The latest IP news from Jen Green via the VRA list... Wow, things are really getting "curiouser and curiouser". From Damien Hirst's threatened suit against a young collage artist (recently discussed by Amalyah Keshet on the Musematic blog - http://musematic.net/?p=599 and in articles noted below) to YouTube's takedown (on the insistence of Warner Brothers) of a young girl singing "Winter Wonderland". You can't make this stuff up.
> >Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 07:39:47 -0500 >Reply-To: Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >Sender: Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >From: Jennifer Green <Jennifer.Green at MASSART.EDU> >Subject: VRA Intellectual Property Rights News: February 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> >X-ELNK-Received-Info: spv=0; >X-ELNK-AV: 0 >X-ELNK-Info: sbv=0; sbrc=.0; sbf=00; sbw=000; > >IPR-In the News >Compiled by Jen Green, Massachusetts College of Art + Design >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Thousands Sign Petition Demanding Cell Phone Freedom >Electronic Frontier Foundation, February 2, 2009 >http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/02/02-0 > >"EFF submitted a petition to the U.S. Copyright >Office signed by more than 8200 people demanding >that the office lift the legal cloud hanging >over cell phone customers who modify their >phones." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >YouTube Copyright System Gone Mad, EFF Prepares to Sue >by Marshall Kirkpatrick, Read Write Web, February 3, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/c7ncrj > >"YouTube and Warner Brothers have broken a >little girl's heart by deleting a video of her >singing the copyrighted song "Winter >Wonderland," and the Electronic Frontier >Foundation isn't going to take it anymore." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >YouTube's January Fair Use Massacre >by Fred von Lohmann, Electronic Frontier Foundation, February 3, 2009 >http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/youtubes-january-fair-use-massacre > >"Fair use has always been at risk on YouTube, >thanks to abusive DMCA takedown notices sent by >copyright owners (sometimes carelessly, >sometimes not). But in the past several weeks, >two things have made things much worse for those >who want to sing a song, post an a capella >tribute, or set machinima to music." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >AP Alleges Copyright Infringement of Obama Image >by Hillel Italie, AP National Writer, Yahoo News, February 4, 2009 >http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_en_ot/obama_poster;_ylt=Av > >"On buttons, posters and Web sites, the image >was everywhere during last year's presidential >campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, >as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque >red, white and blue and underlined with the >caption HOPE." > >See also below: "AP Goes After Obama Artist for >Copyright Violation" and "Artist Sues The A.P. >Over Obama Image" >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >UK Copyright Holder Getting Creative in Quest for Royalties >Zero Paid, February 4, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/ajr55z > >"The UK Performing Rights Society for Music >(PRS), a copyright holder group that collects >royalty payments for songwriters and composers, >is going after workplaces where anybody other >than the one listening to a radio can hear it." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Digital Pirates Winning Battle with Studios >by Brian Stelter and Brad Stone, New York Times, February 4, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/b4rpd4 > >"On the day last July when "The Dark Knight" >arrived in theaters, Warner Brothers was ready >with an ambitious antipiracy campaign that >involved months of planning and steps to monitor >each physical copy of the film." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >RIAA Drops Lawsuits but Keeps the 'Takedown' Notices Coming >by Sara Lipka, The Chronicle of Higher >Education: Wired Campus February 4, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/alng6m > >"The Recording Industry Association of America >announced in December that it was shifting gears >and would stop suing groups of students for >alleged illegal file sharing. So what is it >doing now?" >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Blog: Idiot Copyright Holders >by Ryan J. Davis, Huffington Post, February 5, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/as6m6c > >"In 1947 Tennessee Williams wrote a masterpiece >of a play, Streetcar Named Desire, which has >been a major part of the American dramatic >cannon for over sixty years. It's now 2009 and >Mark Sam Rosenthal has put together a satirical >look at the government's response to Hurricane >Katrina through the eyes of Blanche DuBois, >Streetcar's leading lady. The play, Blanche >Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire, >is a one person drag performance that didn't >really work for me - but certainly is not in any >way infringement on Tennessee Williams' >intellectual property." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Copyright Alliance and AAP Welcome Re-introduction of Anti-open Access Bill >by Peter Suber, Public Knowledge, February 6, 2009 >http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1981 > >"Two publisher groups which supported the >Conyers bill the last time around are supporting >it again. No surprises here." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >AP Goes After Obama Artist for Copyright Violation >by Gene Quinn, IP Watchdog, February 6, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/c2qt69 > >"A Los-Angeles based street artist named Shepard >Fairey created what many would say was one of >the most enduring images of the 2008 >Presidential Campaign, a poster of Barack Obama >with a stern and confident look gazing slightly >upward and to his left. The trouble with this >poster is that is based on a copyrighted photo >taken by the Associated Press, and the >Associated Press wants to be paid for the use of >the photograph." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Artist Sues The A.P. Over Obama Image >by Randy Kennedy, New York Times, February 9, 2009 >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/arts/design/10fair.html > >In a pre-emptive strike, the street artist >Shepard Fairey filed a lawsuit on Monday against >The Associated Press, asking a federal judge to >declare that he is protected from copyright >infringement claims in his use of a news >photograph as the basis for a now ubiquitous >campaign poster image of President Obama. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Judge: Psystar Can Claim Apple 'Copyright Misuse.' >by Dawn Kawamoto, CNET News, February 9, 2009 >http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10159450-37.html > >"A federal judge is letting Mac clone maker >Psystar amend its legal defense against Apple." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Berlin: Germany Rejects Three-Strikes Piracy Plan >by Wolfgang Spahr, Billboard.biz, February 10, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/bd9l4z > >"The German federal government has decided >against embracing the Olivennes Agreement - the >French model for combating illegal file-sharing >activities. The French three-strikes scheme >would cut off the ISP connections of repeat >offenders who violated copyright by illegally >downloading content." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Artists Flout Copyright Law to Attack Damien Hirst >Telegraph.co.uk, February 13, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/b2pjtm > >"Damien Hirst's work has been being 'ripped off' >by a group of artists who want to make a point >about the multimillionaire's stringent use of >copyright law." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Amazon.com's Kindle 2 Faces Possible Copyright Battle >by Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek.com, February 13, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/cw92f6 > >"Amazon.com's Kindle 2 mobile electronic reader >had a buzz-heavy Feb. 13 launch with Jeff Bezos >and Stephen King. But now The Authors Guild says >the Kindle 2's text-to-speech feature could >violate authors' audio book copyrights." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Record Labels Make ISPs 'Copyright Cops' for Piracy >by Kristen Schweizer and Adam Satariano, Bloomberg.com, February 13, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/cxp3pb > >"The world's biggest record companies sued >college students, a 12-year-old girl and a dead >woman and still failed to stamp out music >piracy. Now they're turning to Internet service >providers." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >New From YouTube: Free Downloads of College Lectures >by David Sheih, Chronicle of Higher Educaiton: Wired Campus, February 13, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/dk4noo > >"YouTube began testing a new feature that lets >users download videos posted to the site from >partner institutions - including colleges - >rather than just watching the videos in a >streaming format. That means people can grab >lectures from Duke and Stanford Universities and >several institutions in the University of >California system to watch any time, with or >without an Internet connection." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >The Pirate Bay Trial to Begin in Sweden >by Peter Musil, CNET News, February 15, 2009 >http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10164777-93.html > >"File-swappers are expected to be keeping their >eyes on a court in Sweden this week as a >landmark copyright-infringement trial gets under >way." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Could You Go to Jail for Jailbreaking Your iPhone? >by Saul Hansell, New York Times, February 16, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/ao7s34 > >"There is something deeply exasperating about >the debate, spotlighted Thursday, about whether >unlocking an iPhone violates Apple's copyright >on the cellphone's software. There's a real >issue at stake, but it isn't fundamentally about >copyrights." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Pirate Bay Joy at Charge Change >BBC News, February 17, 2009 >http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7895026.stm > >"Half of the charges leveled at the founders of >the Pirate Bay file-sharing site have been >dropped." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Mozilla Backs Move to Decriminalize iPhone Jailbreaking >by Gregg Keizer, PC World, February 17, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/aoayyu > >"Firefox unwelcome on the iPhone, says CEO, who says 'choice shouldn't >be criminalized.'" >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Agreement Reached on Internet Music Royalty Rates >by Rachel Metz, AP, Washington Post, February 17, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/cldobr > >"A group that collects royalties for music >artists and recording companies has agreed to >reduce rates for thousands of commercial radio >stations that also play songs over the Internet." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Blog: ? ollectania: Just when you thought you'd >heard enough about Shepherd Fairey and the AP >by Peter Jaszi, February 18, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/dafyqy > >"As you'll discover quickly, I'm a big fan and >promoter of fair use -- a user-friendly doctrine >in our copyright law that is too often >misunderstood and (more critically) >underutilized. A lot of my work in the last five >years has been around getting different practice >communities to recognize and own their fair use >rights, and I'll be blogging about the resultant >"Best Practices" in fair use documents sometime >soon. Today, however, I want to suggest >(somewhat uncharacteristically) that the fair >use handle may not be the best one (or, at >least, not the only one), by which to pick up >the by now widely-publicized controversy between >the street artist turned culture hero Shepherd >Fairey and the Associated Press." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Facebook Withdraws Changes in Data Use >by Brad Stone and Brian Stelter, New York Times, February 18, 2009 >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/technology/internet/19facebook.html?_r=2&hp > >"After three days of pressure from angry users >and the threat of a formal legal complaint by a >coalition of consumer advocacy groups, the >company reversed changes to its contract with >users that had appeared to give it perpetual >ownership of their contributions to the service." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Delta Sued for Inflight Wifi Service >by Kelly Yamanouchi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 18, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/bku47k > >"Ashland, Mass.-based Ambit Corp., a technology >development firm, claims in its suit that >Atlanta-based Delta and Wi-Fi provider Aircell >LLC infringe on its patent for a "system for >enabling communication from personal computer >communication devices located within a passenger >vehicle to a distant communication system >located outside of said passenger vehicle," >using antennae on the devices." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Fairy Use >by Chloe Johnson, The Wire, February 19, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/cbn8jj > >"As a freelance photographer covering Capital >Hill and last year's presidential campaigns, >Mannie Garcia saw the chin-up image of Barack >Obama in "Hope" posters daily-without realizing >it was his photo that inspired it. >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Obama Administration Mulls Constitutionality of Copyright Act >by David Kravets, Wired Blog Network, February 19, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/aox7pa > >"In a few weeks, we'll likely know the Obama >administration's position on whether it supports >hefty monetary awards in file sharing litigation >brought by the Recording Industry Association of >America." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >New Zealand Copyright Protest Blockades Parliament >by Juha Saarinen, ZDNet.com.au, February 19, 2009 >http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-270800.html > >"The fight over the controversial amendments to New Zealand's copyright >law is heating up." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Webcasters: Still (!) No Deal on Streaming Royalties >by John Timmer, Ars Technica, February 19, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/dkjx7h > >"The Webcaster Settlement Act gave those running >Internet audio streams until this week to come >to an agreement regarding royalties for the >music used. Although public and traditional >radio stations have cut licensing deals with >SoundExchange, Internet-only stations remain >unable to come to terms." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Judge Recognizes 'Hot News' Issue in Copyright Action by AP Service >by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, February 23, 2009 >http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202428484361 > >"Harking back to a 1919 U.S. Supreme Court >decision, a Manhattan federal judge has >recognized the right of The Associated Press to >claim a property right in the "hot news" it >distributes." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Library Associations Oppose Repealing Public Access Bill, Urge Action >Information Today Inc., February 23, 2009 >http://tinyurl.com/czrkzt > >"The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, H.R. >801(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.801:), >recently introduced by Rep. John Conyers, >D-Mich., would repeal the NIH Public Access >Policy and prevent other federal agencies from >enacting similar open access policies." >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Many thanks to all of our VRA-IPR members who >are monitoring multiple listservs to make this >IPR news posting possible. Please submit any >comments, questions, or suggestions to Jen Green >at jen.green at massart.edu -- Diane M. Zorich 113 Gallup Road Princeton, NJ 08542 USA Voice: 609-252-1606 Fax: 609-252-1607 Email: dzorich at mindspring.com or dianezorich at comcast.net
