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FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News
NOTE: THIS CONTENT IS BEING REPRODUCED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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Vol. 12, No. 6, October 19, 2008 ISSN 1489-954X
Contents:
1. Studies, Legislation and Conventions:
WIPO Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries Creative Commons Launches Study of “Noncommercial” Use Bill C-61 Dies With Canadian Election Call
2. Legal Cases:
Harry Potter Lexicon Breached Copyright Peer-to-Peer Magazine Site Settles Dispute
3. Of Interest:
Hollywood Demands Royalties From Irish Playschools U.S. Music Groups Agree on Royalties for Online Streaming Copyright Law is a Balancing Act OCLC Pilots Copyright Registry
4. Seminars and Publications:
Canadian Copyright Law Course Vote on Copyright Education Certificate in Copyright Management
Co pyright Questions and Answers The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
Copyright, New Media & E-Commerce News is distributed for free by the office of Lesley Ellen Harris. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. Copyright 2008 Lesley Ellen Harris. This e-letter may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that you cc: lehletter@copyrightlaws.com.
This e-letter, from 1996 to the present, is archived with Library &
Archives Canada at: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/copyright/.
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1. STUDIES, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS:
WIPO STUDY ON COPYRIGHT LIMITATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS FOR LIBRARIES – The World Intellectual Property Office (“WIPO”) has released a study on copyright limitations and exceptions for libraries which has been prepared by Kenneth Crews. The study discusses issues from the foundation of library exceptions to their prevalence, scope and structure, and the nature of the various exceptions in the copyright legislations of all WIPO member countries. A copy of the study is at:
http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=109192.
CREATIVE COMMONS LAUNCHES STUDY OF “NONCOMMERCIAL” USE – Creative Commons has launched a study to explore the differences between commercial and noncommercial uses of content. Creative Commons licenses allow creators to give the public advance permission to use the creators’ work. Works distributed under the “noncommercial” license term may be used by anyone for any purpose that is not “primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.” Creative Commons explained that developments in technology, social practices, and business models are changing the definition of non-commercial use.
BILL C-61 DIES WITH CANADIAN ELECTION CALL – The October 14, 2008 election in Canada has killed Bill C-61 (see LEH-Letter Volume 12, No. 5). If the new government wants to enact similar legislation, it will have to re-introduce the Bill under a different number.
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2. LEGAL CASES:
HARRY POTTER LEXICON BREACHED COPYRIGHT – In September 2008, a U.S. federal court judge held that a proposed book called The Harry Potter Lexicon contained no substantially new material and it breached copyright in the J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Warner Brothers, who sued Steven Jan Vander Ark and the proposed publisher of the book, received $6,750 US in damages.
PEER-TO-PEER MAGAZINE SITE SETTLES DISPUTE – Mygazines, com, a peer-to-peer site which allows users to upload and share magazines, settled a dispute with a group of consumer and business-to-business magazines in September.
Mygazines.com has agreed to remove material protected by copyright from its site, and to put in place a system whereby Mygazines.com is notified whenever material protected by copyright is uploaded.
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3. OF INTEREST:
HOLLYWOOD DEMANDS ROYALTIES FROM IRISH PLAYSCHOOLS – The MPLC, a licensing company representing companies such as Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox, has written to Irish playschools demanding that each child pay a fee of more than 3 euros a year to watch DVDs.
U.S. MUSIC GROUPS AGREE ON ROYALTIES FOR ONLINE STREAMING – Five music industry groups, representing record labels, music publishers, songwriters,
and music Web sites, have reached agreement on how royalties should be paid for streaming music online. The plan has been submitted to the Copyright Royalty Judges for approval. If approved, sites such as Napster will pay royalties of about 10.5% of revenue, matching rates already paid by download services such as iTunes.
COPYRIGHT LAW IS A BALANCING ACT – Copyright law is about balancing the rights of users and consumers of copyright-protected mater ials.& nbsp; See a short article on balance in copyright law at:
https://www.barex.com/barex/appmanager/bx/on?_nfpb=true&articleId=ar2001015
OCLC PILOTS COPYRIGHT REGISTRY – On July 1, 2008, OCLC launched a pilot service, the Copyright Evidence Registry, which hopes to become a library community-compiled union catalogue of copyright information. Users can search for a book, see what others have said about its copyright status,
and add what they know. The beta version is at:
http://www.worldcat.org/copyrightevidence.
http://www.worldcat.org/copyrightevidence
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4. SEMINARS AND PUBLICATIONS:
CANADIAN COPYRIGHT LAW COURSE – A 5 week version of the 16 e-lesson course on Canadian Copyright Law will begin on November 3, 2008. Information and registration at: www.acteva.com/go/copyright.
VOTE ON COPYRIGHT EDUCATION – Help out by voting on which copyright and licensing courses you would like to see offered in 2009. Cast your vote at:
www.copyrightlawscom.blogspot.com.
CERTIFICATE IN COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT – This program, consisting of 5 online courses and 2 in-person courses, created in partnership between Lesley Ellen Harris and SLA Click University, begins again in January 2009.
Participants have two years to complete the 7 courses required for the certificate, or may take any course à la carte. The first course,
Introduction to Copyright Management Principles & Issues, starts January 6,
2009. See: www.clickuniversity.org .
COPYRIGHT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – Lesley Ellen Harris has just launched a new blog designed to answer copyright questions. It includes questions from issues of The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter, and gives readers the opportunity to post questions of their own. See http://www.copyrightanswers.blogspot.com/.
THE COPYRIGHT & NEW MEDIA LAW NEWSLETTER – This unique publication deals with copyright law, licensing and related matters for a diverse audience of copyright professionals including librarians, archivists, curators,
educators, lawyers, publishers, and digital content creators. This is a print newsletter, begun in 1997. It is published four times per year, with contributors and authors from around the world. For more information, see:
http://copyrightlaws.com. To subscribe, visit: http://www.acteva.com.
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This newsletter is prepared by Copyright Lawyer Lesley Ellen Harris.
Lesley is the author of the books Canadian Copyright Law (McGraw-Hill),
Digital Property: Currency of the 21st Century (McGraw-Hill), and Licensing Digital Content (ALA Editions). Lesley edits the print newsletter, The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter. Lesley may be reached at:
http://copyrightlaws.com.
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This LEH-Letter issue was prepared with the help of Beth Davies.