Copyright enforcement concern signs up second newspaper chain

Righthaven, a company that sues bloggers who repost news content without prermission, has expanded its operation to a second newspaper chain, the Arkansas-based WEHCO Media. -db
Wired
August 30, 2010
By David Kravets
A Las Vegas company established to sue bloggers who clip news content is expanding its operations to a second newspaper chain.
Righthaven LLC has struck [...]

Federal judge not fooled by differing demon Spawn

Coraline and Stardust author Neil Gaiman is owed royalties for three more characters that appeared in artist Todd McFarlane’s classic Spawn comic book series, a federal judge has ruled.
News
August 3, 2010
By The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled last week that the demon Dark Ages [...]

Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age

At Rhode Island College, a freshman copied and pasted from a Web site’s frequently asked questions page about homelessness — and did not think he needed to credit a source in his assignment because the page did not include author information.
The New York Times
News
August 2, 2010
By Trip Gabriel
At DePaul University, [...]

Apps Unchained: Copyright ruling legalizes smartphone ‘jailbreaks’

How smart is your smartphone?  Until yesterday your phone’s IQ was decided by the manufacturer (i.e., Apple) and/or wireless service provider (i.e., AT&T).  Monday the Library of Congress, responsible for making copyright decisions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, made it legal to break the restrictions coded into smartphones–such as which apps you’re [...]

Free speech: Parodies of Hitler film clip run into copyright restrictions

The movie studio that made a 2004 film showing Adolf Hitler in a rage over the impending defeat of Nazi Germany is struggling to defend its copyright as parodies based on Hitler’s rage sprout on the Internet. db
Free speech: Parodies of Hitler film clip run into copyright restrictions
San Francisco Chronicle
July 23, 2010
By Benny Evangelista
In a [...]

Reblogging carries legal risk

Reblogging could get you into legal problems or a big hassle. Reusing photos is almost certain to attract the notice of the photographer. -db

Los Angeles Times
Analysis
June 9, 2010
By Mark Mili

Bloggers rip, reuse and rehash text and media from the entrails of the Internet all the time, but the legality of doing so remain contentious.
Legal questions [...]

Federal appeals court to hear case that could affect online news aggregation

The U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) will hear a case this summer involving news media who want to protect time-sensitive stories from online aggregators. -db

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
May 26, 2010
By Brian Westley
A case before a federal appeals court could have important ramifications for news organizations seeking to protect time-sensitive stories from [...]

Federal judge suggests internet rights lawyer gave questionable advice to clients on discarding evidence

In handing down a decision in a copyright case pitting the Recording Industry Association of America against file-sharing service LimeWire, a  federal district judge implied that an Electronic Freedom Foundation lawyer may have advised clients to discard incriminating evidence.  -db

CNET
May 18, 2010
By Greg Sandoval

Federal court voids injunction on ‘Catcher in the Rye’ sequel

A federal appeals court vacated a lower court’s injunction on the publication of a sequel to “Catcher in the Rye” without ruling on the issue of whether the injunction constituted unlawful prior restraint on speech. -db

The New York Times
April 30, 2010
By Dave Itzkoff

A United States appeals court on Friday vacated a lower court’s order to enjoin the [...]

Sites sued for reposting articles without ever being asked to take them down

A copyright enforcement firm has filed three lawsuits against sites they claim reposted articles from newspapers including the Las Vegas Review-Journal. -db

Online Media Daily
April 30, 2010
By Wendy Davis
Copyright enforcement outfit Righthaven has filed three more lawsuits against sites that allegedly reproduced articles from newspapers in the Stephens Media chain, including its flagship publication Las Vegas [...]

Federal court decision shows ‘hot news’ doctrine still persists

A federal district court judge recently ruled against a financial news site for publishing recommendations of Wall Street research analysts, a “hot news” misappropriation. Harvard Law School lecturer and assistant director for CMLP Sam Bayard discusses the First Amendment issues raised by the decision. -db
Citizen Media Law Project
Commentary
March 23, 2010
By Sam Bayard
In 2003, prolific legal [...]

Trademark case: Chamber of Commerce battles critics over parody

Political activists are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claiming the activists infringed on trademarks with a parody on the Chamber’s stance on climate change. -DB
Electronic Frontier Foundation
January 6, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of political activists including members of the Yes Men and [...]

Publisher sues hackers for copyright infringement after portions of GQ appear online

Condé Nast has sued anonymous hackers after they downloaded unpublished photos and articles from GQ’s December issue and published them online. -DB

Online Media Daily
December 23, 2009
By Wendy Davis
Condé Nast has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against unknown users who allegedly hacked into the company’s computer system, downloaded unpublished photos and articles, and then published them [...]

Small town latest casualty in motion picture copyright enforcement lottery

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) performs a regular ritual in a futile attempt to enforce copyright, the latest target an anonymous user in a small town who downloaded a copyrighted movie, writes a Citizen Media Law Project blogger.  In response to a breach notice, the town of Coshocton, Ohio voluntarily shut down its [...]

Arbitrator nixes talk show host Glenn Beck’s charge that parody infringed copyright

Online Media Daily
November 6, 2009
By Wendy Davis
Controversial talk show host Glenn Beck came up empty as a World Intellectual Property Organization arbitrator ruled that a unflattering url intended to be a parody came under the protection of the First Amendment. -DB

Critics blast Obama for conducting secret trade talks that could rewrite U.S. copyright law

Daily Finance
November 5, 2009
By Sam Gustin
The U.S. participated in secret talks in Seoul, South Korea last week that could result in harsh measures to root out copyright infringement. Civil liberties and consumer groups are upset by the lack of transparency in the proceedings. -DB

Will it Work?: New German proposal for copyright system to save journalism

Citizen Media Law Project blogger Arthur Bright argues that Germany’s proposal to charge for journalism content using a system similar to that used by the movie and music industries is fraught with difficulty and will only delay the inevitable. To survive, says Bright,  journalism must develop a workable business model. -DB
Citizen Media Law Project
Commentary
October 30, [...]

Hallmark wants rehearing in First Amendment case against Paris Hilton

After losing a federal court appeal ruling on August 31, Hallmark Cards is asking for a rehearing with the full court concerning a dispute with Paris Hilton over a birthday card bearing an image of Hilton’s head. -DB
The National Law Journal
September 23, 2009
By Amanda Bronstad
Hallmark Cards Inc. has asked the full “Court of Appeals for [...]

Tracking software will not protect Associated Press conten

Wired writer Ryan Singel says just copying and pasting will remove underlying code meant to prevent misuse of AP content -DB
Wired
Commentary
July 27, 2009
By Ryan Singel
The Associated Press announcement that it would “protect” its online content by including special html code in the stories it distributes to its member papers raised hackles around the internet from bloggers [...]

Associated Press taking hard line on use of its content

A.P. is adding new software to each of its articles to track how the article is used in an aggressive move to gain more profit from its stories. -DB
The New York Times
July 24, 2009
By Richard Perez-Pena
Taking a new hard line that news articles should not turn up on search engines and Web sites without permission, The [...]

Associated Press settles lawsuit over improper use of its content

AP settled their lawsuit against All headline News who had rewritten and posted AP stories online without assigning credit. AP used the “hot news” doctrine as the basis for their claim. -DB
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
July 14, 2009
By Lucas Tanglen
The Associated Press settled its lawsuit against All headline News over AP stories that were [...]