Archive for January 2005
Comcast to Offer VoIP Services
"Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, on Monday began selling its version of Internet phone service in three markets, kicking off one of the most significant challenges traditional local phone companies have ever faced.
"Initially launching its Digital Voice service in three cities–Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Springfield, Mass.–Comcast plans to reach 20 markets by year’s end. The Philadelphia-based company says it intends to make the service available to all its 21 million customers six months after that."
Ben Charny. Comcast Pushes VoIP to Prime Time. News.com. Jan. 10, 2005.
See also:
Colin C. Haley. Comcast Answers VoIP Call. InternetNews.com. Jan. 10, 2005.
Mary Claire Dale. Comcast to Offer Web-Based Phone Service. SeattlePI.com. Jan. 11, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Slides from K. Matthew Dames’ Lecture on Fair Use
As reported in SNTReport.com on Wednesday, executive editor K. Matthew Dames gave a lecture to information professionals at the AeA David Packard Conference Center in Washington, DC on the fair use doctrine of copyright law. The lecture, entitled "Fair Use in the Digital Age," was the first in a series sponsored by the Washington, DC chapter of SLA, among others, that addresses some of the most important legal and policy issues that information professionals face today.
Dames will also give the lecture for the next presentation in the series, "Licensing Digital Resources," on Wednesday, February 9, 2005, also at the AeA David Packard Center in Washington, DC. Those interested in attending the February 9 lecture may register online at the AIIM National Capitol Chapter website.
An electronic copy of the lecture notes, as well as additional resources, are posted below.
Lecture Notes
K. Matthew Dames, "Fair Use in the Digital Age." (.pdf). Jan. 12, 2005.
Additional Fair Use Resources
Laura "Lolly" Gasaway. When Works Pass into the Public Domain.
Peter Hirtle. Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States.
United States Copyright Office.
United States Copyright Office. Copyright Law.
Stanford University Libraries. Copyright & Fair Use.
University of Texas. Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials.
SNTReport.com. Copyright Archives.
Copyright Management Center. Fair Use Issues.
Copyright Management Center. Fair Use Checklist.
Clean Up the Copyright System
“Last month, Google announced a partnership with major research libraries to scan 20 million books for inclusion in Google’s search database. For those works in the public domain, the full text will be available. For those works still possibly under copyright, only snippets will be seen.
“But the excitement around Google’s extraordinary plan has obscured a dirty little secret: It is not at all clear that Google and these libraries have the legal right to do what is proposed.
“If lawsuits were filed, and if Google and its partner libraries were found to have violated the law, their legal exposure could reach into the billions.”
Lawrence Lessig. Let a Thousand Googles Bloom. Los Angeles Times. Jan. 12, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
LOC Posts Civil War Maps Online
"Civil War buffs are getting access to a trove of information: thousands of original maps and diagrams of battles and campaigns between 1861 and 1865, all posted on the Internet.
"The Library of Congress is posting 2,240 maps and charts and 76 atlases and sketchbooks, while the Virginia Historical Society and the Library of Virginia are adding about 600 items. Much of the collection is online now; the rest will be posted by spring.
"The documents depict troop positions and movements, as well as fortifications. There also are reconnaissance maps, sketches and coastal charts and theater-of-war maps."
Carl Hartman. Civil War Maps Posted Online. Seattle Times. Jan. 11, 2004.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
PLoS to Launch Additional Open-Access Journals
"The Public Library of Science, a pioneering U.S. non-profit publisher of open access journals, will launch three new journals this year.
"Part of an ambitious plan to transform scientific publishing, PLoS launched PLoS Biology in 2003 and PLoS Medicine in 2004, both with the support of the Gordon and Bettie Moore Foundation. Next up are PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Genetics, and PLoS Pathogens.
"PLoS is partnering with the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) to publish PLoS Computational Biology. The journal, now accepting submissions, is scheduled to launch in June 2005. PLoS Genetics, also now accepting submissions, will launch in July 2005. PLoS Pathogens will begin accepting submissions in March 2005 and begin publishing in autumn of 2005."
No author. PLoS to Launch New Journals. Library Journal. Jan. 11, 2005.
See also:
Public Library of Science. Public Library of Science to Launch Additional Open-Access Journals. (Press Release.) Jan. 6, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
K. Matthew Dames Gives Presentation on Fair Use
K. Matthew Dames, executive editor of SNTReport.com, is presenting a talk in Washington, DC this afternoon entitled "Fair Use in the Digital Age." The talk will analyze Section 107 of the copyright law, including where fair use falls within the copyright landscape, how information professionals can properly analyze the law, and how the nature of fair use has changed as the dominant information format has evolved from analog to digital. Today’s presentation is part of a brown bag lecture series on information law and policy issues that Dames will be moderating throughout the winter and early spring of 2005.
Series Description: Once a legal backwater that interested only specialists, information law issues are now considered central to the nation�s communications, legal and economic infrastructure. While information law is more important than ever, information professionals often lack the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the thicket of laws, regulations, treaties and policies.
This brown bag luncheon series will address some of the most important legal and policy issues that information professionals face today. Sponsored by the DC Chapter of SLA, National Capitol Chapter (NCC) of AIIM, the Washington DC Chapter of SCIP, Northern Virginia Chapter of ARMA, Federal Law Librarians� SIS, Adobe Systems Inc., and STG International, this series will identify information professionals� responsibilities, providing a forum for discussing and resolving some of the profession�s most important issues, sharing resources for further research and problem-solving.
The sessions will be moderated by K. Matthew Dames, JD, MLS, an information policy expert who teaches information law at Syracuse University�s School of Information Studies. A comprehensive set of handouts will be created for each topic and posted to the DC/SLA website and SNTReport.com.
Schedule: Join us on the second Wednesday of each month, January through April 2005, as we explore copyright, fair use, licensing digital resources, digital rights management, and open access.
Session 1, January 12, 2005: Copyright & Fair Use
The copyright doctrine of fair use has become critically important in the digital age, yet it remains one of copyright law�s most misunderstood and misapplied doctrines. During this first luncheon meeting, we will analyze what fair use means, including:
– Translating the law into plain English
– Establishing a system for determining whether fair use applies
– Discussing whether fair use remains viable given the changes in the law over the last decade.
Session 2, February 9, 2005: Licensing Digital Resources
Session 3, March 9, 2005: Digital Rights Management
Session 4, April 13, 2005: Open Access
Site & Registration Details:The brown-bags will begin promptly at 12 noon (12:00 pm � 2:00 pm) at the AeA David Packard Conference Center, 601 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, North Bldg – Suite 600 (Metro: Archives/Navy Memorial) in Washington, DC. Space is limited, so register early at the AIIM National Capitol Chapter website.
Commonists, Not Communists, Bill
"When Bill Gates referred to copyright reformers as modern-day communists in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show, it didn’t take long for the web community to respond with a big ‘nyah-nyah-nyah.’
"Bloggers and designers were quick to dream up ‘creative communist’ symbols, a play on one of the best-known groups working for copyright reform, Creative Commons.
"The images were instantly passed around and added to websites, T-shirts and buttons."
Katie Dean. We’re Creative Commonists, Bill. Wired News. Jan. 8, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
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