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OK, I'm convinced! The entertainment industry really has lost it's collective mind. As if this story we're proof enough, I offer this sordid tale from the Grey Lady herself: apparently the execs from NBC/Universal have slept through the last decade and still think DRM is a great idea, and apparently the Evil Empire itself is backing the assertion. Which is hilarious, in light of the fate of their previous DRM effort.

Los Angeles County, following New York's lead, is declaring property a public nuisance if it's used to counterfeit copyrighted music and videos. Among the reasons: "It's detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare" of the public at large. Penalties range up to $1,000 for violation and properties can be shuttered.

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:20 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

This could get really crazy if the court fails to see the implications of ruling against a program that "cheats" ...

SeeSp0tRun writes to remind us of Blizzard's lawsuit against MDY Industries over the Glider cheat. It seems that Blizzard is pushing it even further. They're trying out the legal theory that a software creator retains complete control over how a program is used, meaning that anyone who uses it in a different way could be found guilty of copyright infringement, at $750 a pop. The EFF and Public Knowledge are among the organizations trying to assure that the court doesn't set a really bad precedent here.

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:07 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Amazing - ASCAP, the RIAA and other music industry groups are bound and determined to kill that golden egg laying goose no matter waht. And they're well on their way ...

A federal judge has established a formula for reckoning the internet royalties owed Yahoo, AOL and RealNetworks. ASCAP is thrilled and estimates the ruling will yield their members as much as $100 million for online use between 2002 and 2009.

Fri, 02 May 2008 06:30 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Ah, the joys of DRM ... you never really buy the songs, you just rent them.

PDQ Back writes to tell us about an email Microsoft sent to former customers of MSN Music today. The company said it would be turning off the DRM servers used to authorize playback of music purchased from the now-defunct MSN Music store. "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers," reads the e-mail. This doesn't just apply to the five different computers that PlaysForSure allows users to authorize, it also applies to operating systems on the same machine (users need to reauthorize a machine after they upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista, for example). Once September rolls around, users are committed to whatever five machines they may have authorized — along with whatever OS they are running.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:30 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

I wonder how many of the Tolkien dictionaries, encyclopedias, academic studies and other derivative works were approved by JRR himself or his estate before publication?

AP - For a time, "Harry Potter" superfan Steven Vander Ark seemed to be living a geeky dream.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:31 /Copywrongs | 1 writeback | permanent link

No absurd claim amazes me anymore in the Copyright Wars.

University of Florida professor Michael Moulton and his e-textbook publisher are suing a company that repackages and sells student notes, arguing that copyright law protects the lectures he gives to his students.

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:53 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

The idiots that filed this patent in 1999 had to be aware of the existing art - and they filed anyway, hoping to cash in, no doubt, when that art became ubiquitous.

Which, no coincidentally, is the very definition of "patent troll".

A patent scheduled for sale next month in San Francisco could threaten some of the biggest players on the internet leading Web 2.0.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:13 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

An interesting idea, even if the author gets a bit confused on the difference between patents and copyrights. I just wonder if it wouldn't lead to "copyright squatting" (as in domain squatting) or possibly copyright trolls.

Still, an interesting thought.

With a proper tax system, publishers like the L.A. Times or scientific journals may maintain a copyright for only a year or so before letting the content revert to public domain and letting Google and everyone else utilize the material for its small, but socially significant, remaining value. The human enterprise could continue to build on itself in these creative, sustainable and non-resource-consuming ways, with copyrights only applying to a small subset of this enterprise.

via Slashdot

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:17 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has its limits...

If all goes IBM's way, it'll soon constitute patent infringement if Bennigan's gives you a free lunch for being inconvenienced by a long wait for your meal. Big Blue is seeking a patent for its Method and Structure for Automated Crediting to Customers for Waiting, the purported "invention" of three IBM researchers, which IBM notes, "could be implemented completely devoid of computerization or automation of any kind."

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:00 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Light at the end of the tunnel? Let's hope it's not an oncoming freight!

It looks like the courts may finally be gearing up to overturn the ruling that opened the floodgates for both software and business model patents. It's been nearly ten years since the US courts decided that business methods were patentable and that most software could be patentable — and we've all seen what's happened since then. With all the efforts to fix the patent system lately, it appears that the court that originally made that decision may be regretting it, and has agreed to hear a new case that could overturn that ruling and restore some sanity to the patent system.

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:09 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

If you're looking for a good argument for reform of the current patent laws, look no further. This suit, assuming it's success, could put the FCC in the uncomfortable position of having mandated adoption of patented technology - efffectively conferring a 20 year monopoly on television signals to these thieves.

A patent troll firm in suburban Philadelphia, Rembrandt IP Management, is trying to force large cable operators and major broadcasters to pay substantial license fees on the transmission of digital TV signals and Internet services. The firm is apparently trying to get 0.5% of all revenues from services that supposedly infringe on the patents. The targeted companies include ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter and Cablevision. According to MultiChannel News, Rembrandt's assault is especially aggressive, even for a patent troll: 'It is attacking two key technology standards used by the cable and broadcast industries, CableLabs' DOCSIS and the Advanced Television Systems Committee's digital-TV spec. "If they're successful, this could affect everything from the cost of cable service to the price of TVs," said the attorney close to the litigation, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:43 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Well, knowing a bit about consumer electronics, I'd wager that none of the companies that invested millions in the Plays4Shit™ fiasco are going to spend a dime on this puppy... and this new DRM technology will shortly be seen to be DOA.

It's not the first time Microsoft has triumphantly announced a DRM solution to the world, but the beast from Redmond is nothing if not persistent, and PlaysForSure is nothing more than a largely-suppressed unpleasant memory these days.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:26 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Another case of copyrights run amok - if you have to pay to know the law or the tax boundaries, then that law favors the well off by default. Which kinda puts the whole "equal before the law" to the lie, eh?

After trying to charge $167,488 for their collection of county tax maps (in TIF format), West Virginia was forced by a judge to hand them over for a $20 'reproduction costs' fee. Now a county tax assessor has filed a lawsuit trying to block the tax maps from being put online, claiming copyright infringement and financial damages since fewer people are coming to her to buy paper copies at $8 per page.

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:39 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Subscription services are dying on the vine, along with the DRM that made them possible. Here's a prediction: this time next year, we'll be finding out that Rhapsody is shutting down as well, despite the temporary influx of subs from Yahoo.

Tech.Luver sends in word of Yahoo's decision to exit the subscription music business. Yahoo's current subscribers — the company doesn't disclose how many it has — will be switched over to Real's Rhapsody service, and Yahoo will promote Real on its site. Yahoo had priced its subscription service significantly below Real's: $5.99 a month (if users pay a year in advance), vs. Rhapsody memberships at $12.99 a month and up. The Mercury News wonders how the Yahoo-Real deal would fare if Microsoft takes over — not well, the betting goes.

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:25 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link

Welcome to the joys of the Byzantine code we call copyright law...

For 200 members of the Immanuel Bible Church and their friends, the annual Super Bowl party is over thanks to the NFL, which explained that airing NFL games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright. Federal copyright law includes an exemption for sports bars, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, but churches are out of luck. Churchgoers who aren't adverse to a little drinking-and-driving still have the opportunity to see the game together in public on a screen bigger than 55 inches.

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:09 /Copywrongs | 0 writebacks | permanent link