COPYCENSE

“Google’s quest to “organize the world’s information” is supposed to make life easier. But the issues surrounding the company’s book search program have complicated many academics’ views of copyright, because they involve many nuances surrounding security, infrastructure and compensation.

“At a debate Feb. 24 hosted by the American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, Hal R. Varian, founding dean of the School of Information Management Systems at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the Google project is fulfilling an important service by helping people find texts, oftentimes those that have been out of print for decades.

“Doug G. Lichtman, a law professor at the University of Chicago said that Google unfairly puts a burden on copyright holders by forcing them to have to contact the company to ‘opt out’ if they do not want their books included in the search database. He also asked why the onus should fall on authors or publishers to “opt out” to make sure that Google’s search system isn’t allowing third parties to unlawfully use their works.”

Rob Capriccioso. Google’s Not-So-Simple Side. Inside Higher Ed. Feb. 27, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Technical glitches by Microsoft and the digital music device makers have hampered Napster Inc.’s ability to close the gap with Apple’s iTunes, the dominant online music service, Napster’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

“There is no question that their execution has been less than brilliant over the last 12 months,” Napster Chairman and Chief Executive Chris Gorog said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York.

“Microsoft Corp., he noted, had to grapple with the complexities of dealing with a number of different services and device makers.”

Adam Pasick. Napster Rues Microsoft, Player Glitches. Yahoo! News. March 1, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Schools have warned they will have to turn off the internet if a move by the nation’s copyright collection society forces them to pay a fee every time a teacher instructs students to browse a website.

“Teachers said students in rural areas would bear the brunt of cuts if the Copyright Agency was successful in adding internet browsing charges to the $31 million in photocopying fees it rakes in from schools.

“The agency calculates the total due by randomly sampling schools each year for materials they copy, and extrapolating the results.”

Simon Hayes. Copyright Makes Web a Turn-Off. Australian IT. Feb. 28, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“What would happen if all the major record labels had a change of heart and started selling music unencumbered by digital rights management restrictions? The head of Yahoo Music thinks it would be all good. Speaking at Music 2.0 (it’s like Web 2.0, but with a beat), Dave Goldberg suggested that the RIAA and member labels give sales of non-DRMed music a try.

“Using the example of eMusic, which still uses non-DRMed MP3 files, Goldberg said that the current situation is causing problems for consumers. Different DRM measures result in incompatibilities between music services and digital music players (e.g., the iPod and every WMA-using music store). As a result, consumers end up being locked into a single service and music player, which ultimately hurts the industry. If the music industry wants to continue its online growth, it needs to pay more attention to the consumer experience.”

Eric Bangeman. Yahoo Music Exec Suggests We’d All Be Better Off Without DRM. Ars Technica. Feb. 24, 2006.

See also:

CNet Music Blog. Yahoo Exec: Labels Should Sell Music Without DRM. Feb. 23, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“When you use the Internet today, your browser glides from one Web site to another, accessing all destinations with equal ease. That could change dramatically, however, if Internet service providers are allowed to tilt the playing field, giving preference to sites that pay them extra and penalizing those that don’t.

“The Senate held hearings last week on “network neutrality,” the principle that I.S.P.’s — the businesses like Verizon or Roadrunner that deliver the Internet to your computer — should not be able to stack the deck in this way. If the Internet is to remain free, and freely evolving, it is important that neutrality legislation be passed.”

The New York Times. Tollbooths on the Internet Highway (Editorial). Feb. 20, 2006.

Update:

Grant Gross. Fight Brewing in Congress Over Net Neutrality. Computerworld. Feb. 21, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.