Due to the Memorial Day holiday in the United States and vacation, CopyCense will not publish between Monday, May 29, 2006 and Tuesday, June 6, 2006. We will resume our normal publication occasionally on Wednesday, June 7.

K. Matthew Dames

Executive Editor

CopyCense

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“After months of debate and negotiation, a bill on orphan works has been introduced in Congress. Photography groups continue to oppose the bill, but say it is not as bad as they feared.

“The Orphan Works Act of 2006 (H.R. 5439) (.pdf) is based on a recommendation from the U.S. Copyright Office, which photography groups decried as a dangerous erosion of copyright law. But the bill also makes some concessions to rights owners, including delaying the effective date of the law until 2008 and ordering the Copyright Office to put more information online to help people find copyright holders.

“The bill was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and will be reviewed Wednesday at a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, which Smith chairs.”

Daryl Lang. Congress To Consider Softer Version of Orphan Works Bill. PDN Online. May 23, 2006.

Related Stories & Documents:

The Patry Copyright Blog. Orphan Works. May 23, 2006.

Public Knowledge. Orphan Works Bill Introduced. May 23, 2006.

William Jackson. Homes for Copyright Orphans. GCN. May 1, 2006.

American Society of Media Photographer. Status of the Orphan Works proposal.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Software patent campaigners have reacted with surprise to an apparent change in the European Commission’s stance on those patents. The Commission said last week that computer programs will be excluded from patentability in the upcoming Community Patent legislation and that the European Patent Office will be bound by this law.

“This statement appears to contradict one made by the EC last year, when it said that the EPO would continue to grant software patents that make a technical contribution, despite the European Parliament’s decision to reject the software patent directive. That directive would have widened the extent to which software could be patented.”

Ingrid Marson. Europe: No Patents for Software. News.com. May 24, 2006.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Copyright reform advocates frequently point to the economic importance of the so-called “copyright industries” to support their view that the government should enact tougher copyright laws. While few doubt that the industries merit attention, the economic angle has been hampered by the relative dearth of Canadian studies on the issue.

“Last year, the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Copyright Policy Branch set out to remedy that shortcoming by paying Connectus Consulting, an Ottawa-based public policy firm, more than $37,000 to study the Canadian economic impact of the copyright industries.

“The 93-page report confirms the importance of the copyright industries (defined in the report as music, movies, radio, television, publishing, theatre, software, and advertising services), yet challenges long-held assumptions about both the performance of the Canadian copyright industries in comparison to those in the United States as well as the economic health of the Canadian sound recording industry.”

Michael Geist. Sound Numbers: Data Regarding Music and Other Copyright Industries Confound Expectations. Canada.com. May 25, 2006.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Both TiVo and EchoStar are claiming victory after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a ruling concerning a series of patents owned by TiVo.

“As part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by TiVo against EchoStar, the Patent Office did a formal review of 61 TiVo patents. TiVo on Wednesday said the Patent Office reaffirmed most of the patents, although it did reject at least two patent claims. The digital video recorder (DVR) company did not say which patents were rejected.

“TiVo filed suit against EchoStar in 2004, alleging that its use of that technology infringed on a TiVo patent. In April, a jury awarded TiVo $73.9 million in damages. EchoStar has appealed the jury verdict. However, TiVo is attempting to use the ruling to get an injunction preventing EchoStar from shipping DVRs.”

Candace Lombardi. TiVo, EchoStar Both Claim Victory in Patent Ruling. News.com. May 24, 2006.

Related Stories & Documents:

May Wong. TiVo Widens 1Q Loss to $10.7 Million. WashingtonPost.com. May 25, 2006.

David B. Wilkerson. TiVo Loss Widens on Litigation Costs. MarketWatch. May 24, 2006.

Ars Technica. TiVo Seeks Injunction Against EchoStar. May 24, 2006.

Tom Krazit. TiVo Scores Patent Win Against EchoStar. News.com. April 13, 2006.

Ars Technica. TiVo Victorious In Major DVR Patent Suit. April 13, 2006.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has threatened to prosecute educational establishments that use improperly licensed software.

“The pressure group, which lobbies on behalf of the proprietary software industry, has threatened to take headteachers, schools and local education authorities (LEAs) to court if they are found to have any unauthorised software. FAST claims this is the first campaign of its type to target primary and secondary schools. The group claims the software industry is ‘at a huge risk from the availability of illegal downloads.’”

Tom Espiner. Schools Face Software Licensing Clampdown. ZDNet UK. May 25, 2006.

Related Stories & Documents:

Against Software Theft. Operation Tracker. Undated.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.