Archive for January 2006
Utah Firm Alleges Linux Copyright Infringement
“After three years of accusations, SCO Group has finally begun aiming a legal charge of copyright infringement toward a Linux supplier.
“The Lindon, Utah-based SCO argues, ‘SCO is the sole and exclusive owner of the copyrights in Unix…Novell has infringed and continues to infringe SCO’s copyrights by copying, reproducing, modifying, sublicensing and/or distributing Linux products containing unauthorized contribution of SCO’s copyrighted material. Novell’s unauthorized copying in its use and distribution of Suse Linux includes…the appropriation of numerous data structures and algorithms contained in or derived from SCO’s copyrighted material.'”
Stephen Shankland. Years Into Case, SCO Asserts Copyright Infringement. News.com. Jan. 6, 2006.
See also:
The SCO Group, Inc. SCO v. Novell: Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint. (.pdf) Dec. 30, 2005.
David Becker. SCO Sues Novell Over Copyright Claims. News.com. Jan. 20, 2004.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Gets Into Broadcasting Reruns
Google announced a service Friday that will let people rent or buy downloadable videos online, including classic and contemporary CBS television shows and NBA basketball games.
With Google Video Store, which the company said will be ‘available soon’ at video.google.com, consumers will pay $1.99 to download and view, for an unlimited time, episodes from last season’s ‘Survivor’ series, as well as episodes of 300 older TV programs like ‘I Love Lucy.’ Also for $1.99, people will be able to rent, for 24 hours, recent episodes of popular TV series from CBS like ‘NCIS,’ ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ and ‘The Amazing Race.’ National Basketball Association games shown on TV can be downloaded for permanent purchase within one day of broadcast for $3.95, he said. Classic NBA games will also be available.
Elinor Mills. Google Entering Video-On-Demand Business. News.com. Jan. 6, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Book Search Update
“From the start, the Google Book Library Project has met with mixed reviews. The program is designed to scan millions of books and make them searchable online. Some academics and librarians lauded it as a way to make the world’s written knowledge accessible to anyone with Internet access.
“Upon learning that Google would also be scanning copyrighted books, certain authors and publishers were none too pleased — and they’ve taken their concerns to court.
“Legal issues aside, Google’s book project faces a host of technical challenges. And now that the scanning is well under way, it’s still not pleasing to some — including participating institutions.”
Burt Helm. Google’s Great Works in Progress. BusinessWeek Online. Dec. 22, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Copyright Office Posts DMCA Comments
The Copyright Office received 74 comments in response to its notice of inquiry in this rulemaking. A significant number of these comments do not adhere to the requirements of the Office’s Notice of Inquiry. For example, a number of commenters have failed to propose a “class of works,” have proposed broad classes without factual support for such a class, have not identified a causal connection between a noninfringing use and the prohibition on circumvention, or have not identified an access control that would implicate the prohibition of circumvention. While the value of such comments to this statutory inquiry is questionable, the Copyright Office has decided to post these comments.
U.S. Copyright Office. Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works. Dec. 19, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Starz Introduces Download Service
“Starz Entertainment Group is introducing a $9.99-a-month subscription service that will allow people to download movies from the Internet and watch them on their computers, portable video players and television sets.
“The new offering, called Vongo, comes at a time when movie studios and television networks are rapidly expanding their efforts to distribute their content over the Internet, experimenting with both paid and advertiser-supported models.”
Saul Hansell. Provider of TV Movie Channels Looks to Expand to PC’s and Video Players. The New York Times. Jan. 3, 2006.
See also:
David B. Wilkerson. Starz Encore Sees DVD Opportunity. MarketWatch. Jan. 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
L.A. Times Blasts Analog Hole Legislation
“Hollywood already most of what Americans see on TV. Now a pair of representatives in Washington want to help Hollywood control how Americans see it — whether on their TV or some other new device. As a matter of both law and marketing, it’s a bad idea.
“The [movie] studios have an understandable interest in combating piracy. But Congress should not be mandating the technologies used to fight it, particularly when they aren’t proven. As Sony BMG learned when it used a new technology to prevent CDs from being copied, unanticipated glitches can inflict more than enough pain to offset any reduction in illegal copying.”
Los Angeles Times Editorial Page. Congressional Copycats. Dec. 30, 2005.
See also:
Declan McCullagh. Pro-Hollywood Bill Aims to Restrict Digital Tuners. News.com. Dec. 19, 2005.
The Hon. John Conyers, Jr. Comment #96. Dec. 19, 2005.
CopyCense. L.A. Times Crushes Big Content. Dec. 12, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
File Sharing Sites All Fall Down
“Nearly 20 million people used Morpheus in its first four months, for example, to trade music and other files for free online. But the man behind Morpheus was worried. Michael Weiss figured popularity could bring its own perils.
“Now, like Napster founder Shawn Fanning before them, Weiss and other file-sharing barons are facing their own day of reckoning after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer. Over the last four months, several Napster heirs have shut down and others are contemplating what they once couldn’t abide — doing business by the entertainment industry’s rules to survive.”
Yahoo! News. File-Sharing Barons Face Day of Reckoning. Jan. 3, 2006.
See also:
Yahoo! News. Music Biz Blues: Hot New Releases Burn Out. Jan. 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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