Chris Rush Cohen

Road trip!!!!!

2008-07-14T13:05:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone, I have a new blog for anyone who is interested: The Massive Roadtrip

My fiance and I are leaving New York and moving out west, but we're doing a huge roadtrip on our way out there! Come with us via our blog!

UPDATE 2009: We've made it to San Fran, moved right in and made ourselves at home. We love it out here, come visit us! Go to the link above to see some pics from our first months out here.

Life goes on

2007-07-16T09:32:00.001-04:00

This is just a 7/2007 update on what's happening with me --

It's been awhile since I've posted. I just haven't been in the IP blogging mood for a long long time. I still follow IP happenings, just not blogging it.

In more exciting news, it seeems that I'm going to be moving to San Fran in 2008 and I also recently got engaged to my girlfriend of 5 years. Exciting stuff!

So all in all, life is going on and going on well.

The PTO allows trademark for "Dykes on Bikes"

2005-12-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

Good stuff.

The US patent office has reversed position and approved a request to let a lesbian San Francisco motorcycle club trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes," the office confirmed.

"The original reaction of the examiner was to reject it because he considered the term (dykes) disparaging," Brigid Quinn of the US patent office told AFP.

"The applicant got lots of evidence, from everyone from lawyers to academics, that the term wasn't considered disparaging in the lesbian community."

An examiner approved the Dykes on Bikes trademark on December 5, Quinn said. After the decision is formally published, opponents will have 30 days to argue against finalizing the decision, according to Quinn.

Dykes on Bikes has led every Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco since the first procession some 30 years ago.

AFP: Lesbian motorcycle brigade to get 'Dykes on Bikes' trademark

Flat Foldable Batteries

2005-12-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted about new tech, but this is really cool. It sounds like some cyberpunk William Gibson or Neal Stephenson. I'm all for some clothes that compute and whatnot.

The possibilities for NEC's 'flattery' - as we like to call it - are endless. Smartcards have been touted as an obvious use, but it would fit in nicely with the idea of intelligent paper too. Before long, you might be rolling up your Powerpoint presentation and handing out your interactive business cards.

There are no official plans to use it in any products yet, but NEC has promised to 'carry out aggressive research and development' to enhance the performance and make it a commericial reality.

Stuff Article.

BAR/BRI & Kaplan Sued Under Antitrust Law over Secret Agreements

2005-11-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

Bar/Bri & Kaplan have been sued under antitrust laws for having a secret agreement to stay out of each others markets so that they could overcharge for their product. Anyone who's ever taken Bar/Bri knows they paid far too much.

LawCrossing Article: BAR/BRI And Kaplan Class Action:

A complaint filed against BAR/BRI bar review and the West Publishing Corporation and Kaplan, Inc., in Los Angeles, claims more than 300,000 lawyers and law students were each charged an estimated $1,000 extra for bar review courses.

The April 29 lawsuit against the country's biggest bar exam and LSAT preparation companies, filed as a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that BAR/BRI and test-preparation company Kaplan, Inc., agreed to illegally dividing the LSAT and bar exam test-preparation market.

The suit claims that under the alleged agreement, BAR/BRI withdrew from the LSAT preparation business and Kaplan agreed not to enter the bar-review course market. The complaint charges that "without substantial competition, BAR/BRI's net prices per student then increased substantially in most states." It claims that from 1997 to the present, Kaplan and BAR/BRI "have concealed their conspiracy to divide the market." The lawsuit claims BAR/BRI students were overcharged about $300 million since August 1997 and said customers may deserve $1,000 each in refunds.

"I do think it's curious that there's a single dominant provider nationwide," said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Marquette University Law School. "There's no indicia that the bar exam-preparation market is a natural monopoly, and most other test-prep areas have competition. So why is there only one dominant vendor in the bar exam-preparation area?"
...
"[BAR/BRI] seems to be the school-sanctioned choice, and I don't know anyone who has signed up for another method," said Oskin.
...
Rod Borlase is an attorney-mediator and said law students have been easy targets for exploitation because they often buy into the intense competitive nature of law school and of bar- and other prep courses.

"Practice aids throughout law school, particularly first year, then bar review courses after graduation—it's just one blood-sucking vulture after another," said Borlase. "On the other hand, I wouldn't want to take a bar exam without a review course, although I know some who have successfully."

New Legislation Proposed to Limit Access to Violent Video Games

2005-11-30T10:53:00.000-05:00

No one wants kids of 16 and under playing games like Grand Theft Auto -- that's why the ESRB rates the games, so that parents can determine which ones they want to purchase for their kids. With all the problems in this country and with our foriegn adventuring, it's a shame to see top Dems wasting their time on this crap, similar laws have already been ruled a violation of the First Amendment in several states:

Senator Hillary Clinton and former vice presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman meanwhile launched new legislation intended to protect kids from graphic, violent and sexual material on their game consoles.

The National Institute on Media and the Family said in its annual report that video game retailors had failed to honor promises to safeguard children from violent and sexual content in new generation video games.

"There has been significant industry progress and reforms over the last decade, but ever more violent and sadistic games are still ending up in the hands of children," said the institute's president David Walsh.

Hillary Clinton targets new rise in video game violence

Prior Restraint in the UK: Editors who Publish Leaked Doc Re Bombing Al Jazeera will be Prosecuted

2005-11-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

The UK is threatening major newspapers with a lawsuit over a story concerning a leaked document in which the UK and US Govts discuss whether to bomb the offices of the Al Jazeera newspaper. This would probably be an unacceptable example of a prior restraint in the US, despite the probability that the document is slightly damaging to national security. It's a fact that the UK isn't as serious about US style free speech -- this is evident when you consider the UK defamation laws, which are much easier to sue successfully under than in the US. Perhaps prior restraint is another example of difference in free speech in the UK and US. The lesson for Bush and Blair here -- don't record embarrassing ideas like this in leakable meeting minutes.

UK Times Online: Editors are threatened over TV station bombing claim

NEWSPAPERS editors were threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act last night if they published details of a conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush in which the President is alleged to have suggested bombing al-Jazeera, the Arab news network. Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, informed newspapers editors including that of The Times that Âpublication of a document that has been unlawfully disclosed by a Crown servant could be in breach of Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act.Â

The Blair Government has obtained court injunctions against newspapers before but it has never prosecuted editors for publishing the contents of leaked documents.

Under a front-page headline ÂBush plot to bomb his allyÂ in the Daily Mirror yesterday, a secret minute of the conversation in April 2004 records the President allegedly suggesting that he would like to bomb the channelÂs studios in Doha, capital of Qatar. Richard Wallace, the Editor of the Daily Mirror, said last night: ÂWe made No 10 fully aware of the intention to publish and were given Âno commentÂ officially or unofficially. Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under Section 5.Â

Very smooth guys. Winning over those hearts and minds like crazy aren't you?

Strange Sign Posting re Tourists Buying Fakes on Canal St in NYC

2005-11-29T03:22:00.000-05:00

Gothamist readers are making some funny comments on it.

We spotted this sign on Wooster near Canal Street, close to where all the vendors are selling bootleg Prada bags and illicit DVDs. The sign seems a little low-production value for the Motion Picture Association of America-- so we're curious who is behind it. Any ideas?

Check it out here, thanks Gothamist.

SCOTUS to hear eBay appeal re when injuctions for patent infringement are warranted

2005-11-28T17:56:00.000-05:00

The Supreme's are going to take a look at patent warehousing and when injunctions for infringement are appropriate. I'm not very knowledgeable about patent law, but I know there is lots of discussion among patent-types concerning how patents are being used offensively in an unfair manner -- some companies register patents soley to possess the rights to the technology and then sue companies that use similar technology. This is how I understand it: when a court decides an injunction against a potential infringer is warranted that infringer is essentially hostage to the claimant if the technology is necessary to their business model, leading to big payouts in cases where the infringement is not always clear.

WaPo: Supreme Court Will Hear eBay Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it would consider an appeal by online auctioneer eBay Inc. in a case that could determine when it is appropriate to grant an injunction against a patent infringer.
...
Experts said the case would give the Supreme Court a chance to define when an injunction should apply and comes as the patent community is debating to what extent patent holders who do not intend to practice their inventions should be allowed to extract profitable licenses from others.
...
The eBay case has attracted interest among those who believe it has become too easy to hold businesses hostage through patent suits.

A group of 35 patent law professors filed a friend of the court brief arguing that an entitlement to an injunction allows unscrupulous patent owners to threaten products that are predominantly noninfringing. A computer chip, they noted, may include 5,000 different inventions.

67% Bar Exam Pass Rate in NY State

2005-11-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

NewsDay.com article:

More than 6,800 candidates passed the state bar examination in July, the state Board of Law Examiners said Thursday.

Out of 10,171 candidates who took the test on July 26 and July 27, 6,805 passed. That's a 67 percent pass rate. The candidates who passed the exam still have to apply to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to be licensed to practice law.

New York, with 142,538 resident or active lawyers as of Dec. 31, 2004, had the most of any state in the country. California was second with 139,371 and Texas was third with 69,405, according to the American Bar Association.

A list of those who passed can be found at the following link. Below is a blurb from NYBarExam.org:

The New York State Board of Law Examiners has completed grading the papers written by applicants for admission to the Bar at the examination held on July 26-27, 2005. The Board examined 10,175 candidates for the July 2005 bar examination, the most that it has ever examined for an administration of the bar examination. Of the 10,175 candidates examined, 6,809 passed the examination for an overall pass rate of 67%.

Of the 8,609 applicants taking the examination for the first time, 6,537 passed for an overall first time pass rate of 76%. Of the 8,000 graduates of an ABA approved law school who took the examination, 6,090 passed for a pass rate of 76.1%. 7,152 of the graduates of an ABA approved law school took the examination for the first time, and 5,914 passed for a pass rate of 83%.

Of the 6,809 applicants who passed the examination, 5,728 were certified for admission to the Appellate Division. These applicants who were certified for admission must appear before the Committee on Character and Fitness appointed by the Appellate Division in each Judicial District of the State to be examined as to his or her character and fitness. The remaining 1,081 candidates who were successful on the bar examination will be certified for admission upon receipt by the Board of proof that they have successfully completed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination as required by the Rules of the New York State Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at law.

Random factoid:
27 "Cohens" passed all together (and 3 "Cohns"), so I'm in good company on that count. :)
I saw 11 "Changs" and 14 "Chens" nearby, but I'd guess that "Cohen" is the 'most passingest' name in NY.
Oh...no wait...there's 31 "Smiths." Pooh on them and their most common of names. :)

Passed the New York Bar Exam!!

2005-11-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

The title of the post pretty much sums it up -- I found out this morning that I passed the New York State Bar Exam!

I am certainly relieved. I should also note that so far everyone I've spoken to has reported that they also passed (including my girlfriend, for those who know us personally). In general, Cardozo has a pretty high passing rate, approaching 90% I believe, which is not bad at all as the NYS bar is supposed to be one of the most difficult. Thank god I don't have to go through that again...at least no time soon.

Tonight...bottoms UP!

Here's my thoughts (ok, rant) on the bar exam in a former post.

PI litigators moving into IP

2005-11-17T15:02:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting article concerning PI trial attorneys who are trying to break into the IP biz. Apparently, with all the ongoing 'tort reform,' the booming IP market is looking better and better to attorneys.

...in Texas, particularly in East Texas towns like Marshall and Tyler and Longview, a lot of firms want to do what The Roth Law Firm has done: transition from personal injury work -- in steady decline since the Texas legislature got serious about tort reform -- to intellectual property work, where business is booming. And one place it is booming in particular is Marshall, home of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The Marshall court has a reputation for speedy litigation; a judge -- T. John Ward -- with a fondness for patent cases; and what a lot of lawyers on both sides of the aisle say are plaintiff-friendly juries. Not surprisingly, plaintiffs are flocking to Marshall...

"It's a very logical transition," says Frank Branson, who heads a nine-lawyer personal injury firm in Dallas. "IP and product liability and medical malpractice all involve complex theories that you have to break down into layman's language." While Branson has yet to land a patent suit, he has been positioning his firm to make it more patent-litigation friendly.
...
While the transition from PI to IP may seem natural, it's also risky, and perhaps not quite as lucrative as budding patent litigators -- no doubt with visions of multimillion-dollar contingency wins -- may think. IP contingency work can be hard to come by. The Roth Firm, for example, represents plaintiffs in just 20 percent to 30 percent of its IP docket, which currently stands at 32 cases; the firm mainly defends patent infringement suits at an hourly rate. At $500 an hour, it's safe and steady work, but it's not a gold mine. It certainly hasn't been lucrative enough for the firm to scrap its personal injury practice.
...
What the patent work has done, however, is keep The Roth Firm's revenue steady in the wake of tort reform. While it now has just one or two medical malpractice cases pending at any given time, its patent docket has tripled since 2001.

For a lot of plaintiffs lawyers, the transition to IP work can't come soon enough. Legislation passed in 2003 in Texas capped pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. "Many of the people who have done medical malpractice in the past are now unwilling to do it," says Eduardo Rodriguez, president of the State Bar of Texas. "It's not unusual for a med mal case to cost $300,000 and up. People are not willing to spend that if there is no potential to have a fairly big recovery." Smith says that med mal filings are down 90 percent in Texas since the legislation went into effect.

Prof. Susan Crawford nominated to Board of ICANN

2005-11-17T14:37:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to my former Professor at the Cardozo School of Law, Susan Crawford, for being nominated to the board of ICANN! They couldn't have chosen a more knowledgeable, intelligent, and personable candidate. Best of luck to Susan in her new role.

Here's a snip from the ICANN press release:

After a thorough period of outreach, consultation, recruitment, and evaluation, the Nominating Committee (NomCom) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced today its final selection of four 'slates' of Nominees for four of ICANN's leadership bodies: the Board of Directors, the Council of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO), the Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) and the Interim At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC). The Nominees will join the already seated members of these bodies on 4 December 2005 at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the ICANN in Vancouver, Canada.

ICANN is a not-for--profit organization responsible for coordinating the global Internet's systems of unique identifiers, including the systems of domain names and numeric addresses that are used to reach all computers on the Internet. ICANN's mission is to ensure the stable and secure operation of these unique identifier systems, which are vital to the Internet's operation. In addition, ICANN coordinates policy development related to these technical functions.

"We are pleased that excellent candidates from all five geographic regions participated in this third NomCom process," said Nominating Committee Chair and spokesperson George Sadowsky. "Such participation reflects the Internet community's considerable reserve of talent, experience, and willingness to undertake these volunteer leadership roles essential to ICANN's evolution and continued technical coordination on behalf of the entire global Internet user community."

The Nominees:

ICANN Board

Njeri Rionge (Kenya, Africa)

Susan Crawford (USA, North America)

Terms: Conclusion of ICANN Annual Meeting for 2005 until conclusion of ICANN Annual Meeting for 2008

Westchester, NY wants to outlaw unsecured Wi-Fi

2005-11-07T17:31:00.000-05:00

This is ridiculous and sad. These pols are going to make it impossible for small businesses or even homes to provide Wi-Fi to any comers. What's the point? Sounds like the only bunch such a law would be good for are the cable and telephone service providers who also sell internet access -- such a law could force more individual homes to purchase service instead of piggybacking on nearby networks. But it will kill off all those free networks at cafe's and parks and such. These Westchester pols probably have little to no knowledge about Wi-Fi and internet security, what's the deal?

Here's the article -- CNet News: Unsecured Wi-Fi would be outlawed by N.Y. county

Here is a great article and demonstrates the exact sort of activity would be outlawed by laws such as the one Westchester wants to pass: A Daddy Techbucks Makes a Village a Hot Spot (NYT)

Andes, N.Y.
...
Mr. Gerdes knew that Andesans already had exposure to Wi-Fi: Rosalie Glauser, the owner of the Slow Down Food Company here, has been offering it to customers since 2004. After he plugged a Linksys router and antenna into his Internet-equipped cable jack - provided by the phone company for $54 a month - he had an epiphany.

Soon after, he got a letter from the local library asking for a donation. "I like to give contributions that have an effect," he said. He had another router and antenna (about $100) delivered to the library, suggesting that they be plugged into its broadband connection, thus allowing visitors to piggyback free on its Internet service.

"It sounded kinky," said Gloria Carlson, 62, a retired New York City schoolteacher who is the director of the library.

But she came around. Sitting at her desk one day in the latest (in her words) "wiffy hot spot," she faced two computers provided for public use: one a dinosaur that makes a Google search a time-consuming chore, the other donated in the late 90's by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and plugged into a high-speed connection. Mr. Gerdes's gift means no more waiting for the "fast" machine because Wi-Fi reaches throughout the library and across its lawn.

After hooking up the library, Mr. Gerdes got busy. He gave routers to some businesses along Main Street, and all agreed to share their access. Andes Hotel guests can Web-surf on the porch. Wi-Fi signals swirl at the Cantina and at Cassie's Kitchen, and at the Slow Down Food Company "everybody's taking advantage of it," said Ms. Glauser, who counted five laptops on her tables one Saturday afternoon.

"It's just as easy to come into town and do a few things on the Internet," said Charlie Gross, who owns a house on the town's outskirts and visits village hot spots in lieu of paying for service.

It's resourceful sorts like Mr. Gross who could affect the phone company's bottom line. "We are aware of it," said Peter Curran, the manager of broadband services.
...

Mormon Utah Judge Married to 3 Sisters

2005-11-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this story has NOTHING to do with the typical subjects of the site. But it is pretty crazy.

A 14 month investigation of Judge Walter K. Steed of Hilldale, Utah has determined that Steed violated the Utah law against bigamy by marrying three sisters. These marriages took place in 1965, 1975, and 1985. One sister per decade apparently. Judge Steed also has 32 kids, that's quite a few Steeds!!!! The investigating commission had recommended that Steed be removed from the bench (do ya think!?)

It's good to be a judge though...for some odd reason the Washington County prosecutor and Utah Attorney General have decided not to file charges against Steed. It would be a 3rd degee felony charge. Why not?

According to Steed's attorney, Rod Parker: "[t]here is no allegation that it's affecting his performance on the bench," Parker said. "It really is truly only about his private conduct." Parker said the bigamy law is typically only enforced against those who are "duped" into marrying a man who is already married.

Forget all that stuff about judicial oaths to uphold the law eh? And seriously, how could 32 kids and 3 wives NOT affect your performance at everything?

Steed is even petitioning the Utah Supreme Court to allow him to stay on the bench!

Seriously, if that happened here in NY Steed would be immediatly suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, upon these findings he would be fired and quite likely disbarred.

(November 2005) CNN Article -- Utah judge with 3 wives fights for job

(March 2005) Law.com article -- Utah Conduct Commission to Judge: Three Wives and You're Out

"Allan Houston Rule" Lawsuit

2005-11-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun entertainment law issue with some NY flavor:

RealGM.com -- Houston Sues NBA For Rights To “Allan Houston Rule” Catchphrase

As part of the new CBA agreement between the NBA and the Players Union, a new amnesty rule was put in place allowing each team to release one player from their roster without being penalized cap-wise. The rule was quickly dubbed “The Allan Houston Rule” referring to the oft-injured Knicks shooting guard who is currently draining the Knicks salary coffers at an alarming “max contract” rate.

One of the biggest surprises in the NBA is that the “Allan Houston Rule” was never used on Allan Houston; rather the Knicks instead chose to apply the rule to forward Jerome Williams. Despite the fact that the new rule was never applied to him, Allan Houston is currently in court taking on NBA officials in an attempt to land exclusive trademark rights to the term “Allan Houston Rule.”

Houston contends that since it is his name in the phrase, he should have all subsidiary and marketing rights to the catchphrase. He also wants a share of the profits to the wildly popular t-shirt worn by some NBA players that reads, “I survived the Allan Houston Rule and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” or the other best-seller, “The Allan Houston Rule Rules!”

In a statement taken from Mr. Houston’s lawyer, Allan Dershowitz, Houston expresses his intent on claiming the rights to this term.

Apparently the NBA has been making serious bank selling t-shirts with this on it. Should Allan Houston receive money made due to use of the phrase? The claim is likely one of a misappropriation of identity -- i.e. using Houston's name to promote goods that he hasn't actually endorsed (or has he, as a player in the NBA?). Anyway, with big dog Allan Dershowitz as his attorney, Houston will certainly get whatever he's entitled to.

BitTorrent Uploader Convicted for Copyright Infringement

2005-11-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

Man, I really wouldn't want to know what the inside of a Chinese prison looks like. "Big Crook," an uploader of movies on BitTorrent, is finding out though...

PC Pro -- BitTorrent uploader convicted for copyright infringement:

The world's first conviction for copyright infringement over BitTorrent file-sharing networks was passed yesterday.

Unemployed 38-year-old Chan Nai-ming of Hong Kong was convicted of copyright infringement after uploading three blockbusters to BitTorrent networks, although he denied the charge, reports the China Post. It seems an ill-boded defence to make considering his username on the service was 'Big Crook'.

He was arrested in January. Customs officials said they were delighted at the outcome and that the precedent-setting case had sparked a sharp decline in the use of BitTorrent [unlikely].
He will be sentenced next month.

"The Da Vinci Code" Heading to Trial for Serious Copyright Infringement Suit

2005-11-01T16:46:00.000-05:00

VS.

I'm not surprised by this suit. I have friends who told me that these books were extremely similar. The main difference apparently is that The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail is presented as a nonfiction argument about the things the Da Vinci Code uses as fiction. This could be an interesting case considering that "facts" and "ideas" are not copyrightable, therefore the authors of Holy Blood may have a hurdle to cross in the suit, as they presented the material as fact in their book. If they win though...wow, the DaVinci Code has made so much money that damages could be whopping. Here's a clip:

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing publisher Random House, claiming that Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" lifts ideas from their 1982 nonfiction book, "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail." Their work explores theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child and that their blood line continues to the present day.

A similar theme is explored in Brown's novel, which has sold some 25 million copies around the world and is being made into a Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks.

CNN: Authors sue UK 'Da Vinci' publishers

State of Play III: Social Revolutions conference begins tonight

2005-10-06T12:27:00.000-04:00

The conference "State of Play 3 -- Social Revolutions" begins tonight. I've attended the first two and the topics covered are really fabulous -- it's all about real world law and the development of virtual worlds (i.e. the ultimate development of a Metaverse). Check out their website here. Also, Terra Nova is the official SOP3 blog, check there for blogging about the conference.

I'll bring my computer and will perhaps do some live blogging of certain panels at the conference over the weekend.

Satellite Radio Companies Face Suit Upon Releasing Devices that Copy Music

2005-10-05T11:39:00.000-04:00

XM & Sirius, the satellite radio companies, are reportedly to release new devices that allow the copying of the songs coming through the devices. To no one's surprise the RIAA is threatening suit for copyright infringement, presumably under the "inducement" to infringe bits of the Grokster opinion. If a suit actually progresses through the court system it would be an interesting battle that could force the courts to determine a more clear vision of what the language on the Grokster opinion meant and will again push against the old Sony-Betamax "non-infringing uses" doctrine.

The courts will have to consider whether digital music via satellite radio is truly different than music that arrives via the regular radio. Both can be copied very easily, but only one sounds digital. Regular radio is obviously covered by the non-infringing uses doctrine, but is digital radio? Will the digital radio just be viewed as an internet device or as a broadcast device like a regular radio? Any determination will probably rely very much on the exact specifications of these devices, there would be questions such as -- do they allow the copied music to be moved off of the device and on to a computer or CD, etc. Here's a snippet from the article:

In late July, XM announced a partnership with Samsung to produce a portable device that allows users to record songs from satellite radio broadcasts and then catalog and save favored songs while deleting others.

Sirius later announced a similar device, called the S50. The device will be about the size of an iPod and released in October.

The music industry argues the recording capability — essentially Tivo for radio — is a clear copyright violation and could take revenue away from paid download music stores, such as iTunes. One executive argued the devices give users "permanent ownership of copyrighted material without paying for it."

XM has a deal with the paid service Napster, which allows user to click and buy songs they hear on satellite radio broadcasts. The deal was welcomed by the industry, yet raises the question, one music executive said, "Why would anyone use the Napster platform to buy it if XM is giving it away for free?"

Some record executives expect an ugly battle if XM and Sirius don't modify the devices.

"They can't do this without being sued," said another music executive involved in the discussions.

The rupture over the portable devices comes as the music industry is gearing up to demand higher licensing fees from the satellite radio industry once the current seven-year contract expires at the end of the year.

Slyck News -- RIAA Takes On XM Over Copyright Infringement

Digital Music Sales Triple from 2004 to 2005

2005-10-05T11:24:00.000-04:00

BBC: Digital music revenue 'triples'

The article says that 6% of music sales are now digital -- worth $790 million.

At the same time revenue from physical format music sales (CDs) fell 6.4%. Seems pretty much like an even change between 2004-2005 then, people are just buying MP3s instead of CDs. Of course that music sales have fallen over the years in general and are lower than they were in years prior to 2004, which is the point of comparison here.

There was a $.2 billion global drop in music sales overall from 2004 to 2005. Piracy, competition from other forms of entertainment (probably mostly video games), and lower retail prices for music are blamed for the drop. I think they also forgot to add that most pop music being released these days is drivel. I would also think that industry watchers should not be surprised that there is some drop in sales overall as people move to digital purchases because many people in-the-know will refuse to buy iTunes style low bit rate and DRM'ed music but will instead turn to possibly illicit sources where they can get non DRM'ed and higher quality stuff. I doubt this is something many people consider when they're shopping for digital music, but I know it is an issue for some.

Here's a snippet:

IFPI said the surge in digital music sales was being driven by the increased use of broadband, 3G mobile phones and portable music players.
...
The IFPI said the decrease in digital revenue was due partly to lower retail prices, a decline in DVD music video sales and music piracy.

Release schedules and competition from other entertainment sectors were also factors, it added.

Story of a U.S. IP Pirate Busted in China

2005-10-05T11:05:00.000-04:00

This month Wired has a story of an American citizen who worked as an intellectual property pirate out of China and how he got busted. It's the story of Randy Guthrie, heir to the Guthrie-Phipps fortune and a grad degreed ivy leaguer who came up with a great scam -- he moved to China and set up a site called "3 dollar DVDs" and made loads of cash sending to US customers. Wired has a 6 page story on how the discovery of a few fake DVDs at a flea market by a low level agent led all the way to Guthrie's ultimate take-down through Chinese-US cooperation. The bust is analyzed as a red herring though -- allowing the US to say they're getting Chinese cooperation in the fight against piracy and allowing the Chinese to take credit for enforcing IP rights, when in fact Guthrie was more or less a small-time player who did absolutely nothing to cover his tracks (he put his return address on the envelopes of DVD for crissakes!). He was just an easy target who provided some political points for all involved in his arrest while Chinese authorities basically either ignore, or even profit from, IP theft. Randy Guthrie ended up with a 2.5 year sentence in China, but when he gets deported to the US it will probably get eveb worse for him. Here's an interesting snippet from the article:

In fact, piracy is the unofficial official policy [in China]. The state licenses many retailers of pirated DVDs and collects taxes on their sales. And, in a country where the economy is still tightly monitored and regulated, there's every reason to believe that the government has some control over the illicit DVD market.

Certainly the Chinese government has shown little interest in widening the net to prosecute anyone beyond Randy's immediate circle. In April, he was convicted of violating China's intellectual property laws, was fined $60,500, and began serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in Chinese custody. (Randy's Chinese lawyer was able to convince the court to drop the charge of operating an unlicensed business, which carries a prison term of 15 years.) After that, he'll be deported. Two of Randy's employees were arrested and jailed. The shopkeepers who sold him the discs were also arrested.

But the authorities didn't follow the trail any further. They didn't arrest the middlemen. They didn't trace the discs back to the factories that produced them. They didn't investigate the sources of the original digital files. The extensive network that supplied Randy's business is healthy and intact.

Meanwhile, the US government continues to pursue Randy's prosecution. On July 13, the office of Jay Golden, the assistant US attorney in Mississippi, indicted Randy on 17 counts of smuggling, copyright violations, and interstate trafficking of counterfeit goods. The government is also seeking approximately $1.1 million in cash. "A lot of the time, people can't pay the penalties," Golden says. "This case might be different."

Wired: The Decline & Fall of Randolph Hobson Guthrie III

NYT OpEd in favor of Google Print Library Project

2005-09-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

I hate to link an NYT article since they put them behind a pay-for archive after only a week. But here the NYT comes out in favor of the Google Library Project, which I also think would be a boon to authors, a great asset to readers, and would make the internet better generally. I'd have to do more research to determine whether I think the project involves any copyright infringement under the Copyright Act or whether it's fair use, however, offering consumers snippets of books or articles is clearly fair use. On the other hand, Google would be making full copies of many books by scanning them all into a massive database. I know that Amazon does something similar that allows consumers to search books, I wonder how if they obtained permission to do that.

What's causing all the fuss? Google has partnered with the University of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, the New York Public Library and Oxford University. Google will scan and index their library collections, so that when a reader searches Google Print for, say, "author's rights," the results point to books that contain that term. In a format that resembles its current Web search results, Google will show snippets (typically, fewer than three sentences of text from each page of each book) that include the search term, plus information about the book and where to find it. Google asserts that displaying this limited amount of content is protected by the "fair use" doctrine under United States copyright law; the Authors Guild claims that it is infringement, because the underlying search technology requires a digitized copy of the entire work.
...
A search engine for books will be revolutionary in its benefits. Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors than copyright infringement, or even outright piracy. While publishers invest in each of their books, they depend on bestsellers to keep afloat. They typically throw their products into the market to see what sticks and cease supporting what doesn't, so an author has had just one chance to reach readers. Until now.

NYT OpEd -- Search and Rescue

Here's more info via the Trademark Blog:
Author's Guild Press Release re their class action suit against Goolge.
Google's Response.
EFF in favor of Google Print.
Prof Patry thinks Google needs permission.

ALA Banned Book Week

2005-09-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

It's the American Library Association Banned Book Week.

Here's some links & info --

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

The Top 10 List of Most Frequently Challenged Books

The Most Frequently Challenged Books Written by Authors of Color, 1990-2000

"A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others."

Apparently most challenges are made by parents -- such as the parent in FL who recently challenged Cracking India, which I posted on here.

BitTorrent filesharing company gets $8.75M infusion

2005-09-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

BitTorrent, the file-sharing program that is the latest thorn in IP owners' collective side, just got an infusion of $8.75 Million from capital investors. They're trying to make BitTorrent more legit and create ties to music and movie companies.

BitTorrent has avoided being sued for copyright infringement like Grokster/Kazaa because they've said from the beginning that the program was not intended for infringement purposes, the program does not protect the identity of users, and BotTorrent itself doesn't know the identity of users or what they're trading. The BitTorrent program is particularly good for sharing large files such as movies because it breaks the large files into small packages (the bits) and sends them one at a time. It also works faster for people who share alike, so being a bandwidth hog and not sharing what you have on your computer doesn't work so well, as it did with Grokster/Kazaa.

Here's from the article:

“The piracy business is not something anyone can make money on,” says Ashwin Navin, who co-founded BitTorrent with Bram Cohen. “We want to distribute paid and ad-supported content, using this technology.”

BitTorrent is the second-most-popular file-sharing program, with 33% market share, according to research firm CacheLogic, after eDonkey's 50% share. BitTorrent specializes in helping users nab huge files quickly.

Navin concedes that some users download movies without paying for them but says BitTorrent isn't the only technology that can be used illegitimately.
...

He says the company is meeting with movie studios and other copyright holders to negotiate use of BitTorrent to distribute content.

Here's the rest -- BitTorrent gets $8.75M from venture-capital firm: File-sharing service hopes to distribute Hollywood content

Anna Nichole Smith's case to go to the Supreme Court -- $474 Million at stake!

2005-09-27T16:51:00.000-04:00

Here's another random, non-intellectual property related post. But wow, the money involved makes it interesting enough!

Anna Nichole Smith's case regarding how much of her ex-hubby's estate she was entitled to is going to the US Supreme Court. The issue is a pretty bland procedural one, someting about when may federal courts hear claims that are also involved in a state probate proceeding.

[Anna Nichole Smith] stands to win as much as $474 million that a bankruptcy judge initially said she was entitled to. The case will be argued before the justices early next year. She has not gotten any money from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II, an oil tycoon who married her in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. Marshall, one of Texas' wealthiest men, died in 1995.
...
The initial $474 million award was reduced to about $89 million, then thrown out altogether by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Well, we all know the 9th Circuit is the most often overturned circuit, that should make Smith feel good. Hey, maybe if she wins she'll have so much money that she could stop the pathetic reality shows and diet pill ads she's been doing! So basically, if she wins, we all win!

Fan Copies Entire Harry Potter Book by Hand

2005-09-27T15:59:00.000-04:00

Uh oh. Sounds like something that could get you sued for copyright infringement! A girl in Moldova spent a month copying the latest Harry Potter book out by hand, now that's a serious fan.

Sandra Luchian, 15, from Moldova, borrowed a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from a friend and wrote down the story word for word. The book isn't available to buy in Moldova, and her family couldn't afford to get the book sent over from the UK. So Sandra filled five notebooks with Harry's latest wizard adventures so she could add the book to her collection.

The Beeb -- Potter fan copies out whole book

I know this is random but I just heard this girl interviewed on The World (an NPR show). I've written to The World to request the girl's address so that I could send her a new copy of the book, plus perhaps the final Harry Potter book when it comes out. Hopefully they can provide it (although I do suspect they'll get a zillion such requests). I'll let you know what happens, hopefully they'll respond in two days or so.

***Update -- The World, which a BBC show on NPR, is going to forward the book to Ms. Luchian for me along with a note from me. Thanks to the Beeb for helping me to help her!

***Update 10/20/05 -- Sandra got the book and wrote me. Very cool! :)

Blogging Guide for Cyber-Dissidents

2005-09-26T09:54:00.000-04:00

Here is a free down-loadable guide on blogging for all you cyber-dissidents out there. It even includes a section on how to blog anonymously. By Reporters Without Borders.

Via Boing Boing via Copyfight.

Are Online Logo Companies Getting Their Trademark Infringement On?

2005-09-21T13:50:00.000-04:00

Are LogoWorks.com & InstaLogo.com committing trademark infringement? Bad Design Kills has several examples of logos these companies provide side-by-side with extremely similar famous marks. See the side-by-side logo pics here.

My understanding is that LogoWorks & InstaLogo allow customers to design a logo (presumably for their own companies) based on designs provided by the logo company. If the logo companies are selling customers infringing logos, they could be exposing themselves and their customers to infringement suits. Not too smooth, they may want to tweak that business model.

Via Boing Boing.

Central Fla. Mom Says Assigned School Novel Is Porn

2005-09-20T13:01:00.000-04:00

Yeah lady, ban the book. I'm sure your 17 year old High School Junior 11th grade daughter knows nothing about sex and this book might really twist her fragile mind. In the meantime, the girl is probably off watching MTV, playing Grand Theft Auto, and having to sneak out of the house to hang out with her friends (which could include, ohmygawd...BOYS!!). I bet her daughter has been thoroughly embarrassed by this episode of her mother trying to censor books for the entire school district. And another thing, when will people figure out that trying to get books banned or censor things only gets it all the more attention. Kids will now want to read this book even more - mission accomplished as they say.

A mother of an 11th grade student in Deland filed a formal complaint Tuesday claiming a book her daughter was assigned to read by her literature teacher is pornography. Vikki Reed said a 1992 novel, "Cracking India" by Bapsi Sihwal, given to her daughter to read by a Deland High School teacher is not suitable for students and should be banned. The novel details historic events in India in the 1940s through the eyes of a young girl. However, Reed says it discusses oral sex and should not be assigned to students.

Here's the article: local6.com - News - Central Fla. Mom Says Assigned School Novel Is Porn

Here's a link to the book on Amazon: Cracking India

Here's a link to what I am assuming are the offending pages: the offending pages would include 172-3. So it's a bit graphic and wierd in that it involves cousins, but hello people...this isn't elementary school. Presumably someone about to finish HS is mature enough for this?

Angry Patients Vent Online, Doctors Sue to Silence Them

2005-09-20T12:28:00.000-04:00

An interesting article re Doctors suing patients for libel when they say not-so-nice things about their treatment or bedside manners onine. There have been several suit against patients who've created websites complaining about Lasik surgery in particular. It seems that the Doctors have been winning many of these legal fights, but not all. And now there are anonymous doctor rating sites online. One of the anonymous sites, NDDB (National Doctor Database), actually replies to the WSJ article. Here's some other Doctor rating sites: DrOogle; RateMDs; & DocFind.

Get that, actually being able to find out about a doctor before you go see him or her.

WSJ.com - As Angry Patients Vent Online, Doctors Sue to Silence Them

9th Circ: Pledge With "Under God" Bit Is Unconstitutional

2005-09-15T01:27:00.000-04:00

The plaintiff, Michael A. Newdow (the same as the last case to reach the SCOTUS), seeks to have the pledge changed back to its original form when said by children in school. The original pledge lacked any reference to God, as above.

But don't forget, "[t]he 9th Circuit is the most overturned appeals court in the country and is considered by legal scholars to be the most liberal" (from 2002 WaPo article about when a 9th Circ judge made a very similar ruling re the pledge).

I'm betting it's overturned, anyone willing to put money on it?

WaPo article - Judge: School Pledge Is Unconstitutional

Update on censorship of the Katrina clean-up: it's still happening

2005-09-14T17:14:00.000-04:00

This is a follow up to this post I did a few days ago (comment on the attempt of the US Gov't to censor the NO body clean-up). It had seemed that the gov't had given up on trying to keep reporters from letting us know what's going on down there after a court issued a temporary restraining order. It seems that some of the people on the ground there don't care about the TRO too much.

Here's a SFGate gallery pic and article from yesterday - "As bodies recovered, reporters are told 'no photos, no stories'"

Here's a bit of the article:

Outside one house on Kentucky Street, a member of the Army 82nd Airborne Division summoned a reporter and photographer standing nearby and told them that if they took pictures or wrote a story about the body recovery process, he would take away their press credentials and kick them out of the state.

"No photos. No stories," said the man, wearing camouflage fatigues and a red beret.

On Saturday, after being challenged in court by CNN, the Bush administration agreed not to prevent the news media from following the effort to recover the bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims. But on Monday, in the Bywater district, that assurance wasn't being followed.

Via Boing Boing.

First prosecution using Family Entertainment Act filed in CA

2005-09-14T16:30:00.000-04:00

***

US Attorney's are serious about snagging bootleggers. I just can't image that these kids get much of a rush from sneaking a camera into a theater, filming the movie, and then hooking up their friends on the warez sites. They certainly aren't getting paid enough to make the risk worthwhile. The busted face a litany of charges, shockingly massive fines, up to 5 years of prison time, and lose all their computer equipment. Ouch.

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California has charged Curtis Salisbury, a 19-year-old from St. Charles, Missouri, with violating the new law in a five-count indictment. The prosecution of Mr. Salisbury, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, is part of a continuing investigation known as Operation Copycat, which so far supposedly has resulted in the execution of over 40 searches across the country.

Specifically, Mr. Salisbury is alleged to have used [a camcorder] to copy the movies "The Perfect Man"...and "Bewitched"... Copies of these movies then allegedly were distributed on a computer network via "warez" sites that offer pirated movies, games and software. The indictment also asserts that Mr. Salisbury illegally downloaded the movie "Madagascar" and the software programs "Sony Sound Forge V8.0," Adobe "Premier Pro V7," and Adobe "Premier Pro V1.5 Proper."
...
The indictment charges Mr. Salisbury with conspiracy – two counts of copyright infringement by distributing a copyrighted work on a computer network – and two counts of unauthorized recording of motion pictures in a motion picture exhibition network. Included in the indictment is a criminal forfeiture and destruction provision designed to ensure forfeiture and destruction of recording equipment and unauthorized copies of films. The statutory penalties for violations of the new law can be as high as five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved, whichever is greater, a three-year period of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment.

Via USA Today Article: "Family Entertainment Act yields its first prosecution" by Eric J. Sinrod.

*** Not an actual picture of Curtis Salisbury, the accused. According to the site I found this pic on via a random Google Image search for "videotaping," this fellow's name is "Hunky Bear" and he's filming his "fellow marchers." Ok.

New Google Blog Search

2005-09-14T11:56:00.000-04:00

Cool.

Google Blog Search

From the help page:

Can I search for entire blogs or individual posts?

You can use Blog Search to find either specific posts or entire blogs. The main search results always return links to posts. However, when there are entire blogs that seem to be a good match for your query, these will appear in a short list just above the main search results.

Fat Albert dot Org domain name dispute resolved in favor of Bill Cosby

2005-09-14T03:11:00.000-04:00

A WIPO arbitrator awarded FatAlbert.Org to Bill Cosby (there's some strange story on the site at the moment). Like in the majority of such UDRP proceedings, the defendant never replied to Cosby's complaint.

Arbitrators for the World Intellectual Property Organization ordered the transfer of fatalbert.org to Cosby, who had complained it was being used in bad faith to divert visitors to a commercial search engine and a Web site selling sexually explicit products.

Bill Cosby Wins Fight Over Domain Name - Yahoo! News

ECJ Judge: "Picasso 'reduced to a piece of merchandise' by his heirs"

2005-09-13T13:34:00.000-04:00

Advocate General Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer of the European Court of Justice laid the smack down on the heirs of the famous artist Picasso. At issue was whether DaimlerChrysler could use the trademark "Picaro" for one of their new cars. The judges tend to follow the findings of the Advocate Generals (80% of the time according to the article).

Mr Ruiz-Jarabo was rather less complimentary about the artist's heirs [than about Picasso himself] - his children Claude, Paloma and Maya, and his grandchildren Marina and Bernard Picasso - who brought the case.
...
He went on: "It is sad to note that the most outstanding, mythic figure of the 20th century, a piece of the common heritage of humanity, has been reduced to a piece of merchandise."

While he conceded that the family of the artist had "a legitimate interest" in defending the name, he denounced its "immoderate use for commercial ends".
...
The family licensed the name to Citroen for use on its Xsara model, which bears a facsimile of his signature.
...
Invoking the name of "universal cultural heritage", he argued that society had a general interest in "preserving the name of great artists from insatiable mercantile greed, to keep their works from being wrecked by banality".

Telegraph article here - Picasso 'reduced to a piece of merchandise' by his heirs

Here's an article about this in Forbes as well.

Security Counterfeit Intelligence Report released -- some very interesting counterfeiting statistics

2005-09-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

According to Gieschen Consultancy's DOPIP (Document, Product and Intellectual Property) Security Counterfeit Intelligence group reports as published on the Pressbox.uk.com site:

The top 10 countries reporting incidents of intellectual property violations:

1. USA, 158 incidents, $119 Million (USD) seizures and losses.
2. India, 51 incidents, $2.6 Million.
3. UK, 31 Incidents, $27.7 Million.
4. Philippines, 17 incidents, $16.0 Million.
5. Canada, 16 incidents, $2.3 Million.
6. Malaysia, 12 incidents.
7. China, 11 Incidents, $5.0 Million.
8. Italy, 7 Incidents, $7.4 Million.
9. Malta, 9 Incidents, $2.5 Million.
10. Nigeria, 7 incidents.

The top 20 countries pursuing all forms of counterfeiting and pirate activity (documents, identification and intellectual property):

1. USA, 745 incidents, $222 Million (USD) seizures and losses.
2. India, 229 incidents, $15.0 Million.
3. UK, 136 incidents, $41 Million.
4. Malaysia, 63 incidents, $8.5 Million.
5. Canada, 50 incidents, $80.0 Million.
6. Philippines, 37 incidents, $3.0 Trillion.
7. Australia, 34 incidents, $3.3 Million.
8. China, 31 incidents, $70.0 Million.
9. Japan, 31 incidents, $4.4 Million.
10. South Africa, 28 incidents, $21.3 Million.
11. Pakistan, 19 incidents.
12. Russia, 16 incidents, $124 Million.
13. Italy, 15 incidents, $25.0 Million.
14. Malta, 13 incidents, $2.5 Million.
15. Thailand, 10 incidents, $2.4 Million.
16. Ireland, 10 incidents.
17. Nigeria, 10 incidents.
18. Czech Republic, 9 incidents.
19. Indonesia, 8 incidents, $6.0 Million.
20. Bangladesh, 8 incidents, $1.3 Million.

The most popular items to counterfeit:

1. Financial Instruments, 661 incidents worth $3.0 Trillion seizures and losses.
2. Entertainment & Software, 312 incidents worth $185 Million.
3. Identification, 286 incidents worth $88.8 Million.
4. Other Documents, 128 incidents worth $7.7 Million.
5. Clothing & Accessories, 114 incidents worth $163 Million.
6. Drugs & Medical, 43 incidents worth $13.9 Million.
7. Food & Alcohol, 31 incidents worth $8.5 Million.
8. Industrial Goods & Supplies, 25 incidents worth $14.0 Million.
9. Cigarettes & Tobacco Products, 22 incidents worth $108 Million.
10. Computer Equipment & Supplies, 16 incidents worth $9.3 Million.
11. Electronic Equipment & Supplies, 15 incidents worth $27 Million.
12. Other Goods, 11 incidents worth $123 Million.
13. Jewelry & Watches, 10 incidents worth $5.7 Million.
14. Perfume & Cosmetics, 8 incidents worth $2.5 Million.
15. Toys, 5 incidents worth $4.7 Million.

The top brands counterfeited:

Cigarettes & Tobacco Products

1. Marlboro.
2. Newport.

Clothing & Accessories

1. Louis Vuitton.
2. Nike.
3. Gucci.
4. Adidas.
5. Burberry.

Computer Equipment & Supplies

1. Canon.
2. HP.
3. Oki.
4. AMD.
5. Epson.

Drugs & Medical

1. Viagra.
2. Cialis.
3. Durex.
4. Lipitor.

Electronic Equipment & Supplies

1. Sony.
2. Bosch.
3. Duracell.

Entertainment & Software (including game software)

1. Microsoft.
2. Sony.
3. Adobe.
4. Autodesk.
5. Macromedia.

Automobiles & Parts

1. BMW.
2. GM.
3. Honda.
4. Toyota.

Jewelry & Watches

1. Chanel.
2. Rolex.

Golf Equipment & Supplies

1. Titleist.
2. Callaway.

...
The largest area of growth has occurred in intellectual property theft which accounts for 23% of all incidents such as pirated works (copyright infringement) and fake goods (trademark infringement). Given the magnitude of the problem, more than 355 brand and copyright owners choose to track down the counterfeiters, build cases for prosecution, and assist law enforcement personel in raids. Due to the significant resources used in these investigations it is not surprising that they yield significant seizures of goods, 40 million items in the first half of 2005, and detail descriptions of the operations past sales, 802 million items sold valued at $210 Million.

The market for counterfeit and pirated goods is also increasing as a result of the Internet which provides a number of advantages over traditional sales and distribution channels.
...
A raid of the entire area of Canel street (New York), Silk Alley (China), Newark Market (UK), or Luzhniki market (Russia) can search 20 - 50 vendors, large and small in a matter of hours, yielding Millions in counterfeit goods. Unfortunately, the ability to investigate and raid a number of vendors in cyberspace is more difficult and costly."

Pressbox.uk.com Article Here: Pirate Brands Cost $210 Million in 2005: Counterfeit & Piracy Report

A comment on the attempt of the US Gov't to censor the NO body clean-up

2005-09-11T04:49:00.000-04:00

You know, I don't like to get into politics here, but when it comes to media censorship of events of public interest, I have something to say.

Judge Ellison: good call on issuing the temporary restraining order against the gov't enforcing their announced 'zero access' policy for media coverage of the Katrina clean up, particularly the body retrieval.

First it's 'no pictures of the coffins of dead soldiers returning from Iraq' and now it's 'no photos of the Katrina bodies.' How about this instead: we let the media cover these situations in a way that they and their viewers deem tasteful. This is certainly preferable to having the administration censoring things that reflect badly on them.

The attempts at censoring media coverage inevitably creates the appearance that the administration has something to hide and as though they lack confidence in the ability of the media to cover, and the public to view, these images in a fair manner. Frankly, after the handling of the Katrina situation I'm not surprised that the gov't is scrambling, but attempts at censorship of public events just creates news in itself that, in turn, makes the gov't look worse. Surely Karl Rove, the mastermind of Bush's marketing team, knows this.

No matter what team you root for, Republicans or Democrats, this sort of activity should really irk you. Whether you prefer Fox News or PBS, you sure as hell should want the independent media making choices about what is news rather than having the gov't picking what can and cannot be shown to you.

Government censorship is disagreeable in any situation.

CNN.com - U.S. won't ban media from New Orleans searches - Sep 10, 2005

Taiwanese P2P Corp goes down in flames

2005-09-11T04:20:00.000-04:00

The Taiwanese courts have shut down Taiwan's biggest P2P operator, Kuro. They also fined and jailed the heads of the company for 2-3 years each!

Taipei Times - Kuro bosses guilty of IPR violations
&
Taiwan court convicts music sharing service Kuro | Reuters.com

RIAA still plugging away

2005-09-01T11:02:00.000-04:00

I really haven't been paying much attention to this because it just seems routine now that the RIAA sues music uploaders every month. But it's still going on, along with a new development -

754 lawsuits this time, all over the U.S. Meanhwile, a woman targeted by the RIAA is suing Comcast, her ISP, for revealing her identity.

Via TheDigitalMusicWeblog.

An interesting development in the RIAA file-sharing lawsuits, which Cardozo Professor Justin Hughes has written up as financially self-sustaining (in a law review article that doesn't appear to be available free online), is that there is now one woman challenging an RIAA lawsuit. This is a first.

Her lawyer claims he can and will defend other RIAA suits as well (he has a blog here too). If even a few defendants challenge the RIAA, it would quicky change the RIAA's legal efforts against music uploaders from self-sustaining to very costly. In addition, this is very dangerous for the RIAA because once they lose one of these cases on a "someone else put the music on my computer" defense, then it'll basically open that (totally legitimate) defense up to all RIAA defendants.

Via Boing Boing.

By the way, I keep saying "uploaders" because that's who is actually sued by the RIAA. Those who make the music available to downloaders, not downloaders themselves. If you didn't know that already you deserve a smack. (See part 3 of this article, or here, if you don't believe me.)

India Police OK'd to Seize Pirated Movies

2005-08-31T20:02:00.000-04:00

Wow! That's one hell of a broad warrant power they have over there.

"A New Delhi court has issued a warrant that gives police broad powers to search for and seize pirated movies in any part of the city, an official from an association of U.S. film companies said Wednesday.

The warrant covers the entire city and was issued July 19 by a New Delhi magistrate at the request of the Motion Picture Association, the global arm of the Motion Picture Association of America, said Chander Lall, a lawyer for the group.
...
Cheap pirated movies made locally or smuggled in from other Asian countries, like China, are readily available in bazaars and even upscale shopping centers around the country. Some are barely watchable recordings made in theaters, others are cinema-quality rip-offs."

I hate to say it, but here in NYC pireted movies are also readily available at bazaars. If you could call Canal Street a bazaar (I'd say you could).

India Police OK'd to Seize Pirated Movies

LOTR film rights owner makes a windfall

2005-08-31T19:59:00.000-04:00

Oops. Someone forgot to check on who owned the rights or miscalculated the royalties...BIG time.

"A movie producer earned $168m from The Lord of the Rings films even though he did not work on the trilogy, trade paper Variety has reported.

Saul Zaentz got the payout from film studio New Line because he bought the rights to JRR Tolkien's books in 1976.

The windfall is revealed in court papers after New Line settled a legal wrangle with Mr Zaentz, Variety said."

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Filmmaker 'earns 94m Pounds from Rings'

50 Cent lets his attorneys settle his trademark beef these days

2005-08-30T16:51:00.000-04:00

This is classic material straight from The Smoking Gun:

Back in the day when young drug dealer 50 Cent had a beef, he'd settle it gangsta style. But the old days are long gone and now rapper Curtis Jackson has trademark attorneys do his dirty work for him. In the below complaint filed Friday in Pennsylvania federal court, 50 accuses a Philadelphia area car dealer of using a newspaper ad with a picture of him and the tagline "JUST LIKE 50 SAYS!" to shill Dodge Magnums. The 30-year-old artist, who is described in the filing as "known for his good looks, 'gangsta' image and hard knocks success story" is seeking more than $1 million for the trademark hijacking.

Via Likelihood of Confusion.

Violence & Video Games

2005-08-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

I've posted on this several times before. Most recently railing on Hillary Clinton for caring more about a sex scene in a video game than about gaurding the subways from terrorism (here). And also giving a sigh of relief that a murderer didn't get off on some "the game made me do it defense" in a recent case (here). Here's a few others: new violent NARC game in which the player can do drugs; IL tries to outlaw violent games; & WA ct strikes down law against violent games.

Now the NYT has an article out that it seems to think will close the debate (but not all American's are people of science, as we well know). The article is titled 'The Claim: Violent Video Games Make Young People Aggressive.' Apparently some psycologist has been doing research on the violence and video games question for 20 years (have video games really been around that long?). He finds, shockingly, exectly what you would think...

THE BOTTOM LINE Studies generally show that violent video games can have short-term, or momentary, effects on children, but there is little evidence of long-term changes.

Seems pretty obvious right? That's why juries don't buy the 'game made me do it defense.' Because someone who commits violent crime does it because they have some sort of problem, not because of a game, movie, TV show, or violent book that they read. So, Jack Thompson and the like, when will you stop your moronic campaign against free speech in art? There are sooooo many better movements you could be involved in that would actually help people.

'Terminator 2' shape-shifting copyright claim moves forward

2005-08-24T21:53:00.000-04:00

"A copyright infringement case brought against James Cameron, director of Hollywood blockbuster 'Terminator 2; Judgment Day' can proceed, a US appeals court ruled last week, according to the Associated Press.

Cameron is accused of basing his shape-shifting T-1000, the villain of the movie, on a character created in 1987 by Australian filmmakers Filia and Constantinous Kourtis.
The couple allege that they developed a half-man, half-bull character, which could transform itself into various human and inanimate forms, for the title role of a movie project entitled 'The Minotaur'."

'Terminator 2' shape-shifting copyright claim moves forward | OUT-LAW.COM

Mac Hacks Allow OS X on PCs

2005-08-13T04:44:00.000-04:00

It's been looking likely, what with Mac switching to Intel chips in the near future, that Mac has plans to release its OS to run on PCs. But I wonder if they wanted this to be accomplished first by a bunch of hackers?

"Hackers and curious computer users this week have been downloading the tweaked Mac OS X for PCs, nicknamed "OSx86," from several websites connected to the BitTorrent file-distribution system. OSx86 is designed to run on Apple Computer's next generation of hardware, which some call "MacIntels" and others "MacTels" because the machines will run on Intel microprocessors rather than the PowerPC processor used in current Macs."

For some reason, the word on the web is that Mac OS X runs faster on PCs than on Macs.

Mac people can never quiet down about how incredible Macs are, it's a total cult thing. But it looks like Jobs is going to take Mac mainstream now and compete more directly with Microsoft in the PC market. I'll guess we'll all really see just how wonderful, or not, the Mac OS is. Once Mac goes Intel and allows its OS to be used on PCs, it won't be able to sell it's computers at those ridiculously inflated prices based on their "coolness" factor and design anymore. It'll be make-it or break-it go-time. I think they have a good shot at actually ending up as real competition for MS, or at least, they're the only ones that have any shot at all (except for Linux, sort of).

Here's the article: Wired News: Mac Hacks Allow OS X on PCs

Budweiser trademark litigation still raging across the globe

2005-08-13T04:02:00.000-04:00

UPDATE - pic of Bud & Bud added.

Most trademark law junkies will have heard about the global Busweiser name dispute. Here's a nice article that gives a brief review.

"As some 40 lawsuits continue in various jurisdictions, it seems there will be plenty of time for another round of drinks before there's a clear, international answer to who really brews Budweiser -- if ever."

Two Beers United by One Name Europe Deutsche Welle

New Book: "Hot Property: The Stealing of ideas in an Age of Globalization"

2005-08-13T03:57:00.000-04:00

Sounds like it may be a really great read for nerdy IP law types! It was released in April, but this is the first I've heard of it.

"According to Pat Choate, the British aristocracy once believed that 'gentlemen do not steal the ideas of others.' As the author deftly points out in his latest venture, however, that philosophy (even among Englishmen) could not be further from the truth. Choate, a political economist, radio co-host, and 1996 vice-presidential running mate of Ross Perot, tracks the evolution of the stealing of ideas and inventions, along with the development of legal mechanisms, such as patent and copyright laws, to protect (or at least attempt to protect) owners from such thievery.

Through political commentary, historical storytelling, and a plethora of statistics, Choate describes the pilfering of ideas on individual and governmental levels, and provides an in-depth account of how US and international laws have helped and hindered those seeking protection."

'Gentlemen do not steal the ideas of others.' Oh yeah? | csmonitor.com

Here's the book on Amazon (they have $10 used hardbacks) - HOT PROPERTY: The Stealing of ideas in an Age of Globalization.

If you read it definitly come back and let me know how it is.

New film "The Island" the subject of a copyright claim

2005-08-13T03:49:00.000-04:00

Perhaps the makers of 'The Clonus Horror' will make much more on their 1979 indy flick than they ever imagined? I'll keep you up to date on this if I hear anything.

"In The Island, released tomorrow in Britain, a man played by Ewan McGregor goes on the run after discovering that he is part of a colony of clones being kept as spare parts for the rich and ailing.

In The Clonus Horror, released in 1979, a man played by Timothy Donnelly goes on the run after discovering he is part of a colony of clones - kept as spare parts for the rich and ailing.

One film cost DreamWorks and Warner Bros $125m to make; the other cost Clonus Associates $250,000. One film has been derided by critics and has turned into the box-office flop of the year in the US. The other has been ignored by critics but become a cult classic."

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Hollywood cloned our clone movie, say cult film-makers

FedEx freaking out over box furniture

2005-08-12T03:11:00.000-04:00

Fed Ex has threatened to bring copyright claims against a kid who built furniture out of Fed Ex boxes and posted pics of them on his website. As the article points out, they would actually be bringing trademark claims if they bring any claims at all. Anyway, it's just one of those stories that are so goofy they make the news.

Wired News: Furniture Causes FedEx Fits

Jury convicts video game (GTA) defense killer

2005-08-11T02:09:00.000-04:00

'The videogame made me do it.' Thank god juries don't buy such nonsense.

Defense lawyers had partly blamed Moore's actions on the hours he spent playing video games from the 'Grand Theft Auto' series, in which players shoot police officers and steal cars. While the judge barred jurors from hearing testimony linking the 2003 shootings to the game, defense lawyer Jim Standridge reminded them that Moore, after his arrest, told police 'Life is a video game; everybody has to die sometime.' Moore had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental defect.

CNN.com - Jury convicts video game defense killer - Aug 10, 2005

Darknet for all within months?

2005-08-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

Can lawsuits or a new push for legislation be a fix for an easy to use anonymous Darknet file-sharing program? I think it will take more than Grokster or the Induce Act to deal with this...

Software that will allow people to anonymously swap music and other files on the Internet could render copyrighting of songs and movies obsolete by year's end, a creator [of Freenet] said. A test version of the "darknet" software was made available on a Freenet Project website early Wednesday and a refined edition could soon be ready "for general consumption," Ian Clarke of Freenet told AFP. The software is intended to allow computer users worldwide to exchange files online in a way that hides them from industry investigators, vindictive politicians and others, Clarke said. Music recording industry goliaths have fought to crush such renegade file sharing, which they claim fosters piracy of copyrighted material by musicians. Darknet software has so far been treated as a tolerable bane by copyright defenders because programs have been difficult to use and limited to sharing between groups of no more than five or 10 computer users. "We've devised a way you can have a darknet with potentially millions of users," Clarke said. "We hope we will have something suitable for launch this side of Christmas."

And another thing...why are people/news articles still saying things like this: "Music recording industry goliaths have fought to crush such renegade file sharing, which they claim fosters piracy of copyrighted material by musicians." Is there still really a debate about whether file sharing fosters copyright infringement? Maybe I'm missing something. There have been questions about the extent to which widespread file sharing has hurt industry profits and to what extent file sharing benefits society as opposed to how badly it damages the music & film industries, but not about whether file sharing fosters piracy. That much seems pretty clear. Let's be a little more intellectually honest people, please.

Stealth online use by Christmas: software designers - Yahoo! News

DOJ Busts Some Big Time IP Pirates

2005-07-29T01:15:00.000-04:00

The gov't isn't playing games when it comes to IP enforcement. I wonder if this bust will actually put any sort of damper on the trade in illegal IP though. If they really nailed a bunch of top distributors it will probably create a very brief hiccup, but there are sure to be others ready and willing to take the place of the busted. Check out this release, the last paragraph I pasted is the most interesting if you're just going to skim:

'Today's charges strike at the top of the copyright piracy supply chain-a technologically-sophisticated, highly organized distribution network that provides most of the copyrighted software, movies, games, and music illegally distributed over the Internet,' said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richter. 'Cases like these are part of the Department's coordinated strategy to protect copyright owners from the online thieves who steal and then sell the products they work so hard to produce.'

Operations FastLink and Site Down resulted in a total of more than 200 search warrants executed in 15 countries; the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs; and the removal of more than 100 million dollars worth of illegally-copied copyrighted software, games, movies, and music from illicit distribution channels. Countries participating in these U.S.-led operations included: France, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Hungary, Israel, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, and Germany. Both Operations FastLink and Site Down were the culmination of multiple FBI undercover investigations, but only one of those investigations participated in both operations: the Charlotte undercover investigation responsible for today's charges. The charges announced today reflect the commitment of the United States Attorney's Office to aggressively protect intellectual property rights which are increasingly important in today's information age.

'Operations FastLink and Site Down reinforce the commitment of federal law enforcement agencies to protect intellectual property rights and to maintain the integrity of our copyright laws. Agents of the FBI and their Department of Justice counterpart.
...
The defendants charged today were leading members in the illegal software, game, movie, and music trade online, commonly referred to as the "warez scene." They acted as leaders, crackers, suppliers, distribution site hosts or site administrators. All were affiliated with organized warez groups that acted as "first-providers" of copyrighted works to the Internet -- the so-called "release" groups that are the original sources for a majority of the pirated works distributed and downloaded via the Internet. Once a warez release group prepares a stolen work for distribution, the material is distributed in minutes to secure, top-level warez servers throughout the world. From there, within a matter of hours, the pirated works are distributed globally, filtering down to peer-to-peer and other public file sharing networks accessible to anyone with Internet access.

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "DOJ Announces Eight Charged In Internet Piracy Crackdown..."

Taking the Bar Exam & Rant

2005-07-26T22:53:00.000-04:00

Well, I've just finished the first day of the NY State Bar Exam. I think I did pretty well on the NY portion. Tomorrow is the multi-state part. Needless to say, between the last final of law school and now the Bar Exam I have a good excuse for not having done much blog posting during the last few months, I do miss it though.

On to the rant:

I gotta say, this whole system of the State Bar and their weed out exam pisses me off. There's a multi-million dollar monopoly industry (BarBri/PMBR) out there that thrives on stressing law school grads out about the bar exam. That just doesn't seem right to me. Plus, the quality of the programs is questionable. One thing that annoys me is how BarBri knows it totally skews the whole exam by what they do and do not teach, yet they insist on keeping you for extra days covering minutae in topical areas that really aren't even covered on the exam. I feel like they're just trying to milk us for all the extra cash they can. What a rip-off.

And there's the whole financial hardship of taking the Bar Exam -
(1) you can't work for several months once you finish school because you're studying for this test;
(2) you pay a bit under $3,000 for all the Bar Exam classes;
(3) you're living on loans for another couple months while you study, this is after years of sucking up loans to go to law school, and the cost of living in NYC isn't low so it's a big deal;
(4) since you don't even know if you pass until November you're sort of going to have trouble getting a job if you don't yet have one upon graduation, and who knows how long you'll be unemployed for if you fail at first and have to take it again! You could be unemployed for most of a year after finishing school.

And to top that all off, if you ever want to move to a different state, which is something that I understand Americans do on occasion, you have to go through all this crap again.

Honestly, I'm shocked that practicing lawyers who pass the bar are just fine and dandy with the whole system. I don't want to call my attorney readers a bunch of idiots for not railing on this system with regularity, but c'mon people, if you're not pissed off about the whole Bar Exam system there's something wrong with you. The test clearly doesn't exist to weed out dumb lawyers (I know because I've met some shocking ones), it's just meant as a means of keeping competition out of the state. Maybe that's why everyone seems cool with it, once you pass you think it's actually helping you by keeping out the job competition or something. This is an experience that I will bitch about for years to come.

Anyway, I'm unhappy with it.

Gettin' Paid, Gettin' Rich!

2005-07-24T19:26:00.000-04:00

According to op-ed copyright crusader Rose von Perbandt of Bradenton, FL, I'm in the right industry:

"A decent arts attorney charges $2,000 to $3,000 a day! The average cost of intellectual property litigation is more than $500,000."

That may be true if we're talking about the RIAA going after Grokster, but I don't think those are the average numbers for a typical IP case.

Here's the op-ed in it's entirety, not really worth reading though:

SW Florida Herald Tribune - Copyright Infringement Op-Ed

By the way, anyone know a NYC IP firm that's hiring (preferrably one that'll pay me about $2,000 per day)? :)

Hillary Clinton needs to get her priorities striaght -- sex scenes in video games vs. money for securing mass transit?

2005-07-14T22:05:00.000-04:00

I think my Senator needs to get her priorities straightened out. I don't know if she's trying to put on a happy face for conservative voters or something, but it's not impressive when there's idiocy like this going on in the capital that actually directly negatively affects her constituents. Read on:

Sen. Hillary Clinton pressed on Thursday for a government investigation into how simulated sex cropped up in a modified version of the blockbuster criminal adventure video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."
...
Saying the problem of explicit video games was "spiraling out of control," Clinton also said she was introducing legislation that would crack down on the sale of violent and sex-laden games to minors.

Technology News Article Reuters.co.uk - Sen. Clinton seeks 'Grand Theft' sex scene probe

Man charged with stealing Wi-Fi signal

2005-07-07T16:22:00.000-04:00

This is insane.

CNN.com - Man charged with stealing Wi-Fi signal - Jul 7, 2005

Circuit split - the Ninth Circuit

2005-06-19T04:39:00.000-04:00

The GOP wants to split the 9th Circuit up into three seperate circuits. I forsee many filibusters.

"Congressional Republicans are hoping yet again to split the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers nine Western states and has issued some rulings to the dismay of conservatives, saying a breakup is the best way to reduce the caseload of the circuit's federal judges. "

Lawmakers Trying Again to Divide Ninth Circuit - New York Times

Ms. Dolkart needs a bit 'o the anger management

2005-06-16T18:40:00.000-04:00

"The panel of nine women and three men deliberated less than an hour before fining Jane Dolkart $1,000 and sentencing her to two years in prison with a recommendation that she be given probation. The judge hearing the case sentenced her to five years' probation. Witnesses who testified during the trial described Ms. Dolkart as an impatient and aggressive driver as she followed cyclist Tommy Thomas and another rider near White Rock Lake last May. Ms. Dolkart's green Volkswagen Passat hit and dragged Mr. Thomas several feet, leaving him with bruises and abrasions, but only minor injuries."

Turns out she has accidentally hit other peds before too. Yikes!

LawSchool.com: SMU Law Prof Gets Probation, $1,000 Fine For Intentionally Hitting Cyclist With Her Car

Why aren't lawyers called "doctors"

2005-06-08T17:12:00.000-04:00

After all, we have a "Juris Doctor." I asked this two posts down in my "I just graduated from law school" post...seriously, if we have a "doctorate" why aren't we called "doctors."

One of my partners over at the Induce Act Blog sent me this link where Mr. Kinsella, Esq. (not "Dr." Kinsella mind you) explains why we aren't called doctors.

Basically, as he points out, we just don't deserve such a respectable title.

KinsellaLaw on the "Juris Doctor"

Dallas Cowboys commit copyright infringement

2005-06-08T16:58:00.000-04:00

The Dallas Cowboys used a photog's pic of Emmitt Smith on loads of merchandise without permission. They were ordered to pay him $275,000 after he refused their initial settlement offer of $1,000, oops.

The best part of the settlement for the photographer is that he is banned from attending Cowboy's games at Texas Stadium, like anyone would want to see them play anyway. :)

nbc5i.com - Sports - Cowboys Ordered To Pay Photographer For Copyright Infringement

FINALLY DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL!!!!!

2005-05-20T06:06:00.000-04:00

I've been gone for awhile. But......I JUST FINISHED LAW SCHOOL!!!!

Whoa! That was three long years of some serious s***. I just finished my last final, due this morning. I now have a Juris Doctorate to hang on the wall (why don't we get to be called "doctor" if we have a doctorate? I think this should change). Me and my lady, who also finished this week, are going to do some celebrating today for sure! I'll probably get so trashed that I'll pass out by the end of happy hour. Funny thing is, Bar Exam review courses start on Monday and go until the Bar in late July...it never ends!!! And I'm still looking for a job of course. Tell me there's a light at the end of the tunnel fellow lawyers...and by the way does your firm have a NYC branch that's hiring? :)

House OKs Family Copyright Bill

2005-04-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

The House has passed the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 (HR357). This is the legislation that Clearplay was hoping for.

Wired News: House OKs Family Copyright Bill

Japan's high court - online music file-sharing illegal

2005-04-04T18:34:00.000-04:00

"The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that MMO Japan Ltd violated the Copyright Law by providing an online service for swapping music files and ordered it to pay a total of 71 million yen in damages to a copyright association and 19 record labels."

For the rest of the story: Japan Today - News - High court upholds online music file-sharing as illegal

The NYT wieghs in on the Grokster case

2005-03-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

There is a nicely measured op-ed in the NY Times today concerning the Grokster case, which will be heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow. With all the copyleft frenzy going on everywhere on the internet it is actually refreshing to read a middle-of-the-road piece. Of course, they don't really come to any conclusion about the case either, so maybe that's where such thoughts take you in thinking about highly contested cases. Despite all the online ranting, I don't really know if I'd say IP is "under assualt" as an concept or anything, not in any meaningful sense anyway - but the article does remind us that most of the copyleft IP proponents and bloggers are certainly considered radical to the extent that thier opinions on the matter are more or less disregarded by anyone with any true influence over IP law in the US. They get a mention but that's it. Who knows, maybe they really will change the perceptions of the general public on IP issues, but that doesn't mean they'll get very far in the courts or in Congress. We'll see.

The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: When David Steals Goliath's Music: "Grokster's supporters are justified in worrying that if the courts are too quick to rein in new technology, innovation can be stifled. They are also right to point out that copyright has sometimes been given too much protection, notably in the Copyright Term Extension Act, which gratuitously added 20 years to existing copyrights. But these concerns do not erase the continuing importance of intellectual property, which is unquestionably under assault.
Both the court and Congress should be sensitive to evolving technologies. But they should not let technology evolve in a way that deprives people who create of the ability to be paid for their work."

Yahoo! Creative Commons Search

2005-03-25T17:09:00.000-05:00

Cool:

Yahoo! Creative Commons Search

CopyNight meetup

2005-03-19T14:45:00.000-05:00

This is interesting - a meetup for copyright mavins. So far there are meetups planned for San Fran, DC, and New York for March 29th (the day of the Grokster arguments before the US Sup Ct).

Check it out - CopyNight

UPDATE: Myself, Kevin Heller, and Tim Marman will be there.

UPDATE2: Andrew Raff will be there.

Nintendo DS & World of Warcraft setting records

2005-03-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

More videogame industry news -

World of Warcraft reaches 1.5 million subs - Joystiq - www.joystiq.com

The Nintendo DS is selling like crazy in Europe - 87,000 in the UK in the two days after launch.

Britain's McLibel case finally over, going since 1985

2005-03-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

I missed this a month ago, but it seems that Brintain's McLibel case has mostly come to a close when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that they had not recieved a fair trial in Britain after McDonald's succesfully sued the two defendants (a postman and barmaid) for libel for passing out anti-McDonald's fliers. Britain's libel laws are notoriously harsh and favorable to plaintiffs, this is a case in which they were almost certainly abused. The ECHR also held that Britain should've provided for the defendants' legal defense. The case began in 1985.

The "McLibel Suit" has finally come to a close. The Court ruled in favor of activists Dave Morris and Helen Steel. The case was the longest-running in English legal history(!!!) and cost McDonald's over $16 million.
Jason Bourgeois - A Super-Sized Case

reactions to NARC

2005-03-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice op-ed putting the legislative freak-out in perspective. Like the author says, the interactivity of video games has led to an increased urgency to the debate over violence in entertainment media, but the reality is that this debate has been played out for every type of new media ever to debut. He also points out that many recent killings or killers have had some connection to religion, but there is no move to lay any blame there despite the Bible's load of sex and violence. I think that's a tough comparison to make, but you can't deny that it is something that makes you say "hmmmm." If video games kill, what about the Bible? Perspectives CNET News.com

Here are a few images from the new game NARC, which has decided to try and out-do Grand Theft Auto by allowing the character to take drugs as power-ups. Here's a post I did on this a day or so ago.

Star Wars: Episode III Trailer

2005-03-17T17:42:00.000-05:00

What is thy bidding my master?

Star Wars: Episode III Trailer

drug use in video games, here we go again...

2005-03-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

Oh crap, wait until the legislators get a hold of this one...

The new game Narc will feature the ability to take drugs like crack and ecstasy as power ups.

The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > Where a Puff of Marijuana Is the Ultimate Power-Up

Legal Jobs Blog

2005-03-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

Kevin of TechLawAdvisor fame is quick becoming a "Blawgfather." He's now got several sites going on, the latest addition of which is the TLA Legal Jobs Blog. If you're looking for work in the legal field check it out.

While we are on the topic of jobs, I finish law school in a few months and am actively seeking employment in IP law. I have a great resume and I'm obviously passionate about IP and cyberlaw issues. Anyone who is interested in checking out my resume please ask - ccohen[at]gmail.com. Also, any tips are welcome!

Lessig and Valenti agree on one thing -

2005-03-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

- that Creative Commons is good stuff. It's really taking off in places beyond just blogs. Check out this article with quotes from Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing and others for more - Yahoo! News - Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright

Gothamist - MTA Tells Store to F Off

2005-03-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Gothamist has picked up on an interesting IP issue - the NYC MTA (group that runs the subway and busses) is trying to assert their rights in subwayness against a local shop. They are suing a bagel shop called "F Line Bagels" in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. These are trademark claims based on the fact that the shop uses the name "F Line" and also that its interior was made to look like a subway station.

Seriously, there a sooo many places out there that bite on the NYC subway style. Are they paying licensing fees? I doubt it. What about...Subway the sandwich chain? They even have wallpaper featuring NYC landmarks and maps and all.

It doens't seem to me that the MTA has been pursuing these sorts of claims in the past. I don't really know though. I think this would be an interesting case if it ever went to trial and appeal. The defendant would probably have a fair shot at winning based on the fact that so many other shops and goods have diluted the subway MTA trademarks. Who knows.

The MTA is currently in serious financial trouble, so maybe this is part of the new business plan.

Gothamist: MTA Tells Store to F Off

Here's the article in the NY Post.

Gizoogle this blog

2005-03-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

Check it out.

Chris Riznush Cohen - I post `bout IP & cyberlaw issues, tech nizzay n NYC. I am a law student at tha Benjamin N fo' sheezy. Cardozo Schoo` of Law (izzy in NYC. My email address is ccohen (at) gmail dot cizzay fizzle free ta drop me a line so i can get mah pimp on.

Gizoogle - Transizlatin' Page - http://chris-cohen.blogspot.com/

Blog freedom

2005-03-13T17:04:00.001-05:00

Worth a read.

CNN.com - Lawmakers: Hands off Web logs - Mar 11, 2005

AOL's dodgy new Terms of Service for AIM

2005-03-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

Think your conversations are private? Think again. According to their new TOS, AOL can use the info in your AIM conversations in any way they please.

AOL's Terms of Service Update for AIM Raises Eyebrows

Slashdot discussion

UPDATE: Kevin at TechLawAdvisor suggests getting Trillian to replace AIM. I don't know if that will help considering that the chat goes through the AIM network anyway, but it couldn't hurt since you are not exactly signing on to that AIM TOS. Anyway, I just got Triallian to give it a spin and I really like it. Go check it out. Thanks for the link Kevin!

Also, Kevin says to check out rob hyndman for more info. It's worth a read. The AIM TOS may not be as draconian as some reactionary bloggers think...or is it? [Insert creepy deep laughter here].

rapper C-Murder's lawyer helped him secretly record album while imprisoned

2005-03-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

Is this an ethics violation? Apparently recording music and videos in prison wasn't specifically against the rules of the prison C-Murder is in. Anyway, the Sheriff is pissed off and thinking about reporting the attorney to the bar. I just think the whole story is sort of humurous.

ABA Report: JAILHOUSE RAP HAS SHERIFF SHOUTING: Lawyer Helped Murder Suspect Record his New Album

Russian MP3 site AllofMP3.com escapes through copyright loophole

2005-03-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you want to take advantage of cheap music from Russia, don't wait around 'cause it's only a matter of time before sites like www.allofmp3.com get taken down. Apparently there are no provisions in the Russian version of the Copyright Act that cover digital files and therefore allofMP3 is in the clear for the moment - what they are doing would be illegal in the US, but isn't yet in Russia. The reality is that Russia is a member of the WTO and WIPO and as such is required to pull these sites by their international treaty obligations. The clock is ticking, do you hear it allofmp3?

Check out these articles for more:
BBC article - 'Legal okay' for Russian MP3 site

out-law.com - legal news and business guides - Russian MP3 site escapes through copyright loophole

City of Heroes gets some claims by Marvel against it dismissed

2005-03-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

But none of the copyright infringement claims, the most important claims of the bunch, were dismissed. This is the case in which Marvel is suing the massively multiplayer game City of Heroes for allowing players to create characters that look similar to Marvel comic characters. Players of CoH have loads of character customization possibilities and some players have attempted to emulate their favorit Marvel characters. CoH is fighting for their right to allow such in-game conduct. It is notable that were the Induce Act to be passed this case would probably be open and shut for Marvel's victory. As it is now the result may well hinge on the language of the Supreme Court's opinion in the Grokster case, which will certainly be issued in time to affect this case.

Industry watchers are monitoring this lawsuit very closely, as the result could potentially have enormous effects on the video-game industry, particularly the burgeoning massively multiplayer market. Should the case be decided in Marvel's favor, it would mark the first time that a game publisher was held responsible for infringing material created by end-users with its tools. The result might be a reduction in amount of character customization allowed by end-users. The case may also have a chilling impact on the mod scene. Many popular online games that allow users to tinker with its code give rise to amateur teams creating works that could be considered copyright infringement.

PC: NCsoft Scores Partial Victory Over Marvel

Xbox 2 sneak peek

2005-03-11T12:02:00.000-05:00

While we're on the topic of video games...the XBox2 is sounding pretty badass and will probably be here for Christmas.

"Microsoft is saving the official unveiling of the Xbox 2, codenamed Xenon, for the E3 show in May and the device could be on shop shelves by November. "
BBC NEWS | Technology | Game makers get Xbox 2 sneak peek

Is there nothing better for legislators to do in Ill.?

2005-03-10T17:04:00.000-05:00

"Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposal to bar stores from selling violent and sexually explicit video games to children unanimously passed an Illinois House committee Wednesday, despite concerns that it might be unconstitutional."

Is that concern that the law may be unconstitutional because that same exact law has already been struck down in several other states? Seriously, make better use of your time legislators and let parents buy their kids whatever games they want to. They do have ratings on them you know.

Newsday.com: Ill. Moves Toward Banning Some Video Games

Here's some real info from the ESA on games, kid, and violence.

things not looking up for Kazaa

2005-03-05T18:03:00.000-05:00

"The assets of Sharman Networks, the maker of the Kazaa peer-to-peer software, have been frozen pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought against the software-maker by the recording industry."

More here - Wired News: Kazaa Assets Frozen in Australia:

Who owns baseball stats?

2005-03-05T17:55:00.001-05:00

The MLB is looking to own player stats when they are used for profit - i.e. when used for fantasy sports. The case is CDM Distribution & Marketing v. MLB Advanced Media, No. 4:05CV 22MLM (E.D. Mo.).

Fantasy sports are a huge business in the US, pulling in $1 billion per year according to the article linked to below. The MLB wants a peice of that action via licensing fees. This is a comment that I do not quite understand:

"Jim Gallagher, senior vice president, corporate communications for MLB Advance Media, said that baseball officials are not claiming exclusive rights to player statistics. But if a company is trying to use those statistics as a means of financial gain, he said, then MLB has a legal right to demand a license for their use. 'Player statistics are in the public domain. We've never disputed that,' Gallagher said. 'But if you're going to use statistics in a game for profit, you need a license from us to do that. We own those statistics when they're used for commercial gain.'"

Is this information in the public domain or is it not? I have never heard of a trype of material that is in the PD unless used for profit. The MLB does note that convincing the court that they own a copyright in this data is an uphill battle. I would hate to see fantasy sports go down the drain because of a crazy ruling on ownership of pure information - luckily, it sounds like there's almost no prayer the MLB will get what they want here. For more check out the article.

law.com - Pro Sports: Technology Changes Rules of the Game

UK judge isn't letting anyone waste his time...

2005-02-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

here's some justice to go.

London judge sentences defendant by phone - Engadget

Ubisoft to Publish Puzzle Pirates

2005-02-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Regular readers know that I keep my eye on the many massively multiplayer online games out there (even though I have little time to play them). I see today on Slashdot that there is great news for a really cool award winning MMORG puzzle game, Puzzle Pirates. Check them out.

Slashdot | Ubisoft to Publish Puzzle Pirates

an open-source party

2005-02-01T00:50:00.000-05:00

The EFF and other copyfighters got down in Brazil recently.

World Social Forum: Activists Urge Free Open-Source Software

You better back that "Azz" up counselor!

2005-01-29T11:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some "actual quotes" from the oral arguments in Positive Black Talk Inc. v. Cash Money Records, No. 03-30702 (Dec. 17) being heard on appeal by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concerning a copyright dispute over the song "Back That Azz Up."

Lawyer: If it please the court, we contend that my client is the rightful owner of "Back That Azz Up."

Judge No. 1: It would please the court if counselor wouldn’t use such foul language.

Lawyer: Your honor, I’m afraid you misunderstand. "Back That Azz Up" is the name of a hit song that my client wrote and therefore is the rightful copyright owner thereof.

Judge No. 2: "Azz"? What’s an "azz"?

Lawyer: (nervously) Well, actually, your honor, it’s like … like …

Judge No. 2: Never mind. Just please tell me that this song is about farming or mining, right?

Lawyer: I don’t think so, your honor.

Judge No. 3: Counselor, are you telling this court that there is an audience for a song about people backing their "azzes" up?

Lawyer: Yes, your honor.

Judge No. 3: So counselor, if I understand you correctly, your client actually wants to take credit for this "creative endeavor"?

Lawyer: Well, actually, your honor, my client wants more than credit. He also wants to share in the millions the song grossed in worldwide sales.

Judge No. 3: Worldwide? Are you telling me that we exported this song to other countries? English-speaking countries?

Lawyer: Once again, yes. Not only that; non-English speakers, too.

Judge No. 3: Other languages have a word for "azz"?

Lawyer: Well, your honor.

Judge No. 2: Wait a minute, counselor. I think some members of this court are still a little confused about this particular piece of "intellectual" property. I know I am. Perhaps you could sing a little bit of this song so that we can get a better understanding of the work.

Lawyer: With all due respect, I don’t think that would be such a good idea. Quite frankly, I’m a terrible singer.

Judge No. 2: That’s OK. Our understanding is that this is a rap song. Just rap a few lines for us, will you?

Lawyer: Well, if you insist (rapping loudly and offbeat):

"Girl, you looks good, won’t you back that azz up

You’se a fine mother------, won’t you back that azz up

Call me Big Daddy when you back that azz up

Hoe, who is you playin’ wit’? Back that azz up."

(A long, awkward pause after these, the actual lyrics.)

Judge No. 1: Counselor, I think I speak for the rest of this court, particularly those judges who have been rendered permanently speechless, when I say that we are going to cut oral arguments short today.

Lawyer: But your honor! A grave miscarriage of justice has occurred! My client’s case deserves to be heard!

Judge No. 3: Counselor, I think we’ve heard more from your client already than we want to hear for the rest of our lives.

Lawyer: (stepping forward) If it pleases the court, I respectfully request that you reconsider your decision.

Judge No. 1: Counselor, it would please the court if you would "back that azz up." We are adjourned.

Via the ABA Journal eReport.

[UPDATE: a commenter has pointed out the very thing that anyone who reads this post obviously knows (or alternatively, can figure out immediately by looking at the source article)...this is a joke. So, just in case you didn't get it - the panel of appellate judges hearing the appeal didn't really tell the lawyer to back his azz up.]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

2005-01-27T03:07:00.000-05:00

If you're getting songs from iTunes you're a fool. You're paying a premium for low quality (bit rate) music that comes with DRM (so you can't even play it on all machines). Go, and cheaply purchase thy music from AllofMP3.com...then write me a comment thanking me for the recommendation. Get while the getting is good. Russia is a member of international copyright treaties - Berne, TRIPS (and WIPO if I recall) so there will be international pressure on the Russian government to shut these guys down. If even the Wall Street Journal is picking up the story these sites may not be around too much longer.

Read this Journal article:
WSJ.com - Russian Sites Sell Song Downloads For Pennies, But Are They Legal?

P2p operators go down in flames

2005-01-19T18:45:00.000-05:00

Feds nail some p2p operators with criminal copyright infringement charges. Ouch.

William R. Trowbridge of Johnson City, New York, and Michael Chicoine of San Antonio, Texas, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit felony criminal copyright infringement. The pleas were entered Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Trowbridge operated at P-to-P hub named Movie Room between August 2002 and August 2004, and Chicoine operated a P-to-P hub named Achenon's Alley TM, according to the DOJ. The two sites offered a wide variety of computer software, computer games, music, and movies in digital format, including some software titles that legitimately sell for thousands of dollars, the DOJ says.
...
The convictions came after a joint investigation dubbed Operation Digital Gridlock, conducted by the DOJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The operation, announced in August 2004, targeted file-sharing of copyright materials over five P-to-P networks that belonged to an online group of hubs known as The Underground Network.
PCWorld.com - P-to-P Operators Plead Guilty

Welcome back to me!

2005-01-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

I am back from a three week vacation to the Seychelles and Switzerland. Got myself a little sun and a little snow. Good times were had by all. Posting to resume as usual.

Dick and Jane publisher sues over copyright infringement

2005-01-15T20:15:00.000-05:00

I didn't even realize that Dick and Jane were under copyright.

See Dick and Jane. See Dick and Jane get a lawyer. Pearson Education, the publishing company that owns the copyright to the single-named stars of countless reading primers, is suing a division of Time Warner for co-opting the characters in a book called "Yiddish With Dick and Jane," according to The New York Times.

Newsday.com - Dick and Jane publisher sues over copyright infringement

India plans US model cyber law

2004-12-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

India is going to adopt some new copyright law (or para-copyright) similar to the DMCA.

IndiaDaily - India plans US model cyber law

NYLJ on Grokster

2004-12-21T22:11:00.000-05:00

A nice piece on the upcoming Grokster appeal before the Supreme Court from the New York Law Journal.

law.com - Son of Napster: The Inevitable Sequel

Garfield in China

2004-12-21T22:02:00.000-05:00

Garfield's owner won acopyright infringment case in China based on the Berne Convention, the award was a whopping $25,000.

Garfield wins copyright violation case - Sify.com:

Article - From the Campus to the Commons

2004-12-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice article on the Free Culture movement. Among other subjects, it asks: "Is the fight for the Digital Commons like the environmentalism of the next generation?" That I don't know about, but it would be very interesting if it gets moving to that extent. I just can't imagine so many people caring about copyright law, but you can't always know what'll grab people's imaginations and motivate them.

Go read it - AlterNet: WireTap: From the Campus to the Commons

He made a funny...sorta

2004-12-20T17:11:00.000-05:00

Non Sequitur on IP.

Non Sequitur 12/20/04

Don't mess with a Jewish Orthodox Anarchist

2004-12-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

This is the best reply to a cease and desist I've seen. The sender is the company that makes tshirts that say "Jesus is my homeboy." The receiver is a guy hawking similar looking t-shirts on Cafepress that say "Jesus was a kike." The sender is claiming copyright and trademark infringement. Here's the end of the receiver's response to the second cease and desist letter:

Thus, I will not comply with your demands, because I believe they are without merit, and would like to note, in addition, that you will have a rather hard time serving me with papers as I am currently residing in Israel and do not intend to return to the United States for some time, if ever. On top of that, I have been unemployed for nearly a year, with no savings to speak of, so good luck seeking damages. You should also take under consideration that the t-shirts are manufactured by a print-on-demand service and therefore there is a) no inventory, b) I earn roughly $3 per shirt (whereas Cafepress takes the vast majority of earnings for their part in manufacturing and distribution), and c) I haven't sold more than a dozen of them. If you're really intent on taking me to court for $36, be my guest. It's probable that you will lose the case, but if by some miracle of God you don't, you ain't gonna get nothin' outta me anyway except to further impoverish the impoverished which, I must say, would be an incredibly un-Christian action on your client's part.

In such a scenario I can only wonder really, what would Jesus do?

I think he'd let it go.

Thanks for your prompt reply,

Daniel Sieradski
Jewschool.com

Read the entire exchange here: Orthodox Anarchist (via Boing Boing).