Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: RIAA Pushes Google, Verizon for Piracy Crackdown

First off today, even as the net neutrality debate heats up on the heels of a “compromise” proposal between Google and Verizon, the RIAA and twelve other groups representing musicians have stepped in asking that any legislation or compromise on the subject encourage ISPs to block illegal content and deter unlawful activity, including copyright infringement. This is not the first time copyright holders have interjected themselves into the net neutrality debate, the latest being in January when the RIAA asked the FCC to adopt “flexible” rules that enable filtering of infringing content.

2: ‘Innocent Infringer’ Copyright Defense for Downloaders Goes to U.S. Supreme Court

Next up today, in a move that was widely predicted, Charles Nesson has filed a brief with the Supreme Court on the case of Whitney Harper to the Supreme Court. Lower courts ruled that Harper was not an “innocent infringer” and thus not eligible for lower damages for trading files over file sharing networks including Kazaa though Harper, who was 16 at the time of the infringement, said she had no idea what she was doing was illegal. The Appeals Court ruled that copyright notices on the CDs were adequate notice even though the files were traded digitally. Nesson filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to ask them to reverse the Appeals Court ruling, which in turn reversed the District Court’s ruling.

3: Copycats vs. Copyrights

Finally today, as the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act seeks to extend very limited copyright protection to the fashion industry, where no such protection exists currently, many are wondering if it is wise or even necessary as the U.S. has a thriving fashion industry without it. This article on Newsweek delves into the issue, looking at both sides of the debate and asks some very difficult questions about the role of copyright in the digital age.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Wednesday evening at 6 PM ET for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Friday right here on Plagiarism Today.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Never Mind Legality, iPhone Jailbreaking Voids Your Warranty

First off today, Apple has responded to yesterday’s news that the U.S. Copyright Office granted an exemption for “jailbreaking” mobile phones, making the act legal. They said that, while the law may allow jailbreaking, it will still void your warranty. This means that anyone seeking free repairs on a jailbroken iPhone will be out of luck. Apple says that they do this in an attempt to provide customers the best experience possible.

2: Net Neutrality Debate Veers Off on Copyright Tangent

Next up today, the net neutrality debate has taken another turn. As the FCC struggles to find a way to regulate ISPs and prevent them from showing preference to some data over others, copyright groups, such as Arts+Labs, are wanting to make sure that any such regulations do not interfere with the ISPs abillity to blog infringing transfers. Though this position is nothing new, it comes at a critical juncture after the FCC began work to reclassify ISPs as phone companies to better regulate them.

3: Media’s Analogue Holdouts: Digitisation and its Discontents

Finally today, the Economist has an interesting article about digital holdouts, including such major media brands as The Beatles, Harry Potter and several women’s magazines. The reason cited is many brands have nothing to gain from being online as they are either already ubiquitous or dependent upon revenue from physical sales for their business model. However, many readily admit that while such strategies make sense, they are rarely the best method for reducing piracy.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Wednesday evening at 6 PM ET for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Friday right here on Plagiarism Today.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

1: Music File-Sharer ‘Oink’ Cleared of Fraud

First off today, former Oink admin Alan Ellis was cleared for fraud charges today for running the infamous file sharing site in the first such trial in the UK. At its peak, before its closure, Oink reportedly had nearly 200,000 members and aided in the swapping of some 21 million files. Ellis had been charged with defrauding copyright holders, in large part for his acceptance of donations to run the site. The trial lasted seven days.

2: Digital Rights Group Pushes FCC to Protect Net Neutrality

Next up today, net nutrality legislation is bumping up against copyright as the EFF and other consumer-rights groups are expressing concern about a “loophole” in current net neutrality proposals that would allow corporations to interfere with Internet traffic for “activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.” An Internet-based campaign is underway to try and remove that particular clause.

3: Comcast’s BitTorrent Settlement Excludes Pirates

Finally, in a related story, if you were affected by Comcast’s throttling of Bittorrent, you may be able to collect a $16 refund from a settlement. However, only if you swear under penalty of perjury that you were not using bittorrent to download infringing materials. The clause is largely expected to greatly reduce the number of people who file claims and collect money.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.

Got any suggestions for the 3 Count. Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together

First off today, details about the controversial and secretive anti-counterfeiting treaty ACTA have been leaked and and advocates of copyright reform are not pleased. According to the leaks, the treaty, which is being discussed today in South Korea, would require ISPs to take action against those who are accused of copyright infringements, including disconnecting them from the Web. It would also enforce a U.S. and EU-style notice and takedown system for those who host Web content as well as add DMCA-style anti circumvention clauses.

Canadians, who have neither an anti-circumvention clause nor a notice and takedown system are especially upset at the possibility of a “Made in the U.S.” copyright reform being signed in secrecy. However, there is also almost universal outrage about the expanding role of ISPs in copyright enforcement that the treaty as only a small handful of nations have such provisions now and they are relatively new.

The treaty is being discussed today in South Korea and the leaked version, if accurate, is just a draft and it is unclear what the final treaty will look like, though it does seem that there is broad support for the current version.

2: DRM Breaker Reports Himself To Anti-Piracy Group

Denmark man Henrik Andersen has “turned himself in” to the Danish antipiracy outfit Antipiratgruppen, admitting to having violated copyright law on over 100 movies and 10 seasons of various TV shows. However, Andersen is not a file sharer and, in fact, purchased all of the movies legally. What he is admitting to is having broken the DRM on the DVDs to get them into his media center.

Andersen said he filed the confession because he doesn’t want to be a criminal and wants to draw attention to the catch-22 in Danish law that makes personal copying legal but makes breaking DRM, such as the copy protection on DVDs, illegal in all cases. He has given Antipiratgruppen until December 1 to respond though it seems unlikely that they will as they have, in the past, acknowledged the issue and expressed hopes that it will work out shortly.

3: Radiohead Suggests Bandwidth Throttling To Solve Music Pirating

Finally today, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien has stirred some controversy by agreeing with other artists and many members of the British government that file sharers should have their bandwidth throttled. Though he agreed that disconnecting file sharers would simply drive the activity underground, he didn’t seem to think throttling would have the same effect and joined Lily Allen, among others, who think that this compromise is the best way to go.

Radiohead became a popular band with copyright reformers after they used a “Pay What You Want” business model for their latest release, “In Rainbows”, and have been seen as one of the more forward-thinking bands in the industry. This is seen by many as a huge about face, though O’Brien does say that this is not about the “fat cats” like them, but about smaller, up and coming artists who are struggling to find a footing on the Web.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.

1: Internet copyright law delayed

The controversial Section 92a law in New Zealand has been postponed for a month pending an agreement between copyright holders and ISPs about how the law will be implemented. Prime Minister John Key, in discussing the postponement, acknowledged the ongoing debates and protests regarding the law and have said that he felt both sides had a good point.

The law is now currently slated to take effect March 27 and that, if an agreement could not be reached, that the section would be suspended.

2: Norwegian Minister Wants to Legalize File-Sharing

Bård Vegar Solhjell, Minister of Education and Research in Norway, has come out in favor of file sharing saying that “You and I can get access to all the world’s music when we want. Fantastic!” This follows a major push by the IFPI in Norway, which has seen it threaten an ISP with lawsuit unless it blocks access to The Pirate Bay.

According to Solhjell, rather than pursuing file sharing, record labels should instead try to find solutions that work for both consumers and has named Spotify as such a solution.

3: Last.fm not really sharing data with RIAA

Finally today, users of Last.FM can breathe a little bit easier as Last.FM has made it clear that they have not turned over user records to the RIAA. It had been originally reported on TechCrunch that the service, which tracks and compiles user listening statistics, had forfeited much of its account data as part of an investigation into the leak of the new U2 album. However, a response from Last.FM made it clear that it was not the case.

Though Last.FM does share some broad usage statistics with the record labels, according to the company, they do not and have not personally identified any user.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today, we’ll be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.

1: Copyright Filtering in Stimulus Bill

In our first story today, it was discovered that language had been slipped into the U.S. economic stimulus package that could have required ISPs receiving billions in funds for broadband improvements could have been forced to implement “deep packed inspection” that would have required them to look at and filter Internet connections by content.

This had net neutrality and copyright activists alike very worried, especially since it was uncertain what much of the actual language said.

However, in the end, the language did not make it into either of the final House or Senate versions of the bill meaning that, as long as it is not slipped in at the last minute behind closed doors, the danger seems to have passed.

2: Google Book Settlement Site Is Up; Paying Authors $60 Per Scanned Book

In other news Google is making good on the terms of its settlement for scanning books as part of its book search project. On a new site that has been set up, authors and publishers can register, claim their books and receive a settlement check.

Having a book in Google Book Search, I went through the process and found that, since the whole of my text had not yet been scanned (only a few pages were available) it was not eligible. Just proof that even Google doesn’t want to pay me for my writing…

3: Does the Kindle 2’s text-to-speech feature violate copyright law?

Finally, Evan Brown from Internet Cases gives us a great overview of some of the legal issues involving the alleged infringement of Kindle’s 2 text-to-speech feature and how the technology behind the Kindle may be what determines whether or not it actually is an infringement.

Following Brown’s logic, I think it is unlikely that the feature would actually be an infringement, either direct or secondary, but, as usual, we will have to wait and see what, if any, court action is taken on the matter.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today, we’ll be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email using the contact form above. I hope to hear from you.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.

This week, Chris and I reverse roles as he takes a well-deserved vacation to the house of mouse and I take over the show for the week.

However, we have many updates to the big copyright stories of the week including the Comcast bittorrent throttling, the Viacom/YouTube Case and, as usual, our “Weird Story of the Week”.

All in all, there were fifteen stories this week including news from all over the copyright world including our “Weird Story of the Week”.

This week’s stories include:

• Net Neutrality Scores a Big Win
• Viacom Calms Privacy Fears
• Last.FM Cuts Out Middle Man
• Will Orphan Works Hurt or Help Open Source?
• Devo Whips McDonald’s
• And Many more…

You can download the MP3 file here (direct download). Those interested in subscribing to the show can do so via this feed.

Show Notes

NEW! Take a look at the newer, more advanced and now fully-embeddable audio player for the podcast!

Update: For those interested, take a look at Dave’s write-up on the Devo issue here

This week it is a solo affair for me as I take responsibility not just for all of the witty banter but also the editing and other technical voodoo. It was a bad week for Chris to miss as there were major developments in not one but two RIAA cases, news about both Comcast and Cox regarding Bittorrent throttling and much, much more.

We also have news from Denmark and their battle with Internet censorship, updates about software piracy rates and a Vista DRM Debacle that will make TV lovers cringe.

All in all, there were thirteen stories this week including news from all over the copyright world including our usual “Weird Story of the Week”.

This week’s stories include:

• RIAA Suffers Two Setbacks
• Comcast Gets Caught Lying
• Cox Joins Comcast in Throttling
• The Pirate Bay Breaks the Top 100
• IFPI Encourages Students to Use Limewire
• And Many more…

You can download the MP3 file here (direct download). Those interested in subscribing to the show can do so via this feed.

Show Notes

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/plagiarismtoday/copyright20eps59.mp3]

We also have updates on the RIAA campaign against college students, NBC’s DRM debacle and Universal Music’s recent lawsuits

Remember, as usual, this week’s linkroll is a “raw” link list. Some stories are duplicated, some do not point to their original sources and some may not be accurate. A great deal of refining goes into producing the show notes for the Copyright 2.0 Show.

So, to help me sense of it all, I sat down with Chris Matthieu from Numly and we tore through the week’s copyright happenings with our usual mix of news, views and abuse.

This week’s stories include:

• EU Calls Internet Access a “Human Right”
• Demonoid Returns
• Wal-Mart Gets Schooled on Work For Hire
• The Cautionary Tale of The Verve
• The Village People Aim for Dumbest DMCA Notice Ever
• And Many more…

You can download the MP3 file here (direct download). Those interested in subscribing to the show can do so via this feed.

Show Notes

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/plagiarismtoday/copyright20eps54mp3.mp3]