Showing archive for: “Copyright”
Trade Agreements and Restatements as End Runs Around the Rule of Law
The Internet is a modern miracle: from providing all varieties of entertainment, to facilitating life-saving technologies, to keeping us connected with distant loved ones, the scope of the Internet’s contribution to our daily lives is hard to overstate. Moving forward there is undoubtedly much more that we can and will do with the Internet, and ... Trade Agreements and Restatements as End Runs Around the Rule of Law
Second Circuit’s BMI Decision Commendably Overturns the Justice Department’s Interference with Efficient Contracting in Performance Rights Licensing
Introduction and Summary On December 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit presented Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) with an early Christmas present. Specifically, the Second Circuit commendably affirmed the District Court for the Southern District of New York’s September 2016 ruling rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) August 2016 reinterpretation ... Second Circuit’s BMI Decision Commendably Overturns the Justice Department’s Interference with Efficient Contracting in Performance Rights Licensing
An ambitious AG, a disgruntled competitor, and the contrived antitrust case against Google in Missouri
The populists are on the march, and as the 2018 campaign season gets rolling we’re witnessing more examples of political opportunism bolstered by economic illiteracy aimed at increasingly unpopular big tech firms. The latest example comes in the form of a new investigation of Google opened by Missouri’s Attorney General, Josh Hawley. Mr. Hawley — ... An ambitious AG, a disgruntled competitor, and the contrived antitrust case against Google in Missouri
Why the Canadian Supreme Court’s Equustek decision is a good thing for freedom — even on the Internet
I recently published a piece in the Hill welcoming the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision in Google v. Equustek. In this post I expand (at length) upon my assessment of the case. In its decision, the Court upheld injunctive relief against Google, directing the company to avoid indexing websites offering the infringing goods in question, regardless ... Why the Canadian Supreme Court’s Equustek decision is a good thing for freedom — even on the Internet
The European Commission’s Regrettable June 27 Google Antitrust Decision – and Its Broader Implications
Today I published an article in The Daily Signal bemoaning the European Commission’s June 27 decision to fine Google $2.7 billion for engaging in procompetitive, consumer welfare-enhancing conduct. The article is reproduced below (internal hyperlinks omitted), in italics: On June 27, the European Commission—Europe’s antitrust enforcer—fined Google over $2.7 billion for a supposed violation of ... The European Commission’s Regrettable June 27 Google Antitrust Decision – and Its Broader Implications
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good on Copyright Office reform
R Street’s Sasha Moss recently posted a piece on TechDirt describing the alleged shortcomings of the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017 (RCSAA) — proposed legislative adjustments to the Copyright Office, recently passed in the House and introduced in the Senate last month (with identical language). Many of the article’s points are ... Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good on Copyright Office reform
Are rules incompatible with the web? Let’s hope not: A response to Tim Wu
According to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing, Tim Wu has written an open letter to W3C Chairman Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, expressing concern about a proposal to include Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) as part of the W3C standards. W3C has a helpful description of EME: Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) is currently a draft specification… [for] an ... Are rules incompatible with the web? Let’s hope not: A response to Tim Wu
Understanding ownership and property in the Digital Age
What does it mean to “own” something? A simple question (with a complicated answer, of course) that, astonishingly, goes unasked in a recent article in the Pennsylvania Law Review entitled, What We Buy When We “Buy Now,” by Aaron Perzanowski and Chris Hoofnagle (hereafter “P&H”). But how can we reasonably answer the question they pose ... Understanding ownership and property in the Digital Age
Copyright and the Public Interest: The Importance of Ensuring that Righteousness of Purpose Doesn’t Trump Principle
I recently became aware of a decision from the High Court in South Africa that examines an interesting intersection of freedom of expression, copyright and contract. It addresses the issue of how to define the public interest in an environment of relatively unguarded rhetoric about the role of copyright in society that is worth exploring. ... Copyright and the Public Interest: The Importance of Ensuring that Righteousness of Purpose Doesn’t Trump Principle
Fair use’s fatal conceit
My colleague, Neil Turkewitz, begins his fine post for Fair Use Week (read: crashing Fair Use Week) by noting that Many of the organizations celebrating fair use would have you believe, because it suits their analysis, that copyright protection and the public interest are diametrically opposed. This is merely a rhetorical device, and is a ... Fair use’s fatal conceit
The song remains the same: Exceptionalists against the application of the law
In a recent article for the San Francisco Daily Journal I examine Google v. Equustek: a case currently before the Canadian Supreme Court involving the scope of jurisdiction of Canadian courts to enjoin conduct on the internet. In the piece I argue that a globally interconnected system of free enterprise must operationalize the rule of law through continuous ... The song remains the same: Exceptionalists against the application of the law
Public Knowledge’s Lonely Echo Chamber of Copyright Advocacy
Yesterday the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee issued the first set of policy proposals following their long-running copyright review process. These proposals were principally aimed at ensuring that the IT demands of the Copyright Office were properly met so that it could perform its assigned functions, and to provide adequate authority ... Public Knowledge’s Lonely Echo Chamber of Copyright Advocacy
