This past April, we joined other IP scholars in explaining how the FCC’s proposed set-top box rules would undermine the property rights of creators and copyright owners. In reply comments filed last month, the EFF and a group of IP academics argued that the proposed rules would not implicate any copyright owners’ exclusive rights. Read more
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Radiohead Video Makes Unauthorized Use of Fictional Characters
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Last month, Radiohead released their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, after a five-year hiatus from recording. In true Radiohead fashion, the album’s release was preceded by a unique succession of mysterious social media postings, teaser artwork and music videos for the singles Burn the Witch and Daydreaming. Read more
FCC’s Extreme Proposal Threatens the Livelihood of Creators
By Matthew Barblan & Kevin Madigan
Earlier this year, the FCC proposed a new regulatory scheme ostensibly designed to improve the market for pay-TV set-top boxes. Chairman Wheeler claimed that the proposed rules would “tear down the barriers that currently prevent innovators from developing new ways for consumers to access and enjoy their favorite shows and movies on their terms.” Read more
Google Image Search and the Misappropriation of Copyrighted Images
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Last week, American visual communications and stock photography agency Getty Images filed a formal complaint in support of the European Union’s investigation into Google’s anti-competitive business practices. The Getty complaint accuses Google of using its image search function to appropriate or “scrape” third-party copyrighted works, thereby drawing users away from the original source of the creative works and preserving its search engine dominance. Read more
Copyright Policy Should Be Based On Facts, Not Rhetoric
Here’s a brief excerpt of a post by Kevin Madigan & Devlin Hartline that was published on IPWatchdog.
After nearly twenty years with the DMCA, the Copyright Office has launched a new study to examine the impact and effectiveness of this system, and voices on both sides of the debate have filed comments expressing their views. Read more
Separating Fact from Fiction in the Notice and Takedown Debate
By Kevin Madigan & Devlin Hartline
With the Copyright Office undertaking a new study to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the Section 512 safe harbor provisions, there’s been much discussion about how well the DMCA’s notice and takedown system is working for copyright owners, service providers, and users. Read more
Acknowledging the Limitations of the FTC’s PAE Study
The FTC’s long-awaited case study of patent assertion entities (PAEs) is expected to be released this spring. Using its subpoena power under Section 6(b) to gather information from a handful of firms, the study promises us a glimpse at their inner workings. Read more
A New Librarian of Congress and a New Copyright Office
With the Senate considering the confirmation of Dr. Carla Hayden as the next Librarian of Congress, I have joined thirteen other intellectual property law professors in an Open Letter suggesting that her confirmation should serve as an important reminder that the U.S. Read more
Middle Class Artists Want a DMCA System That Works
The following guest post comes from Rebecca Cusey, a second year law student at George Mason University School of Law.
By Rebecca Cusey
Mason Law’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic filed comments today with the U.S. Copyright Office detailing the frustrations and futilities experienced by everyday artists as they struggle with the DMCA system to protect their copyrights online. Read more
Copyright Scholars: Courts Have Disrupted the DMCA’s Careful Balance of Interests
The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting a study of the safe harbors under Section 512 of the DMCA, and comments are due today. Working with Victor Morales and Danielle Ely from Mason Law’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, we drafted and submitted comments on behalf of several copyright law scholars. Read more