In the News

["Tamiru Degefe" <TDegefe@xxxxxxxx>]

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Microsoft comes out on top in copyright case.
By Allie Coyne, CRN, October 25, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/4yerxbm

"Microsoft Australia has won a copyright infringement dispute with The Laptop
Factory Outlet, with the PC reseller agreeing to hand over $50,000 in
compensation for counterfeit use of Microsoft's Windows 7 software."
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Copyright Tussle: 'Rocky' Star Stallone, Co-Writer Sued Over 'The
Expendables'
By Chad Bray, The Wall Street Journal, October 25, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3o88h9a

A Connecticut screenwriter sued "Rocky" and "Rambo" star Sylvester Stallone
and his co-writer on Tuesday for copyright infringement over the 2010
action-star team-up flick, "The Expendables."
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U.S. copyright bill may hit legal sites.
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service, October 25, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3zado29

"An upcoming version of U.S. legislation designed to combat copyright
infringement on the Web may include provisions that hold online services such
as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube legally responsible for infringing material
posted by users, according to one group opposed to the bill."
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NinjaVideo.net Admins Plead Guilty to Copyright-related Charges.
By Grant Gross, IDG News, October 25, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3gtpj5e

"Two administrators of the defunct movie-download site NinjaVideo.net have
pleaded guilty to charges related to copyright infringement, the U.S.
Department of Justice announced."
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Copyright Office Announces 17 Policy Priorities.
By Michael Kelley, Library Journal, Oct 25, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/43cffbj

"Maria A. Pallante, the register of copyrights, today announced 17 priorities
in copyright policy and administrative practice for her office through October
2013, which include items of major importance to libraries. Pallante also
announced 10 new projects to improve services of the U.S. Copyright Office."
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Why Justin Bieber Won't Go To Jail For Posting Songs On YouTube (Analysis).
By Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, October 24, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3w9e498

"The potential spectacle of Justin Bieber being extradited from Canada to the
United States to serve five years in prison has become a new flashpoint in a
debate over whether copyright law should be amended. What are the chances the
teen heartthrob could end up behind bars?"
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London, Ont., author files copyright lawsuit against publishing giant
Angela Mullins, Metro London, October 24, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3b6nomm

"A London man has filed a multi-million dollar federal copyright lawsuit
against Scholastic."
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Comcast, Verizon Ordered To ID Subscribers to Pornographers.
By Doug Donovan, Historic Annapolis Patch, October 24, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3grgqpu

"A federal judge in Greenbelt has ordered the two Internet service providers
to identify customers-known only by their numeric "Internet Protocol"
addresses-who have been sued for allegedly unlawfully downloading pornographic
movies."
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Piracy and Copyright Challenges in 1841 Mirror Those of Today.
By Ernesto, Torrent Freak, October 24, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3lt2888

"Technology has come a long way since 1841, but the copyright debate at the
time was strikingly similar to what we're witnessing today. 170 years ago a
new copyright bill was being discussed in the United Kingdom, one that would
extend the rights of book authors to sixty years after their death."
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Shah Rukh Khan film Ra.One faces copyright challenge.
BBC, October 21, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15404494

" Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been ordered to pay a deposit of $200,000
(#125,686) to an Indian court in order to secure release of his latest film."
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Who Gets The Copyright On The Photo Of A Beaten Gaddafi, Captured Off A
Cameraphone.
By Mike Masnick, Techdirt, Oct 21st 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/4xygzhn

"The AFP news agency (with its partner Getty) has a bit of a history with some
rather odd copyright claims. You may recall the lawsuit that AFP was involved
in after it yanked photos from Twitpic of the devastation after the Haiti
earthquake without permission, credited the wrong photographer and uploaded
them to Getty."

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Lack of copyright allows vendors to cash in on Rally Squirrel.
By Kavita Kumar, St. Louis Today, October 21, 2011.

http://tinyurl.com/3qqulx5

"Fredbird is off limits - as is the St. Louis Cardinals logo and even the name
"World Series."
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Photographer Says Apple Apps Violate Copyright Automatically.
By Philip A. Janquart, Courthouse News Service, October 21, 2011.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/10/21/40818.htm

"A photographer claims that two iPhone apps called "Unofficial Guide to
Hipstamatic" and "Photoinspire" applications scrape photos from the Internet
and instantly, and automatically, republish them, stripped of photographers'
copyright credit. She seeks damages for 80 of her photos that were republished
that way."

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Freedom to hyperlink has copyright consequences.
By Jesse Brown,  Macleans.CA,  October 21, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3k3fdts

"The Supreme Court of Canada gets the Internet.  This week, it unanimously
ruled that linking to libelous or defamatory content is not the same thing as
publishing libelous or defamatory content."
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UK Police Facing Copyright Infringement Charges.
By Caroline Gousse, American University, October 21, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/65gl2k9

"On October 19, 2011, West Yorkshire police went before the High Court to face
accusations of copyright infringement. The police department is accused of
having created a mobile phone forensics application, parts of which it
allegedly stole from Forensics Telecommunications Services."
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Copyright holders attack BT and TalkTalk for their continued resistance to
DEA.
By Rosalie Marshall, V3.Co.uK, October 20, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3rzureo

"Creative industry organizations have criticized internet service providers
(ISPs) BT and TalkTalk for their continued legal challenge to the Digital
Economy Act (DEA), arguing they should just accept the legislation and start
enforcing it."
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Court May Revive Viacom Copyright Claim Against YouTube.
By Grant McCool, Insurance Journal, October 19, 2011.
 http://tinyurl.com/3vw68he

"In a copyright infringement case at the heart of media company battles to win
Internet viewers, an appeals court grappled on Tuesday over whether to revive
Viacom Inc.'s landmark $1 billion lawsuit against Google Inc.'s YouTube."
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Copyright Infrastructure In The Digital Age: Raising Awareness At WIPO.
 By Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch, October 19, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/4x2t5y6

"A global meeting entitled "Enabling Creativity in the Digital Environment:
Copyright Documentation and Infrastructure" was held recently at the World
Intellectual Property Organization. Gathering representatives of governments,
business leaders, academics, and other stakeholders, the conference was
organised in the framework of the Development Agenda Thematic Project on
Intellectual Property and the Public Domain."
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Copyright Trolls' Unite to Prevent Downfall of BitTorrent Lawsuits.
By Ernesto, Torrent Freak, October 19, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3wntynw

"A pivotal case that could mean the end of many mass-BitTorrent lawsuits is
currently ongoing in a Virginia federal court. Labeling the pay-up-or-else
scheme as a "shake down," the judge wants to know why he should allow
copyright holders to massively coerce people into paying huge cash
settlements. Realizing the importance of the case, a fellow anti-piracy law
firm has now joined in to protect its livelihood."
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Viacom appeals YouTube copyright ruling.
By Jim O'Neill, Fierce Online Video, October 19, 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/3nmdvtm

"Viacom is hoping to resurrect its copyright infringement lawsuit against
YouTube, launching an appeal in a New York federal court that seeks to
overturn a 2010 district court ruling that sided with Google's video site. In
that case, a judge ruled YouTube was protected under the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act."

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Tamiru Degefe

Center for Intellectual Property