TorrentFreak has posted an interview with a 9 year-old girl who uses LimeWire.
copyright
By 10.18.07
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Media companies including CBS Corp., Microsoft Corp., News Corp.’s Fox and MySpace, Viacom, Walt Disney and NBC have all agreed to some über-pact of copyright “guidelines” to protect their work, and have said they will announce the details later today. “The agreed principles include using technology to eliminate copyright-infringing content uploaded by users to Web sites and blocking any material before it is publicly accessible.” [Reuters]
By 10.16.07
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A group of Congressmen used Simpsons characters without permission in a weird press release that involves Mr. Burns, Mayor Joe Quimby, some anti-MoveOn swipes and a little incest humor. Fox has said they did not authorize the usage and that the characters “may not be used in this manner,” but TechDirt wonders whether the network will sue? (We’re thinking no.) [TechDirt]
Is It Legal To Unlock The iPhone?
By 10.8.07
According to a Slate columnist, not only is it legal, but it’s ethical and fun. (Fun?) “I did just throw down more than $400 for this little toy,” he writes. “I’m no property-rights freak, but that iPhone is now my personal property, and that ought to stand for something.”
Harvard Bookstore: "We Own ISBN Numbers"
By 9.24.07
The Harvard Crimson ran a story last week about a student who was asked to leave the premises for writing down the prices of six textbooks at the Coop, Harvard’s bookstore of record. The bookstore’s president says that there’s no official policy against students writing down information, but “we discourage people who are taking down a lot of notes.” But what’s more surprising, he tells the Crimson that the textbooks’ ISBNs—which can be used to look up the same books online—are “the Coop’s intellectual property.”
Chinese Fake Harry Potter Is Awesome; Also A Dragon
By 8.11.07
Officials might consider counterfeit Chinese “translations” of copyrighted work illegal, but we like to think of them as the marketplace’s version of outsider art; it’s like fanfic and Lulu.com got together and opened up a bookstore in Shanghai. The New York Times teases its readers with awesome excerpts from a handful of recent Harry Potter knockoffs, with titles far better than the real ones:
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Harry Potter and the Chinese Porcelain Doll
Harry Potter and the Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon
Harry Potter and the Chinese Overseas Students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
French Nab 16-Year-Old Harry Potter Fan For Posting Translation Online
By 8.9.07
In the U.S., teens blithely record movie clips; in France, they produce “near professional” translations. A 16-year-old French kid translated the final Harry Potter book and posted it online within days of its late July release, and now could face a heavy fine as well as charges for violating intellectual property rights. Police are also questioning other minors who may have helped.
Regal Cinemas Facing Boycott After Pressing Charges Again Teen "Pirate"
By 8.8.07
You might remember this story from a few days ago: When 19 year-old Jhannet Sejas taped a 20 second clip of Transformers on her Canon Power Shot camera, she probably didn’t think she was committing a crime that calls for 1 year in prison and a $2,500 fine. If she did, she probably didn’t think the movie theater would call the police, have her arrested, and then press charges.
Teen Faces Charges For Recording 20 Seconds of "Transformers"
By 8.2.07
Don’t use your digital camera in a theater to record 20 seconds of the movie Transformers (even if it’s just to show your little brother) or you could face 1 year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
CCIA Starts Online Petition Defending Fair Use
By 8.1.07
The CCIA, an industry trade group representing the interests of the likes of Google and Microsoft, asked us to let you know they’ve started an online petition at DefendFairUse.org.
Meet The "CCIA": Google, Microsoft's Industry Group Attacks Copyright Bullying
By 8.1.07
Google, Microsoft, and others speaking through the Computer and Communications Industry Association or CCIA, have announced their intention to file a complaint with the FCC accusing copyright holders such as Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the MPAA and the RIAA of “overstating” their rights in various consumer warnings.
Universal: Background Music In Home Videos Constitutes Copyright Infringement
By 7.26.07
Look at this kid dance and smile as he revels in his mother’s blatant copyright infringement. The song fueling his happiness, Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” is owned by Universal Music Group, whose lawyers are not dancing, smiling, or happy.
Manufacturer Claims eBaying Its Car Parts Violates "Intellectual Property Rights"
By 7.18.07
Manufacturers are getting eBay auctions canceled for selling their products “too cheaply,” reports the Consumer Law & Policy blog…
Judge To RIAA: Students Must Be Allowed To Respond To John Doe Lawsuits
By 6.20.07
The RIAA has argued that it would suffer irreparable harm unless immediate discovery was allowed, but Judge Garcia didn’t find that argument convincing. “While the Court does not dispute that infringement of a copyright results in harm, it requires a Coleridgian ‘suspension of disbelief’ to accept that the harm is irreparable, especially when monetary damages can cure any alleged violation,” wrote the judge. “On the other hand, the harm related to disclosure of confidential information in a student or faculty member’s Internet files can be equally harmful.”
RIAA To Traditional Radio: It's Time To Pay Royalties
By 5.21.07
Our friend Howard Berman (D-California) unsurprisingly supports removing the exemption, “Given the many different ways to promote music now that didn’t exist as effectively when this original exemption was made,” he said, “the logic of that I think is more dubious.” —MEGHANN MARCO
Should "Attempted Copyright Infringement" Be A Criminal Offense?
By 5.15.07
Our good friends Howard Berman and Lamar Smith, (you’ll remember them as the ones who took lots and lots of money from the RIAA as well as the friends and families of various record company and entertainment executives) are all for it, according to CNET:
We are reviewing (the attorney general’s) proposal. Any plan to stop IP theft will benefit the economy and the American worker,” said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who’s the top Republican on the House Judiciary committee. “I applaud the attorney general for recognizing the need to protect intellectual property.”
Berman’s office said they couldn’t comment because they were busy drafting their own version of the legislation.
Meet Sarah: She Paid $3,000 For Downloading Spice Girls Songs
By 5.14.07
Sarah Barg is a sophomore at University of Nebraska-Lincoln who used Ares to download 381 songs, most of them 80s ballads and “Spice Girls tunes.” When she got a letter threatening legal action, she thought it was a scam. Turns out, it wasn’t. Sarah’s parents had to fork over $3,000 to keep Sarah from being sued by the RIAA.
“Technically, I’m guilty. I just think it’s ridiculous, the way they’re going about it,” Barg said. “We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they’re not doing a very good job.”
Just for comparison’s sake, in Nebraska the maximum fine for a first time DUI is $500. And those are really illegal.—MEGHANN MARCO
HBO Exec Wants To Change "DRM" to "Digital Consumer Enablement"
By 5.10.07
Get ready for DCE, or “Digital Consumer Enablement”, HBO’s new name for DRM. HBO’s CTO Bob Zitter says DRM is a misnomer, because the technology “allows consumers “to use content in ways they haven’t before.”
