"The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington made the ruling in a case involving an Asian-American dance-rock band that sought to register a trademark for its provocative name, the Slants. The court said the First Amendment “forbids government regulators to deny registration because they find the speech likely to offend others.” Writing for the majority, Kimberly A. Moore, a judge on the appeals court, said: “It is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys.”... Still, Tuesday’s ruling was considered a major one in trademark law — the striking down of a provision of the nearly 70-year-old Lanham Act that deals with disparaging or offensive trademarks. “The majority opinion is a very broad rejection of the proposition that the federal government can refuse registration or use of a trademark based on whether certain groups find the mark to be disparaging,” said Jeremy Sheff, a law professor at St. John’s University School of Law who specializes in intellectual property. “It was exactly on that basis that the Redskins’ marks were canceled.” Whatever happens in the appeals court to the Redskins’ registered trademarks, the team’s use of its name is not in jeopardy. Although it symbolizes racism and intolerance to some, and has inspired groups to demand that it be replaced, the Redskins’ owner, Daniel Snyder, has vowed never to drop it. He has fought a public battle to prove the name does not offend all Native Americans. And he has the backing of the N.F.L., which has been paying the costs of defending the trademarks."
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Ruling Could Help Washington Redskins in Trademark Case; New York Times, 12/22/15
Richard Sandomir, New York Times; Ruling Could Help Washington Redskins in Trademark Case:
Kim Dotcom's extradition to US cleared by New Zealand judge; Guardian, 12/22/15
Guardian; Kim Dotcom's extradition to US cleared by New Zealand judge:
"A New Zealand court has ruled that Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder, can be extradited to the United States to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. The decision, which can be appealed, comes almost four years after New Zealand police first raided Dotcom’s mansion west of Auckland at the behest of the FBI. US authorities shut down the entrepreneur’s file-sharing website, which had been used to illegally download songs and movies... US authorities say Dotcom and three co-accused Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than US$500m and generated more than US$175m in profits by encouraging their paying users to store and share copyrighted material, such as movies and TV shows. The New Zealand prosecution, which argued the case for the US government, said Dotcom and his executives had encouraged and paid users to upload the pirated films and music to generate profit."
UK journal Library and Information Research has published a special issue on copyright in LIS, Vol. 39 No. 121 (2015)
UK journal Library and Information Research has published a special issue on copyright in LIS:
"Library and Information Research has just published its latest issue at http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk. (This is an open access journal, published by the Library & Information Research Group, a special interest group of CILIP that encourages practitioners to engage in research and promotes collaboration between faculty and practitioner-researchers.) This is a special issue focusing on copyright and related rights and library and information services, guest edited by Adrienne Muir. View the table of contents and then visit the journal website to read the articles."
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison will give a talk on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms on Tuesday, 1/12/16 4 PM, University of Pittsburgh
Talk on 1/12/16 4 PM at University of Pittsburgh:
Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison will give a talk on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms:
You may have heard that the topic of the 2016 Senate plenary will be academic freedom in the 21st century. As a lead-up event, the University Senate invites you to an open discussion with Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms. Please see the attached announcement for additional details. We hope you will attend. Day/Time: Tuesday, January 12 at 4:00pm, 2500 Posvar Hall.
A new announcement is available. Click the link below to view it:
http://www.universityannouncements.pitt.edu/std1222.pdf
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