Apr
7
Do professors have copyright in their lectures?
Posted by Keeley Vega at 7:15 am under Copyright, Litigation.
A textbook publisher, Faulkner Press, sued Class Notes (dba Einstein’s Notes), a student note-taking service at the University of Florida, for copyright infringement.
Faulkner sells textbooks and CDs used to submit assignments and quizzes. These materials are required for the courses in which they are available. Class Notes hires students to take notes during lectures and […]
Mar
29
A Superman Custody Dispute
Posted by Keeley Vega at 11:12 am under Copyright, Litigation.
The New York Times shares a story today about an important lesson on copyright termination rights. The point: “to have and hold forever” does not always really mean forever.
“Time Warner is no longer the sole proprietor of Superman. A federal judge here on Wednesday ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel — who 70 years […]
Mar
28
YouTube Japanese cover song deal
Posted by Dirk Avery at 8:01 am under Copyright, Technology.
Closet pop idols [in Japan] breathed a little easier Thursday after the announcement of a deal between video site YouTube and a large [Japanese] recording rights body, allowing punters to record and post their own versions of songs… without fear of legal reprisal.
Japan Rights Clearance Inc. (JRC) announced that it had made a comprehensive contract […]
Mar
28
Berman says PRO-IP Act is going to pass
Posted by Dirk Avery at 7:56 am under Copyright, Legislation.
“Hollywood” Berman (D-CA), new chairman of the House IP subcommittee, says of the PRO-IP Act, “‘I think this is going to pass’, this year,” according to Ars Technica’s Nate Anderson. Chairman Berman also gives lip service to copyright’s greater purpose, noting concerns about the new act’s effect on fair use and claiming a belief […]
Mar
18
Stanford Copyright Fake-Out
Posted by Keeley Vega at 10:34 am under Copyright.
Stanford students reading last week’s Stanford Chaparral magazine were shocked to learn that the University had reported thousands of students for illegally downloading music. According to the report, 78 unnamed students had already been reported for violations and approximately 34 percent of Stanford’s undergraduate population were in danger of facing up to $9,250 per song […]
Mar
17
An Obstacle for the Design Piracy Prohibition Act
Posted by Keeley Vega at 2:32 pm under Copyright, Legislation.
After months of negotiation between the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), an agreement was reached regarding the scope of copyright protection for fashion designs. However, the AAFA board rejected the compromise bill last week, leaving the CFDA as the chief proponent of the Design Piracy […]
Mar
17
Japan, bellwether of net bias?
Posted by Dirk Avery at 8:55 am under Copyright, Internet.
A thousand of Japan’s ISPs have come to an agreement to ban P2P users. Users would get one strike before they were out. Once a user is out, they’ll be tough pressed to find a provider.
The popular P2P application in Japan, Winny, encrypts its traffic. The ISPs, though, are not going to do […]
Mar
9
We’ve been away; eCO update
Posted by Dirk Avery at 12:01 am under Copyright.
Apologies as Keeley and I have both been hit at the same time with various issues involving family (Dirk & Keeley), and the MPRE and a student symposium (just Dirk). We are still alive and will be posting again when things settle down.
In the meantime, I have an update! I have won the race to […]
Mar
6
House revokes music industry’s carte blanche
Posted by Dirk Avery at 4:58 pm under Copyright, Legislation.
CNet’s Anne Broache writes:
To avoid having a copyright bill favored by the music industry become mired in controversy, a U.S. House of Representatives panel has agreed to remove a section that would have dramatically increased fines in copyright infringement lawsuits.
Under the original Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (the PRO IP Act), […]
Mar
5
Alexandrians in action: Google Books
Posted by Dirk Avery at 2:14 pm under Copyright, Innovation, Internet, Technology.
Today, here on the University of Michigan campus, I saw the Google folks at work. A huge moving truck was backed up next to the library door. Carts filled with books filled the truck.
The basic task is really pretty simple. They take books and scan them. The complexity comes from the […]