In the News

["Amy Mata" <AMata@xxxxxxxx>]

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Critics Slam UK Plan to Extend Musical Copyright.
Archana Venkatraman, Information World Review, April 27, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/cwngeu

"The UK government's proposal to extend the copyright period for sound
recordings has seen the academic community publicly attack its
volte-face on intellectual property in a deluge of open letters, forums
and blogs."
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AP's Curley Has Fightin' Words for Google.
By Dirk Smillie, Forbes.com, April 30, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/cpjln3

"Associated Press Chief Tom Curley threatens a news blackout. Will
Google flinch?"
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Who Knew Discussing a long Repealed Copyright Law Could Be So
Interesting.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, May 1, 2009.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090501/0113064710.shtml

"I wasn't at all sure what to expect yesterday when I went to a
conference in honor of the 100th anniversary of the US's Copyright Act
of 1909. After all, that law was superseded by the Copyright Act of
1976, and so it hasn't even been in effect for 33 years. However, the
program was organized, in part, by Eric Goldman and Pamela Samuelson,
and had some really big names on the speaker list, so I figured I'd at
least check it out."
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Lord of The Rings Fan Film to Debut... Raising Some Copyright Questions.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, May 1, 2009.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090501/0312444716.shtml

"Once again, we're seeing how modern technology allows people to create
nearly the equivalent of a high budget production on a shoestring
budget. But, of course, there are copyright questions raised by this
whole thing."
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Public Knowledge and the Google Book Search Settlement.
By Jef Pearlman, Public Knowledge, May 1, 2009.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2129

"This week, the Honorable Judge Chin of the Southern District of New
York granted us permission to file an amicus brief regarding the
proposed Google Book Search settlement. Since the proposal's
announcement back in October, we've been poring over the 320 pages of
text and attachments, meeting with parties on all sides of the issue,
and weighing the upsides and the downsides of the deal. In the end, we
have some serious concerns about aspects of the proposed settlement, and
plan to bring those concerns to the attention of the Court before Judge
Chin makes a final ruling."
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Chuck Norris Facts Spawn a Dropped Lawsuit - Future of Copyright
Infringements Past?
By Sylvia Cochran, Associated Content, May 2, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/clddwk

"At which point does free speech - such as it is enjoyed on a myriad of
websites dedicated to fan fiction, Chuck Norris facts, and associated
works of imagination - end and copyright infringement begin?"
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Apple v. EFF: The iPhone Jailbreaking Showdown.
By David Kravets, Wired Blog Network, May 2, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/cxv6dp

"To jailbreak or not to jailbreak the iPhone. That was the heated topic
of discussion late Friday between Apple's iPhone marketing czar Greg
Joswiak, Fred von Lohmann, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's
copyright genius, Copyright Office officials including registrar
Marybeth Peters, the record labels, movie studios and software
industry."
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Pirate Bay Verdict Dismissed Safe Harbors, Comparison with Google.
Posted By Richard Koman, ZDNet, May 2, 2009.
http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4731

"It's certainly true that Google has pointers a plenty to illegal
torrents, so why should the Pirate Bay be hung out to dry while nothing
is said of Google?"
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Japan: Publisher Says That Disneyland Book Violated Copyright.
Daily Yomiuri & Associated Press, May 3, 2009.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090503TDY02308.htm

"At least seven stories in a best-selling book of 33 anecdotes relating
to Tokyo Disneyland highly likely violate copyright, its publisher,
Sanctuary Publishing Inc., said Friday."
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EU to Hear Proposal for Cross-Border Net Copyright.
By Kevin J. O'Brien, The New York Times, May 4, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/cxksf4

"Two European commissioners are proposing the creation of a Europewide
copyright license for online content that could clear the way for
cross-border sales of digital music, games and video - and lower prices
for consumers."
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EFF Agrees That Copyright in Second Life is a Mess.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, May 4, 2009.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090501/0154374713.shtml

"Way back in 2003, when Second Life first announced that its users owned
the copyright on anything they produced in the world, we pointed out
what a bad idea it was."
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Could Piracy Blacklist Backfire?
BBC News, May 4, 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8033382.stm

"Internet law professor Michael Geist on how the US has angered allies
with its list of the world's worst piracy offenders. Each April, the US
releases the Special 301 Report, which examines the intellectual
property laws of its main trading partners. The release generated
international headlines last week as countries such as Canada and Israel
found themselves on the 'Priority Watch List' of countries that the US
claims are the world's worst piracy offenders."
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India Ahead of US, UK in IP Laws, Enforcement Practices.
The Economic Times, India Times, May 6, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/rx7f87

"India has been ranked as the country with the world's most consumer
friendly intellectual property (IP) laws since its copyright regulations
allow citizens great freedom to access and utilize information for
educational and development purposes."
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DC DMCA Exemption Hearings at the Copyright Office: Follow along on
Twitter
By Alex Curtis, Public Knowledge, May 6, 2009.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2145

"Every three years, the Copyright Office holds hearings to listen to
commenters suggestions for exemptions to the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act's prohibition on circumvention of access controls. We've
previously written about the handful of exemptions that the Office has
granted (which expire and must be renewed every three years). This year,
we're on the ground and live-twittering what's going on. Today, Mehan is
manning the Public Knowledge twitter account picking out a number of
choice quotes and responding to questions."
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Blog: It's Time to Legalize Personal-Use DVD Copying.
By David Kravets, Wired Blog Network, May 6, 2009.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/legalize-personal-use-dvd-copyi
ng/

"A federal judge here Thursday or soon thereafter is likely to conclude
RealNetworks' DVD-copying software is unlawful, and therefore should be
permanently barred from distribution."
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Groups Complain of Continued Secrecy about Trade Pact.
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service, May 6, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/onxz9m

"The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) continues to
withhold important details about a closely held copyright enforcement
trade agreement, despite promises from U.S. President Barack Obama to
release more information, two digital rights groups said Wednesday."
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High Tech Law Institute Remembers 100th Anniversary of 1909 US Copyright
Act.
By Mary Grush, Campus Technology, May 6, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/qmmv6l

"At Santa Clara University, the centennial of the repealed 1909
Copyright Act did not slip by unnoticed. In fact, it was commemorated
this past Thursday with a full-day conference joined by distinguished
legal scholars and copyright experts."
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Mininova Starts Filtering Torrents for Copyright Material.
By Matthew Humphries, Geek.com, May 7, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/c7qth4

"The Pirate Bay court case may be over for now, but that isn't the end
of court cases with regard to BitTorrent search sites. Next up is
Mininova which is set to begin its court battle on May 20th against
BREIN, the joint anti-piracy program in the Netherlands. BREIN want to
force Mininova to start filtering search results for copyright
material."
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EU Parliament Rejects Law Allowing Internet Cutoff.
The Associated Press, May 7, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/orw7eo

"Worried about trampling on the rights of innocent consumers, the
European Parliament rejected Wednesday attempts by EU governments to
crack down on people who illegally download copyright-protected music
and movies over the Internet."
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Amy Mata
Graduate Assistant
Center for Intellectual Property
University of Maryland University College

amata@xxxxxxxx
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