copyright-law
Obama admin: Mandated exemptions can strengthen copyright
The Obama administration has offered up a strange mix of copyright policies in its first year (both ACTA and Creative Commons , for instance), but it has at least made clear that “better copyright law” does not always mean “more copyright protection.” In the middle of December, for instance, the administration took a stand in support of a World Intellectual Property Organization treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind. The final bit of the US statement of support is worth quoting in full (emphasis added): We recognize that some in the international copyright community believe that any international consensus on substantive limitations and exceptions to copyright law would weaken international copyright law. The United States does not share that point of view.
Continue reading »People love to share: UK Pirate Party official
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- The Pirate Party could be described as the world’s first, and still the only, global political party. In turn, a2f2a.com is the world’s first, and still the only, site founded specifically by music artists and fans for music artists and fans. So it’s appropriate that John Barron, who leads the UK Pirate Party ’s copyright working group subcommittee, is a frequent, and articulate, poster on a2f2a As he points out, the strap-line is “Start your own revolution – cut out the middleman !” – and, co-founded by UK artist Billy Bragg, a2f2a went online recognising artists need to be paid, and fans want to pay them — directly.
Continue reading »Hoaxed US Chamber thumps pranksters with blunt instrument
Can you DMCA a parody that looks like the real thing? With this week’s lesson in the vagaries of copyright law, we seek to answer the following question: If someone uses your copyrighted material to build a website that fools a Reuters reporter into thinking you’ve suddenly changed your mind, are you legally empowered to destroy their clever online hoax with a DMCA takedown notice?…
Continue reading »Copyright collective: free format and time-shifting never OK
If your mother was like my mother, she probably spent your childhood telling you things like, “If all the other kids jumped off a cliff, would you follow?” In other words, just because something becomes popular doesn’t make it a good idea. Apparently, Canada’s Access Copyright collective is staffed by Canuck versions of my mother, because the arguments are the same: format shifting and time shifting might be popular with the kids everyone who owns an iPod or a DVR, but that doesn’t mean they should be legal. Not without payment, anyway.
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