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Google+The Register and Slashdot have picked up a theme from a 2006 law review article by Jason Mazzone on “copyfraud,” extending the idea to explain a new incarnation of it emerging in relation to Google Books.
law
Amazon's Kindle and digital rights management
There have been several stories over the last week about issues related to digital rights management (DRM) on Amazon’s Kindle.
Law blogging and attorney advertising: Stern v. Bluestone
The New York State Court of Appeals, in Stern v. Bluestone, 2009 NY Slip Op 04740 (2009), overturned a lower court ruling that ruled that a faxed newsletter dealing with attorney malpractice issues – the same area in which the author of the newsletter practiced. Lower courts thought this newsletter constituted advertising, and thus ran into rules about attorney advertising. The Court of Appeals disagreed.
Unravelling the Canadian Copyright Lobby
Especially important to everyone in Canada – but important to everyone, since copyright and IP are increasingly international issues due to attempts at harmonization (WIPO, for example) – comes this expose by Michael Geist on the undue influence pro-copyright lobbyist organizations have had on Canadian policy documents.
5 Social Networking Sites for Legal Job Seekers
Today’s legal job market is tough. To succeed, you need to use all the tools you can. Some of these tools require new rules, although all build on old-fashioned approaches, like networking and building a reputation. Here are five tools to bring your job search into the world of online social networking: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, and JD Supra.
File sharing and "fair use"
Latoicha Givens writes: In the case of RIAA vs. Joel Tenenbaum, the court is currently accepting an argument that peer to peer file sharing is a Fair Use exception to Copyright Infringement Laws. Essentially, the argument is that file sharing … Continued
The long history of restrictions on speech
It’s too easy to look at recent trends, or project current biases, on the law, and assume that the trend extends backwards in time in a similar fashion. This is a useful lesson to keep in mind whether one is look at law and technology, or Constitutional issues.
The Thomas file-sharing retrial
The almost two million dollar award is $80,000 per song. $80,000. Damages are supposed to be, well, damages, even if statutory. It strains belief that the record labels really were harmed to the tune of $80,000 per song, even based … Continued
Third-party copyright liability & freedom of speech
Alfred C. Yen of Boston College recently posted A First Amendment Perspective on the Construction of Third Party Copyright Liability on SSRN: The relatively high risk of chill associated with third party copyright liability suggests that the First Amendment is … Continued
Study on file sharing and copyright: weaker protections benefit society
There are many who disagree, but the study appears to raise interesting issues regarding the benefit to society of copyright protections. As Mike Masnick writes, copyright is about balancing benefits (incentives to create with the benefits of distribution).
Is "free" a potentially workable business model for legal services?
Lawyers are safer than musicians in that distribution of legal knowledge is harder – but nonetheless technology will revolutionize legal services, and law firms that adapt to the ideas behind “free” as a business model will survive and prosper – those that fail to adapt will not.
Internet access as a fundamental human right?
On June 10th, France’s version of the Supreme Court struck down parts of a new French law known as HADOPI: France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, ruled that access to the internet is a “fundamental human right” this week in … Continued
The current television business model will fail
The television industry is where newspapers were 10 years ago – in denial that they need to change their business model. They have tried, on occasion, to argue that skipping commercials is “stealing” and similar types of arguments. They are, as Henry points out, still making money – so they can afford to ignore the changes. I predict that, as inevitable as the death of their current business is, their attempt to legislate content protections is as inevitable.
Texas effectively denies open access to state law
A recent change to the Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure gives “memorandum” opinions full precedential value – but those opinions are currently only accessible through the very expensive Westlaw or LexisNexis.
A manifesto for the new Web from building43
Building43 is the latest Robert Scoble/Rackspace venture, a kind of online community space to develop the future of the Web. (Or something like that.) I am typically suspicious of grand ventures by luminaries – so often they fail to live up to expectations. Still, I’m willing to give it a chance – and, hopefully, to translate some of its message to the legal world.
Business method patents rejected in Canada
Michael Geist explains the current status of business method patents in Canada where, so far, they have been firmly rejected – unlike in the United States.
