The Clippings train continues, pulling in with stories about Jerry Seinfeld’s wife and spinach; iPods and the TEACH Act; downloads and taxes; movies and advertisements; and a sincere, well written, well considered recitation from a publisher (gasp!!!) about the problems it faces with infringement from potential customers who likely mean well, but misunderstand the Copyright Act of 1976.

Articles of the Week

The Movie Blog. Why Commercials Before Movies Is Worse Than Piracy. Oct. 16, 2007. A simply great, common sense, well deserved rant about the evils of in-movie advertising. Categories: Film & Video; Infringement.

EnvironmentalChemistry.com. Plagiarism, Copyright Infringement, Fair Use and Environmental Organizations. Oct. 16, 2007. Regular readers know we have not hesitated to strongly criticize publishers for their consistently overreaching allegations of copyright infringement. We never have said, however, that publishers do not suffer copyright infringement; certainly infringement and plagiarism hurt small publishers in disproportionate way. This post is one of the most honest, candid, spin-free explanations we’ve seen about how infringement hurts publishers. What’s more, this editor concedes fair use exists, but cogently explains that fair use is not a license to commit infringement. We urge officials at the Association of American Publishers to study this article thoroughly and use it as a case study in how to explain the infringement issue to the public, instead of continuing the ineffective, often disingenuous, propaganda-laden scorched earth campaign it has pursued to frighten its audience into copyright compliance. Further, we encourage the public to use fair use and other copyright exceptions to their full limit; we also urge the public to pay for the information and entertainment you use and enjoy. Categories: Fair Use & Other Limitations; Infringement; Web & Online.

Quote of the Week

“Good teaching shouldn’t be unlawful.” — Rebecca Tushnet

43(B)log. iTeach. Oct. 11, 2007. Georgetown law professor Rebecca Tushnet mentions what a shame it would be if innovative language learning initiatives (such as the one occurring in New Jersey using iPods) had to succumb to an inflexible copyright regime. Categories: Education; Mobile Devices.

Technorati Tags: Copycense, Copycense Clippings, K. Matthew Dames

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