Saturday, November 20, 2010

Twain's private wish a copyright conundrum; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/11/10

George Croft and Natalie Hickey, Sydney Morning Herald; Twain's private wish a copyright conundrum:

"Enter another avenue for protection. In a nutshell, if, before the author's death, the work in question hasn't been published, performed, or broadcast, and records of the work haven't been offered for sale, then copyright will subsist for 70 years from the year in which the first of these events takes place.

So, the fact that Twain's autobiography has been under "lock and key" since it was written (under our scenario anyway) means that the clock would start running this year. And his estate would have another 70 years of protection."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/twains-private-wish-a-copyright-conundrum-20101111-17ow9.html

Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak; (London) Guardian, 11/18/10

Xan Brooks, (London) Guardian; Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak: Warner Bros launches inquiry into how pirated footage from latest Harry Potter film appeared across download sites:

"An abridged version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has jumped the gun on the film's official release after leaking across download sites on Tuesday night. Warner Bros has launched an inquiry to discover the source of the 36 minutes of pirated footage."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/18/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-leak

Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb"; ArsTechnica.com, 11/19/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb":

"Ed Black, CEO of computing industry trade group CCIA, was testifying at the hearing, and he agreed that COICA was a "good example of what not to do in an important, complicated digital ecosystem."...

While the bill looks dead this year, the idea has met with thunderous applause from the movie and music industries, who are sure to back it next year."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/senator-web-censorship-bill-a-bunker-busting-cluster-bomb.ars

Pirate-slaying censorship bill gets unanimous support; ArsTechnica.com, 11/19/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Pirate-slaying censorship bill gets unanimous support:

"This morning, COICA unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We are disappointed that the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning chose to disregard the concerns of public-interest groups, Internet engineers, Internet companies, human-rights groups and law professors in approving a bill that could do great harm to the public and to the Internet," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, who pledged to craft a "more narrowly tailored bill" next year to deal with "rogue websites.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/pirate-slaying-censorship-bill-gets-unanimous-support.ars

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Panellists: Copyright Law’s ‘Byzantine Maze’ Stalling New Business Models; Intellectual Property Watch, 11/9/10

Kaitlin Mara, Intellectual Property Watch; Panellists: Copyright Law’s ‘Byzantine Maze’ Stalling New Business Models:

"While piracy remains an oft-cited problem for the creative content industry, it is the ‘Byzantine maze’ of copyright law that is stalling monetisation of new business models better designed to deliver content in the digital age, panellists at the World Intellectual Property Organization said last week."

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/09/panellists-copyright-law%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98byzantine-maze%e2%80%99-stalling-new-business-models/

EXCLUSIVE: 'Superman' Lawsuit Delay Lifted; Depositions of Siegel and Shuster Families to Begin Immediately; Hollywood Reporter, 11/17/10

Matthew Belloni, Hollywood Reporter; EXCLUSIVE: 'Superman' Lawsuit Delay Lifted; Depositions of Siegel and Shuster Families to Begin Immediately:

"The Nov. 16 order is the latest in the cartoonishly nasty battle between Warners and the Superman heirs over rights to the lucrative character. After a judge ruled a few years back that the studio might lose certain copyrights associated with the Man of Steel, Warners sued Marc Toberoff, the attorney for the families, claiming he improperly convinced them to back out of deals and terminate their copyright assignments relating to Superman."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/superman-lawsuit-delay-lifted-depositions-46688

Google Strikes Deal With French Publisher; New York Times, 11/18/10

Eric Pfanner and David Jolly, New York Times; Google Strikes Deal With French Publisher:

"Google said Wednesday that it had reached a deal with the publisher Hachette Livre, which has broken ranks with its French rivals and agreed to allow Google to scan thousands of out-of-print books for its digital library project."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/business/global/18book.html

The Case Against COICA; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 11/16/10

Peter Eckersley, Electronic Frontier Foundation; The Case Against COICA:

"In September, digital rights advocates and Internet engineers helped to delay the Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), a terrible bill that would have allowed the Attorney General to censor the Internet in the name of copyright enforcement. Now that the November elections are over, COICA is back on the Senate Judiciary Committee schedule for markup this Thursday and could pass out of committee during the "lame duck" session of Congress."

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/case-against-coica

Professors Publish Guide to Copyright Issues of Multimedia Projects; Wired Campus, 11/17/10

Paige Chapman, Wired Campus; Professors Publish Guide to Copyright Issues of Multimedia Projects:

"Students often create multimedia projects for classes that blend in clips from YouTube videos or hit songs, and many want to post their creations online for a wider audience. But does that violate copyright law?

It might, and many students fail to understand the legal risks. A new study, titled “Copying Right and Copying Wrong With Web 2.0 Tools in the Teacher Education and Communications Classrooms,” attempts to educate students about both the appropriate and inappropriate ways to use copyrighted materials that are available to mass audiences on the Internet."

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/professors-publish-guide-to-copyright-issues-of-multimedia-projects/28254

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Suit Accuses ‘South Park’ of Copyright Infringement; New York Times, 11/15/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; Suit Accuses ‘South Park’ of Copyright Infringement:

"The producers of “South Park” are once again in trouble for using a Web video as source material for their comedy – this time, for parodying a viral video so closely that the video’s creators say the parody constitutes copyright infringement."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/suit-accuses-south-park-of-copyright-infringement/?scp=1&sq=south%20park&st=cse

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Review: Nifty scanner eases farewell to paper; Washington Post, 11/10/10

Peter Svensson, Washington Post; Review: Nifty scanner eases farewell to paper:

"Because the ScanSnap is so fast, it's tempting to scan books as well. You could carry a couple of bookshelves worth of scanned books on the iPad.

Copyright law gets in the way of that vision, though. You don't have a blanket right to scan your books. This probably comes as a surprise to people who have been "ripping" their CDs for a decade. The music industry doesn't challenge this practice, but that doesn't mean it's legal, strictly speaking."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/10/AR2010111003172.html

Google: Android doesn't infringe Oracle's copyrights; ArsTechnica.com, 11/13/10

Ryan Paul, ArsTechnica.com; Google: Android doesn't infringe Oracle's copyrights:

"Google has also weighed in on Oracle's more recent claim that Android's Java code infringes on Oracle's copyrights in addition to patents."

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/11/google-android-doesnt-infringe-oracles-copyrights.ars

Saturday, November 13, 2010

[Podcast] How to Anger the Internet; NPR's On the Media, 11/12/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; How to Anger the Internet:

"Two weeks ago, the internet erupted in anger over unapologetic plagiarism by a small Massachusetts magazine Cooks Source. Bob and Brooke ponder what happens the internet becomes an angry mob."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/11/12/04

[Podcast] Backroom Dealing on ACTA; NPR's On the Media, 11/12/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Backroom Dealing on ACTA:

"For several years, dozens of countries – including the U.S. and members of the European Union – have been negotiating what’s called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It’s a kind of treaty involving copyright and intellectual property rights, matters of great public concern – only it’s been hammered out largely behind closed doors and subject to virtually no public input. Earlier this year an official draft of the treaty was finally released, allowing legal scholars to see what our trade reps have been up to. And many are not happy. Harvard Law School’s Jonathan Zittrain explains."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/11/12/03

Friday, November 12, 2010

Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m; (London) Guardian, 11/9/10

Joel Tenenbaum, (London) Guardian; Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m: Last month, the RIAA shut down the peer-to-peer site Limewire. I was sued by the same organisation for sharing 30 songs online – 12 months on, my battle with them continues:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/nov/09/joel-tenenbaum-a-year-on

How to save the music industry; GQ.com, 8/13/10

Paul McGuinness, GQ.com; How to save the music industry:

"Bourget's action was a milestone in the history of copyright law. The legal wrangling that followed led to the establishment of the first revenue-collection system for composers and musicians."

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-08/13/gq-music-paul-mcguinness-on-music-piracy/file-sharing-on-spotify-and-piracy

Thursday, November 11, 2010

‘Fela!’ Is Sued for Copyright Infringement; New York Times, 11/9/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; ‘Fela!’ Is Sued for Copyright Infringement:

"The author of a biography of the Afrobeat musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti has filed suit against the producers and creative team of the Broadway musical “Fela!”, saying the stage production infringes on the copyright to his book and seeking an injunction against the show."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/fela-musical-is-sued-for-copyright-infringement/?scp=1&sq=copyright&st=cse

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Trial Opens Over Damages in Oracle Copyright Case With SAP; New York Times, 11/3/10

Verne G. Kopytoff, New York Times; Trial Opens Over Damages in Oracle Copyright Case With SAP:

"The dispute between the software giants Oracle and SAP, in one of the most closely watched court cases in Silicon Valley history, is not over whether SAP engaged in a copyright infringement scheme, but over how much damage was done to Oracle."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/technology/03oracle.html?scp=1&sq=copyright&st=cse

Chasing Pirates: Inside Microsoft’s War Room; New York Times, 11/7/10

Ashlee Vance, New York Times; Chasing Pirates: Inside Microsoft’s War Room:

"The arrival of organized criminal syndicates to the software piracy scene has escalated worries at companies like Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe. Groups in China, South America and Eastern Europe appear to have supply chains and sales networks rivaling those of legitimate businesses, says David Finn, Microsoft’s anti-piracy chief. Sometimes they sell exact copies of products, but often peddle tainted software that opens the door to other electronic crime."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/technology/07piracy.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=piracy%20microsoft&st=cse

The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie; NPR, 11/5/10

Linda Holmes, NPR; The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie:

"On Wednesday evening, a blogger named Monica Gaudio posted a story in which she told of learning that Cooks Source had taken a piece she wrote about apple pie — specifically this one — and simply copied it into the magazine. As you can see from the scanned page (Gawker, for instance, has it), the magazine credited Gaudio with a byline. It didn't pretend to have come up with her story itself; it just seemed to believe it could copy her story and run it in a free, ad-supported (and therefore revenue-generating) magazine without telling her, let alone compensating her."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/11/05/131091599/the-day-the-internet-threw-a-righteous-hissyfit-about-copyright-and-pie

The cook and the thieves: a win for internet IP; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/8/10

Sydney Morning Herald; The cook and the thieves: a win for internet IP:

"It's worth of cutting and pasting in a big chunk of what she said next for those who haven't yet seen it:

"If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free""

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/blogs/the-geek/the-cook-and-the-thieves-a-win-for-internet-ip/20101108-17jmf.html

KISS Videos Removed Due To Copyright Claims; TechDirt.com, 11/8/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; KISS Videos Removed Due To Copyright Claims:

"We noted recently that Kiss's Gene Simmons has (not for the first time) declared war on people who infringe on his copyrights, declaring that they should all be sued..."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101108/10533311763/kiss-videos-removed-due-to-copyright-claims.shtml

Monday, November 8, 2010

Did Jammie Thomas case backfire on file sharers?; CNet News, 11/7/10

Greg Sandoval, CNet News; Did Jammie Thomas case backfire on file sharers?:

"Tyler Ochoa, a law professor at Santa Clara University, said that the big problem isn't Thomas-Rasset's case.

"The law is on [the copyright owners'] side right now," Ochoa said. "The notion that there is a personal use exception to copyright has pretty much disappeared in recent years.""

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20021947-261.html?tag=mncol;mlt_related#ixzz14keFz6mX

Third P2P verdict for Jammie Thomas: $1.5 million; ArsTechnica.com, 11/4/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Third P2P verdict for Jammie Thomas: $1.5 million:

"The first P2P case to come to trial in the US has lasted five years and now has three verdicts, this one coming after just two hours of deliberation. Jammie Thomas-Rasset must pay $62,500 for each of the 24 songs at issue in the case, for total of $1.5 million."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/the-first-p2p-case-to.ars

Prime Minister: UK needs US-style fair use to spur innovation; ArsTechnica.com, 11/5/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Prime Minister: UK needs US-style fair use to spur innovation:

""The problem David Cameron will come up against is that 'fair use' may be difficult, if not impossible, to establish in current European law," he wrote today. "EU copyright does not allow a general, US-style 'fair use' provision, but has an exhaustive list of possible user rights, like format shifting, back ups and parodies. Each EU country chooses which rights they wish to allow.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/prime-minister-uk-needs-us-style-fair-use-to-spur-innovation.ars

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

"It is Groundhog Day": Third Jammie Thomas P2P trial begins; ArsTechnica.com, 11/2/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; "It is Groundhog Day": Third Jammie Thomas P2P trial begins:

"The reference, to the Bill Murray film in which the main character continually repeats one particular day, makes particular sense in this case. Thomas-Rasset was the first of the RIAA's litigation targets to take her case all the way to a trial and a verdict, but Judge Davis has twice tossed the results. In the first trial, a bad jury instruction was to blame; in the second, the jury returned a shocking $1.92 million verdict that Davis slashed to $54,000, calling it "monstrous." Neither side was pleased, however, and the recording industry asked for yet another trial, this one on damages alone."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/third-jammie-thomas-p2p-trial-begins-it-is-groundhog-day.ars

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Another New Twist in ‘Rear Window’ Dispute; New York Times, 11/1/10

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; Another New Twist in ‘Rear Window’ Dispute:

"An Alfred Hitchcock thriller may wrap up its loose ends in under two hours, but a longstanding legal dispute over whether the 2007 movie “Disturbia” infringes on the copyright of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and its source material is far from over."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/another-new-twist-in-rear-window-dispute/?scp=3&sq=copyright&st=cse

Friday, October 29, 2010

'Night of the Living Dead': How a 42-year-old zombie movie refuses to die; Entertainment Weekly, 10/28/10

Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly; 'Night of the Living Dead': How a 42-year-old zombie movie refuses to die:

"Alas, by then, Night of the Living Dead had fallen into the public domain, which meant the film’s rights were of extremely limited use and worth. In fact, as far as the U.S. Copyright Office was concerned, the movie had always been in the public domain. This was the fault of the Walter Reade Organization, who neglected to put a copyright notice on the title card of the movie after the name change to Night of the Living Dead. “It was our first film; we didn’t know what we were doing,” says Romero. “When they took that title off and replaced it with Night of the Living Dead, they didn’t put the copyright bug there because it normally shouldn’t be there. It should be at the end of the film.”"

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/28/walking-dead-zombies-night-of-the-living-dead/

Friday, October 22, 2010

Film Director Comes to the Defense of a Convicted Internet Pirate; New York Times, 9/22/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; Film Director Comes to the Defense of a Convicted Internet Pirate:

"A Frenchman convicted of copyright theft for illegally downloading thousands of songs on the Internet has found an unlikely patron: a famous film director."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/technology/22iht-godard.html?_r=1&scp=9&sq=copyright&st=cse

Chilean Miner Copyrights Note Announcing Trapped Miners Were OK; TechDirt.com, 10/22/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt.com; Chilean Miner Copyrights Note Announcing Trapped Miners Were OK:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101022/09275111543/chilean-miner-copyrights-note-announcing-trapped-miners-were-ok.shtml

Judge: Third trial against P2P user Jammie Thomas will go ahead; ArsTechnica.com, 10/22/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Judge: Third trial against P2P user Jammie Thomas will go ahead:

"The first file-swapper to take her copyright infringement case all the way to a verdict will have a remarkable third trial next month. Jammie Thomas-Rasset has fought the RIAA through four years, two trials, a name change, and a $1.92 million judgment; on November 2, she gets to do it again."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/judge-third-trial-against-p2p-user-jammie-thomas-will-go-ahead.ars

Friday, October 15, 2010

British Judge Refuses to Throw Out Suit Accusing Rowling of Plagiarism; New York Times, 10/14/10

Julie Bosman, New York Times; British Judge Refuses to Throw Out Suit Accusing Rowling of Plagiarism:

"A lawsuit in a British court accusing Ms. Rowling of partly copying a 1987 book, “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard,” by Adrian Jacobs, may go to trial now that a judge has turned down an application by Ms. Rowling’s lawyers to dismiss the case, according to Reuters."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/british-judge-refuses-to-throw-out-suit-accusing-rowling-of-plagiarism/?scp=2&sq=rowling&st=cse

Monday, October 11, 2010

Library of Congress Study Shows Dire State of Sound Recording Preservation; Library Journal, 10/7/10

Candice Herman, Library Journal; Library of Congress Study Shows Dire State of Sound Recording Preservation:

"The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) has released a study, "The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States: A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age," warning that digital technology alone will not ensure the preservation and survival of the nations sound history.

The study proposes that librarians and archivists be trained in copyright law. In the study, interviewees said they had tried to use materials in a library or an archive but had been told that the rights to those materials were unclear."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887137-264/library_of_congress_study_shows.html.csp

Georgia State Ereserves Case Narrowed Yet Again; Library Journal, 10/7/10

Josh Hadro, Library Journal; Georgia State Ereserves Case Narrowed Yet Again:

"According to a ruling on October 1, the closely watched Georgia State University (GSU) ereserves lawsuit will come down to whether the named defendants participated in the specific act of "contributory infringement," as two other original accusations were removed from the case.

This narrows the scope of the charges lodged by the publisher plaintiffs—Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and SAGE Publications—and has Fair Use advocates cautiously optimistic as the case moves closer to trial."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887124-264/georgia_state_ereserves_case_narrowed.html.csp

Saturday, October 9, 2010

[Podcast] Take my Joke, Please; NPR's On the Media, 10/8/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Take my Joke, Please:

"The writers of Saturday Night Live were accused of joke plagiarism last month by sketch comedy writer Tim Heidecker. Whether or not Heidecker’s right, he can’t sue: like fashion, comedy is a world where copyright law barely applies. Comedians don't copyright their jokes; instead, they rely on an informal system of intellectual property enforcement. Chris Sprigman and Dotan Oliar, two law professors, decided to study how that system works."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/08/06

[Podcast] A Copyright Law for Fashionistas; NPR's On the Media, 10/8/10

[Podcast] NPR's On the Media; A Copyright Law for Fashionistas:

"The fashion industry in the United States operates without copyright protection. Which means that although designers own trademarks on their logos, there’s no law that prohibits copying the cut of a garment. Fashion law expert Susan Scafidi talks about a new bill, the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, that could change that."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/08/05

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Copyright's Futures: Law profs draw on comic talents; San Francisco Chronicle, 9/26/10

San Francisco Chronicle; Copyright's Futures: Law profs draw on comic talents:

"The comic we are currently writing - "Theft: A History of Music" - from which these pages are adapted, is a 2,000-year-long history of music borrowing, written in the hope of bringing some historical perspective to today's music wars."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/26/INDO1FI7I0.DTL

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market; New York Times, 9/27/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market:

"Last week [the European Parliament] called for a long-overdue overhaul of European copyright laws, aimed at fostering the development of a single European media market. For now, there is no such thing; even on the supposedly borderless Internet, most music and video services are fragmented according to European national boundaries."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/media/27cache.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=copyright&st=cse

When It’s Illegal to Photograph Artwork; New York Times, 9/21/10

Jennifer Saranow Schultz, New York Times; When It’s Illegal to Photograph Artwork:

"Having recently explored the legality of copying your favorite clothes, I decided to also consult with some lawyers about snapping a shot of art at a gallery or a museum for personal use."

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/when-its-illegal-to-photograph-artwork/?scp=9&sq=copyright&st=cse

Postscript to Crosby’s Wine Cellar Treasure; New York Times, 10/2/10

Richard Sandomir, New York Times; Postscript to Crosby’s Wine Cellar Treasure:

"The discovery of a copy of the broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series in Bing Crosby’s former wine cellar led some readers to raise an interesting question: if Major League Baseball owns the copyright to World Series broadcasts, why did it have to pay the Crosby estate for the rights to televise the game on the MLB Network in December and release a DVD?"

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/postscript-to-crosbys-wine-cellar-treasure/?scp=5&sq=copyright&st=cse

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Ebook Summit Webcast Tackles Google Books Project; Library Journal, 9/27/10

Raya Kuzyk, Library Journal; Ebook Summit Webcast Tackles Google Books Project: Two librarians, a Google rep, and a PW editor walk into an ebook summit...and share their varying takes on the pending Google Books settlement:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887025-264/ebook_summit_webcast_tackles_google.html.csp

LJ/SLJ's First Virtual Summit on Ebooks Draws Over 2100 Attendees; Library Journal, 10/1/10

LJ Staff, Library Journal; LJ/SLJ's First Virtual Summit on Ebooks Draws Over 2100 Attendees:

"Library Journal and School Library Journal's inaugural virtual summit, Ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point, confirmed both librarians' frustration over their exclusion from decisions being made regarding ebooks and their willingness to embrace ebook delivery and access for their users."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887063-264/ljsljs_first_virtual_summit_on.html.csp

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Authors Feel Pinch In Age of E-Books; Wall Street Journal, 9/28/10

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Wall Street Journal; Authors Feel Pinch In Age of E-Books:

"It has always been tough for literary fiction writers to get their work published by the top publishing houses. But the digital revolution that is disrupting the economic model of the book industry is having an outsize impact on the careers of literary writers."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703369704575461542987870022.html#ixzz11DDOVRsK

Victory: Internet Censorship Bill is Delayed, For Now; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 9/30/10

Tim Jones, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Victory: Internet Censorship Bill is Delayed, For Now:

"The Senate Judiciary Committee won't be considering the dangerously flawed "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" (COICA) bill until after the midterm elections, at least."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/victory-internet-censorship-bill-delayed

[Podcast] Fox Sues Candidate Over Campaign Ad; NPR's On the Media, 10/1/10

Podcast] NPR's On the Media; Fox Sues Candidate Over Campaign Ad:

"Fox News has sued Senate candidate Robin Carnahan over an ad she released containing footage of her opponent being interviewed by a Fox correspondent. Fordham Law School professor Sonia Katyal talks about what the suit could mean for political free speech."

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/10/01/05

Friday, October 1, 2010

Antipiracy lawyers pirate from other antipiracy lawyers; ArsTechnica.com, 9/30/10

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Antipiracy lawyers pirate from other antipiracy lawyers:

"Crafting original content takes real time and effort; it's much easier to customize something created by others (see, for instance, the copyright page for Dunlap, Grubb, & Weaver, the law firm behind the US Copyright Group; then compare to this and this).

So many people license material, as Crossley did (and as Ars does with the stock photo elements that our graphic design genius, Aurich Lawson, turns into pictures of, say, a tie-wearing praying mantis). Others just take it without permission—but grabbing it from a firm that specializes in copyright prosecutions seems like a pretty dim idea."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/antipiracy-lawyers-pirate-from-other-antipiracy-lawyers.ars

Bomb threat as US Copyright Group sues 2,000 more file-swappers; Ars Technica, 10/1/10

Nate Anderson, Ars Technica; Bomb threat as US Copyright Group sues 2,000 more file-swappers:

"These new cases bring the total number of people sued by US Copyright Group to over 16,200—and that's in just nine months."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/bomb-threat-as-us-copyright-group-sues-2000-more-file-swappers.ars

Google Cake Doodle Marks 12th Birthday: A Look Back; PC World, 9/27/10

Ian Paul, PC World; Google Cake Doodle Marks 12th Birthday: A Look Back: Google celebrated its 12th birthday with a 'doodle' of a cake featured on its homepage. Here is a tour of past birthday doodles:

"2005: Happy 7th Birthday

Perhaps making up for going without cake the year previous, Google went all out for its seventh birthday on September 27. The search giant's doodle included 7 pieces of cake and the "L" became a 7. This was a big year for Google, with notable launches including Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Scholar, personalized home pages (later to be called iGoogle), Google Talk, and Google Reader. Google also experienced its first headaches with Google Book Search when a group of 8000 writers opposed the search giant's plans to scan and index the libraries at Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, and Oxford universities, according to The Boston Globe."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/206246/google_cake_doodle_marks_12th_birthday_a_look_back.html?tk=hp_new

[Movie Review] 'The Social Network'; Los Angeles Times, 10/1/10

[Movie Review] Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times; 'The Social Network':

"Presented with an involving central character cold enough to suit his chilly but considerable filmmaking talents, the director does his best work, convincingly presenting a story about conflicts over intellectual property as if it were a fast-paced James Bond thriller."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-social-network-20101001,0,1914455.story

[Movie Review] 'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web; NPR's Morning Edition, 9/30/10

[Movie Review] Bob Mondello, NPR's Morning Edition; 'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web:

"And The Social Network is terrific entertainment — an unlikely thriller that makes business ethics, class distinctions and intellectual-property arguments sexy, that zips through two hours quicker than you can say "relationship status," and that'll likely fascinate pretty much anyone not named Zuckerberg."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130157106