By , November 18, 2011.

Should we move from copyright to workright? — John Degen picks up on Abraham Drassinower’s paper Copyright Infringement as Compelled Speech (which I highlighted last week). Degen looks at some of the big sticking points in copyright debates and wonders if it’s time to start conceptualizing the law as a workright rather than a copyright. Interesting stuff.

Starz CEO: Netflix Became an ‘Albatross’ — The entertainment company’s boss explains the reasoning behind the decision not to renew its licensing agreement with Netflix. Part of it was the reluctance of Netflix to incorporate tiered pricing for premium streaming like Starz provides, and part of it was Starz’s ongoing reemphasis on original programming over licensed feature films.

Post-Booker Judicial Discretion and Sentencing Trends in Criminal Intellectual Property Cases: Empirical Analysis and Societal Implications — A scholarly article from Aaron B. Rabinowitz that finds, among other things, “prosecutors seek and judges reduce sentences for intellectual property crimes more frequently than for other comparable crimes.”

Appeals court rejects request by serial downloader — The First Circuit denied Joel Tenenbaum’s request for a rehearing en banc after it had previously reinstated the original jury award of $675,000 and remanded to the District Court for further proceedings.

YouTube, NMPA reach ‘unprecedented’ deal to pay independent music publishers — The terms of the settlement reached between Google and the National Music Publishers Association stemming from litigation related to the current lawsuit involving Viacom are now available. YouTube will pay a percentage of ad revenue derived from videos that incorporate songs to indie music publishers that opt in.

Following a Supreme Court deadlock, Costco beats Omega on remand by invoking the equitable doctrine of “copyright misuse” — You can’t slap a copyrighted logo on the back of a watch to limit its importation under Copyright Act provisions. Costco should’ve thought of this seven years ago when it was first sued.

Universal Music sees recorded music near turnaround — Billboard reports positive news: execs at major label Universal believe the record industry may reach its inflection point toward “the end of 2013.” The growth of digital sales and new online services are helping to bring the decade long decline that halved the recording industry to an end.