Today, most universities and colleges have their own YouTube channel where they host videos about the institution, faculty, and students. These videos often let prospective students interact with the institution in ways not previously possible. While the copyright status of university-created and –uploaded videos is usually obvious, recent events have shown that any YouTube channel… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: August 2011
University V. University
Posted in UncategorizedOn July 29, 2011, a Federal Circuit panel decided Association For Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (Fed. Cir. 2011). This is an important case for patent law, as it relates to genetics. The short version is that: (i) isolated DNA is eligible for patent protection; (ii) claims directed to working with the isolated DNA, in… Continue Reading
Common Law Copyright Protection of Old Sound Recordings
Posted in CopyrightSitting in the archives of many university libraries are old analog sound recordings stored on formats such as phonograph cylinders (the “Edison cylinder”) or vinyl records. Due to a recent decision by the New York Court of Appeals, efforts by universities to digitize even the oldest of these recordings – dating back 100+ years –… Continue Reading
New .XXX Top-Level Domain Raises Concerns for Trademark Owners
Posted in TrademarksICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is responsible for managing the hundreds of top-level domains (TLDs) on the Internet, including well-known TLDs such as .com, .gov, and .edu. In early 2011, ICANN approved the new .xxx domain, intended to serve as a voluntary TLD for pornographic sites on the Internet. First proposed… Continue Reading
Give A Man A Fish . . .
Posted in UncategorizedAt Inside Higher Ed, Paula M. Krebs writes: The institution to which I was attached, the five-campus University of Massachusetts system, understands its role in its state and region in terms inherited from the Morrill Act of 1862, which established the land-grant colleges and their obligation to train state residents in new techniques of agriculture…. Continue Reading
New Case On Online Data Collections
Posted in Attribution, Digitization, InternetCase: CollegeSource, Inc. v. AcademyOne, Inc., 09-56528 (9th Cir., Aug. 8, 2011) What allegedly happened: A Ninth Circuit panel decided that a plaintiff company that allegedly had its online collection of college catalogs copied by the defendant company could sue in its home state of California. Plaintiff alleged that it spent $10 million dollars collecting the… Continue Reading