Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery With Daily Postings Since 2002
O’Reilly & Associates, a leading publisher of books on computer technologies, announced it will adopt the Founders’ Copyright from the Creative Commons project, “that allows copyright holders to voluntarily release their works to the public after the period envisioned in the original 1790 US copyright law–14 years, with the option of one 14-year extension.” The …
In the continuing saga of Napster, this news that venture capital firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was sued in U.S. District Court (LA) by Universal Music Group and The EMI Group for contributing to global copyright violations by the bankrupt file sharing service. See also my previous posting on the new book about Napster. And …
An interesting article from News.com addresses the legal obstacles (DMCA, patent claims) at the disposal of established companies who seek to block emerging technology competitors.
College students are increasingly discovering that file sharing has serious consequences. Just ask 220 Penn State students accused of using an LAN to bypass the university’s network bandwidth restrictions. They have lost the privilege of Web access in their dorm rooms. See also my previous posting on four college students who were sued by the …
All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster, was reviewed in the Sunday Washington Post as “a richly reported behind-the-scenes account of the rise and fall of Napster Inc., the online music-swapping phenomenon.” From the Boston Globe, see also this article by the book’s author, Joseph Menn, The Man Who Hijacked Napster, …
On April 18, the DOJ filed a brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that supports the RIAA’s case against Verizon to compel the release of personal customer data of an individual who allegedly engaged in Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations through file swapping. The DOJ contends the government’s position …
Professor Edward Felton, whose blog Freedom to Tinker focuses on information technology and law issues, was interviewed by Slashdot yesterday. Issues addressed include the DMCA, compulsory copyright liscensing and network identity.
Two recent articles focusing on the digital rights controversy merit noting: The Pirates Among Us: “The entertainment industry is battling the illegal distribution of copyrighted music and movie files-and will stop at nothing to enlist your help.” Pirates and Posses: The Battle over Digital Copyright by James L. Gattuso, Bruce Mehlman, Alec French, Gary Shapiro, …
As a follow-up to my previous posting on Massachusetts House Bill 2743, see these related articles: Activists assail antipiracy proposal – Argue civil rights would be violated under Mass. law and MPAA’s Drive for Tougher Fraud Laws Hits Bump.
The innovative Yale Journal of Law & Technology (YJoLT) is now using a blog publishing application, provides links to other Yale sponsored blogs and legal-tech content, and offers readers the choice between viewing the journal articles in Word of PDF. See this article from the current issue, Copyright’s Digital Reformulation, by Brodi Kemp (YLS 2004). …
From the Library of Economics and Liberty, this April 7 interview with Larry Lessig covers the Eldred copyright case and the recent Supreme Court decision, the Creative Commons copyright project, and discussion of the following questions: “Should the law treat intellectual and physical property differently? What are the key economic aspects of digital property? How …
Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), contributed an opinion column to The Daily Princetonian on the relentless music industry campaign against students who engage in file sharing on campuses across the country. He suggests, “We need to collect a pool of money from Internet users, and agree on …
