Copyright reform pledge gaining steam: related news

Copyright reform pledge gaining steam

With so many issues vying for attention as the Canadian election draws nearer, it's getting harder and harder to get support for one's own particular favourite. It's notable, then, that University of Ottawa internet law professor Michael Geist is managing to drum up significant political backing for balanced copyright reform legislation.

Steam Cloud Launches This Week

Valve announced yesterday that their extension of Steam, called Steam Cloud, will launch later this week with the Left 4 Dead demo. Steam Cloud is "a set of services for Steam that stores application data online and allows user experiences to be consistent from any PC." We discussed an early announcement for it back in May. Valve adds that "Steam Cloud will be available to all publishers and developers using Steam, free of charge, and Valve will add Cloud support to its back catalog of Steam games. Cloud services are compatible with games purchased via Steam, at retail, and other digital outlets."

Doctorow On Copyright Reform & Culture

super-papa sends us to Locus Magazine for an article by Cory Doctorow discussing the conflicts between copyright law and modern culture, and arguing against the perception that copying media is still unusual. Quoting: "Copyright law valorizes copying as a rare and noteworthy event. On the Internet, copying is automatic, massive, instantaneous, free, and constant. Clip a Dilbert cartoon and stick it on your office door and you're not violating copyright. Take a picture of your office door and put it on your homepage so that the same co-workers can see it, and you've violated copyright law, and since copyright law treats copying as such a rarified activity, it assesses penalties that run to the hundreds of thousands of dollars for each act of infringement.

Copyright Alliance Begs Supreme Court To Make Remote DVRs Illegal

You may recall that the Copyright Alliance is a group that is basically the personal vehicle of Patrick Ross, a copyright maximalist, who has been known to twist copyright law to ridiculous extremes on a regular basis. He's the guy who has claimed that fair use harms innovation, that government-backed monopolies in copyright represent a free market and any attempt to actually free up the market and remove government backed monopolies would be unnecessary regulation that would result in market failure. Ross also sent all of the presidential candidates one of the most ridiculous surveys ever on their views on copyright, that was written in an extremely leading "and when did you stop beating your wife" style.

Fallout 3 available for pre-purchase on Steam

Valve just announced that Bethesda Softworks highly anticipated RPG Fallout 3 is now available for pre-purchase via Steam, with the Steam version of the game unlocking when Fallout 3 hits shelves on October 28th. "Fallout 3 is one of the most important PC launches of 2008," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "Last year, we were able to deliver major releases such as Bioshock and Call of Duty 4 to the millions of gamers connected to Steam. With Fallout 3 added to the line up of great titles coming to Steam, this year promises to be an even better holiday season for Steam gamers."

Napster Judge Calls For Copyright Reform

The judge who presided over the case that shut down the original Napster proposed Monday to reform copyright for the digital age. Judge Miriam Hall Patel, according to Wired, recommended creating a new public/private organization with authority over the licensing and enforcement of copyright.

Napster Judge Calls For Copyright Reform

The judge who presided over the case that shut down the original Napster proposed Monday to reform copyright for the digital age. Judge Miriam Hall Patel, according to Wired, recommended creating a new public/private organization with authority over the licensing and enforcement of copyright.

"Orphan Works" Copyright Reform Fails in Wake of Bailout Bid

The Orphan Works Act of 2008 was passed by the Senate last week, but the House failed to take action before taking off for a couple of days, and the bill may be dead until after the fall election. The bill would have loosened restrictions on using copyright-protected works that have been abandoned by their creators. It has faced strong opposition from copyright holders who fear it could create loopholes that would insulate perpetrators of commercial copyright infringement.

Judge In Napster Trial Plots Copyright Reform Plan

The judge who presided over the original Napster-killing trial seven years ago proposed a plan yesterday to reform copyright and establish both private and public organizations to license and enforce the law in this digital age. “There needs to be a comprehensive revision of the provisions that relate to the administration of copyright licensing, royalties and enforcement,� Judge Miriam Hall Patel said. “I propose that a joint public/private administrative body made up of representatives of all competing interest, including the public, be established and authorized to, among other powers, issue licenses; negotiate, set and administer royalties; and adopt rules and regulations to carry out these purposes.� Patel also recommends that “manufacturers and developers would need approval from this body before introducing an application

Copyright Alliance Urges Supreme Court to Take RS-DVR Case

The Copyright Alliance has filed an amicus curiae brief asking the United States Supreme Court to grant cert in a contentious case involving copyright owners and new television-recording technology. "This case embodies the challenge facing courts regarding balancing the rights inherent in copyright ownership with consumer interest in new technologies," says Carole E. Handler, an IP litigator with Wildman Harrold (Los Angeles), who has argued several precedent-setting cases involving the intersection of IP and developing technology. In the current case, a district court judge originally sided with content owners, finding Cablevision's remote digital recording system (RS-DVR) infringed on the rights of copyright owners. That decision was reversed by the Second Circuit.

DOJ Opposes Extending DOJ Copyright Authority

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The White House has opposed the bipartisan bill that would create copyright cops on the grounds that it would cause the Department of Justice to end up 'serving as pro bono lawyers for private copyright holders.' And while they do occasionally prosecute criminal copyright infringement, they have no intention of dabbling with civil cases because, 'taxpayer-supported department lawyers would pursue lawsuits for copyright holders, with monetary recovery going to industry.' At this rate, the discovery of winged suiformes would appear to be immanent."

Copyright Office Issues Memorandum Opinion to Copyright Royalty Board on Material Questions of Substantive Law

Copyright Office Issues Memorandum Opinion to Copyright Royalty Board on Material Questions of Substantive Law

Record Label Infringes Own Copyright, Site Pulled

AnonCow sends in a peculiar story from TorrentFreak, which describes the plight of a free-download music site that has been summarily evicted from the Internet for violating its own copyright. The problem seems to revolve around the host's insistence that proof of copyright be snail-mailed to them. Kind of difficult when your copyright takes the form of a Creative Commons license that cannot be verified unless its site is up. "The website of an Internet-based record label which offers completely free music downloads has been taken down by its host for copyright infringement, even though it only offers its own music. Quote Unquote Records calls itself 'The First Ever Donation Based Record Label,' but is currently homeless after its host pulled the plug.

HFA's Christos Badavas On Copyright Society Of The USA Panel On Copyright Royalty Board Decision

On Thursday, November 20th, HFA Vice President and Senior Counsel Christos Badavas will be speaking on a panel at a dinner event of the New York Chapter of the Copyright Society of the USA addressing the latest Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision regarding mechanical royalty rates. The panel will examine the impact of this CRB decision on the key players of the music world: artists, the recording industry, music publishers, public performance organizations, and the user community, including online distributors and consumers – as well as how the decision may impact the newest and innovative models of content distribution.

Copyright Office Requests Comments on Possible Adverse Effects of Prohibition on Circumvention Measures

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is announcing the commencement of its rulemaking proceeding in accordance with provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that provide that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works (17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(c)). The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. The Office’s notice of inquire requests written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, research

Copyright Office Requests Comments On Possible Adverse Effects Of Prohibition On Circumvention Measures

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is announcing the commencement of its rulemaking proceeding in accordance with provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that provide that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works (17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(c)). The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. The Office's notice of inquire requests written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, researcher

Copyright commission, body trade tackles over alleged intimidation

OPYRIGHT body, the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, MCSN, has accused the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, of alleged "intimidation and a deliberate and systematic emasculation of the entire collective administration of the copyright sector."

Nets, Studios Seek To Overturn Cablevision Copyright Ruling

Copyright holders are backing an effort by CNN and several studios to get the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling that Cablevision's remote storage of digital copies of programs does not violate copyright limitations on reproduction or public performance. The issue is the copying and storage of those shows for Cablevision's virtual DVR service. CNN, Cartoon Network and others who supply programing to the cable company had argued that the deals were for airplay, not storage or other performances. While DVRs like those made by Tivos and built in to set-top boxes store programs on viewers' own hard drives, analagous to a videotape copy, Cablevision's system stores copies on its own servers. Copyright holders see that as a big difference from the home recording rights established in the Sony videotape case.

Copyright commission, body trade tackles over alleged intimidation

OPYRIGHT body, the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, MCSN, has accused the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, of alleged "intimidation and a deliberate and systematic emasculation of the entire collective administration of the copyright sector."

Valve Releases Steam Cloud

"Funny news title aside, Valve has announced that Steam Cloud will be rolled out later this month. Steam Cloud allows PC users to share data from their PC to any other PC they log into with their Steam account. This means that players' key mappings, spray paints and other configuration settings will transfer to any PC they log into."

New Zealand Copyright Minister Sneaks In 3 Strikes Law; Yells At Those Who Ask Why

There's been plenty of backlash around the globe towards any sort of law that requires a "three strikes" policy for kicking users off the internet for three unsubstantiated accusations of unauthorized file sharing. In many places, attempts at such laws have been abandoned. However, down in New Zealand, after one such law was proposed, a group of concerned citizens protested, and had the provision removed, while also adding in a provision that put liability on copyright holders who filed false claims. However, at the last minute, the country's copyright minister, simply changed it and put the three strikes provision right back in. This resulted in some outrage, and a meeting was set up between the copyright minister and those who had fought hard for the earlier change.

Oz High Court Hears Landmark TV Guide Copyright Case

highways writes "It's rare that that a copyright case is heard in the Australian High Court, let alone a case heard by all seven sitting judges. At stake is a small company IceTV (which we discussed when it launched four years back) taking on Australia's largest television station, the Nine Network, over the copyright status of the weekly broadcast schedule. That is, the schedule itself, not any synopsis or description of the individual programs. Users of PVRs such as MythTV will be well aware of the hassle it is the get a reliable program schedule stream to use for recordings. The saga has gone on for more than two years with Nine unsuccessfully suing IceTV, but later winning on appeal. At issue is whether a list of facts like an electronic program guide is a 'compilation' protected under Australian copyright law.

President Signs Law Creating Copyright Czar

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "President Bush has signed the EIPRA (AKA the PRO-IP Act) and created a cabinet-level post of 'Copyright Czar,' on par with the current 'Drug Czar,' in spite of prior misgivings about the bill. They did at least get rid of provisions that would have had the DOJ take over the RIAA's unpopular litigation campaign. Still, the final legislation (PDF) creates new classes of felony criminal copyright infringement, adds civil forfeiture provisions that incorporate by reference parts of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, and directs the Copyright Czar to lobby foreign governments to adopt stronger IP laws. At this point, our best hope would appear to be to hope that someone sensible like Laurence Lessig or William Patry gets appointed.

Even Senators Who Want Stronger Copyright Laws Are Worried About ACTA

We've been wondering for a while now about why the ACTA treaty is being negotiated in such secrecy -- since the treaty will almost certainly greatly expand copyright laws around the world, without any real judicial approval. So it's good to see our concerns are echoed even by politicians who have long supported Hollywood's efforts to strengthen copyright law. Following the recent Congressional hearings about ACTA, Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter (who were behind the Senate ProIP bill that would put a copyright czar in the White House and unsuccessfully tried to make the FBI Hollywood's private police force) have now sent a letter saying that they're quite concerned about the ACTA Treaty. They're worried both that it will be too broad and that it's being negotiated entirely in secret.

Norwegian Consumer Council Wants Special Complaint Board For Copyright Lawsuits

Earlier this year, we wrote about how the Norwegian Consumer Council, an independent organization financed by the Norwegian government, was telling people not to sign letters the recording industry was demanding ISPs send to users, which would put liability for file sharing on those users without any sort of due process. Now the NCC is back suggesting a special independent committee to handle copyright infringement cases. From what's written, it sounds like it would act as a separate process for copyright holders to bring charges of copyright infringement, that avoids an expensive and overcrowded court systems, while still allowing individuals due process and a guarantee of other basic rights. The NCC proposes that this is a much better solution than, say, cutting off accused file sharers with no due process.

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