> >Subject: VRA Intellectual Property Rights News: July 2009 >To: VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU >List-Help: <http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=VRA-L>, > <mailto:LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU?body=INFO VRA-L> >List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:VRA-L-unsubscribe-request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >List-Subscribe: <mailto:VRA-L-subscribe-request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >List-Owner: <mailto:VRA-L-request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >List-Archive: <http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=VRA-L> > >IPR-In the News >Compiled by Jen Green, Massachusetts College of Art + Design >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Interesting Developments in Georgia State Case >by Kevin Smith, Scholarly Communications @ Duke, July 1, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/mng9v9>http://tinyurl.com/mng9v9 > >"The copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Georgia State >University by three major publishers has been in a relatively quiet >phase recently. Discovery, the process of gathering evidence and >deposing witnesses, can be very dramatic, in fact, and decisions >made during that phase of a trial can do much to determine who wins >and who loses. But it largely takes place outside of public view. >Nevertheless, there was a development in Cambridge University >Press,et al . v. Georgia State University last week that could >significantly change the stakes for the rest of the academic world >as it watches this case unfold." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >U.S. Inquiry is Confirmed into Google Books Deal >by Miguel Helft, The New York Times, July 2, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/mwpvsk>http://tinyurl.com/mwpvsk > >"The Justice Department confirmed on Thursday that it was conducting >an antitrust investigation into the settlement of a lawsuit that >groups representing authors and publishers filed against Google. In >a letter to the federal judge charged with reviewing the settlement, >the Justice Department said it was reviewing concerns that the >agreement could violate the Sherman Antitrust Act." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Webcasters, Copyright Holders Reach Royalty Agreement >by Meg Tirrell, Bloomberg.com, July 7, 2009 ><http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=awJ15K5qJbWY>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=awJ15K5qJbWY > >"Internet radio companies including Pandora Media Inc. reached a >10-year music-royalty agreement with copyright holders, resolving a >fight that threatened their business. Online-radio companies will >pay a per-song royalty or 25 percent of U.S. revenue, whichever is >greater, for music they stream, SoundExchange, the nonprofit group >for music labels, copyright holders and artists, said today in a >statement." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Copyright Laws Threaten Our Online Freedom >by Chrisitian Engstrom, Financial Times, July 7, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/muwte2>http://tinyurl.com/muwte2 > >"If you search for Elvis Presley in Wikipedia, you will find a lot >of text and a few pictures that have been cleared for distribution. >But you will find no music and no film clips, due to copyright >restrictions. What we think of as our common cultural heritage is >not "ours" at all." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Fotoglif and the Art of Converting Infringers into Partners >by Jon Healy, The Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/newdfw>http://tinyurl.com/newdfw > >"Michael Betts once owned a photography studio, but for the past >couple of years he's made a business out of distributing images >rather than taking them. Today his Toronto-based company,DigiSphere, >offers the latest iteration of Fotoglif , a site that provides >bloggers and other Web publishers free images taken by the same >professional shooters who supply news agencies around the world. >Previously,Fotoglif compensated the agencies for the shots that were >published online; now it will cut bloggers in on the action too." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Judge Curbs YouTube Suit on Copyrights >by Jessica E. Vascellaro, The Wallstreet Journal, July 8, 2009 ><http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124700406736207927.html>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124700406736207927.html > >"A federal judge overseeing a high-profile copyright class action >against Google Inc.'s YouTube dismissed some of the plaintiffs' >claims for damages from the video-sharing site. U.S. District Judge >Louis Stanton ruled that the plaintiffs, which include music >publishers and Britain's top soccer league, couldn't request damages >for videos with non-U.S. copyrights that may have appeared on >YouTube." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >European Publishers Call on E.U. to Protect Copyright >by Eric Pfanner, The New York Times, July 9, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/nybcek>http://tinyurl.com/nybcek > >Leading European newspaper and magazine publishers on Thursday >called on the European Commission to strengthen copyright protection >as a way to lay the groundwork for new ways to generate revenue >online. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Internet Radio Saved by Rate Deal with Government's Copyright Royalty Board >by David Hinckley, Daily News, July 9, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/m7els5>http://tinyurl.com/m7els5 > >"With more and more Americans listening to radio over the Internet, >there was some good news this week. Stand-alone Internet stations - >the ones that aren't part of a major conglomerate and don't just >simulcast a regular terrestrial broadcast - finally cut a >royalty-rate deal they say will enable them to stay in business. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Google Image Search Gets Usage Rights Filtering >by Josh Lowensohn, CNET News, July 9, 2009 ><http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10283315-2.html>http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10283315-2.html > >"In an effort to keep people from incorrectly reusing or >re-purposing images found on its image search tool, Google has added >new options that let users filter results by usage rights. Users can >now filter photos by whether they're available for reuse, commercial >reuse, reuse with modification, or commercial use with modification." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >AP Proposes New Article Formatting for the Web >by Andrew Vanacore, The Associated Press, July 11, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/mwny3x>http://tinyurl.com/mwny3x > >"The Associated Press is proposing that publishers attach >descriptive tags to news articles online in hopes of taming the >free-for-all of news and information on the Web and generating more >traffic for established media brands. Tags identifying the author, >publisher and other information as well as any usage restrictions >publishers hope to place on copyright-protected >materials would be packaged with each news article in a way that >search engines can more easily identify. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Music Piracy Verdict Appealed >by Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld, July 11, 2009 ><http://www.pcworld.com/article/168269/music_piracy_verdict_appealed.html>http://www.pcworld.com/article/168269/music_piracy_verdict_appealed.html > >"The woman ordered to pay $1.92 million in fines for illegally >distributing 24 copyrighted songs said she will appeal, and called >the June 18 jury verdict excessive, shocking and monstrous." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Collapse in Illegal Sharing and Boom in Streaming Brings Music to >Executives' Ears >by Alexandra Topping, The Guardian, July 12, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/m4f44w>http://tinyurl.com/m4f44w > >"They are the record companies' bogeyman: the 15-year-old in their >bedroom ripping off a star's latest album and sharing it with their >friends has been blamed for bringing an industry to its knees. But >new research shows that the number of teenagers' illegally sharing >music has fallen dramatically in the past year." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >A change to Google's Image Search means you can more easily find >images online that the creators have OK'd for commercial use without >compensation. > by Terri Stone, <http://creativepro.com>creativepro.com, July 13, 2009 ><http://www.creativepro.com/article/safely-find-and-use-images-google>http://www.creativepro.com/article/safely-find-and-use-images-google >"In a July 9 blog post, Google software engineers Lance Huang and >George Ruban quietly and calmly unveiled a change to Google's Image >Search that could save countless designers from violating image >copyrights." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >U. of Wisconsin, U. of Texas Expand Their Agreements With Google >by Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus, July 9, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/mx9a9r>http://tinyurl.com/mx9a9r >"The University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Texas >at Austin, two longtime participants in Google's massive >book-digitizing project, announced today that they have expanded >their agreements with the company. The new deals strengthen the >alliance between two big university systems and Google's Book Search >program at a time when it is drawing scrutiny from librarians and >federal regulators, among others." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Stephen Fry: Time for Politicians to Represent People's Interest on >Copyright, Not Corporations >by Mike Masnick, Techdirt, July 14, 2009 ><http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090713/1936485534.shtml>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090713/1936485534.shtml > >"Stephen Fry is a very well known British actor, comedian and >writer. He's also known as a real tech geek sorta guy -- who doesn't >mind getting his hands dirty with new technologies to learn about >them. He apparently gave a speech (made up on short notice) about >copyright and the future of music, where he complained that >politicians, such as those who created the Digital Britain report >were clearly reflecting the views of various industries and not of >the people." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >WIPO Conference on Intellectual Property and Public Policies Wraps Up >Geneva, July 14, 2009 ><http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0023.html>http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0023.html > >The WIPO Conference on Intellectual Property and Public Policy >Issues wrapped up on July 14, 2009 with an acknowledgment of the >ability of intellectual property (IP) to drive innovation, >creativity and transfer of technology, while recognizing the need to >ensure that the IP system produces social and economic benefit. >Dialogue and collaboration between major stakeholders - >international organizations, government, industry, and civil society >- is necessary to address these questions. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >The Music Industry Wants Cut of Pirate Bay Sale >by Greg Sandoval, CNET News, July 16, 2009 ><http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10288495-93.html>http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10288495-93.html > >"The music industry will attempt to seize money paid to acquire the >Pirate Bay, according to a high-level music industry source and a >spokesman for the International Federation of the Phonographic >Industry (IFPI), the trade group representing the music industry >worldwide." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >An Orwellian Moment >by Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2009 ><http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/17/an-orwellian-moment-for-amazons-kindle/>http://tinyurl.com/l9kb79 > >"On Thursday, some Amazon.com customers discovered that e-books they >had bought by George Orwell had disappeared from their Kindle >e-readers. The issue, says Amazon spokesman DrewHerdener , is that >the Orwell books had been added to the company's catalog using a >self-service platform by a third party that did not actually have >rights to sell the books. "When we were notified of this by the >rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and >from customers' devices, and refunded customers," he said." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >New Pirate Bay to be Based on Give-and-Take Models >by Louise Nordstrom, The Associated Press, July 19, 2009 ><http://tinyurl.com/nns9eo>http://tinyurl.com/nns9eo > >"One of the world's largest filesharing Web sites, The Pirate Bay, >is going legal through a series of give-and-take payment models that >in some cases may even earn its users a bundle of cash, the new >owners said Saturday." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Wikipedia May Be a Font of Facts, but It's a Desert for Photos >by Noam Cohen, New York Times, July 19, 2009 ><http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/arts/20funny.html?_r=1&ref=arts>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/arts/20funny.html?_r=1&ref=arts > >"At a time when celebrities typically employ a team of professionals >to control their images, Wikipedia is a place where chaos rules. Few >high-quality photographs, particularly of celebrities, make it onto >this site. This is because the site runs only pictures with the most >permissive Creative Commons license, which allows anyone to use an >image, for commercial purposes or not, as long as the photographer >is credited." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Opinion: A Writer's Tale >by L. Gordon Crovitz, The Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2009 ><http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124804423491263485.html>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124804423491263485.html > >"Novelist Mark Helprin couldn't have made up what happened after an >op-ed article he wrote for the New York Times in 2007 urging >stronger protection for copyright. He thought this was a topic of >interest only to publishing houses, authors and copyright lawyers. >Instead, within a week there were 750,000 comments online >criticizing him for wanting to extend authors' rights beyond the >current 70 years, many of them opposing any copyright protection at >all." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Apple Withdraws Threats Against Wiki Site: Free Speech Vindicated, >EFF Dismisses Suit >Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 22nd, 2009 ><http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/07/22-0>http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/07/22-0 > >"Apple has retracted its legal threats against public wiki hosting >site Bluwiki, and, in response, EFF is dismissing its lawsuit >against Apple over those threats. The skirmish involved a set of >anonymously authored wiki pages in which hobbyists were discussing >how to "sync" media toiPods and iPhones using music library playback >software other than Apple's own iTunes." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Don't Let Google Close the Book on Reader Privacy! >by Hugh D'Andrade, Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 23, 2009 ><http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/07/take-action-dont-let-google>http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/07/take-action-dont-let-google > >"If you suspect you may have a serious disease, you can go into a >bookstore and browse for books about your illness, find one that's >useful, and buy it with cash. And you can rest assured that your >insurance premiums won't increase as a result, because there is no >way your insurance company can find out about your choice of reading >material." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >AP Press Release: Associated Press to Build News Registry to Protect Content >Associated Press, July 23, 2009 ><http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_072309a.html>http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_072309a.html > >The Associated Press Board of Directors today directed The >Associated Press to create a news registry that will tag and track >all AP content online to assure compliance with terms of use. The >system will register key identifying information about each piece of >content that AP distributes as well as the terms of use of that >content, and employ a built-in beacon to notify AP about how the >content is used.
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