NASA’s Juno orbiter set to arrive at Jupiter on Monday; Washington Post, 7/4/16

Rachel Feltman, Washington Post; NASA’s Juno orbiter set to arrive at Jupiter on Monday:

[Kip Currier: What a fitting testament NASA's Juno orbiter mission to Jupiter is to reason, shared human endeavor, and Open Science on this day, the USA's 240th birthday.]

"Take a break from your all-American cookout tonight to look up at the sky and think of Juno. On Monday, the football-field-size spacecraft will zip into Jupiter's orbit, allowing us to study the secrets of our solar system's biggest, oldest planet for the first time.

Other spacecraft have visited Jupiter before. But Juno will orbit closer than any of them – within 2,700 miles of the planet's cloud cover – and allow scientists to probe for data from beneath the giant planet's roiling, gassy surface.

"We're barreling down on Jupiter really quick," principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute said at a news briefing held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in California on Monday. "It's been an amazing journey."

Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern, he said, Juno passed Europa – the Jovian moon that has subsurface oceans where future missions may look for signs of life. Around half an hour later, it passed Io, the innermost moon.

"In one Jupiter rotation, we'll be there," said Jim Green, director of planetary science for NASA. "What a wonderful day to celebrate. It's a milestone for our country, but also for planetary science.""

Episode 709: The Quiet Old Lady Who Whispers "Fair Use"; Planet Money, NPR, 7/1/16

[Podcast] Planet Money, NPR; Episode 709: The Quiet Old Lady Who Whispers "Fair Use" :

"...[A]fter writing his own Goodnight Moon spinoff, Keith wanted to know: Could he sell it? Is that even legal?

Today on the show, we dive into the world of copyright and fair use. Just where is the line between inspiration and stealing?"

Fur flies in this purrr-fect ‘Batcat v Supercat’ video; Comic Book Resources, 7/3/16

Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resources; Fur flies in this purrr-fect ‘Batcat v Supercat’ video:

"This parody of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” — called “Batcat v Supercat,” of course — is the work of Kaipo JOnes, who also produced “Magneto Cat” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine Cat.” You may detect a theme at play."

One of the copyright's scummiest trolls loses his law license; Boing Boing, 7/3/16

Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing; One of the copyright's scummiest trolls loses his law license:

"For more than four years, we've chronicled the sleazy story of Prenda Law, a copyright troll whose extortion racket included genuinely bizarre acts of identity theft, even weirder random homophobic dog-whistles, and uploading their own porn movies to entrap new victims, and, naturally, an FBI investigation into the firm's partners' illegal conduct.

Now, Paul Hansmeier, one of Prenda's masterminds, has lost his license to practice law, after "voluntarily stipulating" to its suspension in an investigation into his professional conduct -- a plea bargain that forestalled a judgment by the Minnesota court hearing the case brought against him by the state's Office of Lawyer Professional Responsibility.

Hansmeier had recently branched out from copyright trolling to ADA trolling -- sending bogus threats under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a racket that, if anything, is even more despicable than pornographic copyright trolling (!), as it discredits the good work that real civil rights lawyers do to protect the rights of disabled people."

With Canada’s Entry, Treaty for the Blind Will Come Into Force; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 6/30/16

Parker Higgins, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); With Canada’s Entry, Treaty for the Blind Will Come Into Force:

"A groundbreaking international agreement to address the “book famine” for blind and print-disabled people is now set to go into force after passing another key milestone today. The agreement requires countries to allow the reproduction and distribution of accessible ebooks by limiting the scope of copyright restrictions.

The Marrakesh agreement takes aim at the global shortage of ebooks available in suitable formats for the print disabled, which in some regions is as low as 1% of published books. At the time of its completion, only 57 of the 184 member countries of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) had copyright exceptions for this purpose, and inconsistencies between them made sharing books between countries nearly impossible."

Amazon Inspire Removes Some Content Over Copyright Issues; New York Times, 6/29/16

Natasha Singer, New York Times; Amazon Inspire Removes Some Content Over Copyright Issues:

"Amazon designed the site to enable teachers to post and freely share lesson plans, quizzes and curriculums of their own design, as well as open educational resources created by others. Mr. Agarwal said that users were not supposed to upload copyrighted materials and that the site had a process in place to quickly take down items that were the subjects of such complaints.

But it may be more difficult than Amazon executives realized for the site’s users to distinguish between open educational resources and copyrighted works.

“Even with all the safeguards in place, you have the ability to have someone upload a resource that violates a copyright,” Mr. Agarwal conceded."

Britain’s Shaky Status as a Scientific Superpower; Atlantic, 6/24/16

Adrienne Lafrance, Atlantic; Britain’s Shaky Status as a Scientific Superpower:

"A sizable portion of funding for scientific research in the United Kingdom comes from EU grants, and the United Kingdom is one of the largest recipients of research funding in the union. Between 2007 and 2013, the U.K. received €8.8 billion—the equivalent of nearly $10 billion—for scientific research, according to a 2015 report published by the Royal Society, an independent scientific academy based in London. Drayson and others say it’s unlikely the United Kingdom will be able to negotiate a deal for such funding to continue...

Yet there’s more to the debate than money. More broadly, many scientists fear that international collaboration among researchers from across the EU will become difficult, if not impossible, once Britain leaves the union.

“Being in the EU gives us access to ideas, people and to investment in science,” Paul Nurse, the director of The Francis Crick Institute, told the BBC. “That, combined with mobility [of EU scientists], gives us increased collaboration, increased transfer of people, ideas and science—all of which history has shown us drives science.”

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is a key example of the kind of collaboration that EU membership has enabled."

DONALD TRUMP BECOMES A MARVEL SUPERVILLAIN IN "SPIDER-GWEN"; Comic Book Resources, 7/2/16

Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resources; DONALD TRUMP BECOMES A MARVEL SUPERVILLAIN IN "SPIDER-GWEN" :

"In an alternate Marvel Universe where Gwen Stacy, not Peter Parker, was bitten by a radioactive spider, and Samantha Wilson is Captain America, the classic supervillain M.O.D.O.K. resembles a certain real estate mogul turned reality TV star turned presidential candidate: Donald J. Trump.

In this week's "Spider-Gwen Annual" #1, writer Jason Latour and "an awesome assemblage of artists" offer a tour of Earth-65 with a collection of short stories that includes She-Hulk as a pro wrestler, the origin of Koala Kommander, and an all-too brief showdown between Captain America and M.O.D.O.K. -- wait, make that M.O.D.A.A.K. (Mental Organism Designed As America's King)."

President Obama Signs FOIA Reform Bill into Law on 50th Anniversary; Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 6/30/16

Luis Ferre Sadurni, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press; President Obama Signs FOIA Reform Bill into Law on 50th Anniversary:

"President Barack Obama today signed a bill that significantly reforms and improves access to public records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The signing marked the culmination of open government advocates' battle to reform part of FOIA ahead of the law's 50th anniversary on July 4th.

One of the most notable provisions is the law's mandate for agencies to operate from a presumption of openness, ensuring that information is withheld only under one of FOIA's nine exemptions. The bill codifies Obama's 2009 memorandum sent on his first day in office — which ordered federal departments to operate under this presumption.

The law also paves the way for the creation of a single online portal to accept FOIA requests for any agency, similar to FOIAonline, already in use by 12 agencies and offices. The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) will also be strengthened with the reforms, permitting it to make recommendations for improving FOIA without necessarily seeking input from other agencies.

A White House fact sheet provides more details about the law and announced new members of the FOIA Advisory Committee."

Apple wins patent on technology to stop fans filming gigs; Guardian, 6/30/16

Guardian Music, Guardian; Apple wins patent on technology to stop fans filming gigs:

"Pitchfork reports that Apple has won approval from the US Patent and Trademark Office for technology that could be used to prevent fans filming or taking photos of gigs on their iPhones."

A Look at Copyright Lawsuits Involving Hit Songs; Associated Press via New York Times, 6/24/16

Associated Press via New York Times; A Look at Copyright Lawsuits Involving Hit Songs:

"A federal court jury in Los Angeles has decided that Led Zeppelin did not steal a riff for the intro of its epic hit, "Stairway to Heaven." Here is a look at some other cases that have taken pop songs from the recording studio to the courtroom over plagiarism allegations."

Exclusive: Google, Facebook Quietly Move Toward Automatic Blocking of Extremist Videos; Reuters via New York Times, 6/24/16

Reuters via New York Times; Exclusive: Google, Facebook Quietly Move Toward Automatic Blocking of Extremist Videos:

"Some of the web’s biggest destinations for watching videos have quietly started using automation to remove extremist content from their sites, according to two people familiar with the process.

The move is a major step forward for internet companies that are eager to eradicate violent propaganda from their sites and are under pressure to do so from governments around the world as attacks by extremists proliferate, from Syria to Belgium and the United States.

YouTube and Facebook are among the sites deploying systems to block or rapidly take down Islamic State videos and other similar material, the sources said.

The technology was originally developed to identify and remove copyright-protected content on video sites. It looks for "hashes," a type of unique digital fingerprint that internet companies automatically assign to specific videos, allowing all content with matching fingerprints to be removed rapidly.

Such a system would catch attempts to repost content already identified as unacceptable, but would not automatically block videos that have not been seen before."

Trump Institute Offered Get-Rich Schemes With Plagiarized Lessons; New York Times, 6/29/16

Jonathan Martin, New York Times; Trump Institute Offered Get-Rich Schemes With Plagiarized Lessons:

"Yet there was an even more fundamental deceit to the business, unreported until now: Extensive portions of the materials that students received after paying their seminar fees, supposedly containing Mr. Trump’s special wisdom, had been plagiarized from an obscure real estate manual published a decade earlier.

Together, the exaggerated claims about his own role, the checkered pasts of the people with whom he went into business and the theft of intellectual property at the venture’s heart all illustrate the fiction underpinning so many of Mr. Trump’s licensing businesses: Putting his name on products and services — and collecting fees — was often where his actual involvement began and ended."

‘Happy Birthday’ Lawyers Target Other Song Copyrights; Bloomberg Law, 6/28/16

Anandashankar Mazumdar, Bloomberg Law; ‘Happy Birthday’ Lawyers Target Other Song Copyrights:

"In April, they filed a complaint over “We Shall Overcome,” the protest song synonymous with the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

” `We Shall Overcome’ is a profoundly important song,” Rifkin said. ” `Happy Birthday’ is possibly the world’s most famous song, but `We Shall Overcome’ is possibly the world’s most important song. It has a moving appeal to an awful lot of people, and it is a very important piece of music, and we think it’s important that it be given back to the public.”

On June 14, the lawyers filed another complaint, this time over “This Land Is Your Land,” the folk song associated with Depression-era troubadour and political activist Woody Guthrie, who wrote the lyrics to an existing melody. Guthrie’s copyright on the lyrics expired in 1973, the complaint said..."

Restoring Balance to the Copyright Act

As they take on similar cases, Rifkin said he considers the challenge of dubious copyright claims an important part of the copyright system. He and Newman, he said, are trying to hit the balance referred to by Justice Elena Kagan in an opinion in a Supreme Court case involving legal fees in copyright cases.

The purpose of the Copyright Act—”enriching the general public through access to creative works”— is served by “striking a balance between two subsidiary aims: encouraging and rewarding authors’ creations while also enabling others to build on that work,” Kagan said."

Huckabee’s anti-gay-marriage rally leads to copyright suit, $25,000 payment; Ars Technica, 6/27/16

Joe Mullin, Ars Technica; Huckabee’s anti-gay-marriage rally leads to copyright suit, $25,000 payment:

"Now, CNN has reported that Huckabee's campaign ended up paying $25,000 to Sullivan's music company to resolve a copyright infringement lawsuit over the incident. Two payments of $12,500 each appeared on a June 20 document filed with the Federal Election Commission...

Huckabee's campaign didn't give up without a fight, though. In court documents, Huckabee argued that his use of "Eye of the Tiger" was "de minimis" and should be considered fair use. He also said the rally for Davis was a "religious assembly," which further mitigated against a finding of infringement.

This isn't the first time "Eye of the Tiger" has been in the political eye of the storm. Newt Gingrich used the song at rallies for years before getting sued in 2012, when he mounted a presidential bid. He settled for an undisclosed sum. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also used the song in 2012, but he quickly stopped after receiving a warning from McGarry."

Flipping Journals to Open Access; Library Journal, 6/22/16

John Parsons, Library Journal; Flipping Journals to Open Access:

"Mandates from governments, funding sources, and institutions, have made the switch to open access all but inevitable. This puts increasing pressure on traditional journals to change, a process commonly known as “flipping,” but a new study reveals the many ways to convert from subscriptions to OA.

Publishers are understandably cautious. Paid subscription models were established before the advent of the Internet and OA, to support the many services required to produce a peer-reviewed article. Every traditional publisher must navigate the transition with care—and on the basis of its own, unique circumstances."

Illuminating the ‘Dark’ Web and Content Monitoring; New York Times, 6/24/16

Ted Loos, New York Times; Illuminating the ‘Dark’ Web and Content Monitoring:

"Eva and Franco Mattes — married Brooklyn artists and “hacktivists” — use those ideas metaphorically, peeling back the surface of what they call the “sanitized” internet to reveal its murkier side: the world of content monitoring and the elusive individuals who are tasked with tracking and removing offensive material online.

Their latest exhibition, “Abuse Standards Violations,” on view at London’s Carroll/Fletcher gallery until Aug. 27, is a journey into what Ben Vickers, a London curator at the Serpentine Galleries and fan of their work, called “the dark, morbid heart of the internet.”"

Moonshine Maker Loses ‘Kentucky’ in Legal Battle With University; New York Times, 6/23/16

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times; Moonshine Maker Loses ‘Kentucky’ in Legal Battle With University:

"The university — whose Wildcats basketball team brings in millions of dollars in revenue each year — says it does; in 1997, it trademarked the word “Kentucky” for use on clothing. When Mr. Fultz opened shop last October in his home city, Whitesburg, and tried to trademark his business name, the university tried to block him from doing so for apparel. Officials said they mostly hoped to open negotiations with Mr. Fultz to keep him from marketing “Kentucky Mist Moonshine” T-shirts in the school’s signature colors of royal blue and white.

Instead, Mr. Fultz filed suit. But on Thursday, a federal court in Lexington sided with the university and dismissed his case.

In a 32-page ruling, Judge Danny C. Reeves of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky accepted the university’s arguments that it was immune from being sued, and that Kentucky Mist had no standing to bring the case."

‘Star Trek: Axanar’ Producers Fire Back at ‘Draconian’ Fan Film Guidelines; Comic Book Resources, 6/24/16

Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resources; ‘Star Trek: Axanar’ Producers Fire Back at ‘Draconian’ Fan Film Guidelines:

"The producers of “Star Trek: Axanar” have responded to new fan film guidelines established by Paramount Pictures and CBS, calling them “Draconian” and stifling to fandom.

“We have been asking for guidelines for years,” producers said in a tweet. “CBS decided to make those guidelines Draconian.”"

Difference between trademark, copyright and patent; YourStory, 6/24/16

Nikita Bhatia, YourStory.com; Difference between trademark, copyright and patent:

"Intellectual property is a vast and complex term. Many a time people are confused or have incorrectly used the terms in intellectual property law. They have spoken of “copyrighting” an idea or even “patenting” a book! To understand these terms, it is essential to know what is Intellectual Property and what all does it entail."

Free Led Zeppelin: “This is about music, it’s not about sound”; Salon, 6/22/16

Scott Timberg, Salon; Free Led Zeppelin: “This is about music, it’s not about sound” :

"The federal court trial considering whether Led Zeppelin stole from a Spirit song for its ubiquitous “Stairway to Heaven” is moving toward its conclusion. Zeppelin singer Robert Plant took the stand Tuesday, saying he did not remember hearing the instrumental “Taurus” and describing in detail the way he wrote “Stairway” with guitarist Jimmy Page.

But the case is about a legal concept as much as musical ones – the plagiarism of intellectual property. Salon spoke to the Charles Cronin, who teaches at USC’s Gould School of Law and has written extensively on musical plagiarism. He’s also founder of the Music Copyright Infringement Resource, now housed at the university."

Led Zeppelin Wins Copyright Infringement Suit Over Opening Lick of 'Stairway to Heaven'; ABC News, 6/23/16

Sherene Tagharobi and Lesley Messer, ABC News; Led Zeppelin Wins Copyright Infringement Suit Over Opening Lick of 'Stairway to Heaven' :

"A jury today found that Led Zeppelin had not plagiarized the opening riff of "Stairway to Heaven."

After a day of deliberation, the ruling came back that there was no copyright infringement. An eight-person jury delivered the verdict, ruling there was no "extrinsic similarity between Spirit's 'Taurus' and 'Stairway,'" following five days of testimony from music experts, a former Spirit band member and the surviving members of Led Zeppelin."

Star Trek Fan Film Guidelines Announced; StarTrek.com, 6/23/16

CBS & Paramount, StarTrek.com; Star Trek Fan Film Guidelines Announced:

"Dear Star Trek fans,

Star Trek fandom is like no other.

Your support, enthusiasm and passion are the reasons that Star Trek has flourished for five decades and will continue long into the future. You are the reason the original Star Trek series was rescued and renewed in 1968, and the reason it has endured as an iconic and multi-generational phenomenon that has spawned seven television series and 13 movies.

Throughout the years, many of you have expressed your love for the franchise through creative endeavors such as fan films. So today, we want to show our appreciation by bringing fan films back to their roots.

The heart of these fan films has always been about expressing one’s love and passion for Star Trek. They have been about fan creativity and sharing unique stories with other fans to show admiration for the TV shows and movies. These films are a labor of love for any fan with desire, imagination and a camera.

We want to support this innovation and encourage celebrations of this beloved cultural phenomenon. It is with this perspective in mind that we are introducing a set of guidelines at Star Trek Fan Films.

Thank you for your ongoing and steadfast enthusiasm and support, which ensure that Star Trek will continue to inspire generations to come.

CBS and Paramount Pictures"

China Smartphone Makers Snap Up Patents in Fight for Market Dominance; Wall Street Journal, 6/20/16

Juro Osawa, Wall Street Journal; China Smartphone Makers Snap Up Patents in Fight for Market Dominance:

"China’s smartphone makers increasingly are turning to patents as ammunition as they try to reel in global leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co."

Exhibit Explores Ancient Roman 'Designer' Labels, Trademarks; Associated Press via ABC News, 6/16/16

Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press via ABC News; Exhibit Explores Ancient Roman 'Designer' Labels, Trademarks:

"In an ancient twist to today's Made-in-Italy labeling, Romans of some 2,000 years ago took to branding with zeal, putting names, trademarks and other identifying details with meticulous care on items including tableware, plumbing pipes and lead ammunition for slingshots."

Taylor Swift Wants YouTube To Treat Artists More Fairly, Too; Huffington Post, 6/20/16

Sara Boboltz, Huffington Post; Taylor Swift Wants YouTube To Treat Artists More Fairly, Too:

"Taylor Swift, Sir Paul McCartney and U2 are among those set to join the music industry’s increasingly loud battle with the world’s largest music service: YouTube. The musicians hope to plead the case in a series of ads this week that it is time to reform a 17-year-old law known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that they believe puts tech giants before musicians.

Enacted way back in 1998, the DMCA offers certain protections — sometimes called “safe harbor” — for websites hosting copyrighted content. Under the law, websites like YouTube can serve copyrighted music uploaded by ordinary users so long as the site takes it down when the rights holder asks. In an open letter to be published Tuesday in D.C.-based publications The Hill, Politico and Roll Call, dozens of artists and major record labels call for reforming the DMCA, according to multiple reports.

Many major record labels are currently involved in contract renegotiations with YouTube, or will be shortly, meaning the letter will make its debut at a key time. Those same labels believe that the DMCA gives big tech companies like YouTube a leg up in negotiating fees — meaning less revenue is making its way back to music creators. And that doesn’t make artists very happy, either. Music industry executives call that difference between actual profit from user-generated content sites and estimated potential profit a “value gap.” And they’re out to close it."

Led Zeppelin faces copyright case for ‘Stairway to Heaven’; PBS NewsHour, 6/19/16

[Podcast and Transcript] Phil Hirschkorn, PBS NewsHour; Led Zeppelin faces copyright case for ‘Stairway to Heaven’ :

"This week in Los Angeles federal court, a jury began hearing evidence and testimony on whether rock band Led Zeppelin may have lifted part of their iconic song, “Stairway to Heaven.” At stake is the band’s reputation and millions of dollars. NewsHour Weekend’s Phil Hirschkorn reports."

Progress Worth Noting: Congress Strengthens The Freedom Of Information Act And The Public’s Right To Know; Huffington Post, 6/17/16

Dorothy Samuels, Huffington Post; Progress Worth Noting: Congress Strengthens The Freedom Of Information Act And The Public’s Right To Know:

"In a gloomy news week dominated by the slaughter of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. and its aftermath, it is understandable that Congressional approval of unrelated legislation easing access to government records has not garnered tons of public attention. But Monday’s House passage of the bipartisan Freedom of Information Improvement Act previously approved by the Senate (also by a unanimous vote) now sends to the White House a major FOIA reform bill and blast against Washington’s culture of unwarranted government secrecy. President Obama has said he’ll sign the measure — a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary of the nation’s premier transparency law this July 4th.

The bill’s foremost accomplishment is that it will embed in federal law a “presumption of openness,” making it clear that “sunshine, not secrecy, is the default setting of our government” and “government information belongs in the hands of the people,” as Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Senate’s foremost Democratic champion of the legislation puts it...

The idea is to make it harder for agency officials deny release of government information sought under the FOIA. The “presumption of openness” was first laid out as executive branch policy by President Bill Clinton, only to be reversed by his successor, President George W. Bush. President Obama reinstated it in 2009 as one of his first acts upon taking office, but his administration has been criticized for straying from the commitment to openness in practice, even lobbying against a similar version of the legislation that nearly passed both houses of Congress two years ago."

Four Big Questions to Help You Understand the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act; National Law Review, 6/16/16

William A. Nolan, National Law Review; Four Big Questions to Help You Understand the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act:

"On May 11, President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), effective immediately. Previously, trade secret law has consisted almost entirely of 48 states’ versions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), so a federal law is a significant development. Almost all businesses have at least some confidential information that would qualify as a trade secret, so it is important for businesses and their lawyers to understand what this new federal law means and does not mean. We do that here with four broad questions."

What is a Trademark? Is Your Business Ready for one?; Small Business Trends, 6/16/16

Nellie Akalp, Small Business Trends; What is a Trademark? Is Your Business Ready for one? :

"It takes a minimum of several months — sometimes close to a year — to register a trademark. While you may be at the mercy of the backlog at the USPTO, there are a few things you can do to make sure your application is processed as quickly as possible. First, the more distinctive your mark is, the easier it will be to trademark. A descriptive or generic name like “Pretty Flowers” will most likely be rejected.

In addition, performing a very thorough name search upfront is the most important thing you can do to speed along your trademark application and minimize the chance of rejection. Your application will be rejected (and you’ll lose your application fee) if the USPTO finds another business is already using a similar mark in commerce.

Searching the USPTO’s online database is a first step toward finding any similar and potentially conflicting marks. But, if you’re serious about your trademark application, you should also perform a thorough search that includes state trademark databases and business directories. That’s because a business can enjoy common law rights without formally registering. You can have a trademark lawyer or online legal filing service help you with this important search."

Beijing Says Apple's iPhone 6 Violates Chinese Design Patent; NPR, 6/17/16

Alina Selyukh, NPR; Beijing Says Apple's iPhone 6 Violates Chinese Design Patent:

"Apple has hit a new snag in China: Beijing's intellectual property agency has ruled that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus violate a design patent by one of China's own smartphone-makers.

Authorities found that this older generation of iPhones looks too similar to a phone, the 100C, made by a company called Shenzhen Baili. As a result, Apple was ordered to stop selling the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in Beijing.

However, Apple says it appealed the order and the ruling has been stayed for the duration of the appeal — meaning that for now, the sales will continue.

Curiously, the order did not apply to the latest generation of iPhones, the 6s and 6s Plus, even though they closely resemble the older phones."

Appeals Court Gives Internet Service Providers Big Relief in Copyright Disputes; Hollywood Reporter, 6/18/16

Eriq Gardner, Hollywood Reporter; Appeals Court Gives Internet Service Providers Big Relief in Copyright Disputes:

"On Thursday, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a long- and eagerly-awaited opinion in a case brought by major record labels against the video-sharing site Vimeo. The decision will be cheered by those in the tech community by providing some immunization from copyright liability.

Capitol Records and others sued the Barry Diller-owned Vimeo in 2009 — a virtual generation ago in the digital world. At the time, Viacom was fighting with YouTube over how to interpret the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which allows ISPs to escape copyright claims so long as they remove infringements expeditiously and not have actual knowledge of infringements on their networks. The since-settled YouTube controversy slowed the Vimeo case, which dealt with videos posted of the "lip dub" variety, showing users who choreographed elaborate lip-synching spectacles to popular music. Ultimately, Capitol Records et. al. v. Vimeo figures to be just as important as Viacom v. YouTube...

The case is now remanded back to the district court to sort out, but the decision may save Vimeo tens of millions of dollars in liability, and more importantly, become a new guiding post for copyright owners and digital service providers. Here's the full opinion."

You Will Never Unsee This Wondrously Strange Fake Japanese Advertisement for Donald Trump; Slate, 6/16/16

Katy Waldman, Slate; You Will Never Unsee This Wondrously Strange Fake Japanese Advertisement for Donald Trump:

"Mike Diva is, per his Facebook page, a “MAKER OF VIDEOS/MUSIC/MEMES/DREAMS” and he has bequeathed the pre-apocalyptic world its eighth wonder, a dizzying, sorbet-hued phantasmagoria that gestures toward the coming end times. It is called “Japanese Donald Trump Commercial”...

We could not resist getting Diva, whose real name is Mike Dahlquist, on the phone...

How long did it take you to make the video?

Dahlquist: All told, about a month and a half. I’m really lucky my friends are talented and willing to work for free, because of course we had zero budget. The actress was a friend of mine, perfect for the part—her hair was already like that and everything."

Everything you need to know about Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' copyright infringement trial; Entertainment Weekly, 6/16/16

Eric Renner Brown, Entertainment Weekly; Everything you need to know about Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' copyright infringement trial:

"This week, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin attended Los Angeles court for the infringement trial aiming to determine whether or not the iconic band relied too heavily on the song of one of their classic rock contemporaries when writing “Stairway to Heaven.” The convoluted saga could result in a change of credit and reallocated royalties — and at the very least it’s just the latest in Zeppelin’s decades-long struggle with crediting the influences behind some of their biggest hits. Read on for everything you need to know about the case."

Supreme Court Rules on Legal Fees in Copyright Cases; New York Times, 6/16/16

Adam Liptak, New York Times; Supreme Court Rules on Legal Fees in Copyright Cases:

"The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that a Thai student who in 2013 won a copyright case involving imported textbooks should have another chance to persuade a lower court that the textbook’s publisher should pay his legal fees...

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said whether the losing side’s position was objectively reasonable should play a major role in the analysis. But she said the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, and the district courts it supervises, may have placed nearly dispositive weight on that one factor.

Justice Kagan said other considerations — including motivation, deterrence and compensation — must also play a role in the analysis. But she appeared to suggest that the student, Supap Kirtsaeng, was unlikely to prevail under the correct standard."