Blaine T. Bettinger
Decision in the George State University E-Reserves Case
Posted in CopyrightLast Friday (May 11, 2012), Judge Evans of the Northern District of Georgia issued a long-awaited decision in the Georgia State e-reserves case entitled Cambridge Univ. Press v. Becker. At a hefty 350 pages, the decision will generate a great deal of analysis and interpretation over the coming days. One-Sentence Summary: Judge Evans’ decision provides… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Proposes Fee Increases
Posted in CopyrightIn late March, the United States Copyright Office proposed increased fees for copyright registrations (the public notice in the Federal Register is available at: http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2012/77fr18742.pdf). In 1997, Congress amended the Copyright Act to allow the Register of Copyrights (currently Maria A. Pallante) to set fees for Copyright Office services (subject to Congressional review). Any change… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Holds Diagnostic Method Claims Unpatentable in Mayo v. Prometheus
Posted in UncategorizedOn March 20, 2012, a unanimous Supreme Court held that patents claiming methods for refining the dosage of drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases were directed to laws of nature and therefore not eligible for patent protection. Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs. (pdf), No. 2010-1150 (March 20, 2012). This is a signficant decision that… Continue Reading
Video Interview: Discussing Pinterest and Copyright Law with LXBN TV
Posted in Copyright, DMCAI recently posted “A Social Media Model Based on the Safe Harbor Provisions of the DMCA” about the copyright concerns currently being addressed by the social networking site Pinterest. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN about Pinterest and how it is trying to avoid allegations of copyright… Continue Reading
A Social Media Model Based on the Safe Harbor Provisions of the DMCA
Posted in Copyright, DMCAPinterest is a relatively new social photo sharing website, and is currently one of the hottest spots on the Internet. The site generates massive amounts of referral traffic, rivaling popular content sharing sites such as Twitter and YouTube. There are roughly 11 million registered Pinterest users (a number that is growing extremely rapidly) with as… Continue Reading
Does an Instructor Have Rights in a Student’s Class Notes?
Posted in Copyright, First AmendmentOfficials at California State University and University of California have recently instituted new policies that affect the ownership and sharing of notes taken in the classroom by students. These new policies have raised questions about whether students or their instructors actually own the copyrights to class notes. While the sale of class notes is clearly… Continue Reading
The Internet Goes Dark in Protest
Posted in Copyright, InternetToday, websites, companies, and individuals around the country are participating in the largest online protest in history as they battle two proposed bills currently pending before Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act or PIPA). Google, for example,… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Issues Report on Extending Federal Protection to Pre-1972 Sound Recordings
Posted in Copyright, DigitizationI’ve written before about common law copyright protection of sound recordings made before February 15, 1972. Although the Sound Recording Amendments to the 1909 Copyright Act extended federal copyright law to sound recordings, it only did so to sound recordings made on or after February 15, 1972. Per the amendments, federal copyright law does not… Continue Reading
Library of Congress Requests Comments Regarding Proposed Exemptions to the DMCA
Posted in CopyrightFor the fifth time, the Librarian of Congress (currently James Hadley Billington), upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights (currently Maria Pallante,), will conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether certain prohibitions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) adversely affect users of copyrighted works. Anti-Circumvention Provisions of the DMCA Among the many provisions… Continue Reading
Does New Legislation Aimed at Reducing Online Intellectual Property Infringement Go Too Far?
Posted in Copyright, Internet, TrademarksTwo related bills aimed at curbing rampant copyright and trademark infringement on the Internet are currently pending before the House and Senate. While the bills have been endorsed by the RIAA and MPAA and have strong bipartisan support in Congress, they have come under fire by mainstream media and civil liberties groups who believe the… Continue Reading
Lady Gaga Not Entitled to ladygaga.org Domain
Posted in UDRPMusician and pop culture icon Stefani Germanotta – better known to her fans as “Lady Gaga” – has actively protected her ‘distinctive’ brand since entering the national scene. For example, she has required that photojournalists at her concerts assign all copyrights in their photographs to her, and recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against a… Continue Reading
Princeton University Joins the Open Access Movement
Posted in CopyrightThe Open Access Movement is the name given to the trend among academics to retain copyrights in their scholarly work rather than assign them to a journal or other publishing entity. One of the primary driving forces behind the movement is the desire to freely share information without pay-walls or other barriers. Princeton University recently… Continue Reading
Universities Announce New “Lab to Market” Initiatives
Posted in Technology TransferEarlier this year,135 university leaders across the country joined together in a pledge (pdf) to undertake greater efforts in commercializing university technology and to “ensure that the knowledge and technological breakthroughs developed through campus-based research was rapidly and broadly disseminated to advance the nation’s social and economic interests.” On September 16th of this year –… Continue Reading
YouTube and False Copyright Infringement Claims
Posted in Copyright, DMCAToday, 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
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