3 Count: Copyright Unaccessed

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1: Universities Square off Against Copyright Group

First off today, The Canadian Press reports that Access Copyright, a controversial organization in Canada that represents rightsholders of whose works are often used by universities in the country, has been pressing colleges that have dropped their service, having already sued one and now seeking tariffs with the Copyright Board of Canada for the others.

Access Copyright acts as a middleman, licensing works on behalf of copyright holders to universities for a fee, currently $26 per student. However, after new legislation in Canada expanded fair dealing (similar to fair use) in the country and a court defeat against Access Copyright, many colleges have dropped the service, opting to either negotiate licenses directly or simply use the works in a way that complies with fair dealing.

However, Access Copyright has sued York University in Toronto, alleging the school’s fair dealing policy violates the law. The organization is also seeking tariffs that would require schools that are not part of the organizations licensing plan to pay a set royalty rate instead.

2: Massive BitTorrent and Cyberlocker Domain Crackdown Underway

Next up today, Andy at Torrentfreak reports that the Public Prosecutor of Rome, Italy has ordered some 27 file-sharing related sites to be blocked in Italy, marking one of the largest blocking efforts of all time.

The move comes at the request of a “small Italian distributor” and impacts both Bittorrent-related domains and cyberlocker sites. The list so far includes, BitTorrent, BitShare, NowVideo, NowDoanload, VideoPremium and more.

The prosecutor has also said that he is wanting to pursue the case internationally to see about permanently seizing the domains, shutting them down internationally. In the meantime, though the domains remain active in most of the world, they are inaccessible in Italy without extra steps.

3: Industry Group Attacks EU Plans to Overhaul Copyright Enforcement Law

Finally today, Jennifer Baker at Computer World UK reports that various groups representing ISPs in the EU have banded together to warn against modifying the bloc’s copyright law saying that proposed changes could harm ISPs.

The groups, which included Cable Europe, ECTA, ETNO and EuroISPA, represent both fixed and mobile providers. They warned via an appeal direct to the European Commission against a proposed change to the EU’s directive on the civil enforcement of intellectual property rights, commonly known as IPRED, which is being considered for revision following a period of public consultation.

The ISPs warn that, if the revisions were to pass, they would be forced to filter content and that the measures could have a “chilling effect” on innovation. The consultation itself has also come under criticism with many saying that it was skewed in favor of copyright holders without adequate representation of other interested parties.

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.

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Tune in every Wednesday evening at 5 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.

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