Archive for December 21st, 2007
Happy Holidays
The editorial staff from Copycense wishes the best to our readers and their friends and families. We will resume our regularly scheduled coverage beginning Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008.
DOJ Rejects PRO IP Bill Provision
Chloe Albanesius. DOJ Blasts New ‘Copyright Czar’ Bill. PCMag.com. Dec. 13, 2007. In last week’s edition of Clippings, we focused on the proposal in the PRO IP bill that would create a Cabinet-level copyright czar. Apparently, so has the Department of Justice, the agency most likely to be affected by such a proposal, calling this idea “ill-advised.” The more the entertainment and content lobbies wish to get DoJ involved in copyright enforcement, the more the agency seems to resist. And after all, why would the White House need another position to promote these industries’ copyright agenda? The U.S. Trade Representative already does this quite nicely, courtesy of its annual Special 301 review.
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
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Google, Privacy, & the DoubleClick Deal
Bits (The New York Times). As Ask Erases Little, Google and Others Keep Writing About You. Dec. 12, 2007. On the same day a member of Congress wrote to Google asking about its search practices, Times reporter Saul Hansell talks about Google’s actual or prospective ability to mine its data to do behavioral marketing. Google’s proposed $3.1 billion deal with DoubleClick likely doesn’t hang on the answer it gives to Rep. Joe Barton, but we’ll bet Google will try to avoid giving Barton a response on that very issue until the DoubleClick deal is final.
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
Copycense™: Incisive IP.™
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Google, Privacy, & the DoubleClick Deal
Bits (The New York Times). As Ask Erases Little, Google and Others Keep Writing About You. Dec. 12, 2007. On the same day a member of Congress wrote to Google asking about its search practices, Times reporter Saul Hansell talks about Google’s actual or prospective ability to mine its data to do behavioral marketing. Google’s proposed $3.1 billion deal with DoubleClick likely doesn’t hang on the answer it gives to Rep. Joe Barton, but we’ll bet Google will try to avoid giving Barton a response on that very issue until the DoubleClick deal is final.
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
Copycense™: Incisive IP.™
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Porn Company Accuses Partner of Copyright Infringement
Torrent Freak. Porn Company Vivid Sues Its Own Customer Over Copyright. Dec. 11, 2007. Vivid Entertainment Group, which now is to adult entertainment what Playboy used to be, sues an adult version of YouTube, even though PornoTube‘s owner (AEBN) already has a contractual relationship with Vivid to deliver pay-per-view porn. Either this is a colossal slip of due diligence, or Vivid had decided (like the movie and music industries) that lawsuits are the better business strategy.
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
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Does the RIAA Really Claim Rips Are Illegal? (Part II)
Threat Level (Wired). Recording Industry Tells Court (Again) That MP3s Are a Crime. Dec. 11, 2007. The blogosphere has been all over this story, and it seems based on the assertions of Ray Beckerman, whose work we respect. We have to say, though, we’re not seeing what the big deal is. What we read was this: “It is undisputed that Defendant possessed unauthorized copies of [] copyrighted sound recordings on his computer. … Virtually all of the sound recordings … ‘.mp3’ format. … Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs’ recording into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies distributed by [plaintiff recording companies].” If this is the quote to which Beckerman is referring, we see that as RIAA arguing the as yet untested “making available” theory, not necessarily that converting CDs to .MP3 files is de facto infringement. Don’t get us wrong: RIAA likely thinks CD to MP3 transfers are illegal, even to iPods. It just wants to be mealy-mouthed about it so as to preserve any remaining shred of public credibility it retains.
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
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Shackling the Future of Reading
dive into mark. The Future of Reading (A Play in Six Acts). Nov. 19, 2007. A great literary mashup that notes Newsweek’s breathless predictions that Amazon.com’s new e-book reader will change “the future of reading” is not due to the technology because the device’s license agreement and copy restriction technology will, in fact, impinge on “the future of reading.”
(Editor’s Note: Copycense editors originally commented on this article in the Dec. 18, 2007, edition of Copycense Clippings.)
Copycense™: Incisive IP.™
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