Copyhype

This is actually a few days late — I first began Copyhype on August 8, 2010, meaning it has just marked its second year, though it seems like just yesterday.

The second year has been even more exciting than the first. Readership has nearly doubled. I was very honored that this site was named one of the ABA Journal’s top 100 legal blogs in 2011. Citations to articles have also begun cropping up in published and forthcoming law review articles — though I’m still looking forward to being cited in a court opinion.

Much of the past winter was dominated, of course, by the now-dead Stop Online Piracy Act. I was somewhat amused that this site made it onto a list of organizations supporting the bill that circulated heavily around the internet — I even got a handful of emails from people claiming they would no longer buy my products and/or services if I didn’t withdraw support.

It’s always interesting to see which articles have ended up being the most viewed; there are always a few surprises. These are the most popular posts written during the past year:

1. Hey, What happened to Wikipedia? An introduction to SOPA — other popular SOPA posts include Dispatches from the SOPAcolypse, Why I support the Stop Online Piracy Act, Stop Online Piracy Act walkthrough, and How the Stop Online Piracy Act will hit what it aims at
2. Justin Bieber is not going to jail
3. Was Hollywood built on piracy?
4. More evidence for copyright protection
5. What is technology?
6. The ‘copyright infringement isn’t theft’ trope
7. Who cares what Jefferson thought about copyright?
8. Megaupload and the DMCA
9. Copyright and web fonts: Santorum web developer sued for typeface infringement
10. Copyright and the First Amendment: the unexplored, unbroken historical practice, part 4 — for whatever reason, this was notably more popular than part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 5.

I want to say thanks to all my readers for continuing to stop by here, and to everyone who has shared their thoughts in the comments. If you’re new to the site, remember you can subscribe for updates by RSS or email, follow me on Twitter, or “like” my Facebook page.

Copyhype’s third year promises to be even more exciting. I will be launching a new look in the upcoming weeks. Nothing too dramatically different — just a little fresh paint that will be more readable, faster loading, and responsive — so the page should look relatively the same whether you’re on a smartphone, a tablet, or a regular computer.