In the News

["Amy Mata" <AMata@xxxxxxxx>]

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Business Software Alliance Applauds Sentencing of New York Man for
Copyright Infringement.
PR Newswire, June 1, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/24gta8j

"The Business Software Alliance (BSA) applauded the sentencing by U S.
District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia of
Robert Cimino of Syracuse, NY. Cimino was sentenced to 18 months in
prison for criminal copyright infringement and ordered to pay $272,655
in restitution for his sales of over $250,000 worth of pirated
software."
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Verizon Handing Over Names for US Copyright Group's Mass Automated
Lawsuits.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, June 1, 2010.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100601/0012509632.shtml

"We've already discussed how the so-called US Copyright Group (which
seems like a bit of a front for DC-based law firm Dunlap Grubb Weaver --
tag line: "Lawyers with a Higher Standard" -- since the first named
partner in the operation, Thomas Dunlap, also happens to appear to run
US Copyright Group) has been filing tens of thousands of questionable
lawsuits for certain movie producers, including, most recently 5,000
lawsuits for those accused of file sharing Hurt Locker. Of course, it
looks like this particular operation is nothing more than a copy of
European operations like ACS:Law, whose main goal is not to take anyone
to court, but to get people to pay up to not get sued. In this case, US
Copyright Group's starting offer is $1,500 to not get sued."
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Google pulls an Apple and removes Tetris-type games from Android Market.
By Joel Evans, ZDNet, June 1, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/35lbdt6

"According to DroidGamers.com, Google received a notice from The Tetris
Company, LLC that under the DMCA the company should remove various
Tetris clones from the Android Market. It turns out there were more than
35 of them, and they have all now been taken down."
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Review: Adrian Johns, Piracy: The intellectual property wars from
Gutenberg to Gates.
Commentary by Fred von Lohmann, EFF, May 30, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/22nghgc

"I've just finished Adrian Johns' 2009 book, Piracy: The Intellectual
Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates, a 500+ page magnum opus
stretching from the 1600s to the present. Johns is a noted University of
Chicago historian, and his book is a fascinating and essential read for
anyone interested in the history of the term "intellectual property" and
development of the modern copyright and patent systems."
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Canada: Copyright: Consumer Versus Artists.
By Richard J. Brennan, The Star, May 30, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/23ce4vm

"This week Ottawa will try once again to update Canada's copyright law
that Industry Minister Tony Clement says has holes big enough to "drive
a Mack truck through." The Copyright Act of Canada has not had a
significant rewrite since 1988, at a time when the Internet was still in
its infancy and an iPad was just a twinkle in some inventor's eye."
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Authors Guild v. Google: A Great Case.
By James V. DeLong, GovMonitor, May 30, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/322sex7

"Federal District Judge Denny Chin recently spent a long day hearing
arguments on the Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA) proposed to resolve
the litigation brought by copyright holders protesting Google's
digitization of the world's books. The matter justifies the attention it
is receiving, because by any standard Authors Guild Inc. v. Google Inc.
qualifies as "a great case." Sheer scope is one factor; the outcome will
affect tens of millions of books and hundreds of millions of people,
including generations yet unborn."
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U.S. Government Sues the Operator of Pirate Comics Website.
By Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resource, May 29, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/378yk98

"The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against
Gregory Steven Hart, who operated HTMLcomics and five similar pirate
websites. The complaint asks for a federal judge to order Hart to
forfeit the domain names of the sites -- among them, HTMLcomics.com,
ComicBooksFree.com and PlayboyMonthly.com -- which the government says
were used to commit criminal copyright infringement."
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US Supreme Court Could Scrutinize RIAA Damage Awards.
TechFreq News, May 29, 2010.
http://techfreqnews.com/sample-post/1424

"The Supreme may take up a case revolving around the principal of the
"innocent infringer" defense. This loophole is built into the Copyright
Act and allows for an award of damages less than the $750 minimum."
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Internet Democracy at Stake in Google/Viacom Lawsuit?
By Matthew Lasar, Ars Technica, May 29, 2010.
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/05/post-5.ars

"eBay, Facebook, Yahoo, and Ask.com owner IAC/Interactive may compete
with Google for users, views and ad clicks, but the four know which side
their bread is buttered on when it comes to digital copyright law.
That's why they've rushed to Google's side this week to defend their
rival in a massive copyright infringement lawsuit launched by Viacom."
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NY Judge Urges Settlement in Obama Poster Dispute.
By Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press, May 29, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/34qozol

"A judge urged Friday that a copyright dispute between an artist and The
Associated Press over the Barack Obama "HOPE" image be settled quickly,
saying it was likely the AP would win the case."
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LimeWire Judge Gets Curious Note about EFF Lawyer.
By Greg Sandoval, CNET News, May 28, 2010.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20006285-261.html

"U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood apparently goofed by suggesting that a
prominent pro-technology attorney acted improperly in dealings with the
firm that oversees LimeWire."
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Another Lawsuit Questions Who Owns the Copyright on Legal Filings.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, May 28, 2010.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100528/0148409611.shtml

"Last summer, we wrote about a lawsuit in the US where a lawyer was
suing LexisNexis and Westlaw for their services offering access to legal
filings. At issue was who owned the copyright on those legal filings.
Historically, that issue has rarely come up, because there's little
commercial interest in the filings by themselves. However, some lawyers
are apparently getting upset about other companies collecting and
selling access to their filings... even though the reality of the
situation is that those aggregators aren't selling the filings, so much
as the aggregation of all the filings."
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'Hurt Locker' Downloaders, You've Been Sued.
By Greg Sandoval, CNET News, May 28, 2010.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20006314-261.html

"Producers of Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker" have made good on a
promise to file copyright lawsuits against people who illegally shared
the movie via peer-to-peer networks."
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When is a Copyright "Registered"? - Depends Where You Litigate.
By Glenn G. Lammi, Forbes.com, May 27, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/35mt2l6

"Clarity and predictability in the law are essential elements for any
economic system built on free enterprise.  Decisions to create new
companies, invent new products and services, and invest time and money
are all contingent on knowing which of the thousands of federal, state,
and local laws and regulations apply, and how they apply. Individuals
and businesses that choose to formally register their copyrights,
regretfully, don't benefit from such valued predictability."
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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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