RIAA v. VERIZON

The federal court decision in RIAA vs. Verizon on Tuesday was a very bad thing. Legal background: the DMCA has a very unusual provision, allowing copyright owners to obtain a federal court subpoena requiring ISPs to identify users who the copyright owner accuses of...

COPYRIGHT UPDATES

If you’re interested in the ongoing intellectual property turmoil, pick up this month’s issue of Wired Magazine – an interview with RIAA chief Hilary Rosen, an article with a fascinating description of Kazaa’s structure and its plans, and a marvelous discussion of the...

COPYRIGHT DEVELOPMENTS, GOOD AND BAD

The bad news is that the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Congress did not exceed its authority when it extended existing copyrights for another twenty years. (See my news item on October 13.) The majority opinion seems uncomfortable with the idea that corporate...

KAZAA LAWSUIT CONTINUES

A Los Angeles federal judge ruled that record companies and movie studios can proceed with a lawsuit against the parent company of Kazaa in the United States. Here’s an article about the ruling made public today. For background, see my news item on December 21....

MORE DMCA ABUSE

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998 after strenuous lobbying by Hollywood studios, record labels and other intellectual property holders. They argued that new copyright protections were necessary to prevent the Internet from becoming a forum for...

FCC TO PERMIT TELECOM, MEDIA CONSOLIDATION

An article in today’s Washington Post reviews some of the major decisions the Federal Communications Commission will be making in the next few months, moves that could fundamentally rewrite the rules for the broadcast media and Internet service providers. The...