Canada Shelters ISPs from Copyright Infringement
"Internet service providers cannot be held liable for the copyright infringement of their subscribers, even when a cached copy of a work is held on local servers, a Canadian court has ruled.
"The decision on Wednesday marked an important victory for the country’s ISPs, which were worried about being held legally or financially responsible for subscribers’ use of peer-to-peer and other music downloading services."
John Borland. Canadian ISPs Win on Copyright Ruling. News.com. June 30, 2004.
Record Industry Fighting the Future
"Having all your tunes at your fingertips isn’t just fun — it makes you a more avid consumer of music. So why are the recording companies fighting (.pdf) the future?
"By their every indication, record executives appear to be unhappy that people are more engaged with popular music. They are busy cooking up half-baked copy protection schemes that will prevent the ripping of newly purchased CDs.
"They are pushing legislation intended to criminalize all kinds of behavior and technology. Rather than make it easier for folks to spend money, they would rather return to the neolithic times when people heard a song on the radio they liked, they would have to trudge to the record store and spend $18 on bloated filler."
Andrew Leonard. The Digital Music Renaissance. Salon. July 1, 2004.
(Editor�s Note: Salon.com normally requires a paid subscription, but you can view articles if you register for a free day pass.)
Pirate Act Moving Toward House
"Consumer groups jeered and recording and movie industry groups cheered the easy passage in the Senate of legislation that would allow civil suits against alleged file swappers.
"The Pirate Act of 2004 would allow the Department of Justice to provide greater legal support to content owners who feel their copyrights have been infringed upon online. Under current laws, copyright holders may only pursue criminal suits against file swappers, which can result in jail time. If approved by the House, the new law would allow civil suits, which can result in financial penalties.
"Following its passage in the Senate, the legislation was sent to the House Judiciary Committee and it is still unclear as to when the Pirate Act will reach the floor of the House for a vote."
Mark S. Sullivan. File Swappers May Face Civil Suits. PC World. June 29, 2004.
COPA Injunction Upheld
"The Supreme Court ruled to extend a ban on enforcement of a federal law designed to shield minors from Internet pornography, ruling for the third time in seven years that a congressional effort to curb online obscenity threatens free speech.
"The court held that the government still has not proved that criminal penalties imposed on certain sexually oriented Web sites by the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) protect children without unduly limiting options for adults.
"The decision means that unless the federal government can convince a federal judge that COPA’s provisions are the only plausible means to prevent children from finding inappropriate sexual material on the Internet, the statute, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998, will be dead."
Charles Lane. Justices Oppose Internet Porn Law. WashingtonPost.com. June 30, 2004.
See also:
Mark Sullivan. Child Protection Law Suffers Another Setback. PC World. June 30, 2004.
Ted Bridist. High Court Ruling Boosts Internet Filters. WashingtonPost.com. June 29, 2004.
Declan McCullagh. Supreme Court Keeps Net Porn Law On Ice. ZDNet.com. June 29, 2004.
Associated Press. High Court: Porn Law Too Broad. Wired News. June 29, 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.)
Alliance Demonstrates P2P Commercial Potential
"Veteran rocker Steve Winwood has partnered with ‘Access Hollywood‘ in an experimental marketing alliance intended to demonstrate the commercial potential of file-sharing networks such as Kazaa, according to people involved in the project.
"The deal is one of the first to use sponsored downloads to support commercial music on the same peer-to-peer networks that the music industry has blamed for an explosion in piracy and weak CD sales in recent years.
"The major record labels are so afraid of file sharing that they’re missing the opportunity,’ said Bruce Forest, a principal in Jun Group, which brokered the unusual marketing alliance and helped place the free tracks on Web networks."
Reuters. Promo Uses P2P Networks To Sell Songs. News.com. June 29, 2004.
Paperless Hospitals
"Medical care would be improved and millions of dollars would be saved if hospitals were fully wired, said Rep. Patrick Kennedy and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who jointly announced a program to bring American medicine into the Internet age.
"On Monday, the political partisans put their party differences aside to tout electronic prescriptions, online patient records and an integrated, paperless health-care system.
"Gingrich said 98,000 people die annually in hospitals due to medical errors. He suggested information technology could save billions of dollars now wasted on procedures, such as unnecessary tests and redundant record keeping."
Brook Donald. Gingrich, Kennedy Pushing "Wired" Hospitals. eWeek. June 23, 2004.
Proposed Law Targets P2P Networks
"New legislation introduced late Tuesday by a group of powerful U.S. senators would let artists and entertainment companies sue creators of products, such as peer-to-peer software and copying programs, that ‘induce’ copyright violations.
"Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, clearly targeting Peer-to-Peer vendors, claims his bill focuses on companies that profit by encouraging children and teenagers to infringe copyrights.
"Hatch stated ‘It is illegal and immoral to induce or encourage children to commit crimes and tragically, some corporations now seem to think that they can legally profit by inducing children to steal. Some think they can legally lure children into breaking the law with false promises of free music.’
"On the other hand, P-to-P United, calls the bill ‘horrible public policy.’ The measure could stifle the development of future technologies that could be used for copyright infringement but have substantial legitimate uses."
Grant Gross. Copying Programs Could Be Outlawed. PC World. June 23, 2004.
COPYCENSE 