COPYCENSE

"Many educators and librarians ask about the fair use and photocopying provisions of the copyright law. The Copyright Office cannot give legal advice or offer opinions on what is permitted or prohibited.

"However, we have published in this circular basic information on some of the most important legislative provisions and other documents dealing with reproduction by librarians and educators."

U.S. Copyright Office. Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. (.pdf) April 29, 2004.

Attribution: SNTReport.com first discovered news of this copyright circular through a posting in LISNews edited by Blake Carver.

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"Several large technology corporations will urge the U.S. Supreme Court today to continue to shield businesses and innovators from legal responsibility if their products or services are used by consumers for illegal acts.

"The companies, including industry giants Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., Google, America Online Inc. and Apple Computer Inc., will argue in court filings that the innovations that have helped fuel U.S. economic growth could grind to a halt if protections from liability were stripped away.

"At issue is the continuing popularity of Internet file-sharing services, whose software lets users swap digital music, videos and software regardless of whether they are copyrighted works that should be paid for each time they are sent to another consumer."

Jonathan Krim. Tech Firms to Seek Legal Protection From Pirating. WashingtonPost.com. Jan. 24, 2005.

See also:
U.S. Supreme Court. On Writ of Certiorari: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer v. Grokster, Ltd.. (.pdf) Jan. 24, 2005.

(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.)

SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"Intellectual property legislation that failed to pass in Congress last year likely will reappear in the new session, but after 2004’s bitter battle, technology and consumer groups are ready to get more aggressive.

"The Consumer Electronics Association, Public Knowledge, NetCoalition and others successfully fought the Hollywood-supported Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act in the Senate, which would have held technology companies liable for encouraging their users to infringe copyright. A scaled-back ‘minibus bill’ that addressed a smattering of copyright issues also failed to pass.

"But while their interests prevailed — for the time being — technology and consumer advocates say that the fierce fight over the Induce Act was a turning point, and should lead to more involvement from tech bigwigs."

Katie Dean. Techies Talk Tough in D.C.. Wired News. Jan. 20, 2005.

See also:
Grant Gross. New Copyright Protection Bills Likely in 2005. The Industry Standard. Jan. 19, 2005.

Elizabeth Millard. Supreme Court Sets Date for P2P Case. NewsFactor.com. Jan. 21, 2005.

SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"A bill introduced in California’s Legislature last week has raised the possibility of jail time for developers of file-swapping software who don’t stop trades of copyrighted movies and songs online.

"The proposal, introduced by Los Angeles Sen. Kevin Murray, takes direct aim at companies that distribute software such as Kazaa, eDonkey or Morpheus. If passed and signed into law, it could expose file-swapping software developers to fines of up to $2,500 per charge, or a year in jail, if they don’t take ‘reasonable care’ in preventing the use of their software to swap copyrighted music or movies–or child pornography.

"Peer-to-peer software companies and their allies immediately criticized the bill as a danger to technological innovation, and as potentially unconstitutional."

John Borland. State Bill Could Cripple P2P. News.com. Jan. 18, 2005.

See also:
No author. California Senator Goes After P2P. Red Herring. Jan. 18, 2005.

Jason Schultz. Induce — California Style. EFF Deep Links. Jan. 18, 2005.

SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"Marco Montemagno, an Italian new media communication expert, entrepreneur and blogger, who has worked and collaborated with some of the most established media corporations including Italy’s RAI and Murdoch’s Sky TV network, has just published online a notable P2P manifesto, in which he shares his uncensored view of what the majors (established media) should expect from P2P and its unstoppable growth.

"Montemagno central tenet is that P2P is unstoppable, good, useful, effective and a major disruptive technology able to breach into the oligarchy of established media business."

Robin Hood. Why P2P File Sharing Is Good: The P2P Manifesto Content Delivery And Distribution. Robin Good. Jan. 17, 2005.

Attribution: SNTReport.com first discovered news of the P2P Manifesto through a posting in Slashdot, edited by Rob Malda.

SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"The federal government has stepped into the middle of a high-stakes patent infringement battle between Research in Motion Inc. and a U.S. company, claiming a recent U.S. court ruling against the creator of the iconic BlackBerry communications device threatens to chill innovation by Canadian firms and give extra-territorial reach to U.S. patent law.

"At stake are not only millions of dollars worth of royalty payments on the sale of BlackBerry handhelds in the U.S. every month, but also issues of how old laws for guarding intellectual property are applied in a new era when technology is increasingly blurring national boundaries and economies.

"In what legal experts say is an unusual move, the Canadian Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief (.pdf) with a U.S. federal appeals court on Jan. 13, urging it to grant RIM’s request for a re-hearing before all 15 judges of the federal appeals circuit."

Simon Avery. Ottawa Intervenes in RIM Patent Infringement Battle. The Globe and Mail. Jan. 17, 2005.

Editor’s note: See also SNTReport.com’s prior story on RIM’s patent infringement case.

SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.