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  • Motion to vacate default granted, without opposition, in SONY BMG Music v. Stade, Rochester, NY, case
    In SONY BMG Music v. Stade, a Rochester, New York, case, against a student who had been studying abroad in Croatia at the time of service of the summons and complaint, the RIAA has changed its position. After first forcing the defendant's lawyer to...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Genachowski to head FCC?
    It was reported by the Washington Post that President-elect Obama is likely to appoint Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission. This appears to bode well for a forward-looking internet policy, since Genachowski is credited...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Clay Shirky Predicts Media for 2009
    Shirkey has a few specifics and a few generalities in his "Year Ahead in the Media" piece on guardian.co.uk. Nothing hugely surprising - more newspapers will stop printing, magazines (specifically specialty publications) belong online, DRM for...
    by Copyfight
  • let the remixes continue
    ...here. Then this morning I saw the link to the IndabaMusic site, which is running a contest around the clip. There are now about 20 remixes available, and more than 100 in the works. You can see those here. All of the remixes in the...
    by Lessig Blog
  • Court Requires Copyright Plaintiff to Include Allegedly Infringing Work in Complaint
    ... , Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Dec. 9, 2008) (Shadur, Sen. J.). Plaintiff filed an amended complaint including a copyright claim, after Judge Shadur orally granted defendant's motion to dismiss its original copyright and related state law claims. The...
    by Chicago IP Litigation Blog
  • Copyright and the Obama Visit to Canada
    ... -elect Obama's plans to visit Canada as his first foreign trip. While economic issues will obviously be central, the degree to which copyright enters the conversation is worth watching. The Bush administration focused heavily on copyright in its...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Interesting comment on today's music scene by "Lucid Culture"
    Just came across an amazing web site called "Lucid Culture", which is mostly about the arts, with an emphasis on live music in the New York City area. But it also has a wealth of interesting articles and reviews on all kinds of things. In describing...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • What is DRM really good for?
    As the Library of Congress considers new exceptions to the anti-circumvention rules that legally protect the DRM systems that are used by many companies to lock up digital content of all kinds, it is helpful to consider if those protections really...
    by Scholarly Communications @ Duke
  • RIAA submits statement of attorneys fees in Atlantic Recording v. Raleigh seeking $3853.80
    In response to the Judge's ruling that the defendant should have to pay plaintiffs' attorneys fees in connection with a previous discovery dispute, in Atlantic Recording v. Raleigh, the RIAA has submitted a "statement of expenses" seeking $3,853.80....
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • RIAA moves to dismiss class action counterclaims in Atlantic Recording v. Raleigh in St. Louis
    In the St. Louis case, Atlantic Recording v. Raleigh, where a class action has been commenced by counterclaims, the RIAA has moved to dismiss the counterclaims. Every ruling in the Raleigh case, to date, has been in favor of the RIAA. Plaintiffs'...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • RIAA serves summons and complaint on December 26th, 8 days after it said it wasn't bringing any new lawsuits
    In a Massachusetts case, UMG Recordings v. Briggs, the RIAA served a summons and complaint on the defendant on December 26, 2008, some 8 days after its announcement that it was ending its litigation campaign. -->Declaration of Service *-->* Document...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Digiprotect in US?
    An anonymous correspondent has written to us, indicating that the German company "Digiprotect", which engages in RIAA-style tactics on a contingent basis in Europe, is now operating in the United States. If you have any information on Digiprotect...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Good article in "DISC & D.A.T." about RIAA's R.I.P.
    Good article in the always informative and well written "DISC & D.A.T." by Steve Meyer, a digital music guru. [CAVEAT: Steve writes his column weekly and is morally opposed to "permalinks", since he feels a week is enough time for his stories to be...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • GBS is a worrisome development…
    The buzz about Google Book Search (GBS) seemed to be dying down but then suddenly there are four articles in a week. Regardless of their numbers, behind the news stories work no doubt continues full tilt to realize the settlement's potential. I just...
    by free the books
  • Euro-Excellence Caves, Settles With Kraft Over Copyright Import Case
    Euro-Excellence, which successfully battled Kraft at the Supreme Court of Canada over the parallel importation of chocolate into Canada, has caved to round two of the dispute and settled the matter. While the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • RIAA voluntarily dismisses Atlantic Recording v. Brennan
    After having both its motions for default judgment denied, in Atlantic Recording v. Brennan, the RIAA has filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. Although the notice states it is "without prejudice", under the federal rules a second voluntary...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • EMI files its response to MP3Tunes papers in Capitol Records v. MP3Tunes.com
    In Capitol Records v. MP3Tunes.com, Inc., EMI has filed its reply papers responding to MP3Tune's opposition papers, in further support of its motion to dismiss counterclaims, and for an order staying discovery into the subjects of the counterclaims....
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • NiN Giving It Away
    A friend of mine who's a fairly rabid Nine Inch Nails fan noted that Reznor has recently put out a lot of raw video footage from the current tour onto BitTorrent. This is in addition to anyone's ability to get a legal download of the entire new album...
    by Copyfight
  • Coloring books and copyright
    ... . law, the Dear Rich staff can tell you that South Africa and France are both members of an international copyright treaty that provides reciprocality between member countries (meaning that the works of a foreign national in one nation will be...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Copyright Owners Contributing to the Destruction of Their Own Property
    Everyone else is writing about Apple's iTunes music store going DRM-free. Which is, I admit, an interesting move. It's also interesting that they're moving to a 3-tier pricing scheme, after about six years of the Cartel nagging them to break the...
    by Copyfight
  • Canadian Digital Music Sales Growth Beats The U.S. For Third Consecutive Year
    ...maker noting that sales of a particular model had declined even though overall sales were up - The real story is once again that the Canadian digital market is flourishing. This leads to the same conclusion as last year - "the undeniable reality...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Motion for internet television access to be argued on January 13th in SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum
    The defendant's motion for internet television coverage of the trial and other proceedings in SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum is scheduled for oral argument in a telephone conference call on January 13th. The RIAA lawyers asked for an extension of time...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • My article in "Journal of Internet Law"
    Thought some of my readers might find interesting the article I wrote for the January 2009 issue of the "Journal of Internet Law", providing my overview of some of the important online digital copyright law developments in 2008: Content Holders vs....
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • UMG loses motion in UMG Recordings v. Veoh Networks
    (Thanks to faithful reader Randy Kruger for bringing this decision to my attention:) In a case in Los Angeles, UMG Recordings v. Veoh Networks, UMG's motion for summary judgment has been denied. Veoh operates an internet-based service that allows...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • RIAA lawyer appointed to job in Obama administration
    Just read a report in NationalJournal.com that Thomas Perrelli, a lawyer at Jenner & Block, will be appointed Associate Attorney General: Music Industry Lawyer Tapped For DOJ Post One of the nation's leading media and entertainment lawyers -- and a...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Interesting article about "twittering from the courtroom"
    Legal Blog Watch has an interesting article about "twittering from the courtroom": More Twittering From the Courtroom Last May, we wrote here about Ron Sylvester, the Wichita Eagle reporter who was covering a capital murder trial through a series of...
    by Recording Industry vs The People
  • Protecting Short Phrases
    ...monetary gain? I'm so glad you asked. The short answers to your questions are, "No," and "I don't think so." Copyright law won't protect short phrases or slogans because they are considered "de minimis," or too small to qualify for copyright....
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Crystal Ball Gazing at the Coming Year in Tech Law
    ... Canada once again finds itself in good company as it (along with dozens of other countries) is criticized for failing to pass new copyright reform legislation. May. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada releases high-profile privacy findings...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Copyright Claims Swirl Around "Electric Mist"
    DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions: Copyright Claims Swirl Around "Electric Mist"; From: Image Entertainment Inc. To: Digg Inc. Date: 2008-12-30
    by Chilling Effects Clearinghouse Notices
  • Movie costumes and copyrights
    ... an identity, persona, and other expressive elements, clothing, by itself, is considered a useful article, unprotectable under copyright (a principle that's proven a major irritant for clothing designers). In a 1989 case, a court of appeals...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • New Stanford Statistics Database Confirms Common Knowledge re Litigation Trends
    ...Clearinghouse ("IPLC") earlier this month - click here to go to the site (registration required). The IPLC is a searchable database of IP lawsuit filings and outcomes since 2000, at least for patents, trade secret, trademark and copyright...
    by Chicago IP Litigation Blog
  • IP enforcement insurance
    ...are usually legitimate," and "yes, you should be suspicious of any insurance offer." The policies that are available for patents, copyrights, and trademarks come in two forms: defensive insurance that pays for attorney fees, settlements, and...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • End the [copyright] war: NOW!
    by Lessig Blog
  • The Letters of the Law: The Year in Canadian Technology Law and Policy
    ... the competitiveness of Canadian wireless pricing. J is for Jim Prentice, who as Industry Minister presided over the tabling of controversial copyright reform legislation and the auction of new spectrum for wireless services that unexpectedly...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Should ISPs get paid to respond to DMCA takedown notices?
    ... . I submit that: ISPs are not innocent bystanders. As much as one may disdain the RIAA, the organization is enforcing legitimate copyright rights. Though an ISP may have no bad intent to help people infringe (i.e., the "innocent" part ... parts...
    by Internet Cases
  • Wow: PEACE declared?
    According to the Wall Street Journal, the RIAA has declared peace in the "copyright wars," and will stop its suits against individual fileshares. This is important progress. Above, the latest (and among the last) remixes of this story about Remix,...
    by Lessig Blog
  • What could the RIAA?s switch in strategy mean?
    ...won? It's hard to tell. But there may be some insight to be had into the broader picture of digital copyright enforcement. Here are some observations: The ability to easily make innumerable perfect copies creates a problem for copyright holders...
    by Internet Cases
  • Top 50 Internet & Digital Law Blogs
    ...Stanford Center for Internet and Society Law Blog (John Marshall's own Prof. Sorkin) Lessig Eric Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog Copyright, Intellectual Property and Defamation The Trademark Blog Internet Law - Copyright Law New Media...
    by Chicago IP Litigation Blog
  • Can my software show patented inventions?
    ...of an invention or explaining how an invention works doesn't infringe the patent, although there are two related concerns. It's unclear whether patent drawings -- the drawings included with the application (see above -- Patent No. 6,293,874) --...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Singapore Enacts New Anti-Circumvention Exceptions
    Singapore has enacted new copyright reforms that include the right for teachers to circumvent digital locks on movies for classroom use and for the visually-disabled to circumvent to allow the read-aloud function to work.
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Public domain sheet music: when is it copyrighted?
    ...public domain sheet music; nor does it matter if the end result is digitized. The work may only be protected by copyright if the sheet music contains substantial additional music, is an abridgment, or involves making a new arrangement --...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Allegation of Registration Without Certificate Sufficient for Copyright Claim
    ...Kocoras granted in part defendants' Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiff's copyright, trade secret and related state law claims. The Court noted that the Seventh Circuit required a registered copyright, not just ...information...
    by Chicago IP Litigation Blog
  • Debating Parody Protection in Canada
    Howard Knopf has a pair of interesting posts (1, 2) on the absence of explicit legal protection for parody under Canadian copyright law in light of a recent case involving Canwest (case here, report on the case here).
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Cisco accused of violating open source licenses
    ...to modify and further distribute the source code for the programs. No doubt FSF feels more confident in the success of its copyright infringement claims after this past summer's decision from the Federal Circuit in Jacobsen v. Katzer. That case...
    by Internet Cases
  • Who owns copyright in apartment photos?
    ...Rich blog is limited to discussions of U.S. law. That said, there are strong similarities between British and U.S. copyright laws based on our common origins. Under U.S. copyright law, absent a written agreement...the other wild card issue --...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • MPAA Wants Obama To Target Canada Over Copyright
    ...Spain) in its intellectual property trade policy. While groups such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association have urged Obama to stop alienating allies by "browbeating its trade partners", the MPAA lobby document makes it clear...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • CRTC New Media Hearing: The Three Battleground Issues
    ...was the deadline for written submissions to the CRTC's New Media hearing and the Commission has already posted filings from nearly 100 individuals and organizations [now nearly 150 submissions]. While there are some noteworthy side copyright...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Internet Video Goes To the Movies
    ...author Karl Schroeder, and Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart. While this is hardly the first film about copyright, the release was noteworthy since it occurred exclusively online and in the process highlighted the potential for...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Old newspapers: how much can you use?
    Dear Rich: I have some questions: Are old newspaper and magazine columns copyrighted? Is commentary that is printed in newspapers or magazines copyrighted? How about historical photographs? If so, how much can you use (under fair use) in a...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Satriani Sues Coldplay for Copyright Infringement
    ...company) has sued the members of Coldplay alleging they ripped off his riff from the song If I Could Fly. In order to prove an allegation of copyright infringement, the plaintiff (Satriani) must show: 1) Ownership of a valid Copyright 2)...
    by Panzer on Point
  • Copyright Board Increases Private Copying Levy
    The Copyright Board of Canada has released a decision on the private copying levy for 2008 and 2009. The Board increased the levy on each blank CD to 29 cents (it had been 21 cents). The Board argues that this will keep revenues constant at $30...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • HELP: Please take the CC "noncommercial" survey
    ... runs through December 7. It takes 15-25 minutes to complete. Click here to start the questionnaire. Your input is greatly appreciated. CC CEO Joi Ito explains: "The study has direct relevance to Creative Commons' mission of providing free,...
    by Lessig Blog
  • Open Transition Principles
    ...by the Obama transition team to freely license change.gov (not actually a .gov entity, so not exempt from the rights of copyright). But over the weekend, a bunch of us got together to begin (actually, continue) the process of framing "open...
    by Lessig Blog
  • Microsoft Obtains Further Judgment Over Counterfeit Software
    Microsoft has obtained a federal court order that imposes a $100,000 award against a Quebec man for selling infringing software in violation of an earlier court order. The decision comes on the heels of a recent decision involving infringing...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Coverage of the Why Copyright Film
    CBC, La Presse, and the National Post blog about Why Copyright? Canadian Voices on Copyright Law. Update: Roberto Rocha at the Montreal Gazette provides his take on the film.
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Obama Transition Team Uses Creative Commons Licence
    The Obama transition team website located at change.gov has adjusted its copyright license to a Creative Commons attribution licence. The Canadian government still maintains crown copyright over similar documents.
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • change.gov set free
    ... of any "open government," and with his strong leadership on "free debates" from the very start, the Obama team has modified the copyright notice on change.gov to embrace the freest CC license. This is great news about a subject that's harder than...
    by Lessig Blog
  • Why Copyright?: Canadian Voices on Copyright Law
    ...the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group. The past twelve months have seen thousands of Canadians speak out on copyright reform with the issue capturing political and public attention as never before. Today, I am delighted to post a Why...
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Why do ringtones cost more than songs?
    ... billion in music business revenue, you can understand why digital download dispensers like iTunes are maxing the price. (And you can also see why these companies would want to prevent simple hacks that could kill the golden goose.) Also, the...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • Is Twitter a big fat copyright infringing turkey?
    ...gets slow during tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner: Does Twitter infringe your copyright every time you post to it (i.e., put up a "tweet")? Consider this: One of... user. Posts to Twitter - though they're only 140 characters maximum - are arguably...
    by Internet Cases
  • and while we're at it
    ...openness, transparency and the nature of discourse on the web. It would also signify a shift towards the type of collaboration typified by Web 2.0 social sites, enabling a modern dialectic relationship between the citizenry and its government....
    by Lessig Blog
  • from the "what a fantastic idea" department
    ...enable the use of CC licenses offer the scheme as opt-in, defaulting to the traditional all rights reserved use of copyright. Enabling the choice of Creative Commons wouldn't necessarily affect this default. Second, unauthorized sharing of...
    by Lessig Blog
  • Impersonating Licensed Characters at Parties
    ...commercial intent is the same, and such exploitation -- which has become a popular home-based business -- likely violates copyright and trademark law. There's nothing wrong with wearing the costume for Halloween or attending parties, but when you...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog
  • IP News & Advice -- Thanksgiving Edition
    ...Strandbergh has an interesting post (click here for it) about the implications of the Google Book's settlement and how the Book Rights Registry -- a Copyright Clearance Center or ASCAP-like entity that will, among other things, distribute...
    by Chicago IP Litigation Blog
  • EdTech Posse Podcast on Copyright
    I recently spent about an hour talking about copyright for the EdTech Posse podcast.
    by Michael Geist's Blog
  • Christmas Song Infringement
    ...any problem with this? I'm so glad you asked. The short answer to your question is, "Maybe." Recording and duplicating a copyrighted (non-public domain) song is an infringement and not likely to be considered a fair use. Under the law, the owner...
    by Noloâ?™s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog