Reminiscence on the Communications Decency Act
“The Communications Decency Act, or CDA, was passed by Congress as part of the Telecommunications Act and signed into law by President Clinton on Feb. 8, 1996. The law aimed to extend to the internet the same ‘decency’ standard that applies to broadcast TV and radio.
“E-mailers, newsgroup posters, chat room participants and website operators who produced material judged ‘indecent’ were responsible for ensuring that minors couldn’t see it. Violators faced substantial fines and up to two years in prison.
“The victory in Reno v. ACLU [decided June 26, 1997] was the internet’s legal coming of age, earning it the highest protections of the First Amendment.”
Ryan Singel. They Saved the Internet’s Soul. Wired News. Feb. 08, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
The Small Screen Sells
“Television networks took a leap into the unknown when they started selling their shows on Apple’s iTunes online store, but even in these early days, it’s starting to look as if that faith in digital downloads was well placed.
“Apple CEO Steve Jobs welcomed Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios content to the service in October. Now there are 40 different series, each episode of which costs a standardized $1.99 to purchase, and more are on the way.
“Ben Silverman, an executive producer of The Office, praised NBC for its willingness to ‘dive into the iTunes relationship quickly.'”
Chris Marlowe. Networks’ iTunes Gamble Paying Off. Yahoo! News. Feb. 6, 2006.
Update:
Reuters. Cable Programming Heads to iTunes. News.com. Feb. 8, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Singles Beat Subscriptions, Sinking Napster
“Napster Inc., the name that launched the digital music revolution, is burning through cash and struggling to find an audience as a viable subscription service.
“The company reported a loss of $17 million for its fiscal third quarter — a smaller deficit than Wall Street had expected. Revenue soared 94% to $23.5 million. A year earlier, the company had a profit of $12.8 million, reflecting earnings from discontinued operations.
“The results underscored Napster’s difficulties in persuading music lovers to stop collecting music one song or CD at a time and to instead pay $14.95 a month for access to more than 1 million tunes.”
Dawn C. Chmielewski. Napster Posts Loss Despite Surge in Sales. LATimes.com. Feb. 9, 2006.
See also:
Joanna Glasner. Digital Music Biz Ain’t Booming. Wired News. Feb. 07, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Commentator Sees Trouble With Google Book Search
“Google sees its mission as organizing the world’s information. That grand statement, however, contains one latent ambiguity that could shipwreck its controversial Book Library Project. Just who is “the world” anyway?
“The latent ambiguity in its mission statement has led Google to adopt two inconsistent strategies for its BLP. First, Google says it will respect the right of each copyright owner to opt out of its Book Project. Next, Google claims that the limited number of snippets (three) that it will display in response to any request for information counts as a fair use under copyright law. These two approaches are both wrong and inconsistent.”
Richard Epstein. Google in Treacherous Waters. FT.com. Feb. 6, 2006.
See also:
Eric J. Lyman. The New Digital Boom. ISN. Feb. 6, 2006.
John Battelle’s Searchblog. University of Michigan President Defends Google Book Search. Feb. 6, 2006.
Mary Sue Coleman. Google, the Khmer Rouge and the Public Good (Address to the Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers). (.pdf, 180 KB) Feb. 6, 2006. (Editor’s Note: Mary Sue Coleman is the president of the University of Michigan, which controls one of the five libraries involved in the Google Book Search digitization project.)
Elinor Mills. Would Thomas Jefferson Have Googled? News.com. Feb. 6, 2006.
Updates:
Miriam A. Drake. University of Michigan President Distresses Scholarly Publishers. Information Today Newsbreaks. Feb. 13, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
French Move Forward WIth File Sharing
“The French government is moving ahead with plans for a controversial law that would legalize file-sharing of music and films, a move that could undo years of antipiracy work by the entertainment industry.
“France’s Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres is set to be questioned about the draft on Wednesday by the parliamentary commission for cultural affairs and the commission for economic affairs.
“The project has worried the music, film and television industries because it would make France the first country to allow unlimited peer-to-peer downloading for a flat fee of several euros a month.”
Reuters. Inquiry Set for French File-Sharing Plan. News.com. Feb. 3, 2006.
See also:
Anne Broache. France May Sanction Unfettered P2P Downloads. News.com. Dec. 22, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
HarperCollins Gives It Away
“At a time when publishers are suing to prevent Google from putting excerpts of copyrighted books online, HarperCollins has started an advertiser-supported program that will offer a free look at the full text of selected works.
“The Harper program, announced Monday, is being launched with Bruce Judson’s “Go It Alone! The Secret to Building a Successful Business on Your Own.” The book was published in hardcover at the end of 2004, and recently came out as a paperback. Anyone who wants to read the whole text can visit the author’s Web site.”
Hillel Italie. Publisher to Offer Book Content Online. WashingtonPost.com. Feb. 6, 2006.
See also:
CopyCense. HarperCollins Offers Digitized Catalog to Online Players. Dec. 12, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Old RIAA Head Opens Consultancy
“For a few years, at the height of the debates over Napster and file swapping, Hilary Rosen, then-chief of the Recording Industry Association of America, was nearly as well-known online as any rock star.
“Now, after two years largely out of the spotlight–aside from a few pundit and blogging appearances–Rosen is throwing her hat back into the antipiracy ring, starting a new consulting company with Jay Berman, her onetime counterpart at the globally focused International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
“The new firm, called Berman/Rosen Global Strategies, aims to advise technology and entertainment companies on piracy and licensing issues and to help develop legislative strategies, but will not be an active lobbying firm, Rosen said.”
John Borland. Ex-RIAA Chief Opens Antipiracy Consultancy. News.com. Feb. 2, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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