Slate: “Two and a half years ago, the Internet Archive made a decision that pissed off a lot of writers—and embroiled it in a lawsuit that many netizens fear could weaken the archive, its finances, and its services long into the future. In March 2020, as bookstores and libraries joined other businesses in closing their… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Copyright
Librarians and Lawmakers Push for Greater Access to E-Books
Pew Trusts: “Librarians and their legislative allies are pushing publishers of electronic books to lower their prices and relax licensing terms, an effort that could make it easier for millions of library users to borrow the increasingly popular digital versions of books. Supporters say the e-book lending legislation in several states would allow libraries to… Continue Reading
How to search for images you can (legally) use for free
The Verge: “If you’re looking for an image that you can repurpose for one of your projects and aren’t able to take a photo yourself, there are a ton of free images you can use online without running into any copyright issues — you just have to know where to look. Here, we’ll go over… Continue Reading
20 Years Of Copyright Wars
Gizmodo – Author and activist Cory Doctorow reflects on the fight over who owns what in a digital world. Continue Reading
A major publishing lawsuit would cement surveillance into the future of libraries
Fast Company – The suit would erode the public’s last great venue for information free from corporate or government surveillance: “…Today, libraries generally are blocked from purchasing and owning digital books—and readers are in a similar boat. Instead, publishers offer only high-cost licenses for which libraries rely on emergency funds and may only be able… Continue Reading
You Can’t Stop Pirate Libraries
Reason – “Where there’s demand for books, the internet will supply them. Shadow libraries exist in the space where intellectual property rights collide with the free-flowing exchange of knowledge and ideas. In some cases, these repositories of pirated books and journal articles serve as a blow against censorship, allowing those under repressive regimes to access… Continue Reading
The fight between authors and librarians tearing book lovers apart
Washington Post: “At the start of the pandemic, teachers and librarians pleaded with a prominent nonprofit to make it easier for kids at home to check out books from its digital library. The organization, called the Internet Archive, agreed. While it traditionally loaned out its more than a million digital books one at a time… Continue Reading
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
CRS Report – Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), July 20, 2022 [24 pages]: “Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become popular as unique and non-interchangeable units of data that signify ownership of associated digital items, such as images, music, or videos. Token “ownership” is recorded and tracked on a blockchain (a digital database that records data on a decentralized… Continue Reading
Music Copyright Infringement: Global Perspectives
Sponsored by The George Washington University Law School & Columbia Law School – “Overview: This resource provides information about music copyright infringement cases from the mid-nineteenth century forward in the U.S. and, to an increasing extent, in foreign jurisdictions.” Continue Reading
A copyright lawsuit threatens to kill free access to Internet Archive’s library of books
Popular Science: “Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library and a massive repository of online artifacts, has been collecting mementos of the ever-expanding World Wide Web for over two decades, allowing users to revisit sites that have since been changed or deleted. But like the web, it too has evolved since its genesis, and in the… Continue Reading
The Pirate Library Mirror wants to preserve all human knowledge – illegally
The Next Web – A project to preserve over 7TB of books, articles, and journals: “A new project has just launched with the goal of preserving all human knowledge. The problem? It’s illegal. The Pirate Library Mirror is what it says on the tin: a mirror of existing libraries of pirated content. The project focuses… Continue Reading
Copyright Protections for Press Publishers
USPTO: “The Copyright Office has concluded a public study evaluating the effectiveness of current copyright protections for publishers in the United States, with a focus on press publishers. The Office’s report—Copyright Protections for Press Publishers—is linked on the right side of this page. In their letter requesting this study, six members of Congress pointed to… Continue Reading
