[digital-copyright] CIP, UMUC - Legal Updates 5/2/13

[Jordan Reth <jordan.reth@xxxxxxxx>]

Center for Intellectual Property - Legal Updates
5/2/13

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Five ways Congress should improve the copyright system.
By: Timothy B. Lee, Apr. 26, 2013, ARS Technica.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/five-ways-congress-should-improve-
the-copyright-system/

In a Wednesday speech, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) announced plans for a
"comprehensive review" of copyright law. The announcement is significant
because Goodlatte chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which has
jurisdiction over copyright issues...

So here are five suggestions for improving copyright law that Congress
ought to consider. These ideas may be more ambitious than Goodlatte has in
mind, but dramatic changes are needed if we want the copyright system to
truly promote, rather than hinder, creativity...

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Richard Prince Wins Major Victory in Landmark Copyright Suit.
By: Brian Boucher, Apr. 25, 2013, Art in America.
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/news/2013-04-25/richard-prin
ce-wins-major-victory-in-landmark-copyright-suit/

Artist Richard Prince won a significant victory on appeal in the landmark
intellectual property case Cariou v. Prince today.

The case concerns Prince's "Canal Zone" series of paintings (2008), which
incorporated photographs by French photographer Patrick Cariou from his
2000 book Yes, Rasta (Powerhouse) for a show at Gagosian Gallery. In 2009
Cariou brought a copyright infringement suit against Prince, Gagosian
Gallery, Lawrence Gagosian and catalogue publisher Rizzoli. In March 2011,
U.S. District judge Deborah Batts ruled against Prince and ordered the
defendants to destroy remaining copies of the catalogue and unsold
paintings that make use of Cariou's photographs.

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Spread of 3-D Printing Raises Intellectual Property Questions.
By: Ahvi Spindell, Apr. 30, 2013, ThomasNet.
http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/04/30/3-d-printing-and-the-looming-intelle
ctual-property-debate/

As 3-D printing technology enables more and more users to fabricate
components, and potentially entire products, from home, protecting the
rights on patented designs could form the next major intellectual property
conflict.

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LEGISLATURE: House passes bill helping colleges to commercialize
intellectual property.
Apr. 27, 2013, Your Houston News.
http://tinyurl.com/cdrz7sm

AUSTIN  The Texas House of Representatives this week passed House Bill
2051, authored by Rep. Jason Villalba (District 114) to the benefit of
state colleges and universities.

This legislation will enable Texas universities to accept convertible notes
in order to expedite licensing and commercialization of their intellectual
property. H.B. 2051 will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. Texas
Sen. John Carona will carry the bill on the Senate side.

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Push to educate about intellectual property protection.
Apr. 30, 2013, AG Professional.
http://www.agprofessional.com/news/Push-to-educate-about-intellectual-propert
y-protection-205396241.html

There is a big push on by the agricultural industry to explain the need for
intellectual property (IP) protection and why programs that seem like an
inconvenience to ag retailers and farmers are important.

CropLife International is publicizing the top five facts everyone should
know about, which explains the importance of IP to agricultural innovation.
Understanding how IP protections can encourage new innovations and drive
the growth of agriculture, as well as supporting effective IP rights, will
be critical to meeting future food demands, the organization contends.

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Craigslist Allowed to Sue App Developer Over Data Use.
By: Karen Gullo, Apr. 30, 2013, Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-30/craigslist-allowed-to-sue-app-develo
per-over-data-use.html

Craigslist can sue platform developer 3Taps Inc. for gaining unauthorized
access to its website, though it cant pursue copyright-infringement claims
against the company for copying user posts, a judge ruled.

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Copyright laws cause problem for Catholic church plans to modernize.
By: Cait McVey, Apr. 28, 2013, BayNews9.
http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/
articles/bn9/2013/4/28/copyright_laws_cause.html

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in New Port Richey did away with its
paper missalettes and in their place, two giant projector screens on either
side of the altar...

The screens quickly went up, but when it came time to find scriptures to
project, the church found out they were off limits because they are
copyrighted...

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Comic book creator takes on publishers Marvel and DC for right to use term
'superhero'.
By: Alex Eidman, Apr. 25, 2013, New York Daily News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/comic-book-creator-fights-term-super
hero-article-1.1327860#ixzz2S8jOJ26F

Ray Felix created the series 'A World Without Superheroes' and was opposed
by DC and Marvel Comics, who share a trademark on the word 'superhero.'
Felix is still awaiting a court decision on whether or not he can continue
using it for his book's title.

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Emma Thompson Denied Atty Fees In 'Effie' Copyright Spat.
By: Jonathan Randles, Apr. 25, 2013, Law360
http://www.law360.com/articles/435801/emma-thompson-denied-atty-fees-in-effie
-copyright-spat

Emma Thompson on Wednesday lost her bid to recover attorneys' fees from a
screenwriter who claimed the Oscar-winning actress stole the idea for her
upcoming film "Effie," after a New York judge ruled the writer had reason
to suspect the film infringed copyrights for her works.

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