I don't recall seeing this discussed here yet. Apologies if I am wrong. -- deg farrelly Arizona State University PO Box 871006 Tempe, Arizona 85287-1006 Phone: 480.965.1403 Email: [email protected]
********** You Could Be Up The Creek For Streaming Up on the Hill with Kenneth Salomon The Senate Judiciary Committee on June 16 adopted a bill that broadens the coverage of current federal laws against criminal infringement of copyrights and increases the penalties for certain instances of infringement. This legislation, the Commercial Felony Streaming Act, S. 978, introduced last May by Senators Klobuchar (D-MN), Cornyn (R-TX) and Coons (D-DE), would enable the government might to pursue cases that it otherwise would not be able to prosecute under current law. The problem is that the bill is so broad and intellectual property rights often difficult to determine, that individuals could inadvertently be swept within its scope. The concern is compounded by the fact that the bill imposes criminal, not civil, penalties for violation. And the big question is what impact S. 978 would have on colleges and universities if it became law. Current law imposes criminal penalties for willful copyright infringement where a defendant illegally reproduces or distributes a copyrighted work. What S. 978 seeks to address is the fact that the Internet enables illegal online streaming in addition to online downloading. Content industry representatives, like the Motion Picture Industry Association of America, claim that S. 978 is needed because “it is unclear whether Internet streaming constitutes distribution of copyrighted works, and therefore eligible to be prosecuted as a felony.” See “S. 978: The Commercial Felony Streaming Act, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX), 112th U.S. Congress” at http://www.mpaa.org/Resources/ 2f0f3647-2403-40cd-9638-16ee42ec8373.pdf. Other supporters of the bill include the Directors Guild of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Full article here: https://admin.imodules.com/s/1039/images/editor_documents/s978_streaming_salomon_2011autumn.pdf VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
