Congressional panel calls for independent Copyright Office; Washington Post, 12/9/16

Peggy McGlone, Washington Post; Congressional panel calls for independent Copyright Office:

"Federal lawmakers are calling for an independent Copyright Office that would be led by a Register nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday released the first in what is expected to be a series of reforms. They suggest keeping a newly independent office in the Legislative branch, and funding technology upgrades including a searchable, digital database of historical and current copyright ownership.

Coming on the heels of the resignation of Copyright Register Maria Pallante, and previous suggestions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the proposals set up a show-down between Congress and new librarian Carla D. Hayden over the future of the agency."

TV for the fake news generation: why Westworld is the defining show of 2016; Guardian, 12/7/16

Paul MacInnes, Guardian; TV for the fake news generation: why Westworld is the defining show of 2016:

"Westworld is a hit. Viewing figures released this week confirmed that the first season of HBO’s sci-fi western drama received a bigger audience than any other debut in the channel’s history...

The producers deliberately reached out to an audience that enjoys obsessing. They knew some fans would watch the show again and again on their laptops. They knew they would freeze-frame the screen and zoom in on details that would pass the casual viewer by. From there the fans would try to make connections, to unravel the mysteries, to find deeper meaning. Things were left uncertain enough that people could believe what they wanted. Whether a theory was “true” was less important than the fact that someone believed in it. Sound familiar?

I’m not calling HBO a purveyor of fake news, and neither am I suggesting that Westworld has been captured by the alt-right like Pepe the Frog. But the drama has certainly tapped into an audience of young people who love video games and cracking codes, and understands both technology and identity politics."

Still lovin’ it: Jim Delligatti’s Big Mac changed American culture; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/7/16

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Still lovin’ it: Jim Delligatti’s Big Mac changed American culture:

"Not content with McDonald’s menu, he invented the Big Mac even though the chain initially rebuffed his efforts and he had to hunt down a sesame-seed bun with enough brawn to contain the two all-beef patties, special sauce and extras he packed into the 550-calorie sandwich. It first sold in 1967 in his Uniontown restaurant, one of nearly 50 he came to own. The Big Mac was a smash hit, establishing Mr. Delligatti as one of the most important ingredients in McDonald’s success.

Surprisingly, Mr. Delligatti told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1997 that he received no royalties from the sandwich that helped put the gold in McDonald’s arches. He received no big pay raise, either. “All I got was a plaque,” said Mr. Delligatti, who also developed the McDonald’s breakfast.

The Big Mac today is criticized for contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic and couch-potato culture. Yet the Big Mac was a product of its time, and Mr. Delligatti did what inventors and entrepreneurs naturally do. He filled a niche, brilliantly."

How the CRISPR Patent Dispute Became So Heated; The Atlantic, 12/6/16

Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic; How the CRISPR Patent Dispute Became So Heated:

"This week, the biggest science-patent dispute in decades is getting a hearing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters. The invention in dispute is the gene-editing technique CRISPR, and at stake are millions, maybe even billions, of dollars for the winning side. CRISPR is the hugely hyped technology that could launch life-saving therapies, novel genetically modified crops, new forms of mosquito control, and more. It could—without much exaggeration—change the world.

Any company that wants to use CRISPR will have to license it from the patent dispute’s winner. Both parties embroiled in this fight are universities: MIT and the University of California, Berkeley, whose lawyers represent rival groups of scientists with claims to have first invented CRISPR. The Berkeley group published their work and filed for a patent first, by a few months—but the patent office ended up awarding a patent to the MIT group, due to some complicated procedural rules. The legal and scientific details of the dispute get pretty arcane pretty fast, but you can read some excellent reporting here, here, and here."

Battle of the brands: six epic fights over trademark names; Guardian, 12/2/16

Anne Cassidy, Guardian; Battle of the brands: six epic fights over trademark names:

"Iceland, the land of fire and ice, is taking on Iceland, the purveyor of frozen chicken tikka lasagne, in a major trademark battle. The Icelandic government launched legal action against the British supermarket last week, arguing that the grocery chain, which owns the Europe-wide trademark registration for the word Iceland is preventing Icelandic companies from promoting themselves abroad.

The contest is one of many brand name legal battles offering more entertaining plot points than your average box set. We look back at six of the best..."

Is Coopting Graffiti Artist's Street Cred A Fair Use?; Mondaq, 12/5/16

Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Mondaq; Is Coopting Graffiti Artist's Street Cred A Fair Use? :

"The estate of Dashiell "Dash" Snow, better known as graffiti artist "Secret Snow"— has sued McDonald's over allegedly infringing use of Snow's street art in McDonald's dining rooms. The lawsuit in the Central District of California is the latest in a series of cases in which street artists are asserting their rights in copyright without any concession about whether the creation has other legal issues (i.e., trespassing or vandalism). Based on the survival of other recent similar cases, this latest case could be a headache for the giant restaurant chain, though it may have interesting fair use arguments based on the contrasting nature of the street vs. corporate uses...

The Dash Complaint also picks up on the theory that survived dismissal in the Tierney v. Moschino case involving street artist "Rime"—namely, that identifiers in the images themselves violate the "copyright management information" (CMI) provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1202. This is somewhat different than the Tierney case, however, because in that matter the plaintiff alleged that deleting his signature interfered with CMI, while here Dash's estate argues that the presence of his signature creates an unwarranted association between him and McDonald's.

The case is a reminder of how quickly what was once examined has now become routine—the idea that street art, whether or not painted on property with permission—can be protected under copyright."

Who Owns Key Gene Technology? Question Heads to Court; Wall Street Journal, 12/5/16

Joe Palazzolo and Amy Dockser Marcus, Wall Street Journal; Who Owns Key Gene Technology? Question Heads to Court:

"A dispute between two research institutions over which invented Crispr-Cas9, a technology scientists hope will reduce gene-editing to something akin to cutting and pasting text on a computer, enters a crucial phase Tuesday."