Who Owns Blog Comments?
June 10th 2008
Do you ever wonder who owns the rights on blog comments? Would a blogger need to seek permission to republish your comment elsewhere? Can you take comments back? Amend them? Publish comments they inspire?
Copyright Law
Universal Music Argues That High Copyright Fines Are Unconstitutional
June 3rd 2008
Its kind of the opposite of, “do unto others”. When Universal Music lost an infringement case to Bridgeport Music, it did an unexpected thing. It apparently made a successful case that punitive damages tacked on to statutory damages are unconstitutional. As a plaintiff, Universal has argued in other cases for very high fines. It is, […]
Viacom v. YouTube: Busting a Precedent?
June 2nd 2008
Viacom recently amended it $1 Billion lawsuit against YouTube (Google) for copyright infringement which it filed last year. Google claims that Viacom is trying to overturn precedent by making carriers and hosting providers liable for what their users post or transmit. Viacom claims it has found over 150,000 instances of copyright infringing material on YouTube, […]
The Best Ever Site Use Policy: Hats Off to BoingBoing
May 27th 2008
Boing Boing has a linking policy: “After years of making fun of ‘linking policies’ that set out the terms under which a website can be linked to, BoingBoing has decided to create a linking policy of our own. Here it is — now, abide by it!
Los Angeles County’s New Revenue Source: Copyright Infringement
May 19th 2008
Whenever a governmental body makes a statement that voices support for an ethical principle, you should look for the real underlying reason: money. In a recent meeting, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors stated that copyright infringement “substantially interferes with the interest of the public in the quality of life and community peace, lawful […]
Software Control Through Copyright
May 16th 2008
Who controls the software you use: you, or the software’s producer? That’s the question at the heart of a lawsuit by Blizzard, creator of World of Warcraft (WoW), against MDY Industries. Apparently, MDY has developed software called Glider that allows a WoW player to cheat by having their computer play for them in their stead. […]
RIAA Turning Up the Heat On Universities
May 13th 2008
It seems the RIAA is trying a surge of their own by increasing the number of take-down notices to universities, estimated to be up by a factor of 20. According to Wired.com: University of California at Berkeley’s chief information officer Shel Waggener confirmed he’d heard of the spikes and suggested there was a political purpose […]
PRO-IP Act Passes House
May 11th 2008
The still-controversial Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (or PRO-IP) Act has passed the House of Representatives by a 410-10 margin. The proposed legislation would allow the government to seize personal property, such as computers, that are allegedly used in copyright infringement. In addition, it creates a new position within the Executive Office of […]
RIAA’s ‘Making Available Argument’ Shot Down Again
May 6th 2008
In the court case of Atlantic v. Howell, the judge denied a request of summary judgment against the Howells. The court decision was surprisingly incisive, rejecting the RIAA’s argument that merely leaving copies of copyrighted works in a place where someone might copy them, without any evidence that they did, is a violation. This so-called […]
Copyright Infringement 101 – Take Notes!
April 25th 2008
Remember taking lecture notes in college? Did you ever think you were violating copyright law? Well, according to University of Florida professor Michael Moulton, you were. And you might just as well burn those CliffsNotes, too. Over the years, companies have sprung up to assist lazy or hung-over students with lectures by taking notes in their […]
About Dave Wieneke, Digital Strategist
The future of digital experiences will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialties in user experience, branding, application design, and data science are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the front line of digital experience, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Digital business needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise thinking with the ways these new interaction models can help organizations to matter more to their most important stakeholders.