Chilling Effects and PerezHilton.com
As David posted, celebrity gossip site PerezHilton.com has battled ISP takedown over claimed copyright infringement. A key problem, the Houston Chronicle reports, is that site-owner Mario Lavanderia is...
View ArticleExclusive Rights: The Wrong Goal for NFL
The NFL just doesn't know when to stop. The Washington Post reports on a new NFL policy limiting journalists' use of video online: In a move designed to protect the Internet operations of its 32...
View ArticleDMCA Truth Can Be Stranger than Science Fiction
Author Denise McCune posts a great account of the workings and failings of the DMCA's notice-and-takedown procedures. As Cory Doctorow has also reported on BoingBoing, the VP of the Science Fiction...
View ArticleHas Common Sense Flown the Coop: Copyright doesn't protect book prices
The Harvard Crimson has been reporting on the Harvard Coop’s silly claims of “intellectual property” against those who come to the bookstore to compare prices. It’s escalated all the way to calling...
View ArticleChilly Weekend: Black Friday Prequel and Public Domain Music Scores
If it's fall, these must be cease-and-desists for Black Friday ads. This year, they seem to be coming earlier than ever, as Wal-Mart sends pre-notifications against future posting. I put my analysis...
View ArticleBest Buy Apologizes for Cease-and-Desist Blooper
Yesterday, Best Buy sent a cease-and-desist letter to Scott Beale of Laughing Squid for reporting on an "Improv Everywhere" prank and their sales of T-shirts mocking the Best Buy logo. Best Buy...
View ArticleHere Comes Another Takedown
Earlier this month, comedy group The Richter Scalesreleased a funny music video, "Here Comes Another Bubble." The video showed a montage of Silicon Valley images over a sound-track adapted from Billy...
View ArticleAir Force DMCA-Bombs YouTubed Ad
Over at Wired's Threat Level blog, Kevin Poulsen reports on a new DMCA overreach: the U.S. Air Force complained (via outside counsel) about his posting of their recruiting video. The post, Poulsen...
View ArticleDMCA "Repeat Infringers": Scientology Critic’s Account Reinstated after...
The Scientology critic known as “Wise Beard Man” returned to YouTube this week after successfully filing counter-notifications to copyright claims that had earlier been made against his account. The...
View ArticlePrivacy Falls into YouTube's Data Tar Pit
As a big lawsuit grinds forward, its parties engage in discovery, a wide-ranging search for information "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence." (FRCP Rule 26(b)) And...
View ArticleeBay Shines in Tiffany Trademark Fight
In Tiffany v. eBay, decided today, the Southern District of New York gives helpful bounds to secondary liability for trademark infringement, saying eBay is not liable for its use of the term "Tiffany"...
View ArticleMcCain's YouTube Takedowns Inspire Fair Use Fervor
There's nothing like a misfired copyright claim to make a presidential campaign see the value of fair use. After finding several of its campaign videos removed from YouTube for copyright claims, the...
View ArticleDon't Believe the Twitter Anti-Hype: Innovative Platforms Allow for Failure
Don't believe the anti-hype around Twitter (cross-posted from Legal Tags). Twitter hype punctured by study, reports the BBC on a recent Harvard B school finding: The median user has written only one...
View ArticleDebugging Legislation: PROTECT IP
There's more than a hint of theatrics in the draft PROTECT IP bill (pdf, via dontcensortheinternet ) that has emerged as son-of-COICA, starting with the ungainly acronym of a name. Given its roots in...
View Article