   May 15, 2005 - May 21, 2005 ArchiveMay 21, 2005Tougher Copyright Law Should Mean Lighter DRM, Says Sweden
Sweden is introducing a law that would make downloading copyrighted material without permission illegal. But the justice minister, Thomas Bodstrom, has asked for quid pro quo: downloading for private use should be legal, and DRM on CDs that breaks fair use should be unacceptable. Swedish music reps say: "We totally agree." Who says we can't work it out?
Movie Revenues Near $45 Billion; Piracy Somehow Not to Blame
Worldwide revenue for major Hollywood studios is up 9% on last year to $44.8 billion. Home video (which they tried to ban as a dangerous copying technology) gets them $21 billion, up 10%. Foreign DVD sales - horrendously damaged by home DVD copiers and weak foreign IP regimes - rose 46%. They must be really hurting.
May 18, 2005Attack of the Recursive End-User License Agreements
Ben Edelman discovers the fractal EULA for 3D Desktop's Flying Icons Desktop.
The click-through license includes, by hyperlink, the EULA of another program
installed in concert with the screensaver. That program itself installs a
family of at least four other third-party programs. Each has its own
separate license, which are included, Russian Doll-style, in the parent EULA.
Click once, tacitly agree to three levels of misdirection.
Majority Think Bloggers Should Have Same Rights as Journalists
Fifty-two percent of those polled by Web hosting company Hostway say that
bloggers should have the same First Amendment protections as mainstream
media.
The Register of Copyrights Misconstrues the Founders
Ed Felten criticizes the maximalist interpretation of the Founding Fathers' intent in the US Register of Copyrights' annual report.
Lessig in Technology Review
MIT's Technology Review includes pieces by, and in response to, EFF Board
member Larry Lessig on copyright and DRM. Ernest Miller guides us through.
Required Reading for Copyright Reformers in Australia
Kim Weatherall continues her terrific coverage of the deliberations over fair use in Australia with this collection of links to government and law reform reports relevant to the proposed copyright exceptions.
May 16, 2005How TV Filesharing Can Boost Audiences
Just as the MPAA preps for a smackdown of TV BitTorrent sites, Mark Pesce suggests that widespread filesharing may have helped make the new Battlestar Galactica and Dr. Who series mega-hits.
Fair Use Is "Hacking"
The Copyright Assembly says
that the DMCRA, a bill to allow circumvention or copy controls for the purposes of fair use, is unfair to
"both copyright owners and the people who create those copyrighted works to
create and distribute the highest-quality products to American consumers." A
bit of a mouthful that we imagine must mean "unfair to those whose business models are threatened."
Data for Dissidents
Ethan Zuckerman's terrific guide to anonymous blogging, from the perspective of "a
government whistleblower in a country with a less-than-transparent
government."
Open Wi-Fi Access Points and the Law
What's your liability for using an open wi-fi point? We don't necessarily
agree with all of the points examined in this legal paper, but it's an
interesting overview. (Via Bruce Schneier's Crypto-Gram.)
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