Jan 21
When you’re not having crazy Google Glass sex
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May 21
May 13
Google’s lawyers visited the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last week for a polite conversation with three judges and attorneys from the Authors Guild. You remember — the book-scanning thing? Yes, the case is 7 years old and still unresolved. The Circuit Court is just a way station in a longer journey — at issue is whether the Authors Guild’s class action suit should be broken apart, forcing authors and publishers to confront Google individually.
Google is going to win this thing eventually. If that makes Google evil, it is a necessary evil.
The bigger question is about the lawfulness of Google’s digital library quest, and the legitimacy of the Guild’s copyright charges and request for damages. There are points of similarity to the music industry’s litigation saga. And major differences. Google is going to win this thing eventually. If that makes Google evil, it is a necessary evil.
Apr 18
YouTube trends may have changed over the last few years, but the company’s legal standing hasn’t: according to a federal judge, the DMCA still protects the streaming site from Viacom’s copyright claims. The ruling responds to Viacom’s appeal of a 2010 case, which stated that YouTube couldn’t be held responsible for copyright infringing content uploaded by its users. Viacom sought to revise the ruling, insisting that YouTube was “willfully blind” of the activity. That may be the case, but Judge Louis Stanton sees things differently. “Knowledge of the prevalence of infringing activity, and welcoming it, does not itself forfeit the safe harbor. To forfeit that, the provider must influence or participate in the infringement.” Since YouTube doesn’t pre-screen content before throwing it live, and because it always takes down infringing content upon request, it simply isn’t liable.
Viacom says that the decision “ignores the opinions of the higher courts and completely disregards the rights of creative artists,” and promises to appeal the decision again with hopes of taking the case to a jury. Google, on the other hand, is playing it cool. “The court correctly rejected Viacom’s lawsuit against YouTube, reaffirming that Congress got it right when it comes to copyright on the Internet. This is a win not just for YouTube, but for people everywhere who depend on the Internet to exchange ideas and information.” Looking for a side to pick? Check out the court’s full decision after the break.
Source: AllThingsD, YouTube
Feb 28
We reported a few days ago some big-name ISPs would begin incorporating the Copyright Alert System (CAS) into their systems, which would send out alerts to users who they believe may have download copyrighted material through “peer-to-peer” services. Verizon and Comcast have already activated the service yesterday, with AT&T, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable expected to activate the CAS soon.
Ars Technica requested some examples of the messages they expect to send out to users who are believed to have downloaded copyrighted material, and Comcast obliged them by sending over alerts 1, 2, 4 and 5. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Woman Allows Internet To Name Her Baby For $5,000, Google Testing New Navigation Grid To Replace Black Bar Eyesore,
Feb 18
If you’re familiar with The Pirate Bay, then you should know many of the torrents that are hosted on the site are films, music and programs whose copyrights are most likely being infringed upon when you consider they’re being shared across the Internet as freely as a stick of bubblegum. That’s why when we heard The Pirate Bay is announcing it would sue anti-piracy organization CIAPC for copyright infringement, we absolutely didn’t take it serious.
It looks as though The Pirate Bay is completely serious about its defense of the websites copyrights as a spokesperson for the site said “stealing material like this on the internet is a threat to economies worldwide.” The site is alleging CIAPC copied its design for a campaign website that features a sinking pirate ship.
The Pirate Bay is asking the Finnish police’s Economic Crime unit to help investigate the copyright violations of the CIAPC in hopes of making a point that “while The Pirate Bay may have a positive view on copying, it will not stand by and watch copyright enforcing organizations disrespect copyright.”
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Admits They Were Hacked, Assures That User Data Not Compromised, Iceland Proposes To Block Internet Pornography,
Oct 13
AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions
Posted in: Today's Chili 
The fact that ISPs are working with the RIAA in a bid to squash piracy is far from new. A leaked document claiming to be AT&T training materials, however, suggests that the operator is about to stop talking, and start doing. According to TorrentFreak notifications will be sent out to customers on November 28th about the change in policy, with those suspected of illicit downloads receiving an email alerting them of the possible copyright infringement. We’d previously heard of a six-stage notification system, and this, too, is mentioned here with repeat offenders facing access to “many of the most frequently visited websites” restricted. Even stranger, is the talk of having to complete an online tutorial about copyright to get the restrictions lifted. As AT&T is part of the MPAA and RIAA-backed Center for Copyright Information, it’s likely that the other members (Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision), will be prepping similar plans. We’ve asked AT&T for confirmation directly, but for now keep an eye on the mail.
AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oct 03
YouTube scales back automatic Content ID takedowns, improves appeals process
Posted in: Today's Chili 
In the last several years Google has become quick to respond to complaints of copyright infringement. Unfortunately, its record in dealing with unfounded claims (specifically on YouTube) is a bit mixed. In particular the process for appealing a Content ID takedown has left many users frustrated and with little recourse in the event of a rejected dispute. And its the content owners themselves who make that decision. Starting today, even if a dispute is rejected, users can file an appeal that leaves a content owner with one of two choices — recind the complaint or file a proper DMCA takedown notice. To minimize the amount of appeals and disputes Google is also launching an improved Content ID algorithm that identifies potentially invalid claims and places them in a queue to be reviewed manually before takedowns are issued. For more, check out the source.
YouTube scales back automatic Content ID takedowns, improves appeals process originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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