Copyright Law

API Madness

Posted on August 22, 2012
This week, the inter webs went all aflutter when Michael Sippey of Twitter announced the Changes coming in Version 1.1 of the Twitter API. In general, Twitter is seeking to more tightly control the user experience and discourage active development...

Doubling Down

Posted on June 18, 2012
Here's an example of how overly aggressive tactics blow up in one's face. And then taking that explosion and doubling down aggressively. Matthew Inman writes and publishes The Oatmeal, one of the funniest comics on the web. Users at Funnyjunk.com...

Testing

Posted on February 16, 2012
This is a test entry. Feel free to not get excited....

Once More With Feeling -- Fox v. FCC back at SCOTUS

Posted on January 11, 2012
We've been here before, but now the Supreme Court is again hearing arguments on the FCC's indecency standards, in particular the First Amendment aspects and the rule on fleeting expletives and broadcast. Transcript: FCC v. Fox (Oral Arguments, Jan. 10,...

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Compare/Contrast

Posted on December 12, 2011
On Thursday morning, the House Judiciary Committee will have a full committee markup of the latest version of H.R. 3261 the Stop Online Piracy Act. Here's some initial analysis from Mike Masnick at Techdirt Lamar Smith Proposes New Version Of...

The New Digital Divide

Posted on December 08, 2011
Susan Crawford in the New York Times on The New Digital Divide: "While we still talk about 'the' Internet, we increasingly have two separate access marketplaces: high-speed wired and second-class wireless. High-speed access is a superhighway for those who can...

Market Failure and Piracy

Posted on October 25, 2011
The historical popularity of file sharing owes as much to access as to price. Back around the turn of the century when musical lovers were clamoring for the ability to buy legal downloads, but didn't have a way to do...

Termination Station

Posted on August 16, 2011
Larry Rohter, The New York Times, Record Industry Braces for Artists' Battles Over Song Rights: "Since their release in 1978, hit albums like Bruce Springsteen's 'Darkness on the Edge of Town,' Billy Joel's '52nd Street,' the Doobie Brothers' 'Minute by...

Urban Cycling and Digital Copyright Norms

Posted on June 09, 2011
This year, cyclists in New York City are contending with increased scrutiny from police officers, who are attempting to crackdown on any and all infractions of code. Bike Ticketing In New York, Widespread, On the Rise Eben Weiss, Bicycling Magazine,....

Not all is fair in bo.lt and links

Posted on April 22, 2011
Brian Morissey, Digidaily, Publishing in the Remix Era "The latest exhibit is page-sharing service Bo.lt. The pitch is it's 'YouTube for web pages.' It sounds benign, but the results could be scary for publishers. Bo.lt lets anyone dump a URL...

Surprise: Authors Like Copyright

Posted on February 15, 2011
The Authors Guild, via Scott Turow, Paul Aiken and James Shapiro, published an Op-Ed in the New York Times today wondering if Shakespeare would have been able to succeed as a playwright and author without the ability to earn money...

Surprise: Authors Like Copyright

Posted on February 15, 2011
The Authors Guild, via Scott Turow, Paul Aiken and James Shapiro, published an Op-Ed in the New York Times today wondering if Shakespeare would have been able to succeed as a playwright and author without the ability to earn money...

Second Circuit: FCC Indecency Rules Are Still Too Vague

Posted on January 05, 2011
The Second Circuit ruled this week that ABC stations should not be fined for violations of the prohibition on broadcast indecency for an episode of NYPD Blue "that depicted an adult woman's nude buttocks for slightly less than seven seconds."...

Second Circuit: FCC Indecency Rules Are Still Too Vague

Posted on January 05, 2011
The Second Circuit ruled this week that ABC stations should not be fined for violations of the prohibition on broadcast indecency for an episode of NYPD Blue "that depicted an adult woman's nude buttocks for slightly less than seven seconds."...

FCC Open Internet Order

Posted on December 30, 2010
Last week, the FCC adopted (and then a few days later, released the text of) an order intended to protect the open nature of the internet: In re: Matter of Preserving the Open Internet. I'm just finally going through the...

FCC Open Internet Order

Posted on December 30, 2010
Last week, the FCC adopted (and then a few days later, released the text of) an order intended to protect the open nature of the internet: In re: Matter of Preserving the Open Internet. I'm just finally going through the...

National Library Policy

Posted on December 01, 2010
Should the US have a national library policy? In The Atlantic, David Rothman argues for the development of a national digital library: Why We Can't Afford Not to Create a Well-Stocked National Digital Library System, "Old-fashioned literacy, in fact, rather...

Studios Sue Another DVD 'Cleaning' Service

Posted on December 01, 2010
Eriq Gardner, THR, Esq, Studios Sue to Stop 'Family-Friendly' DVD Service - THR, Esq.: "A coalition of major studios including Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Disney, Universal and Fox has filed a lawsuit against a defendant who has taken movies such...

Peering into the Pipes

Posted on November 30, 2010
Cecilia Kang, The Washington Post: Level 3 Communications calls Comcast fees for Netflix feeds unfair: "An online networking company that carries video feeds for Netflix has accused Comcast of demanding unfair fees to provide that video to home subscribers, raising...

What what?

Posted on November 30, 2010
Eriq Gardner, THR, Esq: 'South Park' Sued for Stealing from YouTube "On Friday, Brownmark Films filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. DIstrict Court in Wisconsin, alleging that the infringement is 'willful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifferent...

COICA

Posted on November 30, 2010
In the lame duck session, Congress may take further action on S.3804 Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, a bill that would give the federal government broad powers over internet domain names and blocking internet traffic in order to prevent...

National Library Policy

Posted on November 30, 2010
Should the US have a national library policy? In The Atlantic, David Rothman argues for the development of a national digital library: Why We Can't Afford Not to Create a Well-Stocked National Digital Library System, "Old-fashioned literacy, in fact, rather...

Studios Sue Another DVD 'Cleaning' Service

Posted on November 30, 2010
Eriq Gardner, THR, Esq, Studios Sue to Stop 'Family-Friendly' DVD Service - THR, Esq.: "A coalition of major studios including Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Disney, Universal and Fox has filed a lawsuit against a defendant who has taken movies such...

Peering into the Pipes

Posted on November 30, 2010
Cecilia Kang, The Washington Post: Level 3 Communications calls Comcast fees for Netflix feeds unfair: "An online networking company that carries video feeds for Netflix has accused Comcast of demanding unfair fees to provide that video to home subscribers, raising...

What what?

Posted on November 30, 2010
Eriq Gardner, THR, Esq: 'South Park' Sued for Stealing from YouTube "On Friday, Brownmark Films filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. DIstrict Court in Wisconsin, alleging that the infringement is 'willful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifferent...

Does the web devalue writing?

Posted on November 04, 2010
Monica Gaudio recently had an article published in Cooks Source magazine. This came as a surprise to her, since the magazine simply lifted it off the web, did some cursory copy editing and published it without asking permission. Copyright Infringement...

The New DMCA Anti-Circumvention Exemptions are here!

Posted on July 27, 2010
While not as exciting as the new phone books, the Copyright Office released its latest rulemaking on exemptions to the DMCA prohibition on circumventing technological protection measures of copyrighted works: Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures...

Second Circuit: Indecency Regulations Unconstitutionally Chill Protected Speech

Posted on July 13, 2010
Previously, the Second Circuit and Supreme Court disagreed on whether the FCC Indecency regulations were arbitrary and capricious (the Second Circuit finding that they were adopted arbitrarily and capriciously and the Supreme Court overturning and ruling that the Commission ruled...

Sheet Music Sharing

Posted on July 09, 2010
While most of the discussion of online music sharing has focused on P2P sharing of MP3 encodings of sound recordings, there is also a scene sharing copies of copyrighted sheet music. Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown decided to take a...

YouTube finds shelter in the DMCA §512(c) Safe Harbor

Posted on June 24, 2010
In granting summary judgment for YouTube in Viacom v. YouTube, Judge Louis Stanton found that YouTube complied with the notice and takedown requirements set out in the DMCA §512(c) Safe Harbor provision. By promptly taking down infringing works upon notice...

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