Intellectual Property & New Info Technology

by Howard Besser

This page discusses issues revolving around intellectual property and new information technology.

The origins of Intellectual Property Law

"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries"

The constitutional rationale was that, if authors were guaranteed the fruits of their labor, they would be encouraged to write more. In today's world, it is publishers not authors that hold copyright. And the dominant view of lawmakers is that the "limited time" that copyright should be in effect is quite long.

Important Sites for ongoing information on Public Policy debates over Intellectual Property

Yale LawMeme -- recent news and commentary on IP law from a progressive perspective
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, A joint website (sponsored by Harvard's Berkman Center, the Law Schools of Stanford, Berkeley, and USF, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) designed "to empower Internet users with detailed information about their rights in the online environment" and help them to respond to cease-and-desist letters designed to restrict their online activities.
Digital Milennium Copyright Act Site, Digital Futures Coalition
Union for the Public Domain
DigitalConsumer.org -- Protecting fair-use rights in the digital world
Howard's Information Commons links
Information Commons website, American Library Association (debut June 2002)
Creative Commons (description -- A New Direction for Intellectual Property, New York Times, May 13, 2002)
Public Knowledge
Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain
Electronic Frontier Foundation Intellectual Property documents
Against Intellectual Property, CMU website devoted to critiques of Intellectual Property
* Electronic Frontier Foundation's Intellectual Property - Video and DVD Archive
Free Expression Policy Project, NYU School of Law
* The Free Software Story, Salon's coverage of Linux and the open source debate

The Trademark Blog -- interesting cases on trademark law

IP Justice -- "an international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual property law in a digital world"
WIPOut.net -- Intellectual Property Counter-Essay contest
EDUCAUSE's DMCA site
Association of Research Libraries analysis of DMCA
American Library Association Washington Office website on DMCA
Rights for Creators website, National Writers' Union

National Hearings || Recent Articles || Official Sites || Position Papers || Guidelines || Classic Papers || Recent History ||

National Copyright Activities that Howard has been involved in

The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age, National Resources Council, National Academy of Sciences

Press Release, Nov 3, 1999
various materials about the study
Council's Report on Copyright Discusses Issues Without Settling Any, Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov 4, 1999
National Research Council: Go Slow on Intellectual Property Law; Digital Archive Needed, Library Journal Digital, Nov 8, 1999

US Copyright Office Study on Distance Learning, released May 1999

Recent interesting articles, books, etc. on Intellectual Property

Patent Protection Gone Awry, Hal Varian, NY Times, Oct 21, 2004
Oscar Plan to Encrypt DVD's Hits Glitches, NY Times, Oct 16, 2004
Privacy vs. Piracy -- Verizon case not heard by Supreme Court

Supremes Quietly Change Piracy Debate, Washington Post, Oct 13, 2004
Verizon Wins Critical Legal Battle to Protect Internet Users' Privacy, Free Speech Rights and Personal Safety, Verizon press release, Oct 12, 2004

Entertainment Industry Asks Justices to Rule on File Sharing, NY Times, Oct 12, 2004
Judge rules e-voting vendor misrepresented law, AP Wire Story, Sf Chronicle, Oct 2, 2004
Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Sept 29, 2004

Library Associations Endorse New Agenda for WIPO, Sept 27, 2004 press release

MusicTrashing the Copyright Balance, Marjorie Heins, Free Expression Policy Project, Sept 21, 2004 (Bridgeport Music case)
Copyrighting the President: Does Big Media have a vested interest in protecting Bush? You betcha, by Lawrence Lessig, Wired Magazine 12.08, Aug 2004
Grokster/StreamCast Decision, August 19, 2004

Judge rules Grokster, StreamCast not liable for copyright violations / File-sharing verdict major setback for recording industry, SF Chronicle, August 20, 2004
File-Sharing Sites Found Not Liable for Infringement, NY Times, August 20, 2004
MGM v. Grokster: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision (03-55894), August 19, 2004
Amicus Brief by Pam Samuelson and Laura Quilter

Patents; A patent owner claims to be owed royalties on much of the Internet's media content, NY Times, Aug 16, 2004
Cory Doctorow's Microsoft Research talk, June 17, 2004 (another version)
BBC's plans to make their works publicly available through a "Creative Archive"

letter from Friends of the Creative Domain to the British Department of Culture, Media and Sport, June 10, 2004
BBC to Open Content Floodgates, Wired News, June 16, 2004
BBC Creative Archive licensing to be based on Creative Commons, Simon Perry, Digital-Lifestyles.info, May 26, 2004

A Heretical View of File Sharing, New York Times, April 5, 2004
No Golden Years Yet for a 75-Year-Old Mouse, NY Times, Nov 24, 2003
Arts Briefing: Mouse Milestone, NY Times, Nov 18, 2003
New Copyright Rules Fail to Provide Fair Access in the Digital World, American Library Association Press Release, Oct 31, 2003
Internet Archive & software preservation

Fighting to Preserve Old Programs, Wired News, Oct 14, 2003
Exemption request from Internet Archive to US Copyright Office, Dec 12, 2002

Voting Machines

Machine Politics in the Digital Age, NY Times, Nov 9, 2003
Diebold Voting Case Tests DMCA, PC World, Nov 4, 2003
Judge Speeds Case on Electronic Voting Company's Threats Against Critics; May Prevent Diebold From Suppressing Evidence of Voting Machine Flaws, Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release, Nov 4, 2003

Broadcast Flags

Federal Communications Commission Adopts Hollywood Tech Mandate; Digital Television "Broadcast Flag" Stymies Innovation, Fair Use, and Competition, Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release, Nov 4, 2003
FCC Order, Nov 4, 2003

Hey, You Need a License to Watch That! A sports fan is viewing the (Olympic) Games on Canadian satellite TV. FCC says he failed to go through the proper channels. Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2004
Bricklin, Dan (2004) Software that Lasts 200 Years
Bricklin, Dan (2004) Copy Protection Robs The Future
Hirtel, Peter B (2003) Digital Preservation and Copyright, Copyright & Fair Use, Stanford University Libraries , November
Bricklin, Dan (2003) How will the Artists Get Paid?
Bricklin, Dan (2002) The Recording Industry is Trying to Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg
File Sharing Pits Copyright Against Free Speech, NY Times, Nov 3, 2003
Music-Sharing Service at M.I.T. Is Shut Down, NY Times, Nov 3, 2003
Saving Seeds Subjects Farmers to Suits Over Patent, NY Times, Nov 2, 2003
Web Group Backs Microsoft in Patent Suit, NY Times, Oct 29, 2003
A Film Dispute Becomes Melodrama, NY Times, Nov 3, 2003
Europe’s Antipiracy Proposal Draws Criticism, NY Times, Oct 20, 2003
Audible Service Could Teach Music Industry a Lesson, NY Times, Oct 20, 2003
Record Industry Warns 204 Before Suing on Swapping, NY Times, Oct 18, 2003
Shift Key Opens Door to CD and Criticism, NY Times, Oct 13, 2003
Copyright Lawsuit Is Turnabout for SCO, NY Times, Oct 13, 2003
Small Studios Say DVD Edict Will Diminish Oscar Chances, NY Times, Oct 3, 2003

Filmmakers Criticize Move to Curb Piracy, NY Times, Oct 2, 2003

A Stroll Through Patent History, New York Times, Sept 29, 2003
Guarding Privacy vs. Enforcing Copyrights, New York Times, Sept 29, 2003
Dewey Decimal Owner Sues Hotel, CNN.com, Sept 21, 2003

Letter from Sam Trosow to ALA Social Responsibilities Action Council, Sept 27, 2003

Free CD Downloads: Recording industry can't put this cat back in bag, Jane Hughes, USA Today (commentary), Sept 24, 2003
Music File Sharers Keep Sharing Despite Suits, NY Times, Sept 19, 2003
Setback for Microsoft Ripples Through the World Wide Web, NY Times, Sept 17, 2003
In Court, Verizon Challenges Music Industry's Subpoenas, NY Times, Sept 17, 2003
SBC Won't Name Names in File-Sharing Case, NY Times, Sept 16, 2003
New Economy: Some Advise 'Everywhere Internet Audio', NY Times, Sept 15, 2003
Hollywood Faces Online Piracy, but It Looks Like an Inside Job, NY Times, Sept 15, 2003
Crackdown May Send Music Traders Into Software Underground, NY Times, Sept 15, 2003
File-Sharing Battle Leaves Musicians Caught in Middle, Sunday NY Times, Sept 14, 2003
The Sharing Society: Whatever Will Be Will Be Free on the Internet, Sunday NY Times, Sept 14, 2003
Beyond File-Sharing, a Nation of Copiers, Sunday NY Times, Sept 14, 2003
The Music Industry Reveals Its Carrots and Sticks, Sunday NY Times, Sept 14, 2003
Beatles group sues Apple over trademark, CNET News, Sept 12, 2003
Fighting the Idea That All the Internet Is Free, NY Times, September 9, 2003
American Oligopoly, The Orphanage Artist Collective, Washington Square Park, Sunday Sept 7, 2003
Executives See Problems Beyond File-Sharing, NY Times, September 9, 2003
Aiming at Pornography to Hit Music Piracy, Sunday NY Times, September 7, 2003
RIAA files 261 lawsuits against individuals for sharing music (Sept 2003)

261 Lawsuits Filed on Internet Music Sharing, NY Times, September 9, 2003
Girl, 12, Settles Piracy Suit for $2,000, Yahoo News, September 9, 2003
12-Year-Old Sued for Music Downloading, Fox News, September 9, 2003
Why the RIAA's "Amnesty" Offer is a Sham, Electronic Frontier Foundation, September 2001

Executives See Problems Beyond File-Sharing, NY Times, September 9, 2003
Fighting the Idea That All the Internet Is Free, NY Times, September 9, 2003
Aiming at Pornography to Hit Music Piracy, Sunday NY Times, September 7, 2003
NBC-Vivendi Deal: An Empire Reborn, Sunday NY Times, September 7, 2003
Court Rules Trade Secrets Can Outweigh Free Speech, New York Times, August 26, 2003
Piracy war may raise ISP fees; Internet firms tell music industry they don't want cop role, San Francisco Chronicle, August 12, 2003
Fox Sues Al Franken, CBS News, August 12, 2003 (over trademark infringement for using phrase "Fair and Balanced")
Illegal Art Exhibit, Panel, films, etc., San Francisco, July 2003
Scientists defy for-profit journals, CNN online, July 12, 2003 (Should results of government-funded research be in private hands?)
Orrin Hatch: Software Pirate? Wired News, June 19, 2003
Threat Is Seen to Heirloom Software, John Markoff, New York Times, May 19, 2003 (Brewster Kahle tells Copyright Office hearing that DMCA impedes preservation of software)
Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy, New York Times, May 4, 2003
Norwegian Teenager to Face Retrial for Film Piracy, Washington Post, February 28, 2003
Pondering Value of Copyright vs. Innovation, New York Times, March 3, 2002
Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 27, 2003
An Appeal to Honor in Fight Against Internet Piracy, New York Times, February 24, 2003 (see streamed video version of Jack Valenti's Duke University Lecture) (lecture text)
Fighting piracy with P2P blocking, CNET News.com, ZD-Net, February 20, 2003
Compromise copyright bill in works, C-Net, February 19, 2003
Verizon Ordered to Give Identity of Net Subscriber, New York Times, January 22, 2003
Record Industry Has No Plan to Seek Names of Students Trading Copyrighted Songs, Chronicle of Higher Education, January 29, 2003
Eldred vs. Ashcroft case (challenging the Sonny Bono Term Extenstion Act)

Decision January 15, 2003

news articles on the decision

Supreme Court Upholds Extended Copyrights, Associated Press, January 16, 2003
20-Year Extension of Existing Copyrights Is Upheld, New York Times, January 16, 2003
Supreme Court upholds copyright law extension, Reuters, January 15, 2003

A Corporate Victory, but One That Raises Public Consciousness, New York Times, January 16, 2003
The Law vs. The Internet, analysis of impact of Eldred decision and summary of other media coverage by Cynthia Web, Washington Post TechNews, January 16, 2003
Free Mickey Mouse, Washington Post Editorial, January 21, 2003
The Coming of Copyright Perpetuity, New York Times Editorial, January 16, 2003
Protecting Mickey Mouse at Art's Expense, Larry Lessig, New York Times Op-Ed piece, January 18, 2003
Copyright ruling is a ripoff of consumers, Dan Gillmore, San Jose Mercury News columnist, January 16, 2003
Supreme Court nixes copyright challenge, Declan McCullagh , CNET News, January 15, 2003
Excerpts from the decision,, New York Times, January 16, 2003
Copyright Office webpage on Eldred decision, January 15, 2003
Majority opinion by Justice Ginsburg,
Dissent by Stevens,
Dissent by Breyer,
National Writers Union Statement on Eldred Supreme Court Decision, January 15, 2003
Public Knowledge statement on Eldred Supreme Court Decision, January 15, 2003
COPYFIGHT: the politics of IP, blog coordinated by Donna Wentworth, Corante Tech News
Copyright Monopolies, Andrew L. Shapiro, The Nation (commentary), January 30, 2003

Previous documents

Official Supreme Court Transcript of Arguments
Eldred vs. Ashcroft Constitutional challenge page
Harvard Berkman Center's OpenLaw site (many references from here)
Stanford Law School's bibliography on Eldred case (includes articles in popular and professional press)
Extending Copyright Helps Corporations, Not Artists; Creators should be wary of industry thirst for perpetual ownership, opinion piece by Jonathan Tasini, Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2002
Library Associations file legal brief in support of Eldred
Mickey Mouse vs. The People: How an antiquarian bookseller and a Nathaniel Hawthorne fan sued Congress and ended up before the Supreme Court, Damien Cave, Salon, February 21, 2002 (includes interviews with Eric Eldred and Laura Bjorklund)
'Limitless' Copyright Case Faces High Court Review, David Savage, Los Angeles Times, February 20, 2002
Studios May Have the Most to Lose; the ownership of early depictions of favorite characters and music could be at stake, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2002

Copyright truce excludes key voices, CNET news.com, January 15, 2003
Music Industry Won't Seek Government Aid on Piracy, New York Times, January 15, 2003
Beatles Tapes Are a Trove, if Familiar, New York Times, January 13, 2003
Steal This Book? A Publisher Is Making It Easy, New York Times, January 13, 2003
Studios Using Digital Armor To Fight Piracy, New York Times, January 5, 2003
Companies in U.S. Sing Blues As Europe Reprises 50's Hits, New York Times, January 3, 2003
Recording Industry Plans to Accelerate Complaints About Illegal File Sharing, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 2, 2002
Activist Network in NY Evicted from Internet by Dow, Verio, thing.net December 23 Press Release

United States: Censoring satire Dow's industrial strength lawyers, Index on Censorship, December 16, 2002
Free Speech; This is a clarification of Dow's recent actions in protecting Freedom of Speech. (December 2002satire on Dow's stand on Free Speech)

Judge Asked to Bar DVD Software; Studios want permanent injunction against programs that allow motion pictures to be duplicated, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2002
Russian company acquitted in Adobe EBook copyright case, San Francisco Chronicle, December 18, 2002 -- first criminal trial under DMCA ends in victory for fair use
New Premise in Science: Get the Word Out Quickly, Online, New York Times, December 17, 2002
Group Is Launching New Types of Licenses; The nonprofit's goal is to promote creativity while reinvigorating the public domain, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2002 [Creative Commons (CC) website | flash animation describing CC]
Anti-piracy group bills music swappers, CNN.com, December 4, 2002
"The Progress of Science and the Useful Arts"; Why Copyright today threatens Intellectual Freedom, a public policy report by the Free Expression Policy Project (a think-tank on artistic and intellectual freedom, 2002
Using Technology to Control the Flow of Ideas, special issue of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Journal, 20:1, Summer 2002
Daedalus, Special Issue on Intellectual property, 2002, volume 131, issue 2
Austin Journal; A Slogan Battle Keeps Austin Weird, New York Times, December 8, 2002
Alcatel owns US employee's thoughts, The Register (UK), posted December 8, 2002
Privacy Advocates Warn Colleges Not to Monitor Content of Students' File Sharing, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 8, 2002
Debate on Intellectual Property, New York Times, October 14, 2002
Corporate Paws Grab for Desktop, Wired News, September 9, 2002
A Story Of Piracy And Privacy, Washington Post, September 5, 2002
Access to Free Online Music Is Seen as a Boost to Sales, Matt Richtel, New York Times, May 6, 2002
The Internet Debacle; An Alternative View, by long-time recording artist Janis Ian, originally published in Performing Songwriter Magazine, May 2002. She advocates that peer-to-peer and downloads are good for recording artists.
Universal Music provides alternative to file sharing - Rare old albums can be bought, downloaded on EMusic.com, San Francisco Chronicle, July 9, 2002
Illegal creative works

An Exhibition That Borrows Brazenly, New York Times, January 7, 2003
Illegal Art; Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age -- Art exhibit, website, and forums to illustrate the importance of re-contextualization of previous works, and how that is threatened by recent intellectual property laws (including list of interesting articles)
Illegal books (freely downloadable because they're in public domain in other countries, but illegal to download in US and parts of Europe)
Willful Infringement: A report from the front lines of the real culture wars, film Produced By Jed Horovitz, Directed By Greg Hittelman, 2003

Anti-piracy approaches (encryption and anti-circumvention): encroaching on Fair Use, may be inferior Business Models to providing some content for free

Fair Use by Design Workshop, Computers, Freedom & Privacy conference (#12), San Francisco, April 16, 2002
Prime Palaver #6 by Eric Flint (where he argues that marketing content such as E-Books can be financially rewarding without taking anti-piracy measures [which he sees encroaching on personal liberties]; shows how his sales went up as he offered content for free)

Web search engines and Copyright used to silence critics

Google Yanks Anti-Church Sites, Wired News, March 21, 2002
Church v. Google: How the Church of Scientology is forcing Google to censor its critics, Microcontent News, March 21, 2002
Museum's Cyberpeeping Artwork Has Its Plug Pulled, Matthew Mirapaul, New York Times, May 13, 2002

Hollings Bill to require all consumer electronic devices to include copy protection -- likely to threaten Fair Use

Information about and text of Hollings Bill
Hollings Proposes Copyright Defense; Bill Would Require Electronic Products To Deter Piracy, Washington Post, March 22, 2002
Website for Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this Bill
TinselTown Club -- Electronic Frontier Foundation campaign against the Hollings Bill
DigitalConsumer.org -- Protecting fair-use rights in the digital world

Consumer rights to time-shift or circumvent television commercials -- Sonic Blue case

Top Ten New Copyright Crimes, posted to LawMeme by Ernest Miller, May 2, 2002 in response to statement by Turner Broadcasting's CEO Jamie Kellner characterizing those who skip television commercials as thieves
Liberties Group Sues Studios Over Consumers' Use of Digital Devices, Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2002
Replay TV Users -- "We Are Not Theives!"; Customers Defend Right to Digital Recording, Electronic Frontier Foundation files suit against studios, June 6, 2002

Internet Radio Copyright Licensing Rulings

Broadcasters Outraged over Proposed Reporting Rules, Radio Horizon, February 19, 2002
Rates and Terms for Statutory License For Eligible Nonsubscription Services, Copyright Office Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel ("CARP") 2/20/02 ruling recommending rates and terms for Internet Radio
SaveInternetRadio.org

Commodification of Culture Harms Creators, by Howard Besser, prepared Oct 2001 for American Library Association Wye River retreat on Information Commons
Intellectual Property: The Attack on Public Space in Cyberspace, by Howard Besser, to appear in Processed World, September 2001
Recent Changes to Copyright: Attacks Against the Public Interest, by Howard Besser, November 1999 (a longer version of what appears in March 1999 Peace Review)
Howard Besser's Talk to Electronic Publishing, UCLA GSE&IS, October 30, 2000
Information Commons Links
Wipeout: the Website of the intellectual property counter-essay contest and essays of contest winners
Time to rewrite the DMCA, US Representative Rick Boucher, C-Net, January 29, 2002
Key case restores copyright balance, Globe & Mail, April 18, 2002 -- Canadian Supreme Court ruling in Théberge v. Galerie d'Art du Petit Champlain Inc implies that insuring a robuts public domain is an important part of copyright law
Bill to Protect Right to Copy Digital Files, Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2002
CDs That Block Copying May Herald a Revolution, Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2002
Digital copyright law under fire; Millennium Act already out of date, critics say, San Francisco Chronicle, August 13, 2001
2 Copyright Cases Decided in Favor of Entertainment Industry, New York Times, November 29, 2001
Measure on Music Contracts Planned; State senator says he'll challenge statute that ties recording artists to years-long contracts, Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2001
Antitrust Probe of Music Firms Intensifies; Officials look for evidence that labels cooperated to limit competition to their online ventures, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2001
Music Firms Fail to Get Anti-Piracy Proposal on Bill; Senate rejects change to anti-terrorism legislation involving electronic protections, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2001
Why the RIAA owes us all an apology, commentary by David Coursey, ZDNet News, Octobwer 17, 2001
Aggressive Strategy Brought On Inquiry of Recording Industry, New York Times, October 22, 2001
Information, Commodification and the World Trade Organization, Steven Shrybman, 66th International Federation of Library Associations Conference, Jerusalem, Israel, 13-18 August, 2001
IP isssues in response to anti-terrorism

Music Firms Fail to Get Anti-Piracy Proposal on Bill; Senate rejects change to anti-terrorism legislation involving electronic protections, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2001
Cipro saga exposes how drugmakers protect profits, USA Today editorial, October 29, 2001
Cipro had big boost from U.S.; U.S. tests led to OK for anthrax use, San Francisco Chronicle, October 25, 2001

Tasini vs. New York Times before US Supreme court on 3/28/01

background (on authors' rights to re-used works in electronic form)
full official transcript of Supreme Court hearing
Ken Burns and Doris Kearns Goodwin Show Up on Publishers' Side in Dispute With Freelancer, Inside, February 23, 2001
Republish or Perish, Washington Post, March 19, 2001
Supreme Court Rules in favor of Tasini

text of the Supreme Court decision, June 25, 2001
Freelancers Own Electronic 'Reprints', Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2001
Victory for Creators: A Guide to the Supreme Court, National Writers Union press releases and recommendations in wake of their Supreme Court victory (includes links to original documents)
A Blow for Creativity, Not Just for Writers, Jonathan Tasini, Los Angeles Times (opinion piece), July 3, 2001
Court rules copyright laws also apply online, San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 2001
Free-Lance Writers Win Court Battle, New York Times/Associated Press, June 25, 2001
Publishers Must Seek Authors' Permission for Electronic Reprints, Supreme Court Rules, Chronicle of Higher Education, June 26, 2001
The New York Times Archive, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, June 29, 2001 (Noah Adams interview with Howard Besser)
Publishers should preserve e-record by Howard Besser, UCLA Today 22:1, July 31, 2001

The Wind Done Gone-- social commentary or sequel violating copyright provisions?

In World of Literary Satires, Just How Far Is Too Far? Books: A lawsuit over a new novel that parodies the classic 'Gone With the Wind' raises questions about copyright laws, By: Hillel Italie (Associated Press), Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2001
Publisher Houghton Mifflin's explanatory website on the case
Background on the case from Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society
Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court overrules Federal District Court citing first ammendment concerns

October 26 decision by Librarian of Congress on Technical Protections of the Digital Milennium Copyright Act

American Library Association response, ALAWON 9:85, October 26, 2000
Digital Future Coalition press release, October 26, 2000
"PAY-PER-USE" SOCIETY ONE STEP CLOSER -- Statement of Congressman Rick Boucher on "Anti-circumvention" Rulemaking, press release, October 27, 2000

Pressured by Music Industry, a Researcher Is Expected to Scrub Encryption Speech, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 26, 2001

see some of the original correspondence
Scientists Drop Plan to Present Music-Copying Study, New York Times, April 27, 2001

Deep Linking issues

Letter sent to Belo’s attorney by Public Citizen, on behalf of BarkingDogs.org, May 9, 2002

What Is Art? 3 Stooges Case to Help Decide, Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2001
Public laws owned by the public? Think again, copyright rulings show, San Diego Union-Tribune, May 13, 2001 (also see online discussion of this issue on SlashDot)
Beatle Tunes in Film? Got It Covered, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2001
New Company Besieges Colleges With Notices About Copyright Violations; Institutions weigh legal issues and inconvenience of tracking down students who share files, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 30, 2001
Charges dropped in copyright case; Russian programmer to be set free, San Francisco Chronicle, December 14, 2001
Online Music,Napster, etc.

Courtney Love does the math, by Courtney Love, Salon, June 14, 2000. MusicianCourtney Love discusses how even successful bands make very little money. She contends that the four largest recording companies are the real pirates,who have used their stranglehold on distribution channels and manipulatedintellectual property laws to place musicians in the role of share-cropperson the record company plantations. In her section on "Content Providers"she also admonishes attempts to turn music into a commodity. (Warning:the discourse here is more like a series of rants than an academic discourse. But it offers a critical point of view.)
Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix, New York Times, May 9, 2002
Recording industry spins out of control, Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, March 10, 2002
Proposal May Quell Free Online Music, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2002
Round 2 of Online Music Battle Begins: As the big labels roll out online song services, angry artists are preparing cease-and-desist notices, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2001
Future of Music Coalition
Artist Rights and Record Companies (Courtney Love's letter to Music Industry Artists, calling for them to organize a union to oppose the recording companies), Radioundercover.com, April 2, 2001
Sound and Fury, opinion piece on the RIAA's greed with SDMI by Rob Fixmer, Interactive Week, May 7, 2001
The Letter U and the Numeral 2; What happens when your art consists of sampling other people's work? If your name is Negativland, you get your ass sued by U2, Colin Berry, Wired Magazine 3.01, January 1995
Napster Ally Middelhoff Questions Motives of Rivals, Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2001
Internet Music Will Still Play On Despite Napster's Uncertain Future, Benny Evangelista, San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 2001
Testimony by recording artist Peter Breinholt to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct. 9, 2000
Address of Senator Orrin G. Hatch Before the Future of Music Coalition, January 10, 2001, Washington, DC
Future of Music Coalition website
Europe Gets a Guideline to Protecting Copyrights, New York Times, February 15, 2001
On Top Underground: With help from the Internet, Alternative Bands find fans and a New Independence, Washington Post, January 11, 2001
BMG's Owner, Napster in Surprise Online Deal, Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2000
Music Downloaders Say They're Not Thieves; Only one-fifth say they pay for files, poll shows, San Francisco Chronicle, September 29, 2000
Napster Launches Round 2; Appeals-court brief filed minutes before deadline, San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2000
Napster Being Bullied, Lawyer Says; Music industry trying to `stifle' technology,San Francisco Chronicle, July 4, 2000
The Napster Effect: Program may have started something that no court can stop, San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, 2000
Music industry to present Net fears to policymakers, NY Times/CNET, Oct 19, 1999
University Cracks Down on MP3 Trade, NY TImes, Nov 10, 1999
Recording Industry Escalates Crackdown on Digital Piracy, NY Times, Oct 4, 1999
Record Labels Fear Move to Digital Format Will Encourage Piracy - Hesitancy could push unprotected method to the fore by Tom Abate, SF Chronicle, September 10, 1998
The MP3 audio format

Download That Tune -- It's Web Music MP3 software, free songs make recording industry nervous, SF Chronicle, December 3, 1998
MP3 Web Sites a Mixed Bag, SF Chronicle, December 3, 1998
Fun Device for High-Tech Music Fans; The Rio allows you to take MP3 songs on the road, SF Chronicle, December 3, 1998
L.A. Judge's Ruling Is Digital Music to Diamond Multimedia's Ears, Tom Abate, SF Chronicle, October 27, 1998
Rio Debut Back on Track, Wired News, October 27, 1998
New Digital Music Player Prompts Lawsuit, NY Times, October 16, 1998
Diamond Multimedia Systems Is Caught in Legal Quagmire; Music publishers fighting firm's new digital gizmo, SF Chronicle, October 13, 1998

InfoEthics 200: Third UNESCO Congress on Ethical, Legal and Societal Challenges of Cyberspace, Paris, November 13-15, 2000 (Right to Universal Access to Information in the 20th Century)

Carlos M. Correa, Fair Use and Access to Information in the Digital Era
Bernt Hugenholtz, COPYRIGHT AND ITS LIMITATIONS IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT (Professor in Law, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Barry Steinhardt (ACLU), Preserving Fair Use in the Digital Age

Barlow, John Perry. (2000) The Next Economy of Ideas: Will copyright survive the Napster bomb? Nope, but creativity will, Wired 8.10, October 2000
Marketing 'Narnia' Without a Christian Lion, New York Times, June 3, 2001
Beyond Copyright Consciousness by Rick Prelinger, Bad Subjects 52, November 2000
Corporate Agression and the Internet, R-TMark website on corporate bullying to obtain domain names
Auditing Classes at M.I.T., on the Web and Free, New York Times, April 4, 2001
Random House Sues Over Rights to Publishing E-Books, New York Times, February 28, 2001
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Copyright and the Future of Academic Research -- a conference examining the Israeli Court decision granting an individual copyright over the Dead Sea Scroll text
Mattel Can't Prevent Man's Sexy Barbie Art, San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 2001

Mattell acts vigorously to protect its Barbie trademark, (trademarks.org)

Pottershots: The trouble with Harry, San Francisco Chronicle, November 18, 2001Warner Bros. claims Harry Potter sites, ZD Net, December 21, 2001
Issue Spotlight: Peer-to-Peer Networking, Current Cites 11:10, October 2000 (Berkeley Digital Library Sunsite)
Justices Won't Get Involved in 'Tiger' Cat Fight, Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2000
Microsoft using the Digital Milennium Copyright Act to inhibit criticism

Embrace, extend, censor, Salon, May 11, 2000
Slashdot Skirts Microsoft's Kerberos Rule, The Standard, May 11, 2000
Microsoft Asks Slashdot To Remove Readers' Posts, Slashdot, May 11, 2000

DVD/DeCSS

Norwegian Teen Becomes Industry's Latest Test Case, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) press release, January 25, 2000 (includes links to lots of interesting [and relatively reliable] analysis of the issues involved in this case)
DeCSS developer arrested, house raided, computer confiscated, Slashdot, January 24, 2000
DeCSS Central main page, by lemuria.org
* DVD and the digital copyright act on CNN.com
* Salon Technology: Criminal Code? from February 9, 2000
Background info from Jessica Litman
Rhymes with Orange (comic), SJ Mercury News, January 23, 2000 (you may have to do a free sign-up to access this)

Sony's Music Unit Sued Over Customer Steering, NY Times, February 1, 2000
eToys Drops Lawsuit Against Artist Group, NY Times, January 25, 2000
Leonardo Arts Magazine raided and sued because it is retrieved by Web searches looking for Leonardo Finance, February 10, 2000 press release

links for Public Domain and Public Space
Howard Besser's Talk on Public Domain & Public Space, NINCH Town Hall Meeting, Visual Resources Association, April 5, 2000
Chairman of Amazon Urges Reduction of Patent Terms, NY TImes, March 11, 2000
Search Engine Images Attract Copyright Suit, LA Times, February 21, 2000 (photographer sues search engine over images on Web)
Media vs. Web in digital copyright war, USA Today page 1 story, February 17, 2000 (and Chuck Hamaker's same-day response)
Hackers Are the Real Victims--of Industry Greed, commentary by Erann Gat, JPL, in response to Jack Valenti's Opinion piece, February 7, 2000
If You Can't Protect What's Yours, You Own Nothing, by Jack Valenti, LA Times Opinion piece, Sunday, January 30, 2000
Warhol: The Herald of Sampling, Sunday NY Times, Nov 7, 1999
Appeals Panel Revives Suit on Use of Dr. King's Speech, NY Times, Nov 7, 1999
Patent Office Now at Heart of Gene Debate, LA Times, February 7, 2000
Patent Stampede as Firms try to lock down new technologies, critics say the process has become to lax, SF Chronicle, Oct 18, 1999

Biotech Firms Rushing to Patent Gene Fragments, SF Chronicle, Oct 18, 1999

Hot Acts, Hidden Microphones; Recordable CDs give concert pirates a bootleg up. Industry wants laws fine-tuned, LA Times, October 16, 1999
Bookstore fights Amazon.com's questions about Sex, San Jose Mercury News, Oct 20, 1999
Universities Warn Sites Posting Class Notes, NY Times, Oct 22, 1999
'Cyber-Pirates' Targeted by Capitol Compromise, LA Times, Oct 26, 1999
A Search Site for Search Sites Is Accused of Trespassing, NY Times, Sept 24, 1999
Judges Pick David Over Goliath in Domain Name Suits, NY Times, Sept 17, 1999
Internet Governing Body Needs Limits, Consumer Advocate Says, NY Times, Sept 27, 1999
U.S. Reaches Deal on Internet Addresses, NY Times, Sept 29, 1999
A Formula for Download Freeloaders, LA Times, Oct 3, 1999
Making an Ally of Piracy, Jaron Lanier, New York TImes, May 9, 1999
Joel L. Hecker's legal analysis of Correl vs. Bridgeman ruling which calls into question the copyrightability of reproductions of public domain works (Front Page, Feb 1999)
A LOOK AT . . . WHOSE IDEAS, ANYWAY? Facing a Pay-Per-Use Future, by Pam Samuelson, Washington Post, November 1, 1998; Page C03
A LOOK AT . . . WHOSE IDEAS, ANYWAY? What My Writerly Words Are Worth, by Charles Platt, Washington Post, November 1, 1998; Page C03
Defending Authors' E-Rights, by Steve Silberman, Wired News, Oct 26, 1998
Salant, Jonathan D. "Disney Locks in Copyrights to Mickey, Goofy and Gang; Company pulled out stops lobbying Congress", (Associated Press) San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 1998, page 1.
Are Patents Good or Bad for Business Online?, NYT, August 28, 1998
Madness In PTO's E-Commerce Method?, Law Journal Extra, August 27, 1998
Legally Speaking: Does Information Really Want To Be Licensed?, Pam Samuelson, Communications of the ACM, September 1998
PTA Sells Its Name And Logo; Deal with Office Depot infuriates ex-officials, SF Chronicle, September 2, 1998
Bettig, Ronald V. Copyrighting Culture: The Political Economy of Intellectual Property (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1996). (especially Chapter 6, "The Law of Intellectual Property: The Videocassette Recorder and the Control of Copyrights").
Granick, Jennifer. íScotty, Beam Down the Lawyers!í When free speech collides with trademark law, Wired 5:10 (October 1997)
Home Recording Rights Coalition. Webpages republishing Sony Betamax litigation (http://www.hrrc.org/betamax.html and http://www.hrrc.org/courtmem.html)
New York Times. "Keeping Copyright in Balance" (editorial), New York Times, February 21, 1998.
Risher, Carol. International Publishers Copyright Council (IPCC) Position Paper on Libraries, Copyright and the Electronic Environment, Barcelona: International Publishers Association Annual Meeting, April 1996
Walker, Thaai and Kevin Fagan. Girl Scouts change their tunes: "Licensing order restricts use of favorite songs", San Francisco Chronicle, August 23, 1996, page 1.
Court rules that Coursepacks are Fair Use, message dated Feb 13, 1996
Arbus, Steve. Free Expression, Copyright, and Democracy, links and talk given at UC Berkeley Ethics and the Internet 11/95 conference
Boyle, James, Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and The Construction of the Information Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Breyer, Stephen, "The Uneasy Case for Copyright: A Study of Copyright in Books, Photocopies and Computer Programs." 84 Harvard Law Review 281-351, 1976.
Landes, William M. and Richard A. Posner, "An Economic Analysis of Copyright Law." Journal of Legal Studies 18(2): 325-363, 1989.
Thurow, Lester C. "Needed: A New System of Intellectual Property Rights." Harvard Business Review, 95-103 September-October 1997.

Official Intellectual Property Sites

Position Papers on Intellectual Property Issues

Request for exemption from DMCA anti-circumvention for purposes of Archiving, Internet Archive, December 18, 2002
Basic Principles for Managing Intellectual Property in the Digital Environment, National Humanities Alliance
Authors in the New Information Age, National Writers Union

Guidelines and Issues for Using Copyrighted Materials

Online Resource Kit, Copyright In A Digital Age Workshop, IMLS/OCLC/Colorado Digitization Project, Fall 2003
Official CONFU site
CONFU Final Report
CONFU Fair Use Guidelines
CONFU Continues: Is it time to regroup?, David Green of NINCH's May 23, 1997 analysis of the final official CONFU meeting
Association of Research Libraries rejects CONFU Guidelines
Fair Use Guidelines by Georgia Harper, Univ of Texas
Creating Multimedia: Fair Use of Others' Works by Georgia Harper, Univ of Texas
CONFU Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia
Copyright Law for Distance Learning by Georgia Harper, Univ of Texas
CONFU Guidelines for Distance Learning
Fair Use Education: Copyright and Fair Use Town Meetings 1997-98, Final Report by David Green, 6/25/98
Resource on copyright ownership for the higher education community by the University of Maryland
Images and the WWW: A Guide to Copyright Issues Surrounding the Use of Images in Web Sites for Nonprofit Educational Organizations by Eileen Fenton

Classic Papers on Intellectual Property Issues

Pam Samuelson's papers

Julie Cohen's papers

Cohen, Julie, Lochner in Cyberspace: The New Economic Orthodoxy of ÎRights Management', 97 Mich. L. Rev. 462 (1998).

Cohen, Julie, A Right to Read Anonymously: A Closer Look at ÎCopyright Managementâ in Cyberspace, 28 Conn. L. Rev. 981 (1996)

James Boyle's IP website

Town Meeting on Copyright and Fair Use, College Art Association, Toronto, Feb 26, 1998

Besser, Howard, Recent Changes to Copyright: Attacks Against the Public Interest, November 1999 (a longer version of what appears in March 1999 Peace Review)

Besser, Howard (Talk), The Erosion of Public Protection: Attacks on the Concept of Fair Use

Barlow, John Perry, Selling Wine Without Bottles: The Economy of Mind on the Global Net

Raymond, Eric S. The Cathedral and the Bazaar 1997 (the Linux model of Open-SourceSoftware)

Free Software Foundation and Richard Stallman's article Why Software Should Not Have Owners

Heins, Marjorie. "The Progress of Science & Useful Arts" Why Copyright Today Threatens Intellectual Freedom, a Public Policy Report, Free Expression Policy Project (last updated Sept 21, 2004)

Nadel, Mark S. How Current Copyright Law Discourages Creative Output: The Overlooked Impact of Marketing, Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Vol. 19, pp. 785-856, Spring 2004

Demac, Donna, Property Rights in the Electronic Dawn

Lynn, M. Stuart, Copyright and Cyberlocks

Image DB class student papers on Intellectual Property

Model Licensing Agreements and Principles

Yale Library's Model License
Copyright Considerations for Faculty: Authored Multimedia Instructional Materials, prepared for University of California by Martha Winnacker
University of California Copyright Legislation and Scholarly Communication Basic Principles
Recommended Principles for Contracts Covering Online Book Publishing, National Writers Union, September 1994
Museum Educational Site Licensing Project Cooperative Agreement

Prior History: The Clinton Administration White Paper on Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure

press release announcing the White Paper
text of the White Paper
The Copyright Grab, Pam Samuelson's commentary on the NII White Paper in Wired 4.01, Jan. 1996 .
Legally Speaking: The NII Intellectual Property Report, Pamela Samuelson's commentary on the earlier NII Green Paper
Digital Millenium Copyright Act

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Michael Froomkin's response to the 1999 proposal to let trademark law dominate in domain name registry
Links to documents on the Fall 1996 WIPO Meeting

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