The Electronic Frontier Foundation‘s Seth Schoen and Cory Doctorow are speaking at the monthly Los Angeles ACM meeting this week.
Category: Intellectual Property
Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman’s Crusade for Free Software
Sam Williams spins a compelling story about a man who is so passionate about a single idea that he ends up alienating most people he meets.
Karl Auerbach at Perkins Coie on Wednesday
Karl Auerbach, longtime ICANN critic, is speaking at the Perkins Coie Computer/Internet Law Roundtable on Wednesday, January 22. Topic: “Technology Frying Pans, Policy Fires: Internet and the Law – Past, Present and Future.” Lunch: Chinese food.
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act upheld
The whole IP world is buzzing today about the Supreme Court decision regarding Eldred v. Ashcroft, upholding the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act as constitutional. Larry Lessig is understandably bummed out. So am I.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Every year around X-mas time I’m sure to mention the story about how It’s a Wonderful Life became a holiday classic due to a snafu with copyright law. Earlier this week, NPR reported on this very story: NPR’s Rick Karr reports on how a 1946 box office flop became so ubiquitous on television this time […]
DMCA and Instant Messaging Patent
A couple of interesting developments in the IP space today: Russian Company Acquitted of Digital Piracy. In the first test of digital piracy law, a jury acquitted a Russian company accused of selling software that allowed users to circumvent security features in an electronic book. By Matt Richtel. [New York Times: Technology] Patent creates IM […]
Creative Commons: a real alternative to GPL
Creative Types: A Lot in Common. The Internet is teeming with creative people who aren’t famous or rich. A new set of licenses from Creative Commons will allow copyright holders to share their work according to conditions they specify — and boost their profiles. By Kendra Mayfield. [Wired News]
RIAA doesn’t get it, but O’Reilly does
Last night, I read Tim O’Reilly’s superb article on “piracy” and the evolution of online distribution. Brilliant. Especially apropos was O’Reilly’s comparison of Internet access to television: most of use don’t use “free” TV from the airwaves, but instead get cable or satellite. And many people with subscriptions to TV services pay extra for premium […]
Online music still not ready for prime-time
In CNET News.com today: Liquid Audio to evaporate. The company’s board of directors votes unanimously to dissolve the company and distribute its cash reserves to shareholders. Pretty pathetic. Liquid was one of the very first innovators to attempt to make a legal online music system in the Napster age. The fact that they’ve gone out […]
Dmitry’s DMCA case begins
An important test for the DMCA begins this week. Acording to Wired News, Opening arguments begin Tuesday in the copyright infringement case against the Russian coding firm, a trial expected to test the limits of federal copyright law. Programmer Dmitri Sklyarov will be on hand to testify for both the prosecution and the defense. I’m […]