Darknet

EFF warns ABC to back off blogger

From the EFF: EFF Warns ABC to Back Off Blogger. Bogus Copyright Infringement Claims Violate Law.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warned ABC, Inc. Thursday not to pursue its bogus copyright infringement claims against 'Spocko' -- a blogger who sparked nationwide debate over a San Francisco radio station -- and asked the media giant to retract its baseless threats.

The free speech battle began when Spocko posted audio clips of what he deemed to be offensive talk-radio rhetoric from ABC-owned and San Francisco-based KSFO-AM on his blog at www.spockosbrain.com. In response, ABC, Inc. sent a threatening letter to the blogger's hosting company, claiming that copyright law prevented Spocko from posting the clips. The hosting company responded by shutting Spocko's website down, forcing him to move to a different provider. In a letter sent to ABC, Inc. Thursday, EFF warned that further false copyright claims could compel Spocko to take action to protect his free speech rights.

"Copyright law is not designed to silence speech that you dislike," said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "ABC and KSFO know that their legal threats were absolutely groundless. Their time and efforts are better spent explaining why they think Spocko is wrong, and letting the public decide, instead of resorting to thuggish legal tactics."

EFF's letter to ABC is the latest development in its ongoing campaign to protect online free speech from the chilling effects of bogus copyright claims. In November, EFF reached an agreement with the corporate owners of the popular children's television character Barney the Purple Dinosaur to withdraw meritless legal threats against a website publisher who parodied the character.

For the full letter to ABC (PDF)

For more on Spocko

Beyond Net neutrality lies Internet freedom

Ben Scott at TomPaine.com via FreePress.net: Beyond Net Neutrality Lies Internet Freedom.

Illegal movie downloads OK with most consumers

Information Week: Illegal Movie Downloads OK with Most Consumers

The majority of U.S. online consumers do not believe downloading movies illegally from the Web is a serious offense, says a survey by Solutions Research Group. "Most people perceive celebrities and studios to be rich already," says study director Kaan Yigit.

AT&T scores a victory in net neutrality agreement

Dan Gillmor has an opinion piece in the San Francisco Examiner: Contrary to opinion, AT&T’s BellSouth deal isn’t net-neutral.

Protection for your original creations

MyFreeCopyright: Free protection for your original digital creations.

Amazon won't publish one reader's review

Anna Rosa D' Ambrosio of Italy read the Italian version of Darknet and was moved to write a positive review to counter the recent flurry of negative "reviews" by people who obviously haven't read the book on Amazon.com.

But Amazon won't publish her review. Why? Because she hasn't purchased anything on Amazon.

Good to keep that in mind -- Amazon is first and foremost a commerce site, not a place for honest and wide-ranging discussion of a book's merits or demerits.

U.S. appeals court rejects challenge to copyright term limits

Disappointing news:  U.S.   Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Copyright Term Lengths

San Francisco - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has rejected an appeal from   Internet activists, including Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle, that would have reexamined the   extensions to copyright term lengths enacted during the 1990s.

D

TV: Counting down to the digital deadline

Washington Post: TV: Counting Down to the Digital Deadline

Television as most people have known it has a little more than two years to live, writes Rob Pegoraro, tech columnist with the Washington Post. Feb. 17, 2009 is the date Congress has set for analog broadcasts to end. But on that date "your favorite shows could turn to static." Thanks to IWantMedia for the pointer.

I wrote about this in Darknet, and I doubt Congress will stick to its guns and let analog televisions go black in just two years' time.

Cracking down on mixtape CDs

NY Times: Cracking Down on Mixtape CDs. Excerpt:

Last week, local authorities, working with the recording industry’s trade association, stunned fans and music executives alike by raiding DJ Drama’s studio in Atlanta and arresting him and a fellow D.J., Don Cannon, on racketeering charges. Investigators seized more than 81,000 allegedly pirated CDs and say the pair were producing unlicensed recordings and selling them without permission.

The raid sparked an outcry among many rap fans. But it also threatens to throw into public view the recording industry’s awkward relationship with mixtapes, long an integral element of rap culture and now commonly for sale on street corners, Web sites, many independent record shops and occasionally big chains.

Even as industry-financed antipiracy squads hunt for unauthorized recordings, senior executives at the major record labels privately say that they have courted — and often paid — top D.J.’s to create and distribute mixtapes featuring the labels’ rappers as part of efforts to generate buzz. ...

 

Ode to the RIAA

At the NY Times, David Pogue offers an Ode to the RIAA.

HD DVD anti-piracy compromised

Digital Media Wire: HD DVD Anti-Piracy Compromised; HD Movies Appear on BitTorrent.

A group of hackers has compromised the anti-piracy technology on Toshiba's new   HD DVD format, and high-definition copies of several feature films have been uploaded to the BitTorrent   file-sharing network, The New York Times reported.

Copps unveils new American media contract

FreePress.net: FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps tonight challenged thousands gathered at the National Conference for Media Reform to enact a new “American Media Contract,” calling for citizens to stand up and "get rid of the bad old rules that got us into this mess in the first place."

TiVo's new tack

NY Times: On Display, the Video Frontier.

TiVo is a company that many adore — especially those who like an underdog. In 1997 it popularized the digital video recorder, or DVR, which lets you pause live TV and fast-forward through the ads. A decade later, it is floundering in the face of generic copycats and the reluctance of many cable and satellite customers to have a second box.

But there was hope for TiVo fans at C.E.S. After nearly a year of development, the company announced that it had finished tailoring its famously user-friendly service for the set-top boxes of the cable giant Comcast — the fruits of a partnership announced last spring.

This year, Comcast customers will be offered the ability to download TiVo onto their existing box (no visit necessary from the cable guy). A monthly fee has not been announced, but a Comcast representative said it would offer TiVo as a premium alternative to its current generic DVR, which it leases for $11.95 a month. ...

Congress to take up Net’s future

NY Times: Congress to Take Up Net’s Future, with Net neutrality legislation.

Radio rebel refuses to back down

Brad Kava in the San Jose Mercury News: Radio rebel refuses to back down

YouTube ordered offline in Brazil

Reuters: YouTube Ordered Offline in Brazil

A Brazilian court is ordering YouTube to be shut down until it removes a celebrity sex video from its site. Daniela Cicarelli, a model and ex-wife of soccer great Ronaldo, is suing YouTube after a video of her apparently having sex on a beach with her boyfriend was posted to the site. Thanks to IWantMedia for the pointer.

New disc may prevent DVD wars

Some good news for consumers, from the NY Times:

Consumers wary of buying new high-definition DVD players because of a technology war reminiscent of the days of Betamax versus VHS will soon have a new kind of DVD that might make the decision less daunting.

Warner Brothers, which helped popularize the DVD more than a decade ago, plans to announce next week a single videodisc that can play films and television programs in both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, the rival DVD technologies.

Warner Brothers, a division of  Time Warner, plans to formally announce the new disc, which it is calling a Total HD disc, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

In the digital world, rights can be tenuous

Washington Post via San Jose Merc: In the digital world, rights can be tenuous.

Veronica Brown is a hot fashion designer, making a living off the virtual lingerie and formalwear she sells inside the online fantasy world Second Life. She expects to have earned about $60,000 in the past year from people who buy her digital garments to outfit their animated self-images in this fast-growing virtual community.

But Brown got an unnerving reminder last month of how tenuous her livelihood is when a rogue software program that copies animated objects appeared in Second Life. Scared that their handiwork could be cloned and sold by others, Brown and her fellow shopkeepers launched a general strike and briefly closed the electronic storefronts where they peddle digital furniture, automobiles, hairdos and other virtual wares.

``It was fear, fear of your effort being stolen,'' said Brown, 44, whose online alter ego, Simone Stern, trades under the name Simone! Design.

Brown has reopened her boutique but remains uncomfortably aware that the issue of whether she owns what she makes -- a fundamental right underpinning nearly all businesses -- is unresolved.

As virtual worlds proliferate across the Web, software designers and lawyers are straining to define property rights in this emerging digital realm. The debate over these rights extends far beyond the early computer games that pioneered virtual reality into the new frontiers of commerce.

``Courts are trying to figure out how to apply laws from real life, which we've grown accustomed to, to the new world,'' said Greg Lastowka, a professor at Rutgers School of Law in Camden, N.J.. ``The law is struggling to keep up.'' ...