Archive for November, 2007
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Internet users in France who use their connections to violate copyright law may lose their connections under a new policy announced this week.
In a three-way deal between internet service providers, the French government, and copyright holders, those accused of infringement will receive warnings from their ISPs. If they are identified ...
Posted in Anti-piracy campaigns, Copyright, DRM, Internet policy, Technological Protection Measures, Telecommunications, Telecommunications law | No Comments »
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
In a speech to the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau, Warner Music chief Edgar Bronfman warned the mobile industry not to make the music industry's mistakes in failing to satisfy consumer wishes:
"We used to fool ourselves,' he said. "We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as ...
Posted in Anti-piracy campaigns, Copyright, Music industry | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
On Thursday, the US House passed a FISA reform bill without granting immunity to telecommunications companies accused of assisting illegal eavesdropping on US citizens.
As we noted last month, the White House and telecoms pressed for retroactive immunity. This pressure has not worked--at least not yet--despite Bush's threat of a veto.
Posted in Congress, Constitutional, Internet policy, Privacy, Surveillance, Telecommunications, Telecommunications law | No Comments »
Friday, November 16th, 2007
As we reported earlier, Section 494 of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (pdf) would turn colleges into copyright cops. Now, the bill is in front of the full House thanks to a unanimous committee vote in its favor.
The section (on pp. 411-413 of the draft above) requires ...
Posted in Congress, Copyright, DRM, Internet policy, Technological Protection Measures | No Comments »
Friday, November 16th, 2007
As reported by CNet, telecommunication companies may still get retroactive immunity (for helping the NSA's illegal spying) as part of the FISA reform working its way through the Senate.
Posted in Congress | No Comments »
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
Do you or somebody you know have deep interest in new media policy and a summer to burn? Are you interested in a summer in San Francisco or DC with one of several groups, including EFF, CDT, or Public Knowledge? Would $7000 accelerate your decision-making?
If so, you should apply for ...
Posted in Activism | No Comments »
Saturday, November 10th, 2007
Two Democratic chairs of key House committees introduced a bill yesterday that would require colleges to police copyright and pay off the entertainment industry.
Buried on pages 411 and 412 of the 747-page bill, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (pdf), is the following:
Each eligible institution participating in any ...
Posted in Anti-piracy campaigns, Congress, Copyright, Corruption, DRM, Internet policy, Technological Protection Measures | No Comments »
Friday, November 9th, 2007
Earlier this month, the Oregon State Attorney General, on behalf of the University of Orgegon, filed to quash an RIAA subpoena seeking the names of 17 users accused of copyright infringement.
Oregon argues the subpoena represents an undue burden on the school. The RIAA only knows IP addresses, and making the ...
Posted in Copyright | No Comments »
Monday, November 5th, 2007
The Canadian government commissioned a study of the effects of peer-to-peer MP3 trading on music sales, and it found downloading to be slightly correlated with buying more music.
From my very limited reading, the effect size was small and did not hold for those aged 15 and older. This study is ...
Posted in Copyright | No Comments »