Is There a Fundamental Right to Intellectual Property? — Rob Merges says “yes,” beginning with John Rawls’ principles of fundamental rights. Merges argues that these principles justify property in general and intellectual property specifically. He concludes by pointing out that, consistent with his approach, the European Court of Human Rights recognizes intellectual property as a human right.
Letter from Register of Copyrights Pallante to Ranking Member Conyers — In a response to a request for views on the recent House Judiciary Committee hearing that focused on the functions and resources of the US Copyright Office, the Office writes that the nation’s long term copyright interests “would be served best by establishing an independent copyright agency to administer the law, and by designating a leader that is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.”
Judge Rules ‘Three’s Company’ Parody Play to Be Fair Use — A thorough court decision finding a play that critiques and subverts the characters and situations of the hit 70’s show Three’s Company not infringing. “The former has turned the latter into a nightmarish version of itself, using the familiar Three’s Company construct as a vehicle to criticize and comment on the original’s light-hearted, sometimes superficial, treatment of certain topics and phenomena.”
The Man Who Makes Hollywood’s Smallest Sounds — A fantastic portrait of 30 year film veteran Gregg Barbanell. “Barbanell is a Hollywood ‘Foley’ artist, a member of a small, highly-skilled group of experts who add custom sounds into television and film scenes in post-production, using a bevy of makeshift props. Named after one of film’s earliest sound pioneers, Foley is an antiquated craft—and in a digitized era of cinema, it is one of the last of the industry’s ‘low-tech’ jobs. These folks are responsible for recording nearly every footstep and prop sound in the movies—the things that you never really notice, yet bring a scene to life. It’s at once one of the most important elements in film, and the most overlooked. Unlike sound effects editors, Foley artists don’t rely on libraries of pre-recorded sounds: they perform them ‘ive,’ using creativity, intuition, and a small dose of physics.”
Nigeria: ‘Copyright piracy is a cyber security matter,’ says President Goodluck Jonathan — “President Jonathan was asked about the government’s plans to curb piracy and address the issue of royalties. In his response, the President first displayed an understanding of the economic rights aspect of copyright and appreciated the importance of Nigeria’s entertainment industry. He then rightly acknowledged that piracy can only be minimised (not eradicated), and said his administration had just launched three security strategy documents, one of which considers piracy a security matter.”
Google admits it has huge influence in Washington as it tries to deny having influence — The Verge reports, “Last week, a Wall Street Journal report suggested Google tampered with an FTC investigation that was looking to see if the search giant was engaging in anti-competitive practices. While the FTC ultimately decided not to bring a lawsuit against Google, reports published by the WSJ indicated the commission was deeply divided on whether it should sue — and another report exposed the close ties that Google has with the Obama administration.” And Brendan Sasso reports that this development has caught the eye of Congress in Senate to Investigate White House Role in Google’s Antitrust Victory.
Cracker’s David Lowery updates his Silicon Valley relationship status: It’s complicated (interview) — Great interview from Lowery. “‘I’m seen as a digital critic, but I don’t think that’s really fair,’ he said. ‘I’m really a critic of how the digital realm pays artists. It’s more of a labor dispute. It’s like if we were the coal miners in the coal mine. It’s not that we’re against the coal mine. We just want to be paid better.'”
An Open Letter to Garbage from photographer Pat Pope over whether the band should pay to use his photos in new book — Says Pope, “No, you don’t have my permission to use my work for free. I’m proud of my work and I think it has a value.”