As I wrote on recently, video sharing app Vine—owned by Twitter—was issued a DMCA takedown notice by representatives of recording artist Prince. I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding the story. In the interview, I explain what happened and offer thoughts on why we must balance copyright holders’ rights with incentivizing… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Copyright
Subscribe to Copyright RSS FeedPopular Mobile App Vine Receives Takedown Notice from Prince’s Record Label
Posted in Copyright, DMCA, InternetLate last month, Twitter received a DMCA takedown demand from NPG Records, Inc., Prince’s record label, to remove a six-second video hosted on Twitter’s popular new Vine application. Vine is a mobile application (currently available only on iOS systems) that allows users to create and share videos that are a maximum of six seconds long. … Continue Reading
Copyright and the Wizard of Oz
Posted in CopyrightEditor’s Note: This article was originally published in October 2009 (see “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Sometimes It Takes a Wizard to Understand Copyright Law“). Due to the popularity of the article and its relevance to higher education copyright issues, we are re-publishing it here. Introduction Seventy years ago the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of… Continue Reading
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
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
Copyright Suit Against University By Author Of 25 Page Survey
Posted in Copyright, TeachingCase: CAMPINHA-BACOTE v. BLEIDT (S.D.Tex. 10-3-2011) What allegedly happened: A he-said / she-said case. A university professor (who has since resigned) claimed that he was authorized to use a 25 page survey, owned by the plaintiff in this case, on classes of incoming students for a certain period of time. On the other hand, plaintiff claimed that… 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
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
Sharing By College Students: The UNC Approach
Posted in Copyright, DMCA, PatentArticle: At the Chronicle Of Higher Education website, Alex Campbell reports that UNC has put in place measures to prevent and minimize unauthorized file sharing by students. Specifically, computers that have file sharing software will not be allowed to connect to the campus network unless and until that student/computer is awarded a “hall pass.” This… Continue Reading
Intel Spends $30M On Open Source University Computer Centers
Posted in Copyright, Open SourceFrom: An August 3, 2011 Intel press release: These centers represent the next $30 million installment of Intel’s recently announced 5-year, $100 million ISTC program to increase university research and accelerate innovation in a handful of key areas. As with previously announced ISTCs for visual computing and secure computing, the new centers encourage tighter collaboration… 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