King Family Auctions Off Papers
“From history’s vantage point, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s notes, papers and books are priceless. But the King family and the auction house Sotheby’s estimate they’re worth at least $15 million and possibly twice that. And they’re about to go on the block.
“Museums and libraries, groups and individuals are busy raising funds to acquire the collection, while Atlanta natives are concerned that a cornerstone of the city’s culture is about to be chipped away.
“The collection goes on public display at Sotheby’s New York galleries starting June 21. It will be auctioned off on June 30.”
Joshua Levs. Sotheby’s to Auction Martin Luther King’s Papers. National Public Radio. June 21, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Another European Country Reviews Apple’s FairPlay
This story has been updated. Original CopyCense coverage: June 8, 2006.
“FairPlay has been one of Apple’s best friends since the company came up with the DRM format prior to launching the iTunes Music Store. It ties songs purchased at the iTMS to Apple hardware and software, meaning that if a customer wants to listen to a purchased track, she’ll have to do it on an iPod.
“Lately, Apple’s dominance of the digital music download scene has come under the scrutiny of some European governments. Earlier this week, the Norwegian government ruled that the FairPlay DRM used in the iTMS was unreasonable. It also found that iTMS pricing was discriminatory and that Apple’s terms and conditions are too restrictive.
“As a result of the decision, Apple will have to alter its terms and conditions for its Norwegian iTMS storefront by June 21. This may prove to be the first domino to be toppled in what could become a long string, as the governments of Denmark and Sweden are also investigating similar complaints against the iPod maker.”
Ars Technica. Apple Could Find Trouble in Norway. June 7, 2006.
Updates:
- Stan Beer. Will Europe be Apple’s Waterloo? ITWire. June 19, 2006.
- Boston Globe Editorial Board. Let iTunes be iTunes. June 19, 2006.
- Natali T. Del Conte and Mark Hachman. Can Europe Force Apple To Rework iTunes? PCMag.com. June 16, 2006.
- Ars Technica. Europe Taking A Careful Approach to iTunes. June 16, 2006.
- Darcy Richardson. What’s Wrong with iTunes? Is It the iPod…Or What? Apple Matters. June 16, 2006.
- The Gripe Line Weblog. Culture Clash Over Sneakwrap and iTunes. June 15, 2006.
- Reuters. Scandinavian Agencies Extend Apple Reply Deadline. Yahoo! Finance. June 14, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Georgia Tech Develops Image Stifling System
“As the bootlegging of first-run movies increases, with the availability of inexpensive digital cameras, there should be a way to thwart them, says Gregory Abowd, associate professor in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. To do this, he and his team have developed a device that can detect the presence of a digital camera or camcorder — and keep it from capturing usable images.
“Researchers have been trying to develop effective ways to jam a camera for years, says Edward Delp, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University. A number of companies, including Philips, Thomson, and Apogen Technologies, as well as a handful of universities, have been working on projects and prototypes. The Georgia Tech approach, which combines methods of detecting a camera and the means to automatically prevent it from taking pictures is “a nice technology,” says Delp, that achieves these two goals in one device, while also using infrared light to spot cameras, in contrast to some other combination systems.”
Kate Greene. Lights, Camera — Jamming. Technology Review. June 22, 2006.
Related Stories & Documents:
- Georgia Tech Research News. No Pictures Please: Researchers Develop System to Thwart Unwanted Video and Still Photography. (Press release.) June 17, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Dutch Site Fined for Linking to MP3 Files
“An appeals court in The Netherlands ruled on Friday that a Web site posting links to copyrighted MP3 files was breaking the law by promoting copyright infringement. The site, zoekmp3.nl, was taken offline Monday after the court said it would face daily fines of 10,000 euros.
“Although zoekmp3.nl did not directly host the MP3 files, the court ruled that facilitating the downloads was also in violation of Dutch law. Similar Web sites have been ruled illegal in Australia and China, and the United States has cracked down on BitTorrent sites, which facilitate distribution by hosting torrent files.”
Nate Mook. Dutch Court Rules MP3 Linking Illegal. BetaNews. June 19, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Big Music Seeks to Revise Compulsory License
This story has been updated. Original CopyCense coverage: June 8, 2006
“Are Congress and the music publishing business trying to pull a fast one on U.S. consumers? As usual, it depends on who you ask. The new Section 115 Reform Act (SIRA) of 2006 is scheduled for markup tomorrow, and the EFF is sounding the alarm.
“It’s worth pointing out that Cary Sherman, head of the RIAA, appeared before the House Committee on the Judiciary a few weeks back to express his organization’s opposition to the new bill, which seeks to make the licensing of online music simpler. If the RIAA opposes it, surely the law can’t be all bad?
“The law would amend Section 115 of title 17, United States Code—the section that covers ‘compulsory licenses.’ The new SIRA law is an attempt to update the compulsory licensing scheme to clear up uncertainties in the way that some music download and streaming services operate, and to make it easier for them to get licenses to operate. The bill has little to do with consumers at all. A quick glance over the Congressional testimony at last month’s hearing on the bill shows that the matter is largely of interest to the various businesses involved in music publication and sales, and testimony concentrates mainly on how the bill would affect the licensing and control of music among industry players.”
Ars Technica. Will “Fair Use” Be Fundamentally Redefined This Week? June 6, 2006.
Related Stories & Documents:
- EFF Deep Links. Season of Bad Laws, Part 4: Music Services Sell Out Fair Use. June 4, 2006.
- U.S. House of Representatives. Section 115 Reform Act. (.pdf) Undated.
Updates:
- Anne Broache. House Panel OKs Digital Licensing Bill. News.com. June 8, 2006.
- American Association of Law Libraries, et al. Open letter to Rep. Lamar Smith and Rep. Howard Berman from 19 organizations expressing concern about Section 115 amendment proposal. (.pdf) June 6, 2006.
- Natali T. Del Conte. Copyright Law Faces New Test On Thursday. PCMag.com. June 7, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Author Sues Game Maker For DMCA Misrepresentation
This story has been updated. Original CopyCense coverage: March 28, 2006.
An independent writer who has been prohibited from selling an unofficial guide to the popular online game World of Warcraft because of the manufacturers’ repeated takedown complaints under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has sued the game makers, claiming their DMCA takedown notices are a misrepresentation of copyright infringement.
Brian M. Kopp, a writer located in Bronson, Fla., filed the lawsuit late last week in a California federal court after Blizzard Entertainment (the creator of World of Warcraft) repeatedly filed DMCA takedown notices with eBay, where Kopp was trying to sell his book via auction. After eBay blocked two different accounts Kopp had used to sell the book because of repeated DMCA takedown notices, Kopp filed his lawsuit. He is being represented in court by Public Citizen, the Ralph Nader-founded consumer watchdog group.
Under Section 512(g)(1) of the Copyright Act, an online service provider such as eBay can clear itself of potential copyright infringement liability if, in response to a party’s claim that a Web site contains infringing materials, that ISP immediately removes the materials. Pursuant to Section 512(g)(3), a party’s whose information was removed can have the service provider reinstate that information if that party “has a good faith belief that the material was removed … as a result of mistake or misidentification …”
EBay has a policy whereby the online auctioneer may remove a listing or otherwise disable an account if a Verified Rights Owners (VeRO) complains that a listing infringes on its intellectual property. This is what occurred with Kopp’s books. One of Kopp’s legal claims, however, is that Blizzard and its co-defendants violated Section 512(f) by “knowingly and materially misrepresenting that Kopp’s book violated their copyrights. Section 512(f) makes it illegal to “knowingly materially misrepresent … that material is infringing …” A violation for Section 512(f) can include can lead to damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Gaming guides have become big business. A New York Times article cited on CopyCense™ two weeks ago noted that gaming guides can sell hundreds of thousands of copies. The books typically provide insights and clues on how best to succeed at playing a particular video game. According to a more recent News.com report, World of Warcraft has now attracted a following of 6 million subscribers worldwide since it debuted in 2004.
Kopp’s book had sold several hundred copies on eBay, said the News.com report; the complaint says the book is still available for sale from Kopp’s Web site.
Anne Broache. ‘Warcraft’ Maker Sued For Blocking Sales of Unofficial Guide. News.com. March 24, 2006.
Related Stories & Documents:
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Complaint for Misrepresentation Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act … and Declaratory and Injunctive Relief. (.pdf) March 23, 2006.
- CopyCense. Games Give Authors New Revenue Stream. March 7, 2006.
Update:
- Anne Broache. Blizzard Abandons DMCA Threat over ‘WoW’ Manual. News.com. June 9, 2006
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Virginia Colleges Must Report Students for Offender Database
“Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities soon will be required to submit the names and Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of students they accept each year to state police for cross-checking against sexual offender registries.
“The little-noticed but groundbreaking law is raising concerns among privacy experts about giving police access to a vast new database of student information. They say the data could be stored permanently on hard drives and mishandled, stolen or used for unrelated homeland security or law enforcement purposes.
“Passed this year as part of a crackdown on sex crimes and signed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the law also requires Department of Motor Vehicles officials to turn over personal information to police any time a Virginian applies for a license or change of address. It goes into effect July 1.”
Michael D. Shear and Rosalind S. Helderman. Police to Receive Student Data for Checks Against Offender List. WashingtonPost.com. June 20, 2006.
CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
COPYCENSE 