World Fair Use Day Has Arrived! January 9, 2010
And it is awesome.
Public Knowledge Co-Founder and President Gigi B. Sohn has announced their First Annual World Fair Use Day event coming this Tuesday January 12, 2010. This years WFUD event has some great stuff lined up.
From the Public Knowledge site…
The first annual World’s Fair Use Day is almost upon us! The festivities kick off on Monday, January 11th, with an ACTA discussion and happy hour hosted by Google, followed by a “Movie Night,” consisting of clips from the films RIP: A Remix Manifesto and Copyright Criminals with a discussion between directors Brett Gaylor and Kembrew McLeod, hosted by Negativland’s Mark Hosler, to follow. The main event kicks off the next day and will feature Congressman Mike Doyle, TechDirt’s Mike Masnick, “Garfield Minus Garfield” creator Dan Walsh, filmmaker and cartoonist Nina Paley and many more creators, innovators, policymakers and academics. Finally, we’ll end the night on a high note, with a happy hour featuring a DJ set from DJ Earworm, whose “United State of Pop 2009″ mash-up is currently being played on radio stations from coast to coast. World’s Fair Use Day is free and open to the public but seating for all events is limited, so be sure to RSVP by visiting our new site at http://wfud.info.
Happy 5th Annual Fair Use Day July 11, 2008
2008, the year D.R.M. hits your T.V. December 7, 2007
Recently many television subscribers have started worrying about whether or not they will continue getting what they pay for. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) has begun rolling out through many service providers and could be in use very soon. While this will only apply for premium channels and pay-per-views for now, who knows where it could extend. The service providers can not really be blamed for this as they all have contracts they have to abide by if they wish to continue providing channels to their customers. The content providers have mandated this protection if the service provider wishes to continue showing their channels or pay per-view-movies. (more…)
Can Copyright and the DMCA be used to silence critics? October 13, 2007
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about AT&T’s terms of service that included termination of your service if you said critical things about them. After a great deal of criticism AT&T has changed their terms of service. It now reads in part:
5.1 Suspension/Termination. AT&T respects freedom of expression and believes it is a foundation of our free society to express differing points of view. AT&T will not terminate, disconnect or suspend service because of the views you or we express on public policy matters, political issues or political campaigns.
This is not the last we’re going to see of corporations trying to censor their critics on the internet though. Not by a long shot. The law firm Dozier Internet Law is demanding that InfomercialScams.com take down negative consumer comments about DirectBuy. Dozier Internet Law claims they are specialists in a list of things including getting “websites pulled down without notice“. They don’t think the public should be able to express their opinion if they think “DirectBuy is a scam“. Worse yet, Public Citizen is being threatened with copyright violations for posting the threat letter claiming copyright on that too! I don’t know if DirectBuy is a scam or not but I read the comments on InfomercialScams.com and I can see why DirectBuy would want to erase them from the Internet.
These sorts of cases are becoming all too common but here’s something to keep in mind. “The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.“
Support Creative Commons October 6, 2007
Creative Commons (CC) is holding their 2007 fundraiser now through Dec 31st and they need your help. Creative Commons licenses enable artists (an artist is you!) to grant some or all of their rights to the public while retaining others as opposed to an “all rights reserved” copyright. For example you can grant your fans the right to download your works for non-commercial uses as long as they give you credit, or not, it’s up to you. Creative Commons was officially launched in 2001 by Lawrence Lessig (wiki). Today there are many millions of works licensed under Creative Commons and that number is growing fast.
There’s a lot more to the Creative Commons web site than just Licenses though. CCmixter “is a community music site featuring remixes licensed under Creative Commons, where you can listen to, sample, mash-up, or interact with music in whatever way you want.” There are tens of thousands of samples and tracks from artists and recording labels like the freesound project, Magnatune, Fort Minor and more. All available for download legally, for free.
There are many more projects and tools on their Projects page and while you are there, think about supporting Creative Commons with a donation or buy some geek gear.
Sony BMG lawer says copying music you own is stealing October 4, 2007
Sony BMG’s chief litigator, Jennifer Pariser, made some astonishing statements in the first RIAA file sharing law suit to make it to jury trial this Tuesday.
As reported here, when asked if making even one copy of music they have purchased was wrong Pariser said “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” Making “a copy” of a purchased song is just “a nice way of saying ’steals just one copy’,”
Another choice statement, “Selling music is the only way a record company makes money.” That’s not true. Wired’s Threat Level notes that Pariser said “I’ve seen thousands of hardworking employees lose their job because of piracy.” You would think they would publicise something like that more. Not just in a file sharing trial.
The trial is over now. The defendant lost with a judgement of $222,000 in damages for sharing music. Not murder, rape or treason, but sharing music. Seems like a wonderful way to reward a long time customer who has admittedly spent thousands of dollars on physical cds.
AT&T stomps on Americans right to free speech September 29, 2007
“5.1 Suspension/Termination. Your Service may be suspended or terminated if your payment is past due and such……..[edit] for conduct that AT&T believes (a) violates the Acceptable Use Policy; (b) constitutes a violation of any law, regulation or tariff (including, without limitation, copyright and intellectual property laws) or a violation of these TOS, or any applicable policies or guidelines or (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.“
I’m an AT&T subscriber thanks to their acquisition of Cingular and I think their behavior is deplorable. Not to mention Un-American. This new policy also violates their own terms of service. It makes them look worse than any customer could ever hope to. I guess it’s time to pull the plug on AT&T. More coverage here and here.
No Lending! September 27, 2007
The internet is abuzz with news about Amazon’s DRM free MP3 store. Early reports are positive. High bit rate MP3’s at or below iTunes prices with the top 100 songs costing only $0.89. There is even support for Linux in the works.
On the down side you can’t re-download tracks you buy so you need to back up your music. Also, you can’t lend your music to friends like you can with a physical CD. That is understandable given that the tracks are digital files as opposed to a CD.
Amazon’s “no lending” policy reminded me about a scan of a physical CD label that a reader sent me a while back (click on image to read the copyright notice). Two things caught my attention about the label on this 2-track UK release of the most excellent band Maroon 5. First, the copyright notice got way more ink on the label then the actual artists. That speaks volumes about how high the entertainment industry regards the “artist”. Second, the copyright notice forbids “lending”. I guess you can lend someone almost anything you own, except CD’s from the UK.
Cable Lobbying Group Crushes Consumer Choice, again September 22, 2007
I was elated when I heard the EPB (Electric Power Board) In Chattanooga announce their Fiber to the Home initiative. But there was a dark cloud looming overhead from the very moment I heard the news. I knew the powerful cable and telephone lobby groups would never let an alternative to their broadband services see the light of day if they could prevent it. They have attacked every attempt ever made to drag America out of the digital ghetto.
So this morning when I read on the Irresponsible Journalism blog about this article in the Times Free Press titled “Cable TV group files lawsuit against EPB plan” I was not surprised. I was furious, pissed off beyond belief, but not surprised.
The Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association (TCTA) filed suit in Chancery Court of Davidson County Friday. They want us to know “EPB Chattannoga’s FTTH is NOT a Good Idea“. I looked briefly at some of their material and it absolutely reeks of the same spin they feed congress. According to the TCTA’s “facts” “There is plenty of competition..” and “Fiber to the home offers no additional services to Chattanooga“. I tend to think of a 100mb Internet connection as a new service I would like to have! Apparently the TCTA thinks keeping up with the rest of the world is a bad idea. You can read the grounds for the suit from the article but it makes no difference. A legal roadblock was as inevitable as the sunrise.
Many people in the UK have dozens of Internet Service Providers to chose from and hundreds of different service plans as reported in this post on Public Knowledge. If you want to make yourself sick look at the spreadsheet mentioned in that PK piece, and that was in 2004! The more up to date figures are truly soul crushing if you live in the US. In Japan many people have 100mb connections for less than half of what Comcast charges for “Up-to” 1.5mb.
Those cute little turtles on Comcast’s TV commercials don’t represent DSL. They represent the USA. Our giant cable and telephone corporations are a disgrace to the nation. They are incapable of providing the same level of service and low cost enjoyed by the people of 15 or 20 other nations around the world and refuse to allow anyone else to pick up their slack. So screw you, TCTA, for screwing the people of Chattannooga.
Arrrrr! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day! September 19, 2007
Ahoy me maties. Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! If you are trying to find something fun to do on TLAPD check out some of these awesome links.
Learn how to talk like a pirate in English and German.
Generate a pirate name for yourself.
Translate any text into pirate speak.
Read an interview with Cap’n Slappy on TorrentFreak.
YouTube search results for TLAPD are an endless source of pleasure.
BoingBoing posted about a free font for Mac and PC from Skull-a-Day.
And who can forget our salty coverage last year! simply brilliant.
Fair Use industries add $4.5 trillion to economy September 16, 2007
We hear about the millions of dollars the entertainment industry claims to lose due to unauthorised use of copyrighted material all the time. But how much does fair use contribute to the economy? A lot, that’s how much! A new study commissioned by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) found that fair use enabled industries to add 4.5 trillion dollars to our economy in 2006.
“With more than $4.5 trillion in revenue generated by fair use dependent industries in 2006, a 31% increase since 2002, fair use industries are directly responsible for more than 18% of U.S. economic growth and nearly 11 million American jobs. In fact, nearly one out of every eight American jobs is in an industry that benefits from current limitations on copyright.”
That’s a good deal more then the measly $819 billion “core copyright industries” generated in 2005. It stands to reason that strengthening fair use rights will generate more jobs, more money, and lead to a stronger economy. Head over to the CCIA web site to read the full press release. There’s more (and better) coverage at Ars, BoingBoing, and the Defend Fair Use web site launched by the CCIA.
MediaDefender Busted September 15, 2007
Our friends over at torrentfreak recently discovered a huge cache of internal emails that were made public from MediaDefender. The sole purpose of MediaDefender’s “Miivi” site was to trick people into uploading copyrighted material, and bust them for it. These emails discuss everything from Miivi to fake torrents.
From the TorrentFreak article:
“When TorrentFreak reported that Media Defender (MD) was behind the video site MiiVi, they cast doubt on us. Now, in what is surely the biggest BitTorrent leak ever, nearly 700mb of MD’s emails have gone public. When MD’s Randy Saaf found out we rumbled MiiVi he said, “This is really f***ed.” This is too, but much more so.”
So give it a read, it’s very enlightening stuff.
Free downloads 12, this time games!
Continuing our free downloads series here is a new one that has some slightly different content from our usual links. Abandonia Reloaded is a site dedicated to remakes, freeware, and opensource games. The site has games spanning every genre so there is just about something for everyone there. So if your looking to waste some time give it a look.
Viacom steals video, issues take down notice to the artist August 30, 2007
Christopher Knight made a video as part of his campaign for Rockingham County Board of Education and posted it on Youtube last fall. A little over a month ago the cable network VH1 took the video he made from Youtube without permission and used it in their for-profit television show Web Junk 2.0. Knight wasn’t upset about that. He was pleased that so many more people got to see his work than he expected. So he put a clip of the VH1 segment showing his own video on Youtube.
Yesterday he got a letter from Youtube. It seems that Viacom had the clip containing the work they pirated taken down for copyright infringement.
Dear Member:
This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by Viacom International Inc. claiming that this material is infringing:Web Junk 2.0 on VH1 features my school board commercial!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddyVQwpByug
On his blog Knight brings up questions we all should be asking. “What does this mean for independent producers of content, if material they create can be co-opted by a giant corporation without permission or apology or compensation? When in fact, said corporations can take punitive action against you for using material that you created on your own?” Vaicom is heavy handed in it’s copyright infringement patrol but they don’t seem to have a problem violating copyright them selves. It’s not just fair use thats under attack these days. We the people are too.
US Pirate Party announces registration in Utah August 10, 2007
The state of Utah is one step closer to having another officially recognized political party. The Pirate Party of the United States announced they are accepting statements of support in the state of Utah. This is a first step in the registration process to become officially recognized as a political party. The party has until February 2008 to gather the 2000 signatures of registered voters required making Utah the first state in the US to have a state Pirate Party.
Andrew Norton, spokesperson for the Pirate Party said “Voters in Utah are now one step closer to being able to voice their opinions on the key issues our party stands for” .
Fair Use Day supports The Pirate Party of the US and their efforts in Utah. If you would like to support them get involved, learn about the issues, and join the forum.
Boycott Regal Cinemas August 9, 2007
Fair Use Day is joining the call for a boycott of Regal Cinemas .
Jhannet Sejas was celebrating her 19th birthday with her boyfriend when she took a 20 second video clip of the movie “Transformers” to show to her 13-year-old brother. Minutes later the Marymount University sophomore was hauled off to jail for illegally recording a motion picture.
This is not the kind of world I want to leave to my children. This isn’t the kind of world I grew up in. This isn’t the kind of world they deserve to live in. Things should get better for our youngest generation of people. This is just sad and ridiculous. What will a boycott accomplishment? It will send a clear message. Treat us like criminals and we will stop coming to your theater.
We have the responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This young lady did not intend to distribute 20 seconds of a video for monetary gains. She just wanted to show her brother. Do ya think he will want to spend money to see it now?
You can find Regal Cinemas in your area here
More on the story…
Free Culture @ NYU Boycott Regal Cinemas
Slashfilm.com Teen Arrested for Recording 20 Second Movie Clip
Washingtonpost.com Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom
BoingBoing.net Boycott Regal Cinemas for suing over 20-second clip
Consumerist.com Regal Cinemas Facing Boycott After Pressing Charges Again Teen “Pirate”
Free Download 11, Please Share Labrador’s Summer Sampler August 5, 2007
When a major record label bends even a tiny fraction of an inch away from their old world busyness model the press goes wild. Independent record labels treat their fans much better and they do it all the time but they hardly ever get noticed in the mainstream media. Labrador Records is one of those independent labels giving away their Summer Sampler as a 68 track (mp3) download for free. They tried to release this years free download on their own servers but things didn’t work as planned. Heres how they put it.
“Well, putting the massive 68-track Labrador Summer Sampler 2007 on our server didn’t work quite as smoothly as we’d hoped. I don’t know if we overestimated our server or underestimated the need of good music this summer. Either way, it’s been taken care of now.
Download Labrador Summer Sampler 2007 from Piratebay here!”
You can download the entire sampler via torrent (~350MB ) or listen to full releases from Labrador’s artists here. This is a good example of how P2P file sharing helps connect independent artists and record labels to their fans. And it’s all free and legal! And Please share it on The Pirate Bay!
Free Download 10, “Good Copy, Bad Copy” August 2, 2007
The folks that produced the documentary “Good copy, Bad copy” have released it as a free download (link to Pirate Bay torrent) Thanks /.
This is a great film about our culture in the digital age and the impact copyright law has on artists today. This is a must see film which includes interviews with Girl Talk, Danger Mouse, Lawrence Lessig and more.
….No, but I did get sued by a Holiday Inn last night July 25, 2007
If you use images of a Holiday Inn from this web site for any reason you can get sued. This is another example of idiotic copyright notices that ignore copyright law and seek to restrict any and all use of even the worst quality material. The images have text that read “No use without permission of InterContinental Hotels Group.”
This post is an example of fair use. It’s criticism of stupidity.
(previously on fair use day Copyright is broken)
Welcome Back, Potter July 21, 2007
Parody is an example of Fair Use. This video is a perfect example of parody. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series and old enough to remember Welcome Back, Kotter you will get a chuckle from this video. There are lots of other well known examples of parody in our popular culture. Television shows like The Simpsons, SNL, or South Park are other examples of works that make extensive use of Fair Use to create new works based on other peoples creative talent. The web is overflowing with such things. Can you imagine how barren our culture would be without Fair Use? Thanks BB!
