Archive for May, 2010

DMCA-Style Reforms: “Not a Reasonable Policy To Foster Innovation or Respect for Copyright”

Canwest's Sarah Schmidt features an terrific story in which Industry Minister Tony Clement admits that he has infringed copyright in loading songs onto his iPod.  Like many Canadians, Clement says that he shifted many CDs to his iPod, which now contains over 10,000 songs.  What makes the article noteworthy is not the acknowledgement of infringement – Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore admitted infringing activity in using his PVR last year – but rather the focus on the need to update copyright law by legalizing activities that most Canadians view as perfectly acceptable.  Notes Clement:

"Well you see, you know I think I have to admit it probably runs afoul of the current law because the current law does not allow you to shift formats. So the fact of the matter is I have compact discs that I've transferred, I have compact discs from my children or my wife that I've transferred onto my iPod. None of that is allowable under the current regime. It shows that the current regime is not realistic and is not modern to encompass how people obtain their entertainment in today's world. That's what happens in a family. You do tend to share music that way and I think most people would find that to be perfectly acceptable behaviour. But our current law is so antiquated, it doesn't contemplate that situation."

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May 27, 2010 40 comments News

Lessons from Fashion’s Free Culture

Several people have written to recommend a recent TED talk by Johanna Blakley that focuses on the benefits derived from fashion's free culture.  The video is well worth watching.

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May 27, 2010 2 comments News

Lawyers Launch Copyright Class Action Against Thomson Reuters

Canadian lawyers have launched a copyright class action lawsuit against Thomson Reuters.  The lawsuit stems from the use of legal documents filed in court proceedings in a database marketed by the company.

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May 27, 2010 3 comments News

U.S. Copyright Official Challenges ACTA Criticism

U.S. Copyright Office official Steven Tepp appeared at a Future of Music Coalition debate on ACTA yesterday, arguing that the release of the ACTA text proved the prior concerns wrong. The full debate is available online as Tepp offers gruff responses to fellow panel members, but refuses to answer many […]

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May 26, 2010 6 comments News

European Parliament Members Follow-Up With WTO on ACTA

The Greens/EFA Members of the European Parliament have written a follow-up letter to the WTO, asking for clarification on whether ACTA might supercede the WTO's own dispute resolution policy.

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May 26, 2010 Comments are Disabled News