In the News

["Amy Mata" <AMata@xxxxxxxx>]

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Music as Commerce: Understanding a Mindset.
By Kyle Bylin, Hyperbot, December 14, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yc9zng3

"It is unfortunate, that, at a time when the record industry is coming
to terms with some of the most complex, multifaceted problems it has
ever faced - that what is being talked about, debated about, and is at
the fore-front of this conversation is not music as culture, the role it
plays in our society, and how significant it is to our personal and
national identities.  Instead, music as commerce, as it pertains to the
media conglomerates and multi-national corporations whose business
models are based it, is what's being discussed, and, from a purely
commercial point of view, critical decisions are being made that affect
music, creativity and copyright.  The problem with this perspective is
that causes people to see 'music as only something through which money
is made.'"
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Legal Battles over E-Book Rights to Older Books.
By Motoko Rich, The New York Times, December 12, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ydo9ubq

"William Styron may have been one of the leading literary lions of
recent decades, but his books are not selling much these days. Now his
family has a plan to lure digital-age readers with e-book versions of
titles like "Sophie's Choice," "The Confessions of Nat Turner" and Mr.
Styron's memoir of depression, "Darkness Visible."
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 Google Books, Amazon Kindle to collaborate?
By Douglas McIntyre, Daily Finance, December 11, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ydl2ud2

"The head engineer of Google Books would like to sell his library on the
Amazon Kindle. Dan Clancy of Google told Reuters, "If Amazon allowed
Kindle users to buy from Google Editions it would be easy for the two
companies to set up the sales." In that scenario, there are two big
'ifs.'"
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Copyright Owners Fight Plan to Release E-Books for the Blind.
By David Kravets, Wired, December 11, 2009.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/blind_block/

"A broad swath of American enterprise ranging from major software makers
to motion picture and music companies are joining forces to oppose a new
international treaty that would make books more accessible to the
blind."
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New Internet Bill of Rights Contender Comes from Pirates.
By Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, December 11, 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/yd7vcw2

"Pirates aren't generally known for taking inspiration from America's
Founding Fathers, but the lone Pirate Party member in the European
Parliament is calling for an Internet "Bill of Rights."
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Piracy Destroying Hollywood Right to yet another Record Year at the Box
Office... In a Recession.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, December 11, 2009.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091211/0955157308.shtml

"We've been scratching our heads at the various claims from the movie
industry that piracy is destroying the industry -- especially as the
trends over the past few years have been significantly more movies being
made and significantly more money being made at the box office. And,
once again, reports are coming out that 2009 will be another record year
at the box office."
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France's Sarkozy Takes on Google in Books Dispute.
By Emmanuel Jarry, Reuters, December 8, 2009.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B73E320091208

"France is anxious to avoid French-language literature being swallowed
by major international digitisation projects and is looking to create
its own national digital champion."We won't let ourselves be stripped of
our heritage to the benefit of a big company, no matter how friendly,
big or American it is," Sarkozy said, without naming Google."
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Judge Finalizes $675,000 RIAA Piracy Verdict, Won't Gag Defendant.
By David Kravets, Wired, December 7, 2009.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/piracy-verdict-finalized/

"A federal judge on Monday finalized a $675,000 jury verdict against a
defendant who went to trial after the Recording Industry Association of
America sued him for file sharing."
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Colleges Should Protect Humanists in Fair-Use Cases.
By Carol Loeb Schloss, The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6,
2009.
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Should-Protect/49306/

"Did you see the news item that a Stanford professor had won a
six-figure settlement from the James Joyce estate? That was me."
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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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