In the News

["Amy Mata" <AMata@xxxxxxxx>]

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Australia: Copyright Laws Must Fit Online Evolution.
By Lance Kavanaugh, The Sydney Morning Herald, November 11, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yh2ydzx

"New business models will need new content ownership rules."
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Murdoch: We're Going to Get the Definition of "Fair Use" Changed.
By Jay Yarow, The Business Insider, November 9, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yaafgez

"Rupert Murdoch is now threatening to sue the BBC for stealing from him.
Of more interest to other news organizations: Murdoch wants to change
the laws about fair use. Speaking about Google excerpting some of the
Journal's stories, he says "There's a doctrine called fair use, which we
believe can be challenged in the courts and will bar it altogether."
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Canada: Oshawa Trustee Wants Copyright Rates Changed.
NewsDurhamRegion.com, November 9, 2009.
http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/139593

"Public school trustees are taking on the mission of challenging Access
Copyright rates applied to Canadian schools."
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Parties Seek More Time to Craft Google Books Deal.
By Motoko Rich, The New York Times, November 9, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/y9rh8ly

"The parties to the Google book settlement, which would legalize the
creation of a vast library of digital books, have asked the judge
overseeing a revision of the agreement for an extension to this Friday,
Nov. 13."
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Crusade for Copyright-free Literacy.
By Vit Wagner, The Star, November 8, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ygblgqp

"Writer, blogger and lifelong rabblerouser Cory Doctorow champions the
sharing of intellectual property."
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Copyright, Not Greed, Behind AP Lawsuit.
By Stephen R. Bergerson, The Star Tribune, November 7, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ylpmado

"The case comes to this: Creators deserve control over their work."
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Judge: Norwegian ISP Not Have to Block the Pirate Bay.
By Thom Holwerda, OS News, November 7, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/y8mt3ot

"Every now and then you come across these news items that make just too
much sense to be true. Earlier this year, the International Federation
of the Phonographic Industry threatened Norway's largest ISP, Telenor:
block access to The Pirate Bay within 14 days, or face legal action.
Telenor refused to comply - so it went to court. In what can only be
seen as a major victory, the judge sided with Telenor."
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India: Copyright obstacle for Braille, audio books By Arpit Basu, The
Times of India, November 7, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yf389gw

"For the 12 lakh-odd visually-challenged and dyslexic persons in the
state, access to good Indian literature in Braille or audio format is a
challenge. Obtaining copyright to convert books into special format is
the biggest hindrance, say activists working for disability rights."
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Will Google Books Settlement 2.0 Quell Concerns?
By James Temple, The San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, 2009.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=51143

"Monday is the deadline for Google Inc. and other parties in the
landmark books lawsuit to submit a revised settlement proposal, but some
already say it won't be enough to satisfy critics."
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Experts: Copyright law hinders scholarship.
Staff, eSchool News, November 6, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ycww84r

"Day two of the annual EDUCAUSE higher-education technology conference
in Denver, Nov. 3 through 6, saw at least two presenters speak out about
the unfair application of strict copyright protections to scholarly
journals -- a practice, they said, that hinders academic endeavors."
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Broadcasters Challenge Songwriter's Price-Setting Power.
By Jon Healy, Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/y8wxlnv

"Federal law gives copyright owners a legal monopoly over public
performance of their works, among other uses. But their market power is
supposed to be limited by the competition from other copyright owners.
Consider the case of songwriters. Paul McCartney can make you pay for
the privilege of including "Jet" in your movie, even if it's recorded by
Shonen Knife instead of McCartney's Wings. But if you don't like what he
charges, you can write your own material or go to another songwriter who
demands less."
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Judge Halts Online Sale of Beatles Songs.
By Eliot Van Buskirk & David Kravets, Wired, November 5, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/y8jpwq5

"A federal judge on Thursday ordered a Santa Cruz company to immediately
quit selling Beatles and other music on its online site, setting aside a
preposterous argument that it had copyrights on songs via a process
called "psycho-acoustic simulation."
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The Front Line in the War on Pirates.
By Nancy Scola, American Prospect Blog, November 5, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yex3ag8

"Cory Doctorow passes along word that a draft version of an
international agreement on copyright law has leaked, as have earlier
documents from the hush-hush negotiations over what's called the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement."
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Copyright Associations Want Enforcement for Free.
By Doug Hanchard, ZDNet, Novemeber 5, 2009.
http://government.zdnet.com/?p=6018

"The internet has opened the Pandora's Box - that everything that can be
duplicated - will be. This simple truth will drive up costs for you the
consumer. You will pay one of three ways: through the government and the
court system (taxes);through your monthly internet access fees paid to
your ISP (network operations and infrastructure); or, finally, through
higher product costs. More than likely, you will pay all three."
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EMI sues Beatles Downoad Website.
BBC News, November 4, 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8342277.stm

"Record company EMI is suing a US website which it says is offering
unauthorised downloads of Beatles hits."
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Proposed Copyright Law Hurts Users.
By Kathleen Lau, NetworkWorld.com, November 4, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yhod2z9

"A Canadian university professor believes there is a campaign in the
U.S. to make Canada out to be a haven for content piracy in order to
push stricter copyright law, when in fact Canada's copyright legislation
is compliant with its international obligations."
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Copyright Treaty is Policy Laundering at Its Finest.
By David Kravets, Wired, November 4, 2009.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/policy-laundering/

"The blogosphere is abuzz over an apparently leaked document showing the
United States trying to push its controversial DMCA-style
notice-and-takedown process on the world. But since Threat Level already
lives in the land of the DMCA, or Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
we're more bothered by the fact that the U.S. proposal goes far beyond
that 1998 law, and would require Congress to alter the DMCA in a manner
even more hostile to consumers."
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Amy Mata
Graduate Assistant
Center For Intellectual Property
University of Maryland University College Rm. 2293, Largo, 3501
University Boulevard East Adelphi, MD  20783
(240) 684-2967 office
(240) 684-2961 fax
amata@xxxxxxxx
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