3 Count: Lobbynomics

Jonathan BaileyMay 23, 2011

2 minutes read

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

1: Judge Has “Serious Questions” About Righthaven, Halts All Colorado Cases

FIrst off today, Righthaven, the company suing for infringement over content from the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Denver Post, has had all of its cases in Colorado temporarily halted the court resolves the issue of rights assignment. Righthaven, and not representing the rightsholders, is assigned rights to the work and sues on its own behalf. However, questions have been raised about that rights assignment as it was discovered they were not given any exclusive right, just the “right to sue” and the judge in Colorado is unsure whether or not that gives them grounds to file litigation as a plaintiff. This move comes on the heels of a class action counterclaim being filed in the same court, which could involve the other 50+ defendants in the jurisdiction.

2: Lawsuit: USF Student Violated Copyright on Study Guide

Next up today, University of South Florida student Aaron Zemetres is being sued by the American Chemical Society for allegedly digitizing and distributing copies of a study guide that the organization produces. According to the lawsuit and emails included for evidence, Zemetres though it was “lame” to make students pay for the guide, which is not available in a digital format. The society is said to be seeking a settlement in this matter but this may indicate a new direction for textbook publishers, who often face widespread piracy of their works.

3: British Report Takes Aim at Copyright ‘Lobbynomics’

Finally today, the Hargreaves report, which was commissioned by the UK government to offer proposals and guidance for how to change copyright law in the country, also took a few swipes at what it calls “Lobbynomics” used to develop copyright law in the nation. According to the report’s author, Ian Hargreaves, most of the data used to make decisions on copyright law are lacking and that most of the decisions made are because of lobbying by the various industries, not solid research. Hargreaves went as far as to say that lawmakers should be suspect that increased enforcement will address the current copyright woes and that better research is needed in the future.

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.