COPYCENSE

"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.

“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.

"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.

"The Association of American Publishers has asked Google to suspend for six months its plan to digitize books from the collections of several major research libraries and make them searchable online.

"AAP Vice President for Legal and Governmental Affairs Allan R. Adler told the Chronicle of Higher Education that the group made the request in a June 10 letter that stopped short of calling for the project to ‘cease and desist.’ ‘We’ve simply asked for a six-month moratorium to facilitate discussion,’ said Adler.

"Adler said in the June 21 Chronicle that the letter was prompted by AAP members’ concern that they have not ‘gotten satisfactory answers to their questions about copyright infringement.’ It requested a meeting between Google executives and leaders of the publishing association."

American Libraries Online. Publishers’ Group Seeks Six-Month Delay in Google Library Project. June 22, 2005.

See also:

Jeffrey R. Young. Publishers’ Group Asks Google to Stop Scanning Copyrighted Works for 6 Months. The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 21, 2005.

“A group of academic publishers called Google Inc.’s plan to scan millions of library books into its Internet search engine index a troubling financial threat to its membership.

“The Association of American University Presses said in a letter to Google that the online search engine’s library project “appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale.”

“The association, which represents 125 nonprofit publishers of academic journals and scholarly books, asked Google to respond to a list of 16 questions seeking more information about how the company plans to protect copyrights.”

Michael Liedtke. Publishers Protest Google Library Project. Yahoo! News. May 24, 2005.

See also:

Jeffrey R. Young. University-Press Group Raises Questions About Google’s Library-Scanning Project. The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 23, 2005.

Burt Helm. A Google Project Pains Publishers. BusinessWeek Online. May 23, 2005.

BusinessWeekOnline. The University Press Assn.’s Objections. May 23, 2005.

“A group of academic publishers called Google Inc.’s plan to scan millions of library books into its Internet search engine index a troubling financial threat to its membership.

“The Association of American University Presses said in a letter to Google that the online search engine’s library project “appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale.”

“The association, which represents 125 nonprofit publishers of academic journals and scholarly books, asked Google to respond to a list of 16 questions seeking more information about how the company plans to protect copyrights.”

Michael Liedtke. Publishers Protest Google Library Project. Yahoo! News. May 24, 2005.

See also:

Jeffrey R. Young. University-Press Group Raises Questions About Google’s Library-Scanning Project. The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 23, 2005.

Burt Helm. A Google Project Pains Publishers. BusinessWeek Online. May 23, 2005.

BusinessWeekOnline. The University Press Assn.’s Objections. May 23, 2005.

“There’s been a change in Ellen Lichtenstein’s study patterns.

“For half her classes this past year, she no longer had to visit a library to get the reading materials professors had placed on reserve. Instead, she only needed Internet access and a password. And publishing companies are worried precisely because of that ease and convenience — it’s another way for publishers to lose sales.

“The Association of American Publishers already has contacted one school, the University of California, San Diego, claiming blatantly infringing use is being made of numerous books, journals and other copyrighted works.”

Anick Jesdanun. A Different Sort of Campus Copyright Fight. MSNBC News. May 21, 2005.

See also:

Marty Graham. Sides Clash Over Online Library. The National Law Journal. April 29, 2005.

Scott Carlson. “Legal Battle Brews Over Availability of Texts on Online Reserve at U. of California Library.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. April 22, 2005. Page A36.

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