“Today, the U.S. Copyright Office launched its updated website, www.copyright.gov. The website has been redesigned to be more organized, more responsive, and easier to digest. It now features a new header with global navigation and search, and expanded width in all sections to maximize screen usage. Several individual pages have been consolidated for improved navigation.… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Copyright
Publishers Still Fighting to Bury Universities, Libraries in Fees for Making Fair Use of Academic Excerpts
EFF – “On behalf of three national library associations, EFF today urged a federal appeals court for the second time to protect librarians’ and students’ rights to make fair use of excerpts from academic books and research. Nearly a decade ago, three of the largest academic publishers in the world— backed by the Association of… Continue Reading
Jury Decides Oculus Owes $500M in Copyright Case
FindLaw – “The reality may be virtual, but the jury’s verdict is very real. Oculus VR, makers of the Rift virtual reality headset, along with founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe, were found to have violated a nondisclosure agreement as well as copyright infringement and false designation in a legal rift with ZeniMax Media. And… Continue Reading
Free for All: NYPL Enhances Public Domain Collections For Sharing and Reuse
New York Public Library – “Today we are proud to announce that out-of-copyright materials in NYPL Digital Collections are now available as high-resolution downloads. No permission required, no hoops to jump through: just go forth and reuse! The release of more than 180,000 digitized items represents both a simplification and an enhancement of digital access to a… Continue Reading
EFF on Shadow Internet Regulations
EFF – “Shadow Regulations are voluntary agreements between companies (sometimes described as codes, principles, standards, or guidelines) to regulate your use of the Internet, often without your knowledge. Shadow Regulation has become increasingly popular after the monumental failure of restrictive Internet laws such as ACTA, SOPA and PIPA. This is because Shadow Regulation can involve… Continue Reading
BeSpacific joins ABA Top 100 Blawgs 2016
“BeSpacific NEW, Top 100 Blawgs: “No one better has her finger on the pulse of the legal information world than Sabrina Pacifici, law librarian and author of the blog BeSpacific,” writes blogger Robert Ambrogi. “Launched in 2002, BeSpacific is one of the longest-running legal blogs and, remarkably, Sabrina seems more prolific today than ever. She… Continue Reading
Digital Science Releases Global Research Identifier Database Under CC0 License
December 5th 2016: “Digital Science, a leading technology company serving the needs of scientific and research communities announced today that the Global Research Identifier Database (GRID) dataset will be made available under a CC0 license allowing users to make full use of the database releases with no need for attribution. The CC0 license means that… Continue Reading
Copyright Infringement Litigation Fell 22 Percent in FY 2016
“New federal lawsuits over issues of copyright infringement fell 22 percent last year. Case-by-case court records compiled and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found a total of 3,944 new federal copyright infringement cases were filed in the U.S. District Courts during fiscal year 2016. This is down from the… Continue Reading
A Fresh Look at Copyright on Campus
Rooksby, Jacob H., A Fresh Look at Copyright on Campus (October 1, 2016). Missouri Law Review, Vol. 81, No. 3, 2016; Duquesne University School of Law Research Paper No. 2016-03. Available for download at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2862675 “The role of copyright on the modern college and university campus is overdue for fresh examination. Copyright ownership issues… Continue Reading
Finding the Public Domain – The Copyright Review Management System
Issue Brief – Finding the Public Domain – The Copyright Review Management System, Melissa Levine, Lead Copyright Officer, University of Michigan, Ithaka S+R. October 26, 2016. “The public domain is the ultimate open access. It is key to the bargain of copyright. Rather simplistically, in order to incentivize authors to produce works, the public, through… Continue Reading
Authors Alliance and Internet Archive Team Up to Make Books Available
Internet Archive Blog, Michael Wolfe, Executive Director, Authors Alliance – “To write a book takes time, effort, more often than not, love. Happily, books are built to last, and with the proper stewardship remain relevant, provide insight and information, or entertain for generations. So why is it that, when the internet provides more avenues than… Continue Reading
Technological Neutrality: Recalibrating Copyright in the Information Age
Craig, Carys J., Technological Neutrality: Recalibrating Copyright in the Information Age (October 14, 2016). Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper No. 5/2017. Available for download at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2852385 “This Article aims to draw the connection between how we conceptualize legal rights over information resources and our capacity to develop technologically neutral legal norms in the information… Continue Reading
