Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Against CBS over Pre-1972 Sound Recordings — The Ninth Circuit reverses a 2016 district court decision involving the copyrightability of remastered sound recordings in an opinion that delves deeply into the question of when a derivative work evinces enough originality to be independently protected.
NAFTA’s IP Protections Should Reflect Today’s Global Economy — The U.S. Chamber’s Global Innovation Policy Center reports, “Negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) offer an opportunity to harmonize and strengthen IP standards across North America. A more effective IP chapter in an updated NAFTA agreement will support the growth of innovative and creative industries, create jobs, and stimulate economic competitiveness across the continent. While the IP standards included in the existing NAFTA agreement were considered comprehensive when the agreement was originally negotiated, the rapid evolution of biomedical and technological innovation and the growth of the digital economy require a modernized 21st century IP framework to adequately protect the high-risk, high-capital investments of innovators and creators across North America.”
Why Netflix Dramas Sag Midseason — and How They’re Fixing It — An interesting interview with the streaming service’s VP of original programming Cindy Holland, which, as the headline suggests, touches on an issue that many viewers have observed. But as Holland points out, no matter how much Netflix may change the viewing experience, or how much data it may be able to harvest from its customers, it doesn’t change the need for good storytellers. As Holland says here, “Once we’ve had the initial conversation with the creators about what they wanna make, and we say yes, we’re pretty clear that it’s really their vision.”
Google data collection research — A study finds the tech giant’s data collection is more pervasive than users probably realise, a major part of it occurs without direct involvement with Google services, and much of the anonymized data collected through passive means can still be associated with specific users. In return, we get to see more ads for products we just looked at.
How Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’ Became a Battle Cry for Musicians Seeking Royalties — The NY Times‘ Ben Sisario writes, “It was Aretha Franklin’s first No. 1 hit, the cry of empowerment that has defined her for generations: ‘Respect.’ But for the roughly seven million times the song has been played on American radio stations, she was paid nothing.”