Copyright & DRM

Kimberley Isbell on news aggregators

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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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Adrian Johns on Piracy

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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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Wendy Seltzer on delegated censorship, copyright, and the DMCA

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

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James Grimmelmann on harassment, anonymity, and the Google Books settlement

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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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Michael Geist on ACTA

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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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Michael S. Sawyer on user-generated content, fair use, and the DMCA

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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