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17 Oct 2009 10:04

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U.S.: Shepard Fairey completely screws up his Obama copyright case

Shepard Faireys Obama “Hope” poster at the National Portrait gallery
  • You screwed up, Shep. What could have been an iconic bellwether in the debate between copyright and fair use just had a major wrench thrown in it. Fairey’s poster, which he originally said was based off a different photo than the one the Associated Press thought he used, was in fact based off the one the AP claimed. Rather than coming clean and admitting he was wrong, he deleted the evidence off his computer. He finally admitted he was wrong yesterday, and says he’ll continue to fight the case, but dude will have to get some new lawyers. When fighting a case like this, Shep, don’t screw it up – it makes everyone in your shoes look really bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 23:54

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U.S.: Barbara A. Ringer, the queen of fair use in copyright

  • The basic human rights of individual authors throughout the world are being sacrificed more and more on the altar of … the technological revolution.
  • Barbara A. Ringer • In a 1975 speech discussing the rights of authors in the use of content. It’s crazy, by the way, because it seems her comments would be even more relevant now than they were 34 years ago. Ringer, by the way, is the author behind the Copyright Act of 1976, which both gave copyright-holders more rights in retaining copyright and established the very fair use that allows us to quote this article from The Washington Post. She’s kind of our hero, and makes the Library of Congress seem vaguely awesome. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2009 23:52

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Tech: MPAA: Lock the doors, kick the public out. Judge: OK!

  • The RealDVD trial takes a sketchy turn. The Motion Picture Association of America and another group, concerned that trade secrets about DVD encryption technology would be revealed during a trial against Real, asked the judge to close the courtroom. Judge Marilyn Patel agreed. RealDVD, if you don’t know, allows people to save DVDs onto their computer and legally watch them later. Just days after releasing the software, Real was sued by the MPAA. The closed courtroom does not bode well for Real’s case, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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