‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Online Could Spread; New York Times, 8/5/15

Farhad Manjoo, New York Times; ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Online Could Spread:

"Proponents of the law also reacted skeptically to the claim that the right to be forgotten would be used by other countries to force content restrictions beyond those involving privacy.

“That’s nonsense,” said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy advocacy group. He argued there were ways to limit access to private information that would not conflict with free speech, and he noted that Google already had a process for global removal of some identifiable private information, like bank account numbers, social security numbers and sexually explicit images uploaded without the subject’s consent (known as “revenge porn.”).

“A global implementation of the fundamental right to privacy on the Internet would be a spectacular achievement,” said Mr. Rotenberg. “For users, it would be a fantastic development.”

Mr. Zittrain, of Harvard, pointed out that Google also removes content globally to abide by copyright law. When Google receives a takedown notice for linking to infringing content, it removes those links from all of its sites across the world. Couldn’t it do the same for private information?

The trouble with comparing copyright law to privacy, though, is that the United States and Europe broadly agree on what constitutes copyrighted content, but private information is far more nebulous."

Katy Perry's Met Ball dress the subject of copyright infringement lawsuit; Guardian, 8/6/15

Tshepo Mokoena, Guardian; Katy Perry's Met Ball dress the subject of copyright infringement lawsuit:

"One artist is less than impressed with the dress that Katy Perry wore to this year’s Met Ball – and not for sartorial reasons. Brooklyn street artist Rime, born Joseph Tierney, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against designer Jeremy Scott and design house Moschino, for making a dress that Tierney believes imitates a signature graffiti tag that he painted on a Detroit building."

An Old Songbook Could Put ‘Happy Birthday’ in the Public Domain; New York Times, 8/4/15

Ben Sisario, New York Times; An Old Songbook Could Put ‘Happy Birthday’ in the Public Domain:

"Yet “Happy Birthday to You” has long been a prime target for critics of the laws that regulate copyright. Thanks to an extension made under the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 — which was lobbied for heavily by Hollywood — the song remains under protection through 2030.

“The fact that ‘Happy Birthday to You’ is still under copyright is the most symbolic example of how copyright has expanded and overreached beyond its Constitutional purpose,” said Kembrew McLeod, a communications professor at the University of Iowa who has written about the song."

To Some, Beijing Olympics Song Is Suspiciously Similar to Ballad From Disney’s ‘Frozen’; New York Times, 8/3/15

Didi Kirsten Tatlow, New York Times; To Some, Beijing Olympics Song Is Suspiciously Similar to Ballad From Disney’s ‘Frozen’ :

"On the YouTube page for “The Snow and Ice Dance,” one of 10 official songs of the Games, many of the comments were in Chinese, although it was not clear how many of them came from the mainland, where an official ban on the site makes access difficult...

Caijing Online, the website of a prominent Chinese business magazine, also noted the similarities, and offered a technical analysis that went beyond the melodic parallels. Among the main points: Both songs employ a piano as the major instrument, have similar prelude chords and an eight-beat introduction, and they run at almost exactly the same tempo...

Accusations of plagiarism and other forms of intellectual property theft are not new in China, where the legal concepts of trademarks and copyrights are not rigorously enforced and remain a source of tension between China and the United States.

Just last month a dispute erupted over a Chinese animated film, “The Autobots,” in which the characters look remarkably like those in “Cars,” produced by Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios. Viewers called “The Autobots” a shameless copy, but the film’s director said he had never even seen “Cars.”"

Talks for Pacific Trade Deal Stumble; New York Times, 7/31/15

Jonathan Weisman, New York Times; Talks for Pacific Trade Deal Stumble:

"Trade negotiators from the United States and 11 other Pacific nations failed to reach final agreement on Friday, with difficult talks on the largest regional trade agreement ever deadlocking over protections for drug companies and access to agriculture markets on both sides of the Pacific...

In the end, a deal filled with 21st-century policies on Internet access, advanced pharmaceuticals and trade in clean energy foundered on issues that have bedeviled international trade for decades: access to dairy markets in Canada, sugar markets in the United States and rice markets in Japan...

Australia, Chile and New Zealand also continue to resist the push by the United States to protect the intellectual property of major pharmaceutical companies for as long as 12 years, shielding them from generic competition as they recoup the cost of developing next-generation biologic medicines."

Negotiators say they substantially narrowed the number of outstanding issues. They vowed to keep the momentum going. But, as one non-United States official said, if talks go into hiatus for long, it could be easier for many of the countries to say no than yes."

Lilly Pulitzer sues Old Navy for copyright infringement; Fortune, 7/30/15

Laura Lorenzetti, Fortune; Lilly Pulitzer sues Old Navy for copyright infringement:

"Lilly Pulitzer, known for its bright and unique fabric patterns, is suing Old Navy for copyright infringement, saying the Gap-owned unit blatantly stole two of the designer’s fabric prints.

While apparel designs are not covered by any intellectual property laws, one-of-a-kind prints and patterns do fall under that protection. Sugartown Worldwide, which owns the Lilly Pulitzer brand and its 33 retail stores, alleged that Old Navy knocked off two of its colorful prints, causing “irreparable harm” to the company."

Librarians stir the pot for copyright reform; Brisbane Times, 7/31/15

Natalie Bochenski, Brisbane Times; Librarians stir the pot for copyright reform:

About 1500 libraries around Australia will on Friday, July 31, take part in ALIA's Cooking for Copyright campaign, with everyone else encouraged to take part as well.

Sue McKerracher, of the Australian Librarian and Information Association, said it was inspired by the thousands of vintage recipes that lay dormant in unpublished library collections.

"What we want is for everyone to cook something, photograph it, and send it to us using the hashtag," she said.

Advertisement "That will effectively give us a good petition to take to the government and ask the Attorney-General to review the legislation, make this change and give a gift to the Australian people."

ALIA has declared Friday, July 31, Cooking for Copyright Day, to draw attention to the quirk of legislation that prohibits unpublished documents from being uploaded online.

"We've got lots of real treasures locked up in museums, libraries, galleries, historical societies that can't be shared online with the Australian public because of this copyright restriction," Ms McKerracher said...

Ms McKerracher said the National Library in Canberra alone held more than two million unpublished works.

"Those include letters from Jane Austen, Prince Albert, Captain Cook, Charles Darwin, Dame Nellie Melba, Christobel Pankhurst and Banjo Patterson, but you wouldn't know that, because we can't put them on the web," she said."