While laws that protect intellectual property remain strong and enforcement efforts continue, technology has tipped the balance away from the interests of most creators and artists. The ease of distribution of copyrighted content has helped create a generation of people who believe that all content should be free. The notion that artists and creators, and even the big companies that finance, produce and deliver their creations, don’t have the right to own and control their distribution, simply cannot be.
—Jill Lesser, newly appointed Executive Director of the Center for Copyright Information.
Second Circuit Reverses YouTube Decision: DMCA Safe Harbor Might Not Apply — The Second Circuit reached a decision in what will likely become one of the seminal DMCA cases from now on. I’ll have some thoughts on the decision next week.
Robert Levine and Brett Danaher at CMW — A great couple of videos from Canadian Music Week. Free Ride author Rob Levine speaks on the issues he addresses in his book, while economics professor Brett Danaher presents in layman’s terms his recent report that showed an increase in iTunes sales in France after HADOPI was introduced.
Center for Copyright Information Announces Three Major Steps Towards Implementation — The organization in charge of administering the voluntary agreement between ISPs and major content companies to address piracy announced this week it has named its executive director and advisory board, as well as retaining the American Arbitration Association to manage and train the program’s neutral reviewers. The advisory board includes members of the CDT and Public Knowledge — but not the EFF, and they are not amused.
Behind the music: Estonia makes its mark on the musical map — Helienne Lindvall reports on last week’s Tallinn Music Week in Estonia. The three day festival combined raucous rock and roll with reminders of the country’s past as part of the Soviet Union and an eye toward a society that respects and remunerates creators. Lindvall quotes Estonian minister of culture Rain Lang as asking, “Why is it telecoms feel human value can be questioned, but technology can’t?”
Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Copyright (FAQ) — The Copyright Alliance has assembled a helpful guide for artists and creators to learn more about copyright and licensing.
Forget Hollywood — U.S. startups are in dire need of copyright protection — An interesting perspective from Wei Lien Dang at Venture Beat, though artists and creators should find the points raised familiar, such as “Consumer choice should be about actually having to decide between two different options, not two of the same exact thing” and “Clones have the luxury of only having to focus on scaling quickly; innovators have to worry about both product development and scaling their business, making it more difficult for them to enter new markets as quickly as clones.”
Disruptions: Top 10 Lists Lead to Less Choice on the Web — We were told the internet would democratize media and lengthen the long tail. Nick Bilton at the NY Times argues that the opposite could be happening. “Not only are we in a popularity contest. We are in a popularity contest in a hall of mirrors.”