Andy Warhol Foundation v Goldsmith, Brief for Respondents [PDF] — Goldsmith’s counsel this week filed its merits brief in the closely-watched Supreme Court copyright case. The brief argues, “AWF’s test would transform copyright law into all copying, no right. Altering a song’s key to convey different emotions: presumptive fair use. Switching book endings so the bad guys win: ditto. Airbrushing photographs so the subject conforms to ideals of beauty: same. That alternative universe would decimate creators’ livelihoods. Massive licensing markets would be for suckers, and fair use becomes a license to steal.”
Microsoft Sues Activation Key & Token Sellers For Enabling Customers’ Piracy — Torrentfreak reports on a lawsuit filed by the software giant this week. “Like software tokens, which enable downloads and automatic software activation, activation keys are anti-piracy tools, and exchanging money for them is not the same as buying a license. Indeed, Microsoft makes itself very clear – the activation of a piece of software means nothing in the absence of a license. Microsoft’s problem is that product activation keys can be ‘decoupled’ from the software they were meant to authorize and then reused to activate more copies of the software, in some cases more copies than the attached Microsoft license permits. As a result, there is a global black market for activation keys which are sold to often unsuspecting consumers who then download official software from Microsoft, without buying a license.”
Copyright Public Modernization Committee: Biannual Meeting — Video from the committee meeting held July 28 is now online. The US Copyright Office hosted the public forum in order to share information and answer questions regarding its five-year IT modernization efforts.
Lin-Manuel Miranda Calls Out ‘Illegal, Unauthorized’ Production of ‘Hamilton’ by Texas Church — “Miranda, who created the Tony-winning sensation ‘Hamilton’ and portrayed the title character on Broadway, also retweeted a statement from the Dramatist Guild — an organization representing playwrights, composers and lyricists — that reads, ‘The Dramatists Guild condemns the Door McAllen Church for its unauthorized production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical ‘Hamilton,’ performed on August 5 and August 6, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. In addition to performing the show without a license, the Door McAllen Church changed lyrics and added text without permission.'”
Canada Moves to Alter Copyright Law to the Benefit of Artists — Artforum covers efforts in Canada to introduce a resale royalty right there. Such a right, currently established in over 90 countries (but not the US), would direct a percentage of the resale for certain visual art works to the original artist.