Supreme Court Leaves 2nd Circuit Cablevision Decision In Place

By: Ian McClure
cablevision

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision which may allow lower-cost use of DVR services without cable boxes.  Cablevision Systems Corporation allows users to record television shows on Cablevision's central computer servers, instead of on cable boxes in the user's home.  This allows more space for recordings, and eliminates the cost of installing cable boxes to store the recordings.  Cablevisions system was challenged by a number of television networks, who allege that the ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Justice Department Begins Antitrust Probe Into Google Publishing Deal

By: Ian McClure
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A NYT article broke the news that lawyers for the Justice Department have begun discussions with groups that oppose the book deal that Google struck with publishers and authors to place their books on Google's massive online library.  The license agreements, says its opposition, would lend Google the exclusive right to exploit this literature online.  According to the article, conversations have begun between the Justice Department and groups such as the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild, but the Department has not ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Documentary - Lawrence Lessig, copyright, and remix culture

By: Ian McClure
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I'm a little late on this one, but in case you missed it: This documentary film was forwarded to me by my father, a professor/academician/scholar/ and self-pronounced egghead who specializes in the relationships between philosophy, theology, ethics, popular culture and preaching.  The film, a product of Open Source Cinema, is called "RiP: A remix Manifesto", and touts itself as  . . . an open source documentary about copyright and remix culture. Created over a period of six years, the film features the collaborative remix work ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus

“Hot News” Claim Not Preempted by Copyright Act, says S.D.N.Y.

By: Ian McClure
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This week, a U.S. District Court in New York has upheld a "hot news" claim under New York law against a motion to dismiss, finding that the US Copyright Act does not preempt the state law claim.  The Southern District of New York is entertaining a case in which the AP has filed suit against All Headlines News Corp. (AHN) for allegedly copying and pasting the AP's news stories without expending the resources and time to actually research and uncover the stories.  ... Read More

Categories: Today in IP