“[I]t is virtually axiomatic that the public interest can only be served by upholding copyright protections…”1
Federal Judge Grants Injunction Against Zediva — A major setback for the unlicensed streaming service this week as the motion picture studios were granted the preliminary injunction they sought. In A Rose By Any Other Name, the 1709 Blog notes that this was thoroughly unsurprising. Zediva’s “loophole” wasn’t a novel interpretation; others have tried and failed as far back as 1984.
With Final Filings, Parties in GSU E-Reserve Case Await Verdict — Higher ed has been closely watching the copyright infringement suit between academic publishers and Georgia State University regarding its e-reserve practices. Publishers Weekly reports on the post-trial developments before the upcoming verdict.
Myths About Fair Use — Patricia Aufderheide, writing at Inside Higher Ed, discusses seven myths about fair use and the academic world. Good read for anyone in education. Especially good: “Myth #5: Sure, fair use is on the books, but it’s too risky — even if I’m right, I could get sued.”
Copyright Infringement IS Theft, You Filthy Pirates — The Humble Indie Bundle is a group of independently developed video games. It’s sold under a “pay-what-you-want” model (minimum price: one cent), with proceeds going to various charities. Yet, the games are still pirated. This eloquent rant is aimed at those who attempt to justify this kind of theft.
Pirate Economics — The Cynical Musician gives us an economic analysis of online piracy.
The Grammar of Copyright — Jonathan Bailey talks about the proper use and spelling of the word “copyright”. It’s an interesting topic, as the word can be either a noun or a verb. Anyone who has spent time reading or writing about the subject knows the word is frequently misused; and no wonder, even I sometimes have to pause to figure out if I’m using it correctly.
UK Proposals to Modernize UK Copyright Act — Sookman also takes a look at the UK government’s adoption of a number of recommendations from the Hargreaves Report. He also notes that the fact that the blocking of infringing sites was not adopted is not as big a deal as it has been made out to be.
UK Copyright caselaw update: the Lucasfilm, BT, ITV and Meltwater cases — Barry Sookman summarizes the four major cases that came out of the UK last week. Great article for getting caught up in one sitting.
On Location: Picture Shop Frames a Hollywood Future (via MPAA Blog) — The LA Times profiles a California business that provides picture frames and other items for TV and film productions. The story highlights the role small businesses play in the entertainment industry. ”Catering to Hollywood has become an increasingly vital source of income to small business owners like Cruz, who have been buffeted by a deep recession and an anemic recovery that has kept may consumers from buying discretionary items like picture frames. ‘If it wasn’t for the film and TV business, we would be in hot water,’’ said Cruz, who generates 75% of her annual sales — more than $500,000 a year -– by supplying frames to set decorators on such TV shows as ‘CSI’ and HBO’s ‘True Blood’ and movies including ‘Spider-Man 3,’ ‘Funny People’ and the upcoming December release ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’”
Facebook’s Complete Guide to Building a Band Page — The social networking site has released a 40 page guide designed to helping musicians get the most out of Facebook pages and Facebook integration with their websites. Though it’s geared specifically toward musicians, most of the information is helpful to other creative professionals and small businesses.
MTV’s standard Real World contract — The Village Voice got their hands on a copy of a contract used for participants in MTV’s The Real World. Read it in all its glory. Be sure to check out paragraph 41 on page 17: Real World cast members are responsible for clearing permissions on all copyrighted music, photos, and video that they perform or use when on camera.
Footnotes
- Order granting preliminary injunction against Zediva, quoting Apple Computer v. Franklin Computer Corp, 714 F.2d 1240, 1255 (3rd Cir. 1983). [↩]