Archive for August 2005
Google Print Still Suffers Potential Legal Problems
“On August 11, Google announced on its blog that they are suspending its scanning of copyrighted works from libraries. Scanning will resume in November, which presumably gives publishers who are rights-holders time to opt-out with a list of books they do not want scanned at the library.
“There are still huge problems with Google’s new description of its Library Project. The biggest problem is that Google is trying to offer an ‘opt-out’ approach to publishers, while copyright law is clearly a matter of ‘express consent.'”
Daniel Brandt. Google Spins to Avoid Copyright Challenges. Google Watch. Aug. 12, 2005.
MobHappy: Why DRM Will Kill Mobile Music
“I was in a record store here in Austin, and I saw the CD of a band I’ve been hearing on XM and net radio stations that I’ve been wanting to check out. I was looking at it, flipped it over, and was presented with a compatibility notice detailing the restrictions caused by the CD’s DRM.
“Although none of this would have been a problem for me, I still didn’t buy the CD — I’ve got no interest in making a record label think that, as a consumer, I think that sort of thing is ok, because it’s not. It’s just stupid.”
MobHappy. Why DRM Will Kill Mobile Music. Aug. 16, 2005.
Copyright Office Browser Ban Sparks Debate
"The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress has found itself in the middle of some heated online debate about a proposal to limit full use of a new copyright registration Web site to only one browser.
"Critics decry that the choice of the browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer, shuts out users of other less popular browsers and operating systems such as Linux and Apple Computer’s Macintosh.
"They allege that the agency is ignoring the World Wide Web Consortium’s standards for formatting Web sites in favor of designing the site with one vendor’s product in mind."
Joab Jackson. Copyright Office Draws Heat for Proposed IE-Only Rule. GCN.com. Aug. 17, 2005.
See also:
Federal Register. Preregistration of Certain Unpublished Copyright Claims. Aug. 4, 2005.
Update: Anne Broache. New Web Copyright Tool to Exclude Non-IE Users. News.com. Aug. 26, 2005.(The Copyright Office will move forward with the copyright tool’s IE version due to time restrictions.)
Volunteers Podcast ‘Public Domain’ Books
“A collaborative audio book project is underway for volunteers to podcast e-books selected from the Gutenberg project’s database.
“LibriVox is an open source audio-literary attempt to harness the power of the many to record and disseminate, in podcast form, books from the public domain.”
Library Stuff. LibriVox – Podcasting Public Domain Books. Aug. 10, 2005.
Google Delays Scanning Project
“Google Inc. has suspended some of its project to place a vast selection of books online, bowing at least temporarily to concerns of publishers who fear scanning material into the world’s most powerful search engine will lead to unauthorized use and duplication of copyrighted material.
“Google launched its test service, Google Print, in October and later started its Google Print Library Project, an attempt to scan books in five libraries to make them searchable online. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google postponed further scanning of copyrighted books until November. Until then, copyright holders can opt out of the scanning by contacting Google directly, the company said.
Yuki Noguchi. Google Delays Book Scanning. WashingtonPost.com. Aug. 13, 2005.
See also:
Margaret Kane. Google Pauses Library Project. News.com. Aug. 12, 2005.
Recording Industry’s Slipped Disc
“I’m about halfway through transferring the music from my nearly 1,000 vinyl albums … to compact disc.
“It turns out that I’m not the only music fan going nuts with the CDs. Mitch Bainwol, head of the Recording Industry Association of America, told the Associated Press that CD burning still beats file sharing on the list of top affronts to the major record labels.
If the recording industry wants to protect its market for fresh, new CDs, it should take a cue from the success of iTunes and other legal music outlets: Give us something that we can’t get from burning.
Robert MacMillan. Recording Industry’s Slipped Disc. WashingtonPost.com. Aug. 15, 2005.
Will Amazon Offer Digital Music Service?
“Ecommerce giant Amazon.com appears to be preparing a digital music service to compete with Apple Computer’s iTunes at last, according to a job listing posted on a popular industry blog.
The ad, posted on Paidcontent.org (and since removed), sought a ‘content acquisition manager’ for the company’s ‘forthcoming digital music service.'”
John Borland. Amazon.com Preps Digital Music Service. News.com. Aug. 4, 2005.
COPYCENSE 