Capturing the value of information — How Newscorp and AP can profit from the...
Information is valuable. Governments know this. Companies know this. Consumer rights know this. The Associated Press and NewsCorp know this. Those last two run an entire business on the gathering...
View ArticleDMCA Takedowns versus Free Speech
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, gets a lot of bad press. Digital rights management software, or DRM, is blamed on the DMCA’s anti-circumvention clause. The MPAA went so far as to argue...
View ArticleLive broadcasts and performances aren’t per se copyrightable: Revisiting the...
A recent Techdirt article discusses the role of broadcast listeners and viewers in preserving sports history. The article’s main point seems to be an argument that allowing copying helps preserve...
View ArticleWhat’s the point of the DMCA if I have to keep taking down content?
Infringing copyright content isn’t always cut and dry. Sometimes people try and abuse copyright law to silence critics or competition. Sometimes there is a genuine dispute over what elements of a work...
View ArticleCan you steal the idea for a product or service?
The Telegraph has an article about claims that the founders of the Huffington Post ‘stole’ the blueprint for the popular website. Can you ‘steal’ an idea, be it for a product or a service? On some...
View ArticleHow Auto-Tune the News made me look at the DMCA and copyright law
My 18-month old daughter and I watch Auto-Tune the News on our AppleTV in the mornings while her mother prepares her daycare bag and I try to function pre-coffee. One morning we clicked on AutoTune the...
View ArticleCopyright & Trademark: A primer on their differences
There is a lively discussion on the differences between copyright and trademark law in the comments to a Techdirt article. Copyright and trademark law are often confused, and this is by both lawyers...
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