Copyright

The Authors Guild vs. Kindle 2 — Could Users Be Held Liable?

February 26, 2009 by Kirk Biglione

Kindle 2 shipped this week, and all over America ebook lovers are gleefully tweeting the arrival of the new reading device.

That’s all well and good, but those excited new Kindle owners may want to proceed with caution when it comes to using one of the device’s most highly publicized new features. In fact, they just might want to consult a lawyer before pressing that “read aloud” button.

The Authors Guild believes that Kindle 2’s text-to-speech (TTS) feature is an infringement of audiobook rights. In fact, the Guild contends that because of this new feature, every Kindle book sold is not only an ebook, but also an audiobook. Never mind the fact that Kindle 2’s voice has been described as sounding “oddly norwegian” or that Jeff Bezos recently joked with John Stewart that the read aloud feature sounds “a little freaky.”

Five Lessons The Music Industry Can Learn From AllofMP3

October 23, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

The recording industry has been waging war against Russian-based music websites for years. While the industry has successfully litigated most file sharing networks out of existence, they haven’t had much luck stopping sites like MediaService’s AllofMP3. Despite the RIAA’s best efforts AllofMP3 continues to sell digital downloads to music lovers around the world, while technically complying with Russian copyright laws and licensing agreements.

While complying with the laws of your country may seem like a loophole here in the United States, it makes perfect sense to a company that’s based in Russia. Unfortunately for MediaServices that the loophole is about to be closed. There are signs the Russian government is planning to crack down on grey market download sites like AllofMP3 in an effort to gain admission into the World Trade Organization.

Regardless of what you think about the legality of AllofMP3, there’s no denying that MediaServices has created one of the most innovative and consumer friendly digital music services around. AllofMP3 is so well done that the “legitimate” recording industry could learn quite a bit by studying it. Hopefully the major labels will take a long look at AllofMP3 before it gets shut down.

Here are a few lessons the music industry could learn from AllofMP3:

YouTube and Orphaned Art

October 2, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

So we here at Medialoper have a friend named Joe. It’s not that Joe is a Luddite, but he’s maintained for years that this whole Internet thing is a fad. He’s warned us — oh, has he warned us! — not to get too comfortable with this whole online culture. Nothing good can come from it.

Then Joe discovered YouTube and a treasure trove of classic rockabilly videos (or whatever they were called before they were called videos). At least one ‘loper mother is sending her son links to old Buck Owens recordings. And so it goes. A lot of filmed material, stuff that formerly sat on the shelf, gathering dust, is being released into the YouTube wild.
[Read more…] about YouTube and Orphaned Art

Hong Kong’s Anti-Piracy Sweatshop

July 22, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

The Boy Scouts of Hong Kong are at it again. Last year they began awarding merit badges for copyright proficiency, and now they’ve enlisted their entire membership to scour the web for signs of piracy. Nothing says summer fun for kids like firing up the laptop and searching the internet for intellectual property violations.

It’s not just the Boy Scouts either. According to the New York Times 200,000 ~~children~~ Youth Ambassadors, will be actively involved in the program.

More RIAA Madness: Part 2, The All-Seeing Ear

June 20, 2006 by Jim Connelly

Yesterday, you may recall, I discussed the RIAA sending cease-and-desist letters to the people who upload videos of themselves lipsynching to popular songs.

But that’s just the beginning: we’ve learned who they are targeting next, and in a Medialoper Multiverse Exclusive, are revealing it to you today.

More RIAA Madness: Part 1, In League With The Terrorists?

June 19, 2006 by Jim Connelly

It just seems like harmless fun: people filming themselves lipsynching popular songs, and then sending the results to YouTube and Google Video. People have always done stuff like this: probably the fifth film ever made — after an accidential shot of the floor; sex; a cute puppy running around; and someone else filming the filmer — was somebody pretending to play a Scott Joplin song.

And people have been doing it ever since: it’s a Great American Tradition to totally make a fool of yourself on video pretending to perform a song you love. God bless the U.S.A.

Of course, sometimes other people see these videos, and there are unintended consequences.

Teaching Kids About Copyright Laws

June 3, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

I have no problem with the concept of teaching kids about copyright laws. After all, kids are the future. We’re doing it for the kids. Feed the children. Save the world. etc. etc. etc.

However, copyright is a complex subject that most adults don’t fully understand. When I say “most adults” I’m referring specifically to the RIAA, the MPAA, and other entertainment industry executives who routinely misrepresent the specifics of copyright law in an effort to intentionally confuse the public.

My concern is that programs designed to teach kids about copyright laws amount to little more than entertainment industry propaganda. Fair Use and the Right of First sale are routinely left out of copyright discussions, as are the concept and importance of the public domain.

Copyright And The Artistic Process

May 24, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

I am a writer. I am a writer. I am a writer. When it comes down to things I know how to do, number one (and quite often number only) is writing. I think in story. I fantasize scenes. I hear voices. If you’re not a writer, this means you’re crazy; if you are a writer, this means you’re normal.

Finally, normal.

RIAA Attempts To Outlaw Shared Folders

April 19, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

Just when you think the RIAA’s war on common sense can’t possibly get any more absurd they somehow manage to top themselves. The trade organization’s latest battle with the 21st century comes in the case of Elektra vs. Barker where the RIAA’s attorneys have been arguing that the defendant violated copyright laws by storing music files in a shared folder on her computer.

According to the RIAA, it doesn’t matter if the digital music files were obtained legally, the fact that they were stored in a shared folder that might allow others to access them constitutes “distribution” and is therefore in violation of copyright laws.

Since the RIAA seems to be waging a war on shared folders shouldn’t they really be suing Microsoft for making shared folders possible?

Sampling Your Way To Better Art

March 28, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Was it just two weeks ago that I discussed darknets? Time really does fly when you’re having fun. I was reminded of that column as I read Scott McLemee’s discussion about the out-of-control litigation surrounding music sampling. Like McLemee, when I heard about the Ohio Players court case cited in the article’s lead, my first reaction was “They’re still together?”

Later in the article, McLemee notes that it usually the case that the person who owns the copyright isn’t a person — which doesn’t actually answer the Ohio Players question — it’s a corporation, generally the label. And thanks to copyright laws that increasingly favor the copyright holder — badly skewing the purpose of copyright protection — the age-old creative process is being threatened.

Okay, not really. Creativity being what it is (creative) means that artists will always find a way around roadblocks.