Categories
Administrative Agency Copyright Infringement Innovation Internet Uncategorized

[Archived Post] IP Scholars to FCC: It’s Not About “The Box”

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. Yesterday, […]

Categories
Copyright Infringement Internet Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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. […]

Categories
Administrative Agency Copyright Innovation Internet Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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 […]

Categories
Antitrust Copyright International Law Internet Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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 […]

Categories
Copyright Internet Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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 […]

Categories
Copyright Internet Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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. While hearing from a variety of […]

Categories
Administrative Agency Economic Study FTC Innovation Inventors Law and Economics Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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. But while the results may be interesting, they’ll also be too narrow to […]

Categories
Administrative Agency Copyright Uncategorized

[Archived Post] A New Librarian of Congress and a New Copyright Office

By Sandra Aistars 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. Copyright Office, a department within the Library of Congress, needs […]

Categories
Copyright Internet Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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 […]

Categories
Copyright Internet Legislation Uncategorized

[Archived Post] 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. In our Section 512 comments, […]