And We Quote...
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
Search opens up creations. It promotes the civic nature of publishing. Having searchable works is good for culture. It is good in fact, that we can now state a new covenant: Copyrights must be counterbalanced with Copyduties. In exchange for public protection of a work’s copies (what we call copyright) a creator has an obligation to allow a work to be searched. No search, no copyright. As a song, movie, novel or poem is searched, the potential connections it radiates seep into society in a much deeper way than the simple publication of a duplicated copy ever could.
— Kevin Kelly, writing in “Scan this Book”,
New York Times Magazine, May 14, 2006
Alliance Activities
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
CopyCamp is coming!!! The Alliance’s long awaited event is set to take place the end of September in Toronto. Billed as an “unconference” for artists, it will focus on new ways to make art and make a living utilizing the Internet, and on the challenges of digital to copyright. There will be a mix of practising artists, IP activists, software creators, technology experts, lawmakers and scholars on hand including some of the key players in the copyright debate from Canada and abroad. Special confirmed guests include: Mark Hosler of Negativland, Mike Linksvayer of Creative Commons US, Michael Geist of Creative Commons Canada, Mike Holderness of the NUJ and the International Federation of Journalists, Geoff Tansey, Joseph Rowntree Visionary for a Just and Peaceful World, and Moana Maniapoto, singer/songwriter from New Zealand. Confirmed special guest artists: Richard Fung, Lorraine Segato, Lillian Allen, Stan Meissner, and Paul Hoffert. CopyCamp will offer debates, interviews, demonstrations, discussions and more. It will be an opportunity to explore the relationship of copyright to making of art. There will be no observers at CopyCamp. Everyone gets to speak, to help out, and to engage in the exchange. Among the themes to be addressed: Licensing content on the Internet and the role of ISPs, Creative Commons licenses and the public domain, open source software, and Traditional Knowledge and appropriation. Space is limited and tickets aren’t cheap. However, a number of spaces are reserved for creators at subsidized rates. Some support for travel is also available courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. (CopyCamp is also funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, and hosted by the School of Journalism at Ryerson University.) For more information about the event, participants and registration visit the CopyCamp website. When: Thursday, September 28th, through Saturday, September 30th, 2006 Where: Ryerson University’s Student Campus Centre in downtown Toronto How: For more information and to register: www.copycamp.ca. Rate: $700 + GST. (Subsidy available for artists.)
Updates
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
LAUNCH OF A MUSIC “TRADING” SERVICE
Bill Nguyen is the founder of Lala.com, a music “trading” service that allows music fans to trade their CD’s with other interested fans. Though Lala encourages the trading of music, much like a used CD store, it does not condone piracy and will not allow pirated works to be traded over its network. The person who receives the CD pays the fee of $1.75 US. Of this, the company plans to allocate $0.75 for shipping, $0.80 for operating overhead with the remaining $0.20 profit going to the musicians whose works are traded. These monies will be paid out through a charity called the Z Foundation which is basing its plan on the Wiki model, so that the Z Foundation, fans and other artists will decide who gets paid under the system. For more information on this service see www.lala.com or www.reuters.com.
PIRACY AN ISSUE ON THE WIPO AGENDA
WIPO’s advisory committee on enforcement met in Geneva from May 15 to 19, 2006. At the meeting, Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO stressed that member nations should not underestimate the negative impact of counterfeiting and piracy on national and international economies. Participants agreed that there was a need for closer international co-operation as nations fight piracy within and across their boarders. It was determined that the next session of the Advisory Committee on Enforcement should consider cooperation on at international, regional and national levels in relation to the enforcement of intellectual property laws. More information on these meetings can be found in WIPO’s press release 2006/447.
TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION and TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
The 9th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Traditional Cultural Expression, Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources took place on April 24-28. The papers and documents related to this session are now available on the WIPO website at wipo.int/tk/en. See also issue #37 of CRA News for Greg Young-Ing’s report on this meeting.
International Issues
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
UNITED STATES to REFORM MECHANICAL ROYALITIES
A panel contemplating new legislation in the United States has approved the Section 115 Reform Act that proposes to overhaul the mechanical royalty system in the United States. The draft legislation proposes a blanket royalty system that will be administered though the U.S. Copyright Office. Despite the panel’s support, changes are expected to the bill before it is presented to Congress. Among the changes expected are those that would respond to concerns of public interest groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF is concerned that the new legislation will require consumers to pay fees for uses of content for which they are not currently charged. Consumer groups are concerned that the levy system would create a payment for, rather than the exception of, incidental copies, a use that is currently excepted under the American regime. For more information on the position of the EFF see www.eff.org, or for information on the bill see www.news.com.com.
UK REPORTS ON DRM
The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group in the UK has released a report on digital rights management. Based on 90 written submissions plus oral evidence given at hearings, the report makes recommendations on steps that the government and industry should take regarding the implementation of DRM to ensure that consumers are informed and their rights are protected. To read the report or a summary, please see: www.apig.org.uk.
JOURNALISTS in the UK CALL FOR YAHOO BOYCOTT
The National Union of Journalists (www.nuj.org.uk) has called on its members to stop using Yahoo. This call was made following allegations that Yahoo had been providing information about web-based journalists to Chinese authorities thereby contributing to actions against journalists compromising freedom of speech. Jemima Kiss, chairman of the National Union of Journalists, has asked all members to stop using Yahoo until Yahoo “changes its irresponsible and unethical policy”. The NUJ is hoping to encourage Yahoo to cease cooperation with the Chinese government and to protect the interests of journalists, particularly the freedom of expression rights of journalists operating on the web. For more information on this action see www.reuters.com.
EUROPEAN FILM ONLINE CHARTER ENDORSED
The European Film Online Charter was initiated by Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media in May 2005 and launched at the Cannes Film Festival that year. It was jointly develop under the auspices of the European Commission and business leaders in the telecommunications sector and launched at this past May at the Cannes. The Charter said to be the first of its kind—identifies “the preconditions for enabling content and infrastructure providers to make film online services a commercial success.” It is intended to serve as a reference for future commercial agreements as well as for broader content online policy of the EC. It has been endorsed by European Union and a number of key telecommunications operators including Time Warner, EMI. BBC, Telecom Italia Media and Thomson. For more information see: ec.uropa.eu.
PIRATE BAY AND PARTY TAKE ACTION IN SWEDEN
The copyright debate in Sweden has taken an unusual turn according to a Reuters’ report. In late May, Swedish police detained three people who were involved in the operation of The Pirate Bay, an on-line source of illegal musical and film works. The Pirate Bay website, was shut down as part of the police action in May, but has since resumed operation. Nevertheless, not everybody in Sweden is supportive of copyright laws that criminalize file sharing of copyright protected works. The Pirate Party was launched on January 1st of this year to run candidates in the federal elections scheduled for September. The primary mandate of this party is to fight for changes to copyright law. For more information on the objectives of the Pirate Party, please see: ww2.piratpartiet.se’s site.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SEEKS TO END INTERNET REPRESSION
Amnesty International has launched a global campaign to end state censorship of the Internet. Keeping to its tradition of peaceful protest, Amnesty has asked web users to sign a pledge calling on governments to stop censorship on the Internet. They plan to present it to the United Nations meeting on the Future of the Internet in November. Kate Allen, the UK Director of Amnesty International, states, “The Internet is a huge, powerful tool. We see governments censoring across the Internet or locking people up for having conversations about democracy and freedom. I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression, and on companies to stop helping them do it.” More information on this petition can be found at www.irrepressible.info.
BULGARIA ACTS AGAINST PIRACY
www.news.com.com has reported that two men have been arrested in Bulgaria for posting links to 20 million songs and hundreds of films on the site www.arenabg.com, one of Bulgaria’s most popular web pages. Customers using the service are permitted to download as many songs as they want for the monthly fee of $2.50 US. Piracy is seen as a major problem in Bulgaria and could be a stumbling block to its entering the European Union in 2007. The Europa Newsletter #81 suggested that, without a fix to its piracy problems, Bulgaria’s entry into the European Union may be delayed until 2008.
GERMAN POLICE SUE FILE SHARERS
German police have pressed charges against more than 2000 file sharers who use the popular P2P service Edonkey. The charges arose from surveillance that reportedly took place in February and April of this year. This case, which also includes claims for compensation under civil law, is reported to be the first of its kind brought in Germany. The International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) has stated that this case is the largest file sharing case ever brought. P2PNet has reported that the IFPI is seeking 10,000 per work uploaded by the alleged infringers. For more information see www.news.com.com or www.p2pnet.net.
SPAIN IMPLEMENTS INFORMATION SOCIETY DIRECTIVE
On June 22, Spain implemented the European Union’s Information Society Directive, leaving France as the only EU member that has not implemented the directive in national legislation. Spain has incorporated the private copying aspects of the directive by introducing an equipment levy. The levy is not set by the legislation; instead legislators have determined that it shoud be negotiated by the industries involved and users. The French Parliament voted on the implementation of the directive in June and the legislation is currently before the Constitutional Counsel, the highest constitutional authority in France. A final decision is expected in France in August. More information on the status of this legislation can be found at www.ifrro.org.
FRENCH MUSIC RETAILER FINED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Virgin France has been fined 600,000 for music piracy as a consequence of illegally downloading Madonna’s “Hung Up” to resell on its website. By doing this Virgin was ignoring an exclusive deal reached with other music retailers for the distribution of the song. Though Virgin argued that consumer protection and the need to create a balanced market for internet downloading justified its actions, the Court held that market forces did not provide a defence to copyright infringement. For more information on this fine please see news.bbc.co.uk.
US CONTINUES PIRACY FIGHT
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has broken up a movie-bootlegging ring that is believed to have been the source of 25% of all of the world’s pirated videos and DVD’s. Thirteen individuals have been arrested. The FBI alleges that the ring arranged for movies to be filmed by movie goers; the resulting tapes would be cleaned up and then reproduced and packaged for sale. For more information please see www.cnetnews.com. The United States Department of Justice is also taking issues of intellectual property enforcement more seriously. In June it released its 100 page Progress Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement. Though most of the report deals with the challenges of enforcement inside the United States, it also discusses US efforts to increase compliance worldwide. One tool the US is using which the report endorses is bilateral trade agreements that require the signing country to implement Digital Millennium Copyright Act type protections. The report also endorses the Intellectual Property Protection Act that which introduces new causes of action against copyright infringement including charges for attempt and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. The full text of the report can be found at www.eff.org’s site.
Litigation
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY in the UK SUES AllofMP3
The British Phonographic Industry (“BPI”) is suing the Russian downloading service AllofMP3 which charges approximately $1.87 per downloaded album vs. an average fee of $14.85 charged by iTunes. Thought AllofMP3 charges a fee for downloads, the BPI alleges that the Russian company does not pay any royalties to artists and is trying to take AllofMP3 to court through the British system. Despite this lawsuit the BPI has indicated that it won’t be taking users to task, but rather will be going after the service provider. To underscore the seriousness of this issue, the BPI pushed the British government to raise the issue at the G8 conference in Russia in July. For more information on this case and government lobbying please see www.silicon.com or news.bbc.co.uk.
ONLINE JOURNALISTS CAN PROTECT THEIR SOURCES
The California Court of Appeal has held that online journalists have the same right to protect sources as offline reporters. Apple Computers brought the case against several “John Does” who had allegedly leaked information about Apple’s products. In attempting to identify the “John Does”, Apple had subpoenaed the e-mail records of the reporter from NFox, the reporters internet service provider. The court held that the records did not need to be disclosed as the reporter involved had the right to protect his sources. The summary of the outcome of this case was provided in the Effector, Vol 19, NO 20 May 30, 2006 and the full text of the decision can be found at www.eff.org’s site.
CLEAN FLICKS LOSE COPYRIGHT SUIT
Previously we reported that Clean Flicks along with several other movie “cleaning” companies were being sued by the Directors Guild of America. Clean Flicks’s business, as the name suggests, involves taking mainstream movies and removing explicit, violent or sexual content to make them family friendly. In early July, the American Courts ruled that Clean Flicks and the other companies were engaged in a business that violates copyright. In his ruling district court justice Richard Matsch made clear that the business was illegitimate and stated that “The right to control the content of copyright work …is the essence of the law of copyright”. This is seen as a victory for copyright holders in the United States, where the moral right to the integrity to a work that exists in Canada is not explicitly written into the law. For more information on this case see www.news.com.com.
A NEW CAUSE FOR COPYRIGHT USERS?
In an unusual case, the estate trustee and the grandson of the Irish writer James Joyce are being sued for improperly withholding access to material that scholars feel should be accessible for research purposes. The Joyce Estate is known to be one of the most aggressive in protecting the copyright of the works created by their ancestor and has historically withheld all access, including scholarly access, to his letters and other papers. They have also restricted what can be used in publications and readings. The question before the court is whether or not the heirs can withhold access to both published and unpublished materials in situations where users wish to exercise fair dealing or some other authorized use in respect to those works. Though James Joyce’s works are already in the Public Domain in Canada, this decision will have an impact on scholars in the United States and other countries that have a copyright term spanning life of the artist plus 70 years. It should also help clarify when and how a work can be presented on the Internet when it is in the public domain in the posting country but still subject to copyright protection in others. This case is receiving a lot of attention on the Internet and has been reported on in the Globe and Mail, July 8, 2006.
DUTCH COURT RULES ON LINKING
A Dutch website that linked to thousands of MP3 files has been taken down following an Appellate Court decision which stated that www.zoekmp3.nl, the defendant in the law suit, had to stop promoting infringement of copyright. Similar to past decisions from Australia, the court held that the manner in which the site operated encouraged individual users to infringe copyright. If the company does not respect the court order and infringement over the website continues, the court can impose penalties that include fines of 10,000 per day or 1,000 per infringing file. For more information on this case see http://www.techweb.com.