Copyright Law

WTO Allows Copyright Piracy of US Goods in Dispute Settlement

January 28th 2008

Antigua and Barbuda are best known for their pristine beaches and tourism. However, their second-largest industry is online gambling, and it is the subject of perhaps the most bizarre trade ruling in years. In a rare ruling, the World Trade Organization (WTO) awarded the nations the right to violate U.S. copyright protections of software, films, and […]

AT&T: Net Vigilante

January 23rd 2008

Are you ready for the online equivalent of vigilantes? It seems that AT&T and other ISPs want to filter net traffic to “stop the transfer of copyrighted material.” That’s what the New York Times’s Bits blog says an AT&T vice president suggested during a panel discussion about digital piracy at the recent Consumer Electronics Show […]

Is Copying My Own CDs Illegal?

January 15th 2008

In a court brief filed by RIAA counsel Ira Schwartz in a case involving Jeffrey Howell of Scottsdale, AZ, the RIAA claims that any copying of CDs is “unauthorized.” According to an article in the Washington Post: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection […]

Getting ‘Gypped

December 31st 2007

The government of Egypt plans to pass a law that would require royalty payments on reproductions of museum pieces or national monuments such as the pyramids and the Sphinx. According to Zahi Hawass, chairman of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, this law would apply to all countries, and is needed to cover the costs of […]

Paid RIAA Editorial Masquerading as News

December 25th 2007

The RIAA sank to a new all-time low by producing a two-minute video press release intended for local TV stations to broadcast about copyright infringement during the holiday season. A copy of the poorly made video may be found here. It matches a press release by the RIAA released on December 13, 2007. Among the […]

Prince: IP Visionary or Comic Character?

December 9th 2007

Described in one of his own press releases as a “creative genius and forward thinker by nature,” the Purple One’s legal creativity is legendary. Recall his 1993 falling-out with Warner Bros. during which he only appeared in public with the word “slave” written on his cheek. Then he abandoned his stage name for a symbol. The line […]

RIAA & MPAA Using the Feds as Muscle

December 7th 2007

The RIAA and MPAA have never tried the carrot-and-stick approach to anti-piracy efforts — just the stick part. It’s all about the stick. The reason is a perception that an entire generation of kids and young adults does not respect copyrights, and that the combination of digital content and the widespread distribution medium of the […]

Infringement Nation and the NFL: Copyright Reductio Ad Absurdum

December 4th 2007

Can you imagine a more certain way to create a culture of lawlessness than to inspire a popular contempt for law? Few things are more likely to provoke contempt than to hand out rights so broad that to average people they are reduced to absurdity. That’s what University of Utah Law Professor John Tehranian illustrates […]

User Allegedly Hacked Second Life to Pirate Thousands of Digital Products

November 2nd 2007

Virtually Blind reports a group of leading content creators on Second Life have filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York against Thomas Simon, aka Rase Kenzo. The items in the complaint represent nearly every type of product for sale in Second Life including avatar clothing, skins and shapes, scripted objects, furniture, and […]

Congress Stretches Copyright with Foolish Simpsons Parody

October 24th 2007

//Though a  silly story, how can I pass-up this combination of Fair Use issues,  the Simpsons, and our duly elected representatives?// Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee issued a press release on October 12th which insulted political opponents using the copyrighted images of Simpsons characters. The release was so sophomoric and lacking in […]