metcalf, 22, who studied copyright law at Durham University, says: “My studies gave me an awareness of why the law should be appreciated by all, not just lawyers.”

Merely reading this article is interacting with copyright. So is watching back-to-back episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix, or listening to your Friday night Spotify playlist. Why not begin to read between the lines?"

Super-scholars: MPAA offers $20,000 for academic research in copyright battle; Guardian, 5/7/15

Sam Thielman, Guardian; Super-scholars: MPAA offers $20,000 for academic research in copyright battle:

"If you’re an academic who loves conservative interpretations of copyright law, the MPAA might be willing to pay you enough to go see The Avengers about 1,500 times (not in 3D, though).

In an effort to “fill gaps in knowledge and contribute to a greater understanding of challenges facing the content industry”, the Motion Picture Association of America is available to fund academic research to the tune of $20,000 per successful proposal, according to guidelines released recently by the movie industry lobbying group.

An email from the Sony WikiLeaks hack, quoted by copyright news site TorrentFreak, had a fairly direct statement about the conference’s purpose from Sony global general counsel Steven B Fabrizio: “[T]he MPAA is launching a global research grant program both to solicit pro-copyright academic research papers and to identify pro-copyright scholars who we can cultivate for further public advocacy.”"

[Podcast] Providing Universal Access to Modern Materials – and Living to Tell the Tale, Spring 2015

[Podcast] Providing Universal Access to Modern Materials – and Living to Tell the Tale:

"The Internet Archive (IA), an independent non-profit, provides access to digital materials (including books, websites, music, video, TV and software) on the Internet. In this plenary talk from CNI's recent spring meeting, digital library pioneer and IA founder Brewster Kahle describes the particular challenge of providing open access to modern materials, particularly in light of repeated admonishments by legal advisors that, in doing so, "bad things would happen."

Providing Universal Access to Modern Materials – and Living to Tell the Tale is now available online:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/-bW0v2F9Rgc

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/125044497"

Ghostly Voices From Thomas Edison’s Dolls Can Now Be Heard; New York Times, 5/4/15

Ron Cowen, New York Times; Ghostly Voices From Thomas Edison’s Dolls Can Now Be Heard:

"Last month, the Historical Park posted online three never-before-heard Edison doll recordings, including the two from the Rolfses’ collection. “There are probably more out there, and we’re hoping people will now get them digitized,” Mr. Fabris said.

The technology, which is known as Irene (Image, Reconstruct, Erase Noise, Etc.), was developed by the particle physicist Carl Haber and the engineer Earl Cornell at Lawrence Berkeley. Irene extracts sound from cylinder and disk records. It can also reconstruct audio from recordings so badly damaged they were deemed unplayable.

“We are now hearing sounds from history that I did not expect to hear in my lifetime,” Mr. Fabris said.

The Rolfses said they were not sure what to expect in August when they carefully packed their two Edison doll cylinders, still attached to their motors, and drove from their home in Hortonville, Wis., to the National Document Conservation Center in Andover, Mass. The center had recently acquired Irene technology."

Grooveshark Shuts Down to Settle Copyright Infringement Suit; New York Times, 4/30/15

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Grooveshark Shuts Down to Settle Copyright Infringement Suit:

"Add Grooveshark to the list of music websites that have been sued out of existence over copyright infringement.

On Thursday, Grooveshark, a free streaming site that once had 35 million users and advertising from the likes of Mercedes-Benz — but which drew the ire of major record companies for failing to receive permission for hosting music — agreed to shut down, ending a series of lawsuits stretching back four years.

In a statement posted on its site, Grooveshark said, “We started out nearly 10 years ago with the goal of helping fans share and discover music. But despite best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes. We failed to secure licenses from rights holders for the vast amount of music on the service. That was wrong. We apologize.”

Grooveshark said it had also agreed to “wipe clean all of the record companies’ copyrighted works and hand over ownership of this website, our mobile apps and intellectual property, including our patents and copyrights.”"

Library Associations Spearhead New Copyright Coalition; Library Journal, 4/30/15

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Library Associations Spearhead New Copyright Coalition:

"A group of technology companies, trade associations, and civil society organizations have joined forces to form Re:Create, a national coalition to advocate for balanced copyright policy. In the wake of recent proposals to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as constant advances in the field of knowledge creation, coalition members are calling for responsive copyright law that balances the interests of those who create information and products with those of users and innovators, providing robust exceptions as well as limitations to copyright law in order that it not limit new uses and technologies.

Particular attention will be paid to the concept of fair use, considered a “safety valve” within U.S. copyright law and an important reinforcement of the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. This emphasis is particularly timely, as on April 29 register of copyrights Maria Pallante announced at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that the U.S. Copyright Office would launch a Fair Use Index—a searchable database listing court opinions pertaining to fair use...

Partners from all sectors will be working together toward Re:Create’s agenda: ALA, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Media Democracy Fund, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, and the R Street Institute. According to its website, Re:Create will be “Supporting a Pro-Innovation, Pro-Creator, Pro-Consumer Copyright Agenda.”"

Periscope Piracy Sets Up Grudge Match: Hollywood vs. Twitter; Variety, 5/3/15

Andrew Wallenstein, Variety; Periscope Piracy Sets Up Grudge Match: Hollywood vs. Twitter:

"Forget Mayweather-Pacquiao. There’s a more interesting fight brewing between Twitter and Hollywood.

The piracy of Saturday’s welterweight boxing championship enabled by Periscope, a livestreaming app recently acquired by Twitter, is setting up a conflict that could be just as brutal.

HBO and Showtime, which partnered on what will likely be the most popular boxing pay-per-view event ever, took a one-two punch of their own Saturday. First, they watched multiple pay-TV distributors experience technical problems transmitting the fight, which probably cut into their sales total.

But what made matters even worse is that countless people who did pay for the fight used their smartphones to re-transmit the fight to users of Periscope and, to a lesser extent, rival app Meerkat. Each stream reached hundreds or thousands of non-paying fans with a picture quality that was shaky and pixilated, yet still quite adequate."