March 2010
63 posts
Common Carriers. →
2 tags
Rapidshare Aims To Convert Pirates Into Customers →
The file-hosting service Rapidshare is seeking major entertainment industry partners for an online store where links to infringing material will redirect to. The plan is an attempt to bridge the gap between copyright holders and users of the site who distribute infringing material.
Flickr attributor bookmarklet →
GameStop sued over one-time use codes, deceptive... →
The problem here isn’t with GameStop; it’s with attempts by the publishers to get rid of the first sale doctrine.
Here's How Google TV Will Work - And What It Might... →
CableTechTalk » Blog Archive » Cable TV –... →
The NCTA blog has some thoughtful analysis but sometimes seems too eager to dismiss cord-cutting. Either it isn’t happening or can never amount to anything.
Rodriguez makes some good points. Bundling can be good for consumers (and has the secondary positive effect of cross-subsidizing worthy content that might not be able to make it in a pure a la carte world), and one-to-many distribution...
Revenge of the Cable Guys - BusinessWeek →
SSRN-First Amendment Based Copyright Misuse by... →
“We are at a crossroads with respect to the under-developed equitable defense of copyright misuse. The defense may go the way of its sibling, antitrust-based patent misuse, which seems to be in a state of inevitable decline. Or - if judges accept the proposal of this Article – courts could reinvigorate the copyright misuse defense to better protect First Amendment speech that is guaranteed...
Ofcom's "Super-fast broadband" plan for wholesale... →
“[T]he unusual economic properties of information make it a poor fit for a body...”
– Google v. Everyone
Having been critical of Larry Downes’ odd view of the Title I/Title II issue, it’s only fair to link to this very interesting post. He’s right; you can have law without magicking up new “property rights” as an all-purpose solution.
“The real potential for theft, as Mr. Yancy sees it, came from the strangers...”
– New Orleans Journal - New Orleans ‘Indians’ Look to Copyrights for Protection - NYTimes.com
I’m not sure we need to bend copyright law for Mardi Gras Indians—or even for the Mummers.
“Almost uniquely among OECD countries, America has adopted no policies to require...”
– Plans for broadband: Pipe dream | The Economist
The Durationator →
Great tool by Tulane Law School to help make the past useable one query at at time — by figuring out if the copyright term has lapsed.
The REAL Reason NBC, FOX, And ABC Execs Want To... →
So Hulu does a great job with advertising—and is therefore ”undermining” its parent companies. Great logic!
George Gilder's Wrong-Headed Take on Obama's... →
“Based on Google’s Android operating system, the TV technology runs on Intel’s...”
– Google and Partners Seek Foothold in the Living Room - NYTimes.com
This is interesting for a few reasons. I wonder if “Android” will remain a single platform for developers to build to, how they intend to differentiate themselves in a crowded field, and whether a sufficiently...
“Suk seems to base her entire argument on one simple economically-illiterate...”
– Harvard Law Prof’s Poor Economic Analysis Used As Cover For Unnecessary Fashion Copyright | Techdirt
“The broadcasters want to streamline a copyright system that currently requires...”
– E.U. Broadcasters Push to Change Copyright Rules Tying Up Online Offerings - NYTimes.com
“HD Net founder Cuban believes in subscription TV and sees Ronen, the CEO of...”
– @ SXSWi: Ronen And Cuban Go Live With Pay TV-Internet Debate | paidContent
Cuban has some great points about network design—one-to-many is definitely more efficient for lots of video. He’s also someone to listen to when it comes to the economics of distribution. But I think...
“We’ll put four full-time people on the job if we have to.”
– Pre-Napster article on MP3s. Salon | 21st: Mutiny on the Net
“Inspired by Creative Commons and the open source software movement, the FMA...”
– Free Music Archive
“This means that ultimately, DRM only affects people who buy media honestly,...”
– Cory Doctorow: DRM vendors are pushing the impossible | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Information, Freedom, Flame-bait - Charlie's Diary →
“29. Fair dealing of a copyrighted work for purposes such as research, private...”
– Michael Geist - Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion
“Format matters.”
– The new rules for reviewing media
George Gilder: Cap and Trade for the Internet →
Gilder doesn’t understand Darwin, so I’m not that impressed by his views on competition. But he writes this,
The new broadband surge has created a heyday for such companies as Google, MySpace, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Hulu and eBay’s Skype that ride virtually free on the Internet.
and I’m compelled to respond for the thousandth time.
Twitter pays money to its ISPs to...
Live Stream of National Broadband Plan... →
Labels Balk at Services to Stream Music to Various... →
“But first, let’s acknowledge that the very idea of music ownership may be outdated.”
So says the article (not Robertson). But let’s not give up on ownership so easily. Ownership of a copy, rather than a mere license to use a work in such and such circumstances, is vital to maintaining the balance between copyrights and users’ rights.
OPTA publishes “final” Open Cable rules →
Well Dressed Burrito (welldressed) on Twitter →
a dream realized
When Fair Use Isn't Fair →
mehan:
NPR’s Joel Rose did a story on World’s Fair Use Day for Weekend Edition Saturday.
Retransmission In Transition? →
It’s implausible to describe the current system, with its must carry rules and bans on distant signal importation, as a “free market.” (And advocates of broadcasting seem to forget the free market rhetoric when it comes to spectrum.)
Even the US Chamber of Commerce wants ACTA... →
Whether you think you might favor ACTA or oppose it, it’s hard to be sure if you don’t know what it’s actually about.
“The U.S. Chamber has also been supportive of greater transparency in these talks. We recognize the constraints of international trade negotiations; however, we urge the administration to ensure the Congressional committees of jurisdiction—as...
Record Labels: Change or Die →
Report shows history of industry efforts to... →
Study of the effects of the French 3 strikes law... →
The report is in French. Here’s a quick translation of the “key points to remember”:
- Only 15% of Internet users who used peer-to-peer before the adoption of HADOPI have stopped doing so after.
- Among those former downloaders, only one third has renounced all forms of digital piracy, while the remaining two thirds have turned to other kinds of piracy that are outside of...
“Actually, in these cases, it might be more accurate to say the Commission has...”
– This is that Brand X case we’re always going on about. National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. v. Brand X Internet Services, 545 US 967 - Supreme Court 2005 - Google Scholar.
What's in a title? →
There’s a lot that’s wrong with this article. Most egregious is the mischaracterization of Brand X—a lawyer should be more careful. Brand X did not say that classifying cable broadband as Title I made sense. If you want to see how little sense the classification makes from a legal perspective, just read Scalia’s dissent.
Unfortunately, Scalia’s common sense view...
merlin:
You a big fan of aggressive IP enforcement? Like to think a well-litigated market is a healthy market? Hate those little entrepreneurial nuisances like “competition from emerging media?”
Well, then, you would have loved the early 20th century.
Because you had to get Thomas Edison’s permission to make any movie. Then you had to pay him.
Pretty sweet, huh?
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