A little holiday reading. As always, interesting stuff. Cheers. Amalyah Keshet Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management The Israel Museum, Jerusalem akeshet at imj.org.il Chair, MCN IP SIG www.mcn.edu Blog www.musematic.net
> ========== > (C)ollectanea Blog. Collected perspectives on copyright. > http://chaucer.umuc.edu/blogcip/collectanea/ > Center for Intellectual Property, UMUC > -------------------------- > Supreme Court rules 'Shane' copyright won't come back. Daily Yomiuri > Online/AP. December 20, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/2xgjdr > > The Supreme Court rejected Tuesday a request by two film companies that > filed an appeal against two Tokyo production companies, including a DVD > company, to suspend the sales of cheap DVDs of the 1953 U.S. movie > "Shane." The companies, including Paramount Pictures Corp. of the United > States, had filed a lawsuit against the Tokyo firms over copyright > infringement. > > -------------------------- > Blog: Is the ratchet really only one-way? By Georgia Harper, > Collectanea. December 19, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/yqsor3 > > I discovered a couple of papers recently that focused my attention on > the public domain, as what's left when copyright gets through with > "protecting" a work from, from, well, from what I am not sure any > longer, but Bill Patry's piece seemed to pull things together in a way > that compelled me to write about it all....But I also want to draw you > attention to two papers published recently on the subject of the one-way > ratchet, the continual lengthening of the term, the continual > heightening of the walls of protection. > > -------------------------- > Blog: Copyright, Defamation, Bloggers, DMCA, Safe Harbors, > Cease-And-Desists And Anonymity... Oh My! By Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com. > December 19, 2007. > http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071219/020622.shtml > > Well, here's a lawsuit that's got all the hot button issues going around > these days, and yet has received very little publicity. Both Eric > Goldman and Sam Bayard provide detailed legal breakdowns of what > happened (and it may take a couple reads to grasp all the details), but > let's try to summarize (some of it's good, some of it's bad). > > -------------------------- > Blog: The Myth Of Finding A 'Balance' In Copyright Laws. By Mike > Masnick, Techdirt.com. December 19, 2007. > http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071214/184433.shtml > > It never fails. During various battles over copyright laws, someone will > come along and present themselves as wanting to be the "moderate" > provider between the warring parties of "users" on one side and > "copyright holders" on the other side, declaring that what's really > needed is a good "balance" in copyright law that is fair to both sides. > > -------------------------- > XM settles copyright suit filed by Universal. By Reuters. December 18, > 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/yt9woe > > XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said Monday that it had settled a > copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Universal Music Group and hoped > to reach deals with other music companies. The dispute centers on XM's > portable Inno device, which can store and record music from satellite > radio. > > -------------------------- > Copyright court fight leads 2008 playlist. By Deirdre McMurdy, The > Ottawa Citizen. December 17, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/2zdeo6 > > Thousands of Canadians are likely to receive an iPod as a Christmas gift > again this year. But what they may not realize is that a gift so small > in size comes with a package of huge legal, financial and moral issues. > > -------------------------- > Facebook more than just a cool tool for kids. By Michael Geist, Toronto > Star. December 17, 2007. > http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/286164 > > If 2006 was the year of YouTube, 2007 has been Facebook's year. The > growth of social media, led by Facebook, has taken the world by storm. > Since January, Facebook has added 250,000 new users each day. Canadians > have led the way, accounting for about 8 million of the site's nearly 60 > million global users. > > -------------------------- > Blog: CCC Seeks a New Formula With Launch of Copyright Labs. By Michael > LoPresti, Information Today. December 17, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/26fhs9 > > Ask a few chemists, mathematicians, or pastry chefs what problem-solving > methodology they turn to when insight and theory fall short. They're > likely to respond with a common answer. Trial and error, that age-old > approach to puzzling out dilemmas big and small, continues to be > employed in every laboratory, classroom, and kitchen on a daily basis. > When Copyright Clearance Center announced the launch of Copyright Labs > last week, it was a nod to that fact that even a nonprofit company in > the knowledge industry stands to gain from publicly testing new > applications to ensure that all of the wrinkles have been ironed out. > > -------------------------- > Elvis release pulled in copyright row. By Reuters. December 17, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/yr5pqp > > Music distributor Cargo Records has pulled the plug on an Elvis Presley > release after the singer's label threatened legal action, sources said. > In one of the clearest signs of Sony BMG Music Entertainment's tough > policy on enforcing the copyright of its vintage Presley works -- even > though some sound recordings have become part of the public domain -- > the label pressured Cargo to withdraw "New York: RCA Studio 1: The > Complete Sessions". > > -------------------------- > Press Release: Copyright Registration for the Arts Community. PRWeb.com. > December 14, 2007 > http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb576477.htm > > Artists frequently sacrifice their financial well-being to focus on > their artwork. Whether it is a lack of customers or because they funnel > any extra money toward art projects, many live on a limited income. As a > result, it is not uncommon for artists to forgo spending the fee to > register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office, especially if it > means getting an expensive lawyer to help. > > -------------------------- > What the Creative in 'Creative Commons' Really Means. By Matt Safford, > PC Magazine. December 14, 2007. > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2234809,00.asp > > At the turn of the millennium, Stanford law professor and cyber-law > expert Lawrence Lessig had an idea. In the midst of a Supreme Court case > arguing that the latest lengthening of American copyright laws was > unconstitutional, Lessig decided that if he couldn't stop the > strengthening of copyright law, which was extended by an additional > twenty years in 1998, he would help create an alternative. > > -------------------------- > Blog: A brief history of the new Copyright Act (so far). By David > George-Cosh, FP Posted. December 14, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/27efx7 > > It should be safe to say that Governor-General Michaelle Jean had no > idea that her brief mention of copyright reform in October's Throne > Speech would spark a debate over what the updated Copyright Act should > look like. > > -------------------------- > Blog: Why copyright laws must get even tougher. By Jack Kapica, Globe > and Mail. December 14, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/ywuehf > > While Canadians tremble with anticipation at the arrival of new > copyright legislation, the Americans are doing the same. Again. And > while we're concerned that our new legislation might be even more > imbalanced than the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Americans > are preparing to toughen up their 10-year-old DMCA to make the penalties > for copyright infringement even more stringent. > > -------------------------- > How did copyright become cool? By Ivor Tossell, Globe and Mail. December > 13, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/2u6xy6 > > When did copyright law become sexy? Jim Prentice must be wondering. This > week, Canada's freshly shuffled Industry Minister was set to table new > copyright legislation that could have completely changed the > relationship between Canadians and their digital media. But then he > backed down, at least until the end of the year. > > -------------------------- > Lawmakers raise questions about copyright enforcement bill. By Grant > Gross, IDG News Service/MacWorld. December 13, 2007. > http://www.macworld.com/article/131068/2007/12/lawmakers.html > > A handful of lawmakers, law professors and consumer groups have raised > objections to a new U.S. copyright bill that could significantly > increase the fines for copyright infringement. > > -------------------------- > DOJ Blasts New 'Copyright Czar' Bill. By Chloe Albanesius, PC Magazine. > December 13, 2007. > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2234098,00.asp > > The Department of Justice on Thursday slammed intellectual property > legislation that would re-organize its IP enforcement structure, calling > it unnecessary and counterproductive to the work it has already > accomplished. > > -------------------------- > Perspective: 'Tis the season for common sense copyright. By Maura > Corbett, CNET News. December 13, 2007. > http://tinyurl.com/yrd2hh > > It's the season of giving, and the House Judiciary Committee could give > consumers, innovators, and artists what they are asking for--fair and > balanced copyright reform--and even give a holiday boost to our > technology-driven economy. > > -------------------------- > ========== > (C)ollectanea Blog. Collected perspectives on copyright. > http://chaucer.umuc.edu/blogcip/collectanea/ > Center for Intellectual Property, UMUC