In the News

["Amy Mata" <AMata@xxxxxxxx>]

-------------------

Ask a Lawyer: Should I Copyright my Title?
By Jeff Rivera, MediaBistro.com, June 14, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/37bsosf

"With so much changing in the publishing world and so fast, aspiring as
well as seasoned writers are searching for answers. They are deluged by
an avalanche of media stories about Kindles, iPads, ePub vs. PDFs,
intellectual property rights -- so much information it could make your
head spin. Writers need answers but unfortunately are often left with
more questions."
---------

Press Release: Rosetta Stone Announces Settlements with Ten Individuals
for Copyright and Trademark Infringement.
Market Watch, June 14, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/3y4vtma

"Language learning company educates consumers and lawmakers on piracy
and counterfeit products."
---------

Comic Book Titans Clash over Copyright Issues.
By Sarah Weinman, Daily Finance, June 14, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/2fyzqnf

"The mighty creators of Superman versus the royalty department of DC
Comics Watchmen's Alan Moore's brave refusal to do any more work for DC!
Copyright infringement fights are nothing new in the world of comic
books. Now comes the most epic clash yet, featuring two of the
industry's biggest titans, Neil Gaiman and Todd MacFarlane, battling it
out over the rights to specific characters."
---------

Legal Firm Plans to Threaten Up to 150,000 U.S. Citizens for Film
Downloads.
By Jason Mick, Daily Tech, June 14, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/3357sbb

"Voltage Pictures, the producers of the film The Hurt Locker, made good
on threats, filing suit against 5,000 owners of IP connections on which
bittorrent downloads and uploads of the movie occurred.  The movie's
producer even went as far as to say they hoped one critic of the
lawsuit's family and kids ended up in jail."
---------

Other Countries' Newspapers Are Faring Better Than U.S. Counterparts.
By Eric Pfanner, The New York Times, June 13, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/business/media/14cache.html

"The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking for ways to "support the
reinvention of journalism." Possible measures to help the troubled U.S.
news business, outlined in a paper published last month and scheduled to
be discussed at a meeting Tuesday, include public subsidies, charity and
stronger copyright protection."
---------

YouTube Removes Israeli Flotilla Attack Parody Video for... Copyright
Infringement?
By Frances Martel, Mediaite, June 12, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/2g5dmhp

"A video parodying the passengers on the Gaza-bound flotilla attacked by
Israeli military several weeks ago, entitled "We Con the World," has
been pulled from YouTube, allegedly for a copyright claim from Warner
Music, who own the rights to the original Lionel Ritchie/Michael Jackson
classic "We are the World."
---------

Accused of File-sharing? The EFF Can Point You to Help.
By Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, June 12, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/37ya69x

"If you're one of the 14,000+ US citizens targeted by the US Copyright
Group for allegedly sharing movies with BitTorrent, a letter has already
arrived or will do so shortly. That letter will contain a polite
request: pay us around $1,500 within the next few weeks or run of the
risk of a federal copyright lawsuit, where lawyers will demand the
maximum $150,000 penalty."
---------

Lawyers Who Tried to Get into the Mass 'Pre-Settlement' Game Threaten
Wordpress.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, June 11, 2010.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100611/0319489778.shtml

"Lots of attention has been paid to Davenport Lyons and ACS: Law as two
UK law firms that have sent out thousands of "pre-settlement" threat
letters, demanding payment to avoid a lawsuit over copyright
infringement."
---------

Copyright Reform Needs a 'Made in Canada' Approach.
By Kashif Ahmed & Eric Miller, The Vancouver Sun, June 11, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/37qarrx

"Industry Minister Tony Clement knows only one way to write copyright
laws for the country: heavyhandedly. Although the Conservative-backed
Bill C-32 provides a much needed modernization to Canadian copyright
legislation, the proposed law contains serious flaws and undue
restrictions on consumer freedom."
---------

World Cup Copyright Warning for Businesses.
By Rebecca Marston, BBC, June 11, 2010.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10272924.stm

"Businesses looking to the World Cup to boost profits should be aware of
breaking copyright laws, legal experts and business groups have warned.
The list of the sorts of activities that could get businesses into
trouble is a long one. Phrases "South Africa 2010", "Fifa World Cup" and
even images of the trophy itself are protected under intellectual
property laws."
---------

$1 Billion Fine for LimeWire, $75 Million for BP's Oil Spill - Huh?
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, PC World, June 10, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/38lx99z

"If the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) gets its way,
the file-sharing company LimeWire will get blasted out of existence with
a billion dollar fine. Meanwhile, British Petroleum, with its oil spill,
that's on its way to the ecology disaster level of a Chernobyl, is
liable for up to $75-million under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. What's
wrong with this picture? That's a best case estimate. The RIAA actually
thinks LimeWire owes them $1.5 trillion."
---------

Is the New York Times Really Claiming That All Paid RSS Readers Infringe
its Copyright?
By Kimberley Isbell, Citizen Media Law Project, June 9, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/2bl8y2n

"The Interwebs are up in arms, again. This time, the kerfuffle is over a
DMCA notice, submitted by The New York Times Co., that caused the
removal of the Pulse RSS reader from the Apple Apps Store."
---------

Spanish Court Dismisses File-sharing Appeal.
By Jeremy Kirk, PC World, June 9, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/2c26gbj

"A Spanish court has dismissed an appeal against a file-sharing site
with a ruling that may be one of the most severe legal defeats for the
entertainment industry in its fight against copyright infringers."
---------

The Copyright Wars Come to "Glee."
By Andrew Leonard, Salon.com, June 9, 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/39j63sx

"Could real high school kids get away with such reckless appropriation
of commercial pop music?"
---------

Copyright Office Pushing for Performance Rights Act.
Radio Business Report/TV Business Report, June 6, 2010.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/24888.html

"The Government Accountability Office is continuing to review of the
impact of the proposed Performance Rights Act, as requested by the
author, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and other
members. But the GAO has also sent those Members of Congress a letter it
has received from the US Copyright Office pressing the GAO for an
endorsement of PRA."
-------------------


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
-------------------