Darknet

AT&T agrees to keep the Net neutral -- for now

Techdirt: AT&T Agrees To Keep The Net Neutral For 30 Months To Get BellSouth.

Music labels change tune about MP3

San Jose Mercury News: Music labels change tune about MP3 format.

Dems to the Net: Go to hell

Lessig blog: Dems to the Net: Go to hell. I agree with Prof. Lessig that Howard Berman is "among the most extreme of the IP warriors." It's unfortunate that a more forward-looking Democrat won't be heading up intellectual property issues in the next Congress.

Save the Internet!

Here's a good video the lays out the basics of net neutrality -- and its importance in the next Congress.

Copyright/DRM conference

The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal (BTLJ) announce their 11th annual symposium, Copyright, Digital Rights Management Technologies, and Consumer Protection. The symposium -- hosted by the UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law -- will take place on March 9-10, 2007 at Boalt Hall. The conference website is here.  Registration by fax is now open.  Online registration will begin in January.

Creative Commons' new chairman: Joi Ito

I've been meaning to blog this: Creative Commons has a new chairman, the great Joi Ito.

Larry Lessig posts here. Joi talks about it here. And NewsForge has coverage. Lessig will continue as CEO.

Sony pays $1.5 million over hidden programs

Wire services:

Sony pays $1.5 million over hidden programs

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $1.5 million and refund thousands of dollars to customers to settle lawsuits brought by California and Texas over music CDs that installed a hidden anti-piracy program on consumers' computers.

The settlements, announced Tuesday, cover lawsuits over CDs loaded with one of two types of copy-protection software -- known as MediaMax or XCP. Under the terms of the separate settlements, each state will receive $750,000 in civil penalties and costs.

Sony BMG also agreed to reimburse consumers whose computers were damaged while trying to uninstall the XCP software.

Support Public Knowledge

Passing along this fund-raising appeal from Public Knowledge, one of the most important voices in Washington defending the public's rights:

2006 was a busy year for Public Knowledge, and a good one for the
public.  Working with our friends in industry and the public
interest community, Public Knowledge played a critical role in
some of the most important copyright and communications law
issues of the year:

* Public Knowledge was the public interest leader in Washington
  in the thus-far successful fight against Government mandated
  DRM like the Broadcast Flag, Radio Flag, and efforts to close
  the Analog Hole.

* Public Knowledge worked tirelessly on the Hill, in the media,
  in public forums, and on the Internet to make "net neutrality"
  a critical part of the debate over telecommunications reform.
  We collaborated with our allies to ensure that 1) any proposed
  telecommunications reform law that did not include net
  neutrality was defeated and 2) the AT&T/Bell South merger was
  not approved absent an enforceable net neutrality requirement.

* Public Knowledge brought together industry and non-profit
  groups to put pressure on the U.S. delegation to change its
  position on the WIPO broadcast treaty, which proposed to give
  broadcasters a 50 year copyright-like rights in their signals.
  The effort was a success -- the treaty has been delayed with
  its future uncertain.

* Public Knowledge supported two pieces of legislation that would
  bring balance back to copyright 1) a solution to the "orphan
  works" problem (works for which a copyright owner cannot be
  found);  and 2) a requirement that taxpayer funded research be
  made available for free online.   Importantly, Public Knowledge
  gave independent filmmakers a voice on the orphan works issue.

Next year we will certainly be fighting some of these same
battles again, but we also want to do more.  We want to propose
comprehensive copyright law reform and we want to be the public's
voice in the debate over patent reform.  But to do all of this,
we need your support.

The easiest way to do this is to visit our website and choose the
"Support Public Knowledge" link at the top of the page, or go
straight to the following URL:
  <http://www.publicknowledge.org/support>

Here are a few ways you can lend a hand:

* Donate: One time or recurring, in any amount.  (As a 501(c)(3),
  a donation to Public Knowledge is a tax deductible to the
  extent the law allows.)

* Buy a T-Shirt: We have a collection of propaganda t-shirts to
  get out the word on important issues -- buy one or "subscribe"
  to all four.

* Buy a PK Ball Cap: PK logo on the front, URL on the back.

Give to Creative Commons

Creative Commons is halfway toward its fund-raising goal. You can help them get to the finish line.

Copyright law still murky in digital era

Chicago Tribune: Copyright Law Still Murky in Tech Era. Where do the rights of digital-age property holders -- be they movie studios or phone companies -- end, and the rights of consumers begin? Copying a movie onto an iPod is a no-no. But it's OK for a professor to copy snippets of a film to illustrate a point in the classroom.

It seems a no-brainer that copying a DVD movie and reselling it should be illegal. But how about copying it to your iPod? Or, if you're a professor, copying snippets of "Citizen Kane" to illustrate a point in your class?

Well, the answer is "No, you can't" on the iPod. But academics can freely capture Kane's "Rosebud" moment and other highlights, courtesy of a decision by the U.S. Copyright Office that went into effect this week. ...

Another significant new exemption to the DMCA involves CDs. Computer security experts now clearly have the right to investigate and correct security flaws embedded in CDs.

PerezHilton accused of violating copyrights

NY Daily News:

Seven of Tinseltown's top photo agencies have threatened to sue the popular celebrity-skewering site PerezHilton.com for allegedly stealing their pictures, a spokesman for the shutterbugs said last night.

"Perez claims he is making a fortune off exploiting pictures taken by photographers. He blatantly violates copyright and makes advertising revenues off other people's works."