Michael Weinberg, staff attorney with Public Knowledge, discusses his white paper entitled, It Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw This Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual Property, and the Fight Over the Next Great Disruptive Technology. The discussion begins with Weinberg describing 3D printing: the process of printing three dimensional objects layer-by-layer from a digital file on a computer. According to Weinberg the design method used for printing includes programs like AutoCad and 3D scanners that can scan existing objects, making it possible to print a 3D replica. He goes on to explain why he thinks 3D printing, coupled with the Internet, is a disruptive technology. Finally, Weinberg discusses the thesis of his paper, where he anticipates industries affected by potential disruption will not compete with or adapt to this technology, but rather, will seek legal protection through IP law to preemptively regulate 3D printing.

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Related Links

• It Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw This Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual Property, and the Fight Over the Next Great Disruptive Technology, By Weinberg
• “Difference Engine: Making it”, The Economist
• Thingverse.com
• Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney, TED

David Robinson, a fellow at the Information and Society Project at Yale Law School, discusses his new paper, Following the Money: A Better Way Forward on the PROTECT IP Act. The bill, now being considered by Congress, targets “rouge” websites. Robinson discusses the different ways these websites host infringing content and sell counterfeit goods, as well as the remedies proposed in the bill. The measures involve two main consequences: cutting off information through the seizure of domain names by law enforcement, and cutting off financial gain by prohibiting payment processors like Visa and Mastercard from delivering profits to infringing website owners. Robinson discusses why he thinks the Act will better serve IP law if the flow of money is restricted, and not the flow of information. He goes on to discuss what he considers to be troubling about information control, including several constitutional implications.

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Related Links

• Following the Money: A Better Way Forward on the PROTECT IP Act, by Robinson
• Text of the proposed Act, opencongress.org
• “Dozens of law professors: PROTECT IP Act is unconstitutional”, ARS Technica

Annemarie Bridy, professor of law at the University of Idaho, and visiting associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh, discusses her new paper, “Is Online Copyright Enforcement Scalable?” In it she looks at the advent of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and the copyright enforcement problem it has created through the lens of scalability. In solving difficult problems of scale in their effort to revolutionize the distribution of information goods, the designers of P2P networks created a problem of scale in the form of “massive infringement.” Bridy discusses how to to approach solving that new problem of scale–massive infringement. Bridy argues that the DMCA has proven to be remarkably scalable for enforcing copyrights in hosted content but has altogether failed to scale in the context of P2P file sharing, leading to the dysfunctional workaround of mass John Doe litigation. She discusses alternatives to mass litigation, including dispute resolution systems and “three strikes” proposals.

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Related Links

• Is Online Copyright Enforcement Scalable?, by Bridy
• “A massive collection scheme: Yet another judge slams file-sharing lawsuits,”, Ars Technica
• “Citing ‘Wrong Door’ Cases, Judge Denies Use of IP Addresses to Identify Individuals”, Technology Liberation Front

Kembrew McLeod, independent filmmaker and Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa, discusses his new documentary with Benjamin Franzen called Copyright Criminals. Digital music sampling is used throughout several genres of music but it is probably most prominent in hip-hop music. Hip-hop artists like Run-DMC began using snippets of other artists’ songs to create sounds of their own. This process, according to McLeod, helped facilitate creativity, but it also brought a flurry of lawsuits within the music industry. Now, as McLeod demonstrates in his documentary, artists are hesitant to use samples of music in their songs because they fear potential legal consequences, and as a result, a lot of musical creations that use sampling may never reach our ears.

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Related Links

• Copyright Criminals, hulu.com
• kembrew.com
• “Lessig’s call for a ‘simple blanket license’ in Remix“, Adam Thierer

Pamela Samuelson, the Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law at Berkeley Law School, discusses her new article in the Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts entitled, Legislative Alternatives to the Google Book Settlement.  Samuelson discusses the settlement, which was ultimately rejected, and highlights what she deems to be positive aspects. One aspect includes making out-of-print works available to a broad audience while keeping transaction costs low. Samuelson suggests encompassing these aspects into legislative reform. The goal of such reform would strike a balance that benefits rights holders, as well as the general public, while generating competition through implementation of a licensing scheme.


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Related Links

• Legislative Alternatives to the Google Book Settlement, by Samuelson
• “Judge Rejects Google Books Settlement,” Wall Street Journal
• “Explaining the Google Books Case Saga,” Time Techland

Larry Downes, who writes for CNet, blogs at Forbes.com and the Technology Liberation Front, and is the author of several books, including most recently, The Laws of Disruption, discusses enforcement of intellectual property rights online. Downes talks about the Protect IP Act, a bill recently introduced into Congress that aims to curtail infringement of intellectual property rights online by so-called rogue websites. Downes argues that forcing intermediaries to blacklist domain names has the potential to “break the internet.” He discusses how the rogue website problem could better be addressed and how the proposed bill could be improved.


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Related Links

• “Leahy’s Protect IP bill even worse than COICA,” by Downes
• “Leahy’s Protect IP Act: Why Internet content wars will never end,” by Downes
• “Internet Researchers Decry DNS-Filtering Legislation,” Wired
• “Son of COICA: New Copyright Bill Introduced,” Center for Democracy & Technology

Jessica Litman, professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School and one of the country’s foremost experts on copyright, discusses her new essay, Reader’s Copyright. Litman talks about the origins of copyright protection and explains why the importance of readers’, viewers’, and listeners’ interests have diminished over time. She points out that copyright would be pointless without readers and claims that the system is not designed to serve creators or potential creators exclusively. Litman also discusses differences in public and private protections and talks about rights that should be made more explicit regarding copyright.


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Related Links

• Readers’ Copyright, by Litman
• Jessica Litman on Copyright Liberties
• “Users’ Rights in Copyright: An Interview with Ray Patterson,” American Library Association

Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University, general director of the Mercatus Center, and founder of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution, answers questions from Surprisingly Free listeners and Marginal Revolution readers. Cowen discusses why people will be appalled that we ever questioned intrusive searches by TSA, what should have been done to minimize unemployment and other harm from the financial crisis, how the “famous American formula” for good government is broken, what might force us to sit around opening cans of dog food with our teeth, and which global sites should be connected by Stargate portals to create the most value. He also asks, “Why read books?”, speculates about the value of his blog, addresses price discrimination of chicken McNuggets, talks about a modern day Athens in Asia with good food, suggests that internet comments are a relatively harmless form of stupidity, and opines about the best thing that government does.


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Related Links

• “Books of the year, 2010″, by Cowen at Marginal Revolution
• “What is the case for the Fed?”, by Cowen at MR
• “Sentences [about TSA and flying] to ponder”, by Cowen at MR
• “Further thoughts on the TSA debates”, by Cowen at MR
• “The Road to Medicare, not The Road to Serfdom”, by Cowen at MR

Kimberley Isbell, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society working as a staff attorney with the Citizen Media Law Project, discusses legal implications of news aggregators.  The rise of aggregators amid the transformation of news and journalism spurred Rupert Murdoch to label news aggregation “theft.”  In her recent paper, Isbell classifies various types of news aggregators and examines their roles in light of copyright, fair use, and hot news misappropriation doctrines.  She notes that courts have yet to decide key aspects of the issue, but legal rules that promote flexibility and free access to information are needed to ensure a productive and innovative future for news.


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Related Links

• The Rise of the News Aggregator: Legal Implications and Best Practices, by Isbell
• “Who’s Afraid of the News Aggregators?”, by Isbell
• “The Legality Of News Aggregators”, Techdirt
• Adam Thierer on the future of media, Surprisingly Free podcast

Adrian Johns, professor in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, expert on the history of science and the history of the book, and author of the new book, Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Guttenberg to Gates, discusses the history of intellectual property and piracy.  He discusses origins of copyright law in London, the first pirates, and today’s digital piracy.  He also addresses the future of books and potential tipping points that could prompt changes in copyright law, citing the Google Books project and pharmaceuticals in the developing world.


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Related Links

• Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Guttenberg to Gates by Adrian Johns
• Yo, Ho, Ho, and a Digital Scrum, review of Piracy by The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Piracy as a business force by Adrian Johns

Wendy Seltzer, a fellow at the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado and at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School discusses copyright infringement and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  She also addresses the relationship between copyright law and free speech protected by the First Amendment.


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Related Links

• Free Speech Unmoored in Copyright’s Safe Harbor: Chilling Effects of the DMCA on the First Amendment (.pdf) by Wendy Seltzer
• DCMA takedowns: trampling on free speech rights?, Ars Technica on the DCMA and Seltzer’s recent paper
• The Politics of Internet Control and Delegated Censorship by Wendy Seltzer
• Chilling Effects, founded by Seltzer to “study and combat the ungrounded legal threats that chill activity on the Internet”
• Google on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

James Grimmelmann, Associate Professor of Law at the New York Law School and faculty member of the Institute for Information Law and Policy, discusses online harassment and anonymity. The discussion also turns to a new proposal to combat online harassment and the Google Books settlement.


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Related Links

• The Unmasking Option by James Grimmelmann (PDF)
• “Skanks in NYC” blog post leads to lawsuit against Google at Ars Technica
• Auto Admit Controversy at Wikipedia
• Can You be Sued for Unmasking an Anonymous Blogger? by Brian Solove at Concurring Opinions
• Dog Poop Girl Incident at Wikipedia
• Stolen SideKick Incident
• China’s Cyberposse at the New York Times
• Google Books at Wikipedia
• Google Book Search Settlement Agreement
• Judge Hears Arguments on Google Book Settlement at the New York Times

Michael Geist, Law Professor and Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, discusses the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, better known as ACTA. The discussion also turns to secrecy and transparency issues with ACTA and recent efforts to shed light on the text of the treaty.


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Related Links

• Michael Geist’s ACTA Website
• Leaked Copy of ACTA (PDF)
• Outrageous Treaty Nonsense, or The Copyright Tail Wagging the Internet Dog by David Post at Volokh Conspiracy
• ACTA Guide, Part Three: Transparency and ACTA Secrecy at Michael Geist’s ACTA Website
• ACTA Confidentiality Statement (PDF)
• New ACTA Leak: U.S., Korea, Singapore, Denmark Do Not Support Transparency at Michael Geist’s ACTA Website
• ACTA Internet Chapter at Michael Geist’s ACTA Website
• Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) at Wikipedia
• Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA at the Electronic Freedom Foundation
• Three Strikes and You’re Offline: Music Industry, ISPs May Cut Internet Access for File-Sharers at FoxNews.com
• ACTA’s De Minimis Provision: Countering the iPod Searching Border Guard Fears at Michael Geist’s ACTA Website
• Copyright Treaty is Classified for ‘National Security’ by Declan McCullagh at CNET
• Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement Raises Constitutional Concerns by Jack Goldsmith and Lawrence Lessig at the Washington Post
• European Parliament ACTA Resolution Passes Overwhelmingly, Threatens Possible Court Action at Michael Geist’s ACTA Website

Michael S. Sawyer, a fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, discusses the impact of the DMCA on user-generated content. The discussion also turns to the principle of fair use and competing solutions for dealing with copyright infringements on user-generated content sites.


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Related Readings

• Filters, Fair Use, and Feedback: User-Generated Content Principles and the DMCA by Michael S. Sawyer
• DMCA at Wikipedia
• UGC Principles
• EFF Fair Use Principles at the Electronic Freedom Foundation
• Baby Dancing to Prince at YouTube
• Dancing Wedding Entrance at YouTube

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