Archive for July 2005
Economist: Scale Back Copyright
Media firms should be able to protect their copyrights. And without any copyright protection of digital content, they may be correct that new high quality content is likely to dry up (along with much of their business). Yet tech and electronics firms are also correct that holding back new technology stifles innovation and is an unjustified restraint of commerce.
In America, the length of copyright protection has increased enormously over the past century, from around 28 years to as much as 95 years. The same trend can be seen in other countries. In June Britain signalled that it may extend its copyright term from 50 years to around 90 years.
This makes no sense.
Economist.com. Rip. Mix. Burn. June 30, 2005.
See also:
Katie Dean. Keeping Up With Uncle Sam. Wired News. June 10, 2005.
File Sharing a Marketplace Win
"Not more than an hour after the Supreme Court ruled last week against a pair of file-sharing software companies, Hilary Rosen, the former head of the Recording Industry Association of America, had this to say on her Web log at The Huffington Post:
"’Wow. We won big. Unanimous. That doesn’t happen very often,’ she wrote. ‘I was right. Winning is a big psychological lift.’
"And yet, she was not sanguine about the future. ‘Knowing we were right legally really still isn’t the same thing as being right in the real world,’ she wrote.
Tom Zeller Jr. The Imps of File Sharing May Lose in Court, but They Are Winning in the Marketplace. The New York Times. July 4, 2005.
(Editor’s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper’s fee-based Archive.)
Porn Publisher Sues A9 Search
"Adult magazine publisher Perfect 10 is suing Amazon.com, alleging that the e-tailer’s search engine is violating copyright law by displaying thousands of images from its Web site without permission.
"Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Perfect 10 filed a similar lawsuit against Google in November and said it has sent numerous notices of infringement to both Google and Amazon that have been ignored."
Elinor Mills. Adult Site Sues Amazon Over Sexy Images. News.com. July 1, 2005.
Search & Text Mining Report™ K. Matthew Dames & Stephen E. Arnold on the business, technology, and law of search.
Copyright Office Announces Orphan Works Roundtables
The Copyright Office announced that it will be holding three upcoming public roundtable discussions on orphan works.
The dates and locations are as follows:
- Tuesday, July 26, 2005 – Washington, D.C.
- Wednesday, July 27, 2005 – Washington, D.C.
- Tuesday, August 2, 2005 – Berkeley, California
U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright Office Announces Public Roundtable Discussions on Orphan Works. June 24, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Will the Past Haunt BitTorrent?
"BitTorrent programmer Bram Cohen may be in legal jeopardy after the discovery on Wednesday of an old agenda buried on his website saying he creates programs to ‘commit digital piracy.’
"The polemic would have been of little interest a week ago. But on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the intent behind a file-sharing program can be a decisive factor in determining whether the creator can be sued for its users’ copyright infringement.
"Undated and less than 200 words long, Cohen’s ‘Technological Activist’s Agenda‘ says he creates and gives away software in furtherance of laissez-faire political objectives."
Katie Dean and Kevin Poulsen. BitTorrent Whiz Extolled Piracy?. Wired News. June 30, 2005.
Copyright Problems with Google Video Search
“Google’s new video search tool is turning out to be a little more expansive than the company planned, with users uploading copyrighted content ranging from the last ‘Matrix’ movie to the ‘Family Guy’ cartoons.
“Consumers browsing the service, which was opened to the public just two days ago, have uncovered links to full versions of feature-length movies, TV shows and other content. As of Thursday morning, much of that content could be watched in its entirety on Google’s site.”
John Borland and Elinor Mills. Now Playing on Google: ‘Matrix,’ ‘Family Guy.’ News.com. June 30, 2005.
Grokster’s Impact on Podcasting
"Apple’s new podcasting service could be in a sticky situation if podcasters post copyrighted material, thanks to Monday’s Grokster decision by the Supreme Court, some experts say. But others suggested Apple’s new podcast hub could prove to be an ideal one-stop-shop for securing music licenses for homebrew radio shows.
"Podcasters may not include unauthorized copyright material in their broadcasts, and Apple will reportedly monitor podcasts for infringing material, according to the Guardian. Apple also provides a complaint form on the iTMS to notify the company of any copyright violations.
"But with the unanimous Supreme Court decision in the MGM Studios v. Grokster case, companies can now be sued if they encourage users of their technology to infringe copyrights."
Katie Dean. Grokster May Haunt Podcasting. Wired News. June 29, 2005.
See also:
Bobbie Johnson. iPods get Colour, Podcasts. Guardian Unlimited Online Blog. June 28, 2005.
Katie Dean. Grokster Loss Sucks for Tech. Wired News. June 27, 2005.
COPYCENSE 