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Piracy in the Video Game Industry
posted by shwang on Monday July 11, @01:46AM
from the dept.
Digital Entertainment shwang writes "It occurred to me that while both the music and movie industries have taken an active stance on stopping piracy, there has not been any movement to stop piracy in the video game industry. And if there has been any sort of movement to stop video game piracy, it's been fairly toned down in the media. This is very interesting as the video game industry is a $7 billion a year industry being a close third to the film industry's $15 billion a year market and the music industry's $16 billion a year market."

( Read More... | 7 comments )



GNU compiling on Mac OS X legal issues?
posted by scubacuda on Wednesday June 08, @12:04AM
from the dept.
Open Source Anonymous Coward writes "I have a question. If I link to libstdc++ through G++, is my proprietary software now a GPL derviative? Does this mean that any Apple Mac OS X software compiled with the GNU toolchain and linking to the GNU stdlibc++ has the same problem? libstdc++ is covered by the GPL license: http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstdc++/17_intro/C OPYING"

( Read More... | 6 comments )



Code theft, License Agreements
posted by scubacuda on Wednesday June 08, @12:01AM
from the dept.
Open Source Halvar Flake writes "Hey all,the company I work for has recently run into a little bit of a legal issue and I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on the matter. (click READ MORE to read the rest of the Flake's post)

( Read More... | 1578 bytes in body | 3 comments )



Deleting Spyware: A Criminal Act?
posted by scubacuda on Tuesday June 07, @02:55PM
from the dept.
Criminal Law This Register article explores the idea of illegally deletion of spyware or spam via automated spam/spyware removal tools. From the article:
Once I receive the benefit of the contract I have entered into (the P2P software, the screensaver, etc.) suppose I then download and install a spyware remover, which either automatically or at my request removes the portion of the program which is of benefit to the software distributor. Thus, I get the benefit of the program without adhering to the other part of the contract....

The problem is worse for anti-spyware programs, which essentially automate the process of breaching consumer contracts. This is assuming that the consumers actually agreed to the terms and conditions under which the spyware was installed - generally not a valid assumption. Essentially, the spyware distributors would argue that the anti-spyware purveyors are inducing their customers to breach their contractual obligations, and are tortuously interfering with their contractual relationships with those who knowingly downloaded the spyware.

( Read More... | 2 comments )



Spam busters go on the offensive
posted by scubacuda on Wednesday January 26, @11:15AM
from the dept.
News thebaron writes "The war on spam is far from over, but there was a growing sense among the antispam crusaders gathered at MIT last week that advances on both the legal and technology fronts have turned the tide against the Viagra peddlers and Nigerian princesses. Nobody was claiming that spam will ever be completely eliminated, or even that the amount of spam is decreasing.
But the crowd of more than 100 members of the spam fighting fraternity was buoyed by several of the days presentations."

( Read More... | 1 comment )



Case documents, articles, filings: First Supreme Court brief filed in Grokster argues
posted by scubacuda on Sunday January 23, @03:25PM
from the dept.
Copyright John Mitchell writes "The first brief on the merits before the Supreme Court in MGM Studios v. Grokster was filed Friday, January 21, by the Video Software Dealers Association. The brief suggests that while p2p systems may be used for infringing and noninfringing uses, courts should consider whether technologies may be used to reduce infringing uses without over-burdening the system provider, the freedom of speech for non-infringing uses (including by copyright owners who want p2p systems to be used to reach their audiences) or the freedom of competition (including first sale doctrine principles) of retailers and all intermediate software and services (OS, media players, codecs)that make downloading and playback possible. Bringing a retailer perspective, it strikes a balance of respect for copyright and respect for the limits the law places on those copyrights. The brief is available (in PDF) at http://interactionlaw.com/id5.html and at http://www.vsda.org/Resource.phx/vsda/government/p ositionstatements/grokster.htx."

( Read More... | 3 comments | Case documents, articles, filings )



WritTorrent
posted by scubacuda on Saturday January 22, @12:28PM
from the dept.
Copyright While sifting through the Blog Torrent mailing list, I came across Thomas Winningham proposal for standardizing how BitTorrent meta data describes the content according to its Creative Common licensing. From WritTorrent.SourceForge.net:
For the Azureus / BitTorrent XML format, the document could reference the CC namespace and then implement the dc: and cc: prefixed tags accordingly.

see http://creativecommons.org/technology/metadata/implement

For the for the actualy BitTorrent protocol bencoded .torrent format, the dc: an cc: tags could simply be more bencoded dictionary items added to the main dictionary object of the .torrent file.

Examples:

8:dc:title12:Free Culture
9:dc:format10:audio/mpeg
This could also support complex relationships, given the URLs of related works:

Examples:

17:cc:derivativeWork50:http://www.example.org/freeculture.mpg.torrent.xml
9:cc:source50:http://www.example.org/freeculture.pdf.torrent.xml

Think this will or won't work? Send your comments to winningham @ gmail dot com.

( Read More... )



Duke's CSPD Announces Moving Image Contest Winners
posted by scubacuda on Wednesday January 19, @05:32PM
from the dept.
Copyright Duke Law's Center for for the Study of Public Domain has finally annouced the winners of the Moving Images Contest finalists. From an earlier submission by Jennifer Jenkins:
The contest asked for 2 minute movies about the ways that intellectual property law affects art-- specifically documentary film or music. Finalists range from the account of a documentarian trying to cover army recruiters in the North Carolina Piedmont, to a Polish animator's science fiction vision of music's apocalyptic future, from a college student's efforts to make a Public Service Announcement about the Civil Rights movement, to a dissection of the law behind "Super Size Me."

( Read More... )



Nofollow Tag Endorsed
posted by scubacuda on Wednesday January 19, @04:44PM
from the dept.
News The 'nofollow' tag has been endorsed, not only by Google, but also by Yahoo and MSN search. From Google's website:
If you're a blogger (or a blog reader), you're painfully familiar with people who try to raise their own websites' search engine rankings by submitting linked blog comments like "Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site." This is called comment spam, we don't like it either, and we've been testing a new tag that blocks it. From now on, when Google sees the attribute (rel="nofollow") on hyperlinks, those links won't get any credit when we rank websites in our search results. This isn't a negative vote for the site where the comment was posted; it's just a way to make sure that spammers get no benefit from abusing public areas like blog comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists.

( Read More... )



Think Secret Seeks Free Lawyer
posted by scubacuda on Tuesday January 18, @12:47AM
from the dept.
News 19 yro Nicholas Ciarelli (aka Nick dePlume), editor of Think Secret, is looking for free lawyers to defend him against Apple. According to Wired:
On Dec. 28, the website published an article that, citing "highly reliable sources," revealed details of an inexpensive, bare-bones Mac mini computer that would be priced at $500 -- two weeks before the Mac mini was launched at Apple's Macworld conference.

Another Think Secret story on Jan. 6 correctly predicted Apple's rollout at this week's show of a $150, 1-GB version of the company's popular iPod music player. The website goofed, though, on some of the details, citing sources suggesting Apple would also offer a 2-GB version for $200.

While Apple has said the website "solicited information about unreleased Apple products from these individuals, who violated their confidentiality agreements with Apple by providing details that were later posted on the internet," it has declined to answer questions about whether Ciarelli would be sued.

( Read More... )



 
Poll
John Gilmore is a...
...rich troll!
...rich hero!
...poor sod.
[ Results | Polls ]
Comments:4 | Votes:144

Case Docs
  • Lessig files new challenge to copyright laws
  • Ca. Supremes in Intel: No Damage, No Tort
  • Edelman v. N2H2 Case is Now Closed
  • DeCSS indictment in English
  • Paramount v. ReplayTV, Order (C.D. Cal. 5/30/02)
  • American Library Assn v. U.S. (E.D. Pa. 6/2/02)
  • Consumer Federation of America Digital Divid Report (5/30/02)
  • Hughes v. McMenamon, Order (D. Mass. 5/30/02)
  • FTC v. Zucharini, Judgment (E. D. Pa. 5/31/02)
  • NAA v. Mancusi, Order (E. D. Va. 5/27/02)
  • CyberLawyer Profiles
    Jennifer Granick
    Jennifer Granick is very well known within the hacker community, having represented (among many others) Kevin Poulsen and alleged eBay hacker Jerome Heckenkamp, who, notoriously, fired her.

    Currently, Ms. Granick directs the public interest law and technology clinic at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society. There, her work focuses on the interaction of free speech, privacy, computer security, law and technology. She's also on the Board of Directors of the Honeynet Project, a computer security research group, and has spoken at the National Security Agency, to law enforcement officials and to computer security professionals from the public and private sectors in the United States and abroad.

    Read on for Greplaw's first Cyberlawyer interview, in which Ms. Granick shares details about serving the public interest, her evolution into a cyberlawyer, and the fact that she doesn't own an MP3 player.

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    Fresh Catch

    Will the New Surveillance Kill Privacy?
    Guest: Jeffrey Rosen, Author, The Unwanted Gaze, and Professor, George Washington University Law School
    [controlrevolution.com]


    Can the Internet Turn Dictatorships into Democracies?
    Guests: Li Lu, Founder, Himalaya Capital, and a leader of the 1989 Chinese student movement; Drazen Pantic, Fellow, Center for War, Peace, and News Media, and a leading Internet activist in the former Yugoslavia
    [controlrevolution.com]


    Is Innovation Over? And Who Is To Blame? Guests: Lawrence Lessig, Professor, Stanford Law School, and author, The Future of Ideas
    [controlrevolution.com]


    Technology, Freedom and Control [panel: see also part 2]
    [Harvard Law School, Journal of Law and Technology, April 20, 2002]

    Older Stuff

    Tuesday January 18

  • Open Source Biology (1)
  • FBI Not Getting Results In P2P Project (0)
  • Monday January 17

  • Free Culture, FTAs and Future International Challenges (0)
  • Filtering by public libraries increases to 65% (1)
  • SCALE 3x Plans Panel Discussion on the Future VoIP (0)
  • Thursday December 16

  • The Pirate Bay's Response to Legal Threats (15)
  • Sunday December 12

  • Opine-It! (6)
  • Thursday November 25

  • NPR Features BitTorrent (0)
  • Wednesday November 24

  • FBI Wants Nmap Logs (2)
  • Tuesday November 23

  • Man Copyrights His Own Name (1)
  • Tuesday November 16

  • Yahoo!'s Domain Keys Fight Spam (1)
  • Wednesday November 10

  • Dom Perignon as a reward for Spammers (1)
  • Monday November 08

  • Wired Interview with Beastie Boys (0)
  • Thursday November 04

  • Spyware Action in Congress, California and Court (0)
  • Disturbing the Public Mind (1)
  • How to be an (info) Peeping Tom (3)
  • SSH Honeypot Capture (0)
  • Monday October 11

  • Palfrey on Diebold, E-Voting, and Copyright (0)
  • P2P and the Future of Private Copying (0)
  • Monday September 27

  • Torture Ain't That Bad (1)
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