Legal Center to Support Open-Source Developers
"Freely distributed open-source software like the Linux operating system has become increasingly popular, but one cloud over its future has been legal risk. So far, most of the lawsuits have involved claims that software code owned by someone else found its way into a cooperative programming project.
"A nonprofit legal center opening today, backed by $4 million in initial financing from a corporate consortium, will provide advice from specialists that is intended to minimize the risk that developers and users of free software will be sued.
"The Software Freedom Law Center, its founders say, will focus on helping the leaders of open-source software projects organize and manage their work in ways that anticipate and avoid potential legal pitfalls."
Steve Lohr. An Effort to Help Free-Software Developers Avoid Suits. The New York Times. Feb. 1, 2005.
See also:
Jim Wagner and Michael Singer. Open Source Law Center Opens Doors. InternetNews.com. Feb. 1, 2005.
Stephen Shankland. Lawyers Ride Shotgun for Open Source. News.com. Jan 31, 2005.
(Editor�s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archive.)
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Microsoft Licenses Macrovision’s Anti-Rip Technology
"Microsoft and copy-protection company Macrovision have struck a deal that will add a new layer of anticopying defenses to video content being swapped between home devices.
"The two companies said that Microsoft had licensed Macrovision’s technology, which aims to stop people from making copies using analog connections between devices, such as those that typically link a set-top box to a television.
"The deal could make it harder for consumers to make permanent copies of TV shows and movies without permission, if they use computers running the Windows operating system. It should also help convince movie studios and other content producers to release their products in new ways online, the companies said."
John Borland. Microsoft, Macrovision Align on Copy Protection. News.com. Jan. 31, 2005.
See also:
Todd Bishop. Microsoft Makes Deal with Macrovision. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Feb. 1, 2005.
Tony Smith. MS Licenses Analog Anti-Rip Technology. The Register. Feb. 1, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
DRM Applied to the Mobile Industry
"A word of warning to DRM-crazed companies, says the outspoken Cory Doctorow: somewhere out there is a competitor who will steal your customers with more open products.
"Cory Doctorow is a popular figure in Internet culture. He’s an award-winning science-fiction author whose work explores the social implications of digital communication, and he recently moved to London to be the European Outreach Coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization created in 1990 to defend our ‘right to think, speak, and share our ideas, thoughts, and needs using new technologies.’ As you might expect, Doctorow’s an outspoken critic of digital rights management, which he believes is an impediment to the rights the EFF was established to protect.
"More interestingly, he believes that DRM is bad for business, too. Doctorow shared his views on DRM as it applies to the mobile industry with TheFeature."
Mark Frauenfelder. Closed Systems = Closed Opportunities Closed Systems = Closed Opportunities. TheFeature. Jan. 25, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Activists Work to Save ‘Eyes on the Prize’
"A group of file-sharing activists is practicing a little civil disobedience of its own in order to bring the documentary series Eyes on the Prize to a wider audience.
"As Wired News first reported, Eyes on the Prize, the 14-part series chronicling the civil rights movement, can no longer be broadcast on television and has never been released on DVD because of copyright restrictions.
"Old VHS tapes that remain in schools and libraries were the only way to view the landmark series, until now. Downhill Battle enlisted the help of a group called Common Sense Releasers to digitize the series and convert it to MPEG-4 format for distribution on the internet. The group hopes people will organize community screenings of the series around the country."
Katie Dean. Eyes on the Prize Hits P2P. Wired News. Jan. 27, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Library Allows Users to Copy E-Books
"For audio-book addicts, the King County Library System has something for you and you don’t even have to set foot in a library.
"Last November, the county library became the first in the nation to allow people to download audio ‘e-books’ to home computers.
"An e-book can be downloaded from the library’s Web site onto a computer and either burned to a CD or transferred to an MP3 player.
"For free."
Susan Gilmore. King County Library Lets You Copy its E-books. The Seattle Times. Jan. 31, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
The Future of Music
"On February 13, thousands of musicians from around the world will gather in Los Angeles at the Grammy Awards to celebrate music circa 2005.
"But the celebration won’t hide the war that’s going on. Record labels are threatened by technologies that give fans access to music in ways no one ever planned. They plead with Congress for more laws to control the fans.
"Activist organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge (on whose boards this columnist sits) are fighting back. They (we) demand an end to the war, and the attack on innovation that it represents."
Lawrence Lessig. Why Wilco Is the Future of Music. Wired. Feb. 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Copyright Office Addresses “Orphan Works”
"The Copyright Office seeks to examine the issues raised by ‘orphan works,’ i.e., copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate. Concerns have been raised that the uncertainty surrounding ownership of such works might needlessly discourage subsequent creators and users from incorporating such works in new creative efforts or making such works available to the public.
"This notice requests written comments from all interested parties. Specifically, the Office is seeking comments on whether there are compelling concerns raised by orphan works that merit a legislative, regulatory or other solution, and what type of solution could effectively address these concerns without conflicting with the legitimate interests of authors and right holders."
DATES: Written comments must be received in the Copyright Office on or before 5 p.m. EST on March 25, 2005. Interested parties may submit written reply comments in direct response to the written comments on or before 5 p.m. on May 9, 2005.
ADDRESSES: All submissions should be addressed to Jule L. Sigall, Associate Register for Policy & International Affairs. Comments may be sent by regular mail or delivered by hand, or sent by electronic mail to the e-mail address orphanworks@loc.gov (see file formats and information requirements under supplemental information below). Those sent by regular mail should be addressed to the U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Submissions delivered by hand should be brought to the Public Information Office, U.S. Copyright Office, James Madison Memorial Building, Room LM-401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20540.
Federal Register. Library of Congress, Copyright Office: Orphan Works. Jan. 26, 2005.
See also:
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive, Richard Prelinger, & Prelinger Associates, Inc., v. John Ashcroft. (.pdf) Jan. 19, 2005.
Editor’s note: FreeCulture.org has made this website available to submit comments.
Attribution: SNTReport.com first discovered news of this copyright circular through a posting in beSpacific.com, edited by Sabrina Pacifici.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 