LibGuides: Library and Information Science: IPR, Libraries, & Social Media News Archive

What You Will Find on This Page

On this page you will find links to articles that have been featured on the "In the News" page at some point in the past.

This is an archive for these resources so that you can return to them after they have been removed from the "In the News" page.

Enjoy!

Intellectual Property Rights in the News

Curious Copyright Cases.
by Joe Nalven, Sign On Sandiego, 31 July 2011
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"If you know your archaeology or art history, you know the Venus of Willendorf is tens of thousands of years old. But what does such an old statue have to do with copyright? Isn't that beyond copyright protection - in effect, basically non-copyrightable (in the public domain)?"

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

Web sites sue the US government over domain seizures.
by Dean Wilson, The Inquirer, 14 June 2011
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"A number of websites have launched legal challenges to seizures of their domain names by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming what the government did was illegal."
Copyright extremist RIAA lawyer confirmed as America's Solicitor General.
by Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing, 8 June 2011
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"The Senate late Monday confirmed former Recording Industry Association of America lawyer Donald Verrilli Jr.to serve as the nation's solicitor general. Verrilli, one of at least five former RIAA attorneys appointed to the administration, is best known for leading the recording industry's legal charge against music- and movie-sharing site Grokster. That 2003 case ultimately led to Grokster's demise, when the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a lower court's pro-RIAA verdict."
Not Relying On Copyright Doesn't Mean You Don't Make Money
by Mike Masnick, Techdirt, 26 April 2011
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Copycense recently pointed me to a really depressing post by the author David Glass, discussing his views on copyright. I found it depressing because it opened with such hope and recognition about how important remixing and sharing are to culture and creativity, and how little any of that has to do with copyright.
Not Just YouTube's Copyright School Video That Has Problems... The Quizzes Are Misleading Too.
by Mike Masnick, Techdirt, 19 April 2011
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"YouTube and Google have been getting slammed in various circles for its weak "copyright school" video that it makes those accused of infringing copyrights on YouTube watch. Apparently the "copyright school" also has a quiz they want people to take, and people examining those questions are also finding some serious problems with them."
Online books and copyright law.
The Washington Post, 27 March 2011
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"Google books is a dream project a vast online database of millions of books from libraries and publishers worldwide. It would be a library and a bookstore, a compendium of everything written. But from
the start it has raised difficult questions about who should profit. If every book ever written could be found online, readers and researchers would benefit. But what about authors and publishers or, as they are known these days, content creators ? What part should they play?"
Re-Copyright Case May Be Less Than It Seems.
By Daniel Fisher, Forbes, 22 March 2011
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"Free-speech and free-information types are all atwitter over Golan vs. Holder, the case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. It challenges a 1994 law that seems to give publishers the right to re-copyright works already in the public domain. If that were true, the law would truly be scary."
Golan v. Holder: Supreme Court to Review Copyrighting Works in Public Domain.
by Edward Lee, Huffington Post, 9 March 2011
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"One of the most valuable lessons I learned as a lawyer I learned from, of all people, a musician. Richard Kapp was his name and orchestral conducting, his lifelong profession and passion. A renowned conductor in New York and producer of acclaimed recordings of Shostakovich's String Quartets, Kapp was the first person who volunteered to challenge an obscure "copyright restoration" law in a case I helped to start while at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society."
Copyright has become a minefield in the digital age.
by Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 February 2011
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"Copyright, which protects what the law calls "original works of authorship," has become an artistic minefield in a digital, downloadable, Photoshop-able age when words and images can be reused and redistributed so easily."
CCC Integrates Rights Delivery Platform On Copyright.com.
InformationToday.com, 3 March 2011
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"Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) has launched its Rights Delivery Platform, allowing one-stop shop access to hundreds of millions of additional rights previously available only through RightsLink installations."
Reduce Copyright Piracy And Market Access Barriers To Secure American Creative Jobs, Increase Exports, And Grow The Economy.
Music Industry News Network, 22 February 2011
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"The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) - a coalition of seven member associations, each of which represents a significant segment of the U.S. copyright industries - today submitted recommendations to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in its annual "Special 301" review."
3D printing's first copyright complaint goes away, but things are just getting started.
By Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing, 21 February 2011
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"More news on the first-ever DMCA threat for violating a copyright in a 3D object -- Ulrich Schwanitz has rescinded his complaint and will release his shape into the public domain today."
Press Release:Former US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters Named to Copyright Clearance Center's Board of Directors.
Copyright Clearance Center, 16 February 2011
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"Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) CEO Tracey Armstrong announced the appointment of the just-retired US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters to its Board of Directors. With service at the US Copyright Office spanning four decades, Peters adds another seasoned copyright policy expert to CCC."
White House will propose new digital copyright laws
by Declan McCullagh, CNET News, 7 February 2011
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The Obama administration has drafted new proposals to curb Internet piracy and other forms of intellectual property infringement that it says it will send to the U.S. Congress "in the very near future."
EFF to Judge: Watch for Fairness in Mass Copyright Suits
by Corynne McSherry, EFF, 7 February 2011
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"One of the major problems with the mass copyright lawsuits we seen over the last year is that the judges hearing the cases often aren't aware of the full legal and practical context of the litigation. That s because they are asked to make important decisions (e.g., whether to allow the plaintiffs to send out subpoenas for the Does identities) before any of the defendants have had a chance to point out the fundamental flaws in the plaintiff s case."
The tangled web of copyright law
by Alex Wade, The Guardian, 7 February 2011
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"If it's online, it's free, right? After all, this isn't just a brave new world, it's one where the embrace of the web 2.0 zeitgeist of share and share alike is complete. Haven't all of us, a decade into the 21st century, now accepted that the internet's disregard for conventional ownership laws is good for the bottom line?"
Quarter of world internet traffic involves copyright theft, NBC claims
by Kate Taylor, TG Daily, 1 February 2011
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"The research, carried out by research firm Envisional for NBC Universal, found that 23.8 percent of internet traffic involved 'digital theft', with BitTorrent accounting for almost half."
See What Copyright Law Robbed You Of In 2011
By Sam Biddle, Gizmodo, 4 January 2011
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"Happy New Year! You know what would have made it even happier? The non-existence of the Copyright Act of 1976, which blocked classic works of film and literature from the public domain (and your laptop and e-reader) this January 1st."
How balanced is the balancing test?
by Kevin Smith, Scholarly Communications @ Duke, 29 December 2010
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Interesting post regarding balancing the four factors of fiar use from Kevin Smith at the blog, Scholarly Communications @Duke which links to the ARL "Fair Use Challenges" report.
Fair Use Challenges in Academic Research Libraries
by Association of Research Libraries, January 2012
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report released by Association of Research Libraries that summarizes research into the current application of fair use and other copyright exemptions to meet the missions of U.S. academic and research libraries.

Events, Film, Literature, Music, Theatre - IPR in the News

Marvel wins copyright battle with Spider-Man artist's heirs.
by Alex Ritman, The National, 1 August 2011
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"Don't go believing that superhero battles are solely between the forces of good and evil. Behind the scenes there are fights for justice in the comic world involving far more sinister and powerful figures: US lawyers. KAPOW!"

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

Suit seeks slice of music-streaming revenue
by Brandon Gee, The Tennessean, 31 July 2011
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"The former lead singer of Grand Funk Railroad and the man who wrote Rhinestone Cowboy are among a group of songwriters and music publishers that hope to take a bite of music streaming website Grooveshark with a lawsuit filed in July in Nashville's U.S. District Court."
Fraudulent DMCA Notices Claim Yet Another YouTube Video.
by Eric Limer, Geekosystem.com, 21 July 2011
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"Universal Music has recently been accused of using a fraudulent DMCA notice in order to corner an artist for the purpose of licensing his song."
Online music piracy topic of Nashville meeting.
by Joe Edwards, Forbes, 12 July 2011
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"Music industry officials are meeting this week in Nashville to discuss ways to combat online music piracy.Some 70 people are attending sessions organized by DDEX, Digital Data Exchange, to develop ways for copyright tracking and enforcement and study standards in the digital supply chain."
John Steinbeck Heirs Lose Bid for Supreme Court to Hear Copyright Dispute.
by Lee Ross, Fox News, 13 June 2011
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"A messy legal dispute over the publication rights to many of John Steinbeck's famous works was denied further review by the Supreme Court, the justices announced Monday."
Songwriter wins round in "Twilight" legal battle.
by Eriq Gardner, Reuters, 13 June 2011
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"Summit Entertainment, which distributes the successful "Twilight" films, has been extremely aggressive in policing infringements of its copyrights and trademarks. But the indie studio might have gone too far earlier this year in knocking down a musician's work said to be "inspired by the Twilight saga."
SoundExchange relies on DMCA to shutter Webcaster
CNET (blog), 25 April 2011
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Illegal file-sharing services aren't the only ones getting kicked off the Internet for failing to compensate artists. SWCast Network, a company that hosted a platform for Internet radio stations, was recently taken offline for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The company was accused by SoundExchange, a nonprofit that collects royalties on behalf of the music industry, of failing to compensate them since 2005.
How Copyright Law Hurts Music, From Chuck D to Girl Talk.
by Joe Fassler, The Atlantic, 12 April 2011
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"Last year, when novelist David Shields released Reality Hunger a wholly borrowed novel that strung together passages from other texts he received accolades from the literary establishment. Compare this to the reception of Danger Mouse's The Grey Album: The infamous record, which was spliced together from the Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album, couldn't be commercially released without inviting multimillion dollar lawsuits."
BMI site latest target of Anonymous DDoS attacks.
by Elinor Mills, CNET, 9 March 2011
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The Web site of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) has been down since last night after being targeted by a distributed denial-of-service attack launched by the Anonymous hacker group as part of what it calls its "war on copyright."
George Lucas taking 'Star Wars' stormtrooper battle to Supreme Court.
NME.com, 9 March 2011
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"Star Wars creator George Lucas has brought his long-running stormtrooper copyright battle to the UK Supreme Court. Lucas is engaged in a lengthy dispute with prop-maker Andrew Ainsworth, who built the original costume from 2D drawings while working at Shepperton Studios in 1977."
Lady Gaga Demands Photographers Surrender Copyright.
Artistdirect.com, 8 March 2011
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"Rolling Stone reports that the oft-photographed Lady Gaga is now demanding that photographers surrender the copyright of photos taken at her concerts and that's a practice that pisses off snappers. Photogs would be required to sign a release form before being granted access to shoot her."
Firm sues AP over Times Square bombing images.
Reuters, 8 March 2011
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"A video company has sued the Associated Press over the copyright to widely viewed footage of a suspect in the 2008 bombing of a military recruiting booth in New York's Times Square. Ken Petretti Productions uses video cameras to monitor billboard advertising for its clients."
Kanye West Wins in 'Stronger' Copyright Infringement Suit
by Steven J. Horowitz, The BoomBox, 7 March 2011
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"Four years after he released the single 'Stronger' off his third album 'Graduation,' Kanye West has triumphed in the track's legal hang-up. After getting sued by a Virginia man named Vincent Peters for jacking his original tune, the Chicago rapper walked away scot free from the case, with an Illinois judge dismissing the suit filed last year."
Jury issues mixed verdict in Michael Baisden's copyright infringement case.
The Florida Courier, 1 March 2011
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"On Monday, a jury in Houston Federal Court reached a verdict in the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by nationally syndicated radio and TV personality Michael Baisden. The mixed verdict allows for the return of Baisden's copyrighted rights and allows the best-selling author to proceed with upcoming movie and television projects, but the jury did not award him financial compensation."
Free Trove of Music Scores on Web Hits Sensitive Copyright Note
by Daniel J. Wakin, The New York Times, 22 February 2011
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"Humanity s musical treasures Beethoven piano sonatas, Schubert songs, Mozart symphonies and the like come to life in performance. But they truly survive as black marks on a page, otherwise known as scores. Now a Web site founded five years ago by a conservatory student, then 19 years old, has made a vast expanse of this repertory available, free."
Would the Bard Have Survived the Web?
by Scott Turow, The New York Times, 14 February 2011
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"Archaeologists finished a remarkable dig last summer in East London. Among their finds were seven earthenware knobs, physical evidence of a near perfect 16th-century experiment into the link between commerce and culture."
Pandora s IPO Filing: Copyright Fees Eat Up Half Its Revenues
by Joe Mullen, PaidContent.org, 11 February 2011
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"The just-filed IPO documents by Pandora Media show a company on the rise. The popular web radio service served up more than one billion (yes, with a B ) listener-hours in the final quarter of 2010 a five-fold usage increase in two years. But read the S-1 with the term copyright highlighted as I just did and you ll also see some big challenges for Pandora and any other web radio services that hope to make it big."
Mardi Gras Indians Work to Copyright Costumes
by Mary Foster, the Associated Press, 7 February 2011
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"Chief Howard Miller knows cameras will start clicking next month when his Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians take to the streets with their elaborately beaded and feathered costumes."
Apple approves iTunes films that break copyright.
ExpertReviews.com, 1 February 2011
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"A series of popular Russian films made during the Soviet era have been made available for downloaded through iTunes without the copyright-holder's permissions.
Judge Zaps Copyright Claim Over 'Harry Potter'
By Karina Brown, Courthouse News Service, 10 January 2011
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"A federal judge dismissed a copyright infringement claim against J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," finding "stark differences" separated the fourth book in Rowling's best-selling series from Adrian Jacobs' "one-dimensional" 1987 book about an adult wizard's quest that "lacks any cohesive narrative elements."
Copyright comes a cropper in the digital age.
By Robert McCrum, The Guardian, 9 January 2011
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"Public-domain campaigners have the holy grail of publishing in their
sights."

Libraries and Social Media in the News

Judge Trims Virtual Seller's Copyright Claim
Courthouse News Service, 26 April 2011
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A company that that runs a virtual horse store on the Second Life online virtual world can move forward with a pared-down copyright lawsuit against a virtual bunny broker, a real federal judge ruled. After the Moreno Valley, Calif.-based Amaretto Ranch Breedables began selling virtual horses in the Second Life universe, the Alabama-based Ozimals, which runs a virtual bunny ranch on Second Life, called foul and took to the real world to air its grievance.

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information"

Library Rights Are at Stake in New Supreme Court Copyright Case
by Marc Parry, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8 March 2011
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"Does Congress have the right to restore copyright protection to foreign works that have fallen into the public domain?

That issue is at the heart of a major copyright case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear yesterday. Its resolution could have implications for libraries’ ability to share works online, advocates say."
Utah: House OKs bill to keep more records closed to public
by Lee Davidson and Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, First Published 3 March 2011, Updated 4 March 2011
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"After accusing the news media of abusing open records laws to embarrass lawmakers, the House on Thursday passed a bill to shield more records from public release — including legislative records — and to increase fees for obtaining what is available."
UNC system looks into copyright issues from Course Hero site.
Lyle Kendrick, The Daily Tar Heel, 21 February 2011
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"Course Hero, a website that makes study documents from nationwide universities available online, is designed to make studying an easier process for students. But for University administrators and professors alike, the website is making it more difficult to oversee intellectual property."
UCLA Video Streaming Case Updated: Amended Complaint Expands Claims.
Lutzker & Lutzker LLP, 16 February 2011
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"In response to an initial motion to dismiss, Lutzker & Lutzker filed an amended complaint with exhibits (Part 1, Part 2) for A.I.M.E. and Ambrose Video Publishers, detailing more claims and facts against UCLA."
Chocolate-Milk App Lands Hersey in Court.
By Joe Mullen, PaidContent, 10 January 2011
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"Hershey may be the king of chocolate milk in the supermarket aisles, but when it comes to the digital world, the Pennsylvania company has an unexpected small challenger."
Could Social Media Sharing Violate Copyright?
By Cynthia Boris, Marketing Pilgrim, 7 January 2011
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"Everyone agrees that stealing the work of another person is wrong, but the definition of what constitutes stealing is a murkier matter. In most cases we roll back to the term fair use which allows a person to quote a section of an article or book for the purposes of education or discussion. "
US Peer-to-peer Traffic Lower Than World Average
by Jeremy Kirk, PC Magazine, 1 February 2011
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"The U.S. has one of the lowest relative rates of use of P-to-P (peer-to-peer) networks compared to the rest of the world, according to a new study. "
Twitter Does Not Mean Copyright Free, Court Rules
By Graeme McMillan, Time Techland, 30 December 2010
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"Publishing something on Twitter is not the same as relinquishing ownership, the US District Court has ruled to the relief of millions of Twitter users worldwide. District Court Judge William Pauley has disallowed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that photographer Daniel Morel has brought against Agence France-Presse for using his work without credit or compensation after he had uploaded them to TwitPic."
The Web is Dead. Long Live the Internet.
by Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff, Wired, September 2010
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This article predicts a web dominated by mobile devices and apps. Apps are great but they tend to do one thing, tell you what time a movie starts. Locate a restaurant. Check your bank balance, etc. I think that apps tend to make people into content users, not content creators. How will this effect museums and libraries? Should libraries be looking at not only giving people information, but encouraging people to think critically about using that information and about creating their own?
Is the Web Dying? It Doesn't Look That Way.
by Nick Bilton, New York Times, 17 August 2010
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Chris Anderson, Wired magazine’s editor in chief, says the Web is being crippled by a world of apps and screens in a cover story titled “The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet.” Chris Anderson, Wired magazine’s editor in chief, says the Web is being crippled by a world of apps and screens in a cover story titled “The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet.”
Do We Still Need Websites? Given our obsession with social media, it's a timely question
by Pete Blackshaw, Advertising Age, 11 August 2010
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Discusses the role of websites (as brand anchors) in this new social media world.
Everyday Advocacy: Making a case for libraries is easy with web tools. Here's how to get started.
by Carolyn Foote, School Library Journal, 1 August 2010
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Now more than ever, libraries have become dynamic learning spaces where students develop information literacy skills, conduct research, collaborate, create, and read. It’s time to use the tools at our disposal to demand equity for students in our own districts and across the country. And we have to be willing to take matters into our own hands.
Libraries Have a Novel Idea.
by Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Wall Street Journal, 28 June 2010
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Libraries are expanding e-book offerings with out-of-print editions, part of a broader effort to expand borrowing privileges in the Internet Age that could challenge traditional ideas about copyright.
University of Michigan Library to bid farewell to card catalogs
by James Dickson, AnnArbor.com, 28 February 2010
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Nothing lasts forever.

So it will be said about the University of Michigan Library's card catalogs when they are removed from their home in the bowels of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library on March 8.

Twelve and a half million volumes strong, the card catalog has been in disuse for more than 20 years, ever since the university established the MIRLYN electronic catalog in 1988.
This Book Is Overdue! : Hot for librarian
by Jed Lipinski, Salon, 21 February 2010
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...as Marilyn Johnson explains in "This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All," the uptight librarian is a species that's rapidly approaching extinction.

A new generation of young, hip and occasionally tattooed librarians is driving them out. They call themselves guybrarians, cybrarians and "information specialists," and they blog at sites like The Free Range Librarian and The Lipstick Librarian. They can be found in droves on Second Life, but also outside the Republican National Convention, dodging tear gas canisters and tweeting the location of the police.
Top Public Libraries on Twitter
NFI Research
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These are the top public libraries on Twitter who 1) regularly update their page and communicate with their followers 2) use Twitter to advance/promote communication with their community 3) have a proportionate number of followers to following and 4) are currently active on Twitter. This list is updated regularly...
Do School Libraries Need Books?
Editors, The New York Times, February 12, 2010
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"Keeping traditional school libraries up to date is costly, with the constant need to acquire new books and to find space to store them. Yet for all that trouble, students roam the stacks less and less because they find it so much more efficient to work online. One school, Cushing Academy, made news last fall when it announced that it would give away most of its 20,000 books and transform its library into a digital center."

Google - IPR in the News

Judge Makes Ultimatum for Google Books Deal.
by Sara Yin, PCMAG, 21 July 2011
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"A judge is giving Google two more months to come up with a proposal to create the world's largest digital library, known as Google Books, that doesn't violate copyright law."

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

The Google Settlement Rejection: What Comes Next?
By Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly, 28 March 2011
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"When it was introduced in 2008, the Google Book Settlement was hailed by its creators as historic. Now, it is history. On March 22, after more than two years of contentious debate, Judge Denny Chin rejected the controversial proposal on copyright and antitrust grounds. A status conference is set for April 25 in New York, and the parties are free (and some say likely) to appeal the decision, though at press time no appeal had been announced."
Google Hits Another Speedbump on Way to Digitizing World
By Robert Charette, IEE World, 24 March 2011
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"In late 2004, Google announced plans to digitize a number of the world's major library collections and make them available on-line. Almost immediately, there were questions raised about whether this effort would violate copyright law as well as stretch beyond recognition the principle of fair use."

Canada - IPR in the News

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

Canada: Another election call, another failed bid for copyright reform.
By Barrie McKenna, The Globe and Mail, 27 March 2011
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"There they stood, dozens of Finance officials eager to explain to reporters the intricacies of the 2011 federal budget."
The truth about copyright pirates and profits.
By Michael Geist, The Vancouver Sun, 22 March 2011
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"Trademark and copyright holders frequently characterize piracy as a legal failure, arguing that tougher laws and increased enforcement are needed to stem infringing activity. But a new global study on piracy,
backed by Canada s International Development Research Centre, comes to a different conclusion. Following several years of independent investigation in six emerging economies, the report concludes that piracy is chiefly a product of a market failure, not a legal one."
Canada: Feds split on digital locks.
by Jessica Murphy, Toronto Sun, 31 January 2011
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"Copyright reform is shaping up to be one of the most hotly debated bills in Parliament's winter session and one with wide-ranging implications for Canadian consumers."

International - IPR in the News

French copyright enforcers: Pirates are big spenders on legit content.
by Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing, 31 July 2011
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"HADOPI, the French agency charged with disconnecting French Internet users who use the same Internet connections as accused copyright infringers, conducted a study on media purchasing habits by copyright infringers. They concluded that the biggest unauthorized downloaders are also the biggest customers for legitimate media."

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

Scope of New Zealand copyright law changes limited to P2P file sharing.
by Mauricio Freitas, Internet New Zealand Inc., 21 July 2011
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"InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) has obtained clarification from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) that the intention of the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act 2011 is to cover copyright infringement by online file sharing using peer-to-peer protocols only."
Threat to bring down Parliament website taken seriously
New Zealand Herald, 29 April 2011
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A threat by internet activist group Anonymous to shut down Parliament's website today is being taken seriously, says Parliamentary Services. The "denial of service" threat is part of a protest against a change to copyright laws aimed at preventing illegal file sharing by internet users.
Russia to set up copyright court
by Andreeva Svetlana, The Voice of Russia, 27 April 2011
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Russia's champions of intellectual property rights will get an institution. President Dmitry Medvedev suggested setting up a special court to handle intellectual property rights as part of Russia's arbitration courts and establish it at the Skolkovo innovative centre. He instructed his administration to develop the idea.
Copyright crimefighting spikes in Dubai
by Awad Mustafa, The National, 26 April 2011
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Ignoring copyrights, faking trademarks, stealing patents: these are just a few of the intellectual property rights infringements Dubai Customs inspectors are on the lookout for. The department seized more than Dh31
million in counterfeit items last year, and in the first quarter of 2011 they have made 148 busts.
New Zealand: Internet file sharing bill passes second reading under urgency.
by Chris Keall and Alex Walls, National Business Review, 13 April 2011
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"The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill has passed its second reading 111 to 11, with the Greens and independent MPs Hone Harawira and Chris Carter voting against the legislation."
LSE report criticises DEA's copyright provisions.
CMU News, 23 March 2011
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"Just as the copyright section of the Digital Economy Act the bit that puts in place the framework of a three-strikes system for combating file-sharing heads to judicial review, the London School Of Economics has published a report called Creative Destruction & Copyright Protection which questions the proportionality and likely effectiveness of the legislation s anti-piracy measures."
European Parliament Committee Willing To Push Back On Copyright When It Comes To The Blind.
by Mike Masnick, Techdirt, 3 March 2011
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"If you go through a timeline of the history of copyright law over the last two centuries, one thing is clear: it has only moved in one direction, and one direction only. That is that it has repeatedly been changed to take away more and more consumer rights and to ratchet up copyright law to greater and greater levels."
Australia: Net pirate ruling may force ISPs to cut off cheats
by Ben Grubb, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2011
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"Australian households now face the very real possibility of having their ISP disconnect or suspend them from the internet if they pirate films or music online."
UK: Government to rethink Digital Economy Act's web blocks
BBC, 1 February 2011
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"The UK government has announced that it is to look again at plans to block websites that infringe copyright."

China - IPR in the News

China's anti-piracy measures 'inconsistent', lawyer argues
by Elliot Papageorgiou, BBC News, 26 April 2011
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The last two years have seen the enactment of new provisions in the patent law and copyright law. A new trademark law is due to be finalised soon. Along with these new steps, the amount of civil litigation has
steadily increased. According to China's Supreme Court, more than 41,000 copyright infringement cases were filed in 2010, significantly more than the 30,000 cases filed just a year before. But while the new developments look persuasive on paper, how effective is China's
intellectual property protection regime?

To see an excerpt from the article, click on the blue icon for "more information."

China says makes progress on use of copyrighted software.
by Michael Martina, Reuters, 21 April 2011
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"Two-fifths of central government offices were using legal software and another two fifths were in the buying process, said National Copyright Administration Vice Minister Yan Xiaohong. "
US, China copyright trade spat heads for next stage.
Reuters, 19 April 2011
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"China and the United States started the clock on a new stage of their trade dispute over films, books and music on Tuesday, a signal Washington will go ahead with a threat to seek retaliation rights."
Reluctantly, Baidu refreshes copyright stance.
by Wang Jing, Wuhong Yuran and Wang Shanshan, Wall Street Journal, 12 April 2011
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"The day after Baidu became China's largest Internet company by market value in late March, copyright talks between the giant search engine and a group of publishers and writers, including famous authors, suddenly collapsed."
In Bow to Authors, Baidu Scrubs Document Sharing Site.
By Loretta Chao, The Wall Street Journal, 30 March 2011
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"Chinese search giant Baidu said it has successfully removed 2.8 million files from its document-sharing website, Baidu Wenku, after getting slammed by Chinese authors who accused the company of encouraging copyright infringement and demanded compensation."
US names Baidu, PirateBay on copyright piracy list.
AFP, 1 March 2011
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"The US has named leading Chinese search engine Baidu and Swedish torrent download site Pirate Bay in a list of the world's top marketplaces for pirated and counterfeit goods."
$2.3 Billion Lawsuit Against China For Copyright Infringement In Green Dam Filter Software Moves Forward.
by Mike Masnick, Techdirt, 22 February 2011
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"Last year, we wrote about how the company behind CyberSitter was suing China and a bunch of computer companies, for China's "Green Dam Youth Escort" filtering/monitoring software. You may recall that a few
years back China had mandated that all computers must contain this software, which resulted in public protests, and the government backing down. However, the software was still installed on tens of millions of computers. It was only then that it was noticed the software appeared to contain code directly copied from CyberSitter, leading to the lawsuit."
China vows tougher punishments for copyright piracy.
Reuters, 10 January 2011
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"China has arrested more than 4,000 people for violating intellectual property rights (IPR) since November and will enforce tougher punishments to combat the "rampant" problem, a senior government official said on Tuesday."

Copyright Enforcement Companies - IPR in the News

Copyright Defendants, EFF Step Up to Defend Righthaven Counsel Against Sanctions
by Sue Reisinger, Law.com, 13 July 2011
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"A federal judge in Nevada has set a July 14 hearing date to rule on whether so-called "copyright troll" company Righthaven LLC and its in-house lawyers should be sanctioned for misleading the court."
Copyright As Censorship: Newport Television (Troll) Abusing DMCA To Try To Silence Criticism.
The Wall Street Journal, 12 July 2011
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"Another day, another case of someone abusing copyright law (and the DMCA specifically) to try to stifle criticism. Before we get into the details, let me be clear on one thing: as I was just discussing last week, I don t think the panics about media consolidation are really that reasonable in this day and age."
EFF Decries Sham Copyright-Troll Legal Tactics.
by David Kravets, Wired News, 19 April 2011
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"The copyright litigation factory known as Righthaven has been exposed as making what the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Monday were bogus claims to judges that it holds the exclusive right to news articles at the center of its infringement lawsuits."
Judge to copyright troll: your "business model" isn't my problem.
by Nate Andersen, Ars Technica, 12 April 2011
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"Ars Technica freelancer Eriq Gardner was recently sued over a photo that appeared in a piece he wrote for us last year. The flimsy lawsuit was quickly dismissed, but the company behind it lives on and has sued 50+ people in Colorado for their use of the same photo. Now, the federal judge overseeing all these cases has made it clear that he sees through the company's "lawsuit as revenue generation" strategy, and that he's not interested in enabling it. Righthaven is already backing down."
Copyright troll Righthaven's epic blunder: a lawsuit targeting Ars.
By Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 30 March 2011
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"Not content with just suing sources, small out-of-state nonprofits, bloggers who get 20 hits per day, and other massive copyright pirates, newspaper litigation firm Righthaven this week trained its guns on Ars Technica. The company filed a federal lawsuit against one of our
freelance writers over a post (about Righthaven) that appeared on the site back in December only to dismiss it this morning."
Copyright troll Righthaven achieves spectacular "fair use" loss.
By Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 22 March 2011
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"Whoops in its bid to sue hundreds of bloggers, commentors, and website operators from posting even a few sentences from newspaper stories, the copyright zealots at Righthaven have just scored an own goal. Last Friday, a federal judge ruled in one of the company's many lawsuits, saying that even the complete epublication of copyrighted newspaper content can be "fair use."
Righthaven hits white supremacist David Duke with copyright lawsuit
by Steve Green, The Las Vegas Sun, 7 February 2011
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"David Duke, the nation's best-known white supremacist, is being sued by Las Vegas copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC."

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