COPYCENSE

"America Online on Tuesday said it will allow two new companies to develop enterprise software applications using its popular FaceTime Communications and Akonix will be able to incorporate AIM’s instant messaging and online presence technology into its products. The companies also will sell AIM’s application programming interface (API) to businesses that wish to develop their own IM and presence features.

"IMLogic struck a similar deal with AOL in February, and already about 100 companies are using its software to develop their own AIM applications."

Jim Hu. AOL Opens Messaging to Enterprise Developers. News.com. August 3, 2004.

"The FBI wants to force Verizon Communications to make sure that its broadband-over-fiber service can be easily wiretapped by police and spy agencies.

"In a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission last month, the FBI said that Verizon’s Fios service must be required to abide by a 1994 law that levied complex and expensive eavesdropping requirements on traditional phone companies. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Justice Department joined the request.

"The request made to the FCC marks the latest skirmish in the war over what wiretap rules should apply to the Internet and who will pay for the costs of buying equipment to provide police and spy agencies with backdoors for secret surveillance."

Declan McCullagh. FBI Wants to Eavesdrop on Fiber Links. News.com. August 3, 2004.

See also Cynthia L. Webb. FCC Serves Up a Ruling Smorgasbord. WashingtonPost.com. August 5, 2004.

(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)

"You can pay $25 for Lawrence Lessig’s new book. Or you can download it for free. What’s the catch? None, according to Lessig, a law professor who specializes in intellectual property and is the author of Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity.

"A memo Lessig wrote to his publisher convinced Penguin Books that releasing Free Culture online actually would increase sales of hardcover copies. Which may be true: there have been more than 180,000 downloads – and Penguin is on its third printing."

Stanford Magazine. Give It Away and They’ll Buy It. July/August 2004.

"Copyright law gives NBC and other broadcasters the power to deny anyone the use of its content, at least presumptively. If you want to rebroadcast Meet the Press or sell copies on the Internet, you need NBC’s permission. There are exceptions, at least in theory. The law, for example, exempts ‘fair uses’ of copyrighted material from the control of its owner. If a clip is short enough, or if its use is sufficiently transformative or critical, then the law allows its use, whether permission is granted or not.

"In practice, however, the matter isn’t that simple. The costs of defending a fair use right in court – and, more important, the costs if any such defense should fail – make the risk prohibitive for most creators. Defense of fair use could run hundreds of thousands of dollars – several times the budget of a typical documentary. And losing this type of claim could expose the filmmaker to $150,000 in damages for each copyright infringed. In a world in which Fox News sues comedian and author Al Franken for parodying ‘fair and balanced,’ a cautious director can’t be too careful."

Lawrence Lessig. Copyrighting the President. Wired. Aug. 2004.

"Sales of digital tunes in 2004 in the United States will reach $270 million, more than double the takings from the previous year, according to a report released by JupiterResearch.

"That revenue will rise to $1.7 billion, or 12 percent of total consumer spending on music, by 2009, the research firm projected.

"While healthy sales of digital downloads have brought cheer to the U.S. music industry, which has seen four years of sliding sales for compact discs, the growth in the niche is not enough to make up for the shortfall."

Dinesh C. Sharma. Study: Song Downloads to Hit a High Note. ZDNet.com. July 26, 2004.

"Online auctioneer eBay Inc. is offering downloadable music through selected sellers in a six-month test to decide whether to join other major companies in the marketing digital media.

"Sellers chosen for the pilot would have to ensure copyright protection for the content and meet service-level agreements. Music buyers would not be allowed to resell the files on eBay.

"The trial follows Apple Computer Inc.’s announcement this week that it has passed the 100-million mark for downloads from its iTunes Music Store."

Antone Gonsalves. EBay Tests Audience For Online Music. TechWeb. July 15, 2004.

"During an interview at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, CEO Steve Ballmer predicted that Microsoft would soon steal the game crown from Sony: ‘We may still be losing money, but we have gone from nowhere to a significant player with a whole different approach. I bet we can take Sony next generation.’

"Indeed, Microsoft has made progress, signing up more than 1 million subscribers for Xbox Live, the online game service the company launched in late 2002."

Steve Musil. Week In Review: Ballmer Guns for Sony. News.com. July 16, 2004.

Ina Fried. Ballmer: Xbox ‘Can Take Sony’. News.com. July 14, 2004.