NIH Revises Open Access Plan
"An ambitious proposal to make the results of federally funded medical research available to the public quickly and for free has been scaled back by the National Institutes of Health under pressure from scientific publishers, who argued that the plan would eat into their profits and harm the scientific enterprise they support.
"The initial plan, encouraged by Congress and hailed by patient advocacy groups, called for the results of NIH-funded research to be posted on a publicly accessible Web site within six months after they are published in a scientific journal. Most research results now are available only by subscription to the journal — at a cost that often reaches into the thousands of dollars — or on a pay-per-article basis that can cost $100 or more for two or three articles.
"In the final version of the plan, however, the recommended six-month deadline for posting results has been stretched to a year. That change has angered many advocates of public access, who have argued it isn’t fair that taxpayers must either wait or ante up to see the results of research they have already paid for."
Rick Weiss. NIH Revises Plan for Quick, Free Access to Study Results. WashingtonPost.com. Jan. 18, 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.
A Roundup of Photo Sharing Services
"These days, nearly everyone has a digital camera or camera phone. And many new online services offer varying features for people who want to share their pictures, post them to blogs, or tag or comment on others’ photos.
"Here’s a roundup of four of the best of these services."
Daniel Terdiman. Photo Sites Share and Share Alike. Wired News. Jan. 17, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Current State of Copyright Framework
As reported in SNTReport.com recently, BayTSP announced FirstSource, an automated system that identifies the first users to upload copyright or trademark-protected content to P2P file sharing networks.
SNTReport.com also reported the legal and monetary issues surrounding documentary filmmaker’s inability to broadcast or sell copies of Eyes on the Prize.
"The two news items offer a nice pair of brackets in which to frame the current state of copyright affairs. On the one hand, the public is denied the opportunity to view one of the most compelling histories of modern American life produced in the last 30 years because copyright restrictions make it financially unfeasible to broadcast it. On the other hand, actual copyright violation continues unabated, giving rise to an entire market niche devoted to the task of stamping it out. Is there any way to look at this situation in which it is not a complete mess?"
"The tragedy that a socially enriching documentary series like ‘Eyes on the Prize’ might fall victim to a copyright snafu seems like the kind of thing that could be addressed by selective tweaking of copyright laws. Perhaps a waiver for materials deemed ‘educational’ or a weakening of restrictions on the protections granted to archival footage. When do the benefits to society from increased access to information outweigh the financial interests of those who own the copyrights? In an ideal world, this is the kind of question that a democratic society could debate and answer to its own satisfaction."
"But we do not live in an ideal world. We live in a world where lobbyists for entertainment corporations routinely get the laws rewritten to serve their own profit-seeking special interests, and where trend lines reveal that copyright protections are only increased, never weakened."
Andrew Leonard. Eyes on Your Copyrighted Prize. Salon. Jan. 5, 2005.
(Editor�s Note: Salon.com normally requires a paid subscription, but you can view articles if you register for a free day pass.)
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Electronic Arts Teams With ESPN for Games
"Electronic Arts, hoping to shore up its eroding dominance in the sports video game market, said yesterday that it had signed a 15-year deal giving it the exclusive right to use the ESPN brand in games.
"Under the agreement, Electronic Arts, the largest independent video game publisher, will pay $750 million to $850 million for the right to use the ESPN brand for games based on at least nine sports, including baseball, basketball and football, according to people briefed on the contract’s terms. Some of that money will pay for commercials promoting the games on ESPN channels, they said.
"Beyond the deal’s length, which is substantial by industry standards, it comes at a significant juncture in the video game business. In the last year, Electronic Arts’ long-dominant position selling sports games has come under assault amid heavy price competition."
Matt Richtel.
Electronic Arts and ESPN Sign 15-Year Deal to Sell Games. The New York Times. Jan. 18, 2005.
See also:
Reuters. Electronic Arts Signs Licensing Deal with ESPN. News.com. Jan. 17, 2005.
David Becker. Electronic Arts Plays Hardball. News.com. Jan. 18, 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™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Report Examines Copyright Implications & Digital Business Models
"New digital technologies and the online environment pose significant challenges to the traditional business models of the music and film industries. The digital era threatens current revenue models by changing the environment in which copyright operates.
"To prevent unauthorized copying of their works, copyright holders have traditionally relied on practical barriers as well as their legal exclusive rights to control reproduction and distribution. The new technologies vitiating those practical barriers – peer-to-peer (P2P) services, digital compression technologies, and others – are demonstrating just how empty those legal rights may be and how poorly matched they may be with cultural norms and practice.
"Consumers are exploiting the exciting potential for greater interactivity and involvement with content, but also the opportunity to acquire content illicitly, and are thus finding themselves in conflict with many of those who make content possible."
Digital Media Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Assessing the Impact of Policy Choices on Potential Online Business Models in the Music and Film Industries. (.pdf) Jan. 7, 2005.
Attribution: SNTReport.com first discovered news of this report which examines copyright implications for digital business models through a posting in beSpacific, edited by Sabrina I. Pacifici.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Report Examines Copyright Implications & Digital Business Models
"New digital technologies and the online environment pose significant challenges to the traditional business models of the music and film industries. The digital era threatens current revenue models by changing the environment in which copyright operates.
"To prevent unauthorized copying of their works, copyright holders have traditionally relied on practical barriers as well as their legal exclusive rights to control reproduction and distribution. The new technologies vitiating those practical barriers – peer-to-peer (P2P) services, digital compression technologies, and others – are demonstrating just how empty those legal rights may be and how poorly matched they may be with cultural norms and practice.
"Consumers are exploiting the exciting potential for greater interactivity and involvement with content, but also the opportunity to acquire content illicitly, and are thus finding themselves in conflict with many of those who make content possible."
Digital Media Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Assessing the Impact of Policy Choices on Potential Online Business Models in the Music and Film Industries. (.pdf) Jan. 7, 2005.
Attribution: SNTReport.com first discovered news of this report which examines copyright implications for digital business models through a posting in beSpacific, edited by Sabrina I. Pacifici.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
New Service Identifies First P2P Uploads
"File traders who seed peer-to-peer networks with copyrighted material can be identified and traced, according to a US company.
"BayTSP, based in California, US, monitors peer-to-peer (P2P) trading networks using a technique called software ‘spidering’. The new software, called FirstSource, allows it to determine which user first uploaded a particular file for trading. It does this by mimicking the behaviour of a user on a massive scale – sending out multiple requests for a file extremely quickly. It deduces the culprits by assuming that only they will have the full 100% of the file, having uploaded the original."
Will Knight. Peer-to-Peer ‘Seeders’ Could be Targeted. New Scientist.com. Jan. 14, 2005.
No author. BayTSP Launches New Service That Identifies First Uploads To EDonkey, Bit Torrent P2P File-Sharing Networks. Mi2N.com. Jan. 11, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 