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"from the funny-how-that-works dept We've noted for a long time now that copyright laws are regularly used as a tool for censorship. In Russia, abusing copyright law for censorship and to harass political opponents has become standard. Remember how the Russian government teamed up with Microsoft to use questionable copyright claims to intimidate government critics? And then how the MPAA gleefully got into bed with Russia's media censor to celebrate copyright? Of course, Russia also expanded its ability to use copyright to censor the internet, following pressure from short-sighted US diplomats, demanding that Russia better "respect" copyright laws. "

"from the funny-how-that-works dept We've noted for a long time now that copyright laws are regularly used as a tool for censorship. In Russia, abusing copyright law for censorship and to harass political opponents has become standard. Remember how the Russian government teamed up with Microsoft to use questionable copyright claims to intimidate government critics? And then how the MPAA gleefully got into bed with Russia's media censor to celebrate copyright? Of course, Russia also expanded its ability to use copyright to censor the internet, following pressure from short-sighted US diplomats, demanding that Russia better "respect" copyright laws. "

" By Andy on March 23, 2016 C: 25 Breaking As a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software and music, the Internet Archive has a keen interest in copyright law. In a submission to the U.S. Copyright Office the Archive says since the major studios often send invalid notices, they're suggesting a change in the law to allow content to remain up while disputes are settled."

" By Andy on March 23, 2016 C: 25 Breaking As a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software and music, the Internet Archive has a keen interest in copyright law. In a submission to the U.S. Copyright Office the Archive says since the major studios often send invalid notices, they're suggesting a change in the law to allow content to remain up while disputes are settled."

" Rick Falkvinge on February 7, 2016 C: 1 Opinion The copyright industry keeps repeating the mantra that the copyright monopoly is somehow "necessary". Creative Commons proves conclusively that it isn't. "

" Rick Falkvinge on February 7, 2016 C: 1 Opinion The copyright industry keeps repeating the mantra that the copyright monopoly is somehow "necessary". Creative Commons proves conclusively that it isn't. "

" Andy on September 7, 2016 C: 98 News Two leading anti-piracy groups have penned an open letter and Change.org petition calling on Clinton and Trump to adopt a tough approach to copyright law. Copyright Alliance and CreativeFuture, which count dozens of major studios and record labels among their members, say that protecting content is vital, no matter which party is in power."

" Ernesto on February 8, 2016 C: 37 News Every month hundreds of people are sued for sharing copyrighted media through file-sharing networks, mostly BitTorrent. This practice is big business for copyright holders and lawyers alike. Unfortunately, however, not all defense attorneys appear to have the best interests of their clients at heart."

" Ernesto on February 8, 2016 C: 37 News Every month hundreds of people are sued for sharing copyrighted media through file-sharing networks, mostly BitTorrent. This practice is big business for copyright holders and lawyers alike. Unfortunately, however, not all defense attorneys appear to have the best interests of their clients at heart."

"The Statute of Anne, 1710 (1/6) (transcription below image) This is the first copyright act in the world, the British Statute of Anne, from 1710. This facsimile is taken from British Library, 8 Anne c. 19. Several monographs on copyright date this text to 1709. However, 1710 is the correct date, see John Feather, The Book Trade in Politics: The Making of the Copyright Act of 1710, "Publishing History", 19(8), 1980, p. 39 (note 3). Transcription from fraktur is available below the image. Words in roman type in the original are formatted here as italics."

" Ernesto on September 12, 2016 C: 3 News Google has released a new and improved version of its Copyright Transparency Report. The revamped report makes it easier to get insights into over a billion reported URLs. Among other things, Google now specifies how many URLs it does not remove and why, highlighting various cases of DMCA abuse"

" Ernesto on September 12, 2016 C: 3 News Google has released a new and improved version of its Copyright Transparency Report. The revamped report makes it easier to get insights into over a billion reported URLs. Among other things, Google now specifies how many URLs it does not remove and why, highlighting various cases of DMCA abuse"

"A just-leaked draft impact assessment on the modernization of European copyright rules could spell the end for many online services in Europe as we know them. "

"A just-leaked draft impact assessment on the modernization of European copyright rules could spell the end for many online services in Europe as we know them. "

" Ernesto on October 15, 2016 C: 18 Breaking A ring of misleading websites is charging people to pay for copyright registrations in the UK, Australia and elsewhere, even though it's a free and automatic right. In India, where there's also an official registration office, the authorities are taking legal action to stop the "fraudulent" operation."

" Ernesto on October 15, 2016 C: 18 Breaking A ring of misleading websites is charging people to pay for copyright registrations in the UK, Australia and elsewhere, even though it's a free and automatic right. In India, where there's also an official registration office, the authorities are taking legal action to stop the "fraudulent" operation."

"A recent court case illustrates the importance of reading and understanding technical terms used in copyright licenses"

"A recent court case illustrates the importance of reading and understanding technical terms used in copyright licenses"

"Today, the European Court of Justice significantly curtailed the freedom to hyperlink - one of the basic building blocks of the web. Together with the new special copyright protection for news articles the European Commission is planning to propose next week, the ability of Europeans to point to things online without having to fear breaking a law is in peril. Could the following message soon be commonplace on the European internet? Read on for details."

"Today, the European Court of Justice significantly curtailed the freedom to hyperlink - one of the basic building blocks of the web. Together with the new special copyright protection for news articles the European Commission is planning to propose next week, the ability of Europeans to point to things online without having to fear breaking a law is in peril. Could the following message soon be commonplace on the European internet? Read on for details."

" Ernesto on September 10, 2016 C: 47 News It's no secret that copyright holders are trying to take down as much pirated content as they can, but targeting open source software is not something we see every day. Paramount Pictures recently sent a DMCA takedown to Google, listing a copy of the popular operating system Ubuntu. An honest mistake, perhaps, but a worrying one."

" Ernesto on September 10, 2016 C: 47 News It's no secret that copyright holders are trying to take down as much pirated content as they can, but targeting open source software is not something we see every day. Paramount Pictures recently sent a DMCA takedown to Google, listing a copy of the popular operating system Ubuntu. An honest mistake, perhaps, but a worrying one."

"from the bad-ansi,-bad dept You would think that "the law" is obviously part of the public domain. It seems particularly crazy to think that any part of the law itself might be covered by copyright, or (worse) locked up behind some sort of paywall where you cannot read it. Carl Malamud has spent many years working to make sure the law is freely accessible... and he's been sued a bunch of times and is still in the middle of many lawsuits, including one from the State of Georgia for publishing its official annotated code (the state claims the annotations are covered by copyright)."

"Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act forbids a wide range of speech, from remix videos that rely upon circumvention, to academic security research, to publication of software that can help repair your car or back up your favorite show. It potentially implicates the entire range of speech that relies on access to copyrighted works or describes flaws in access controls-even where that speech is clearly noninfringing."

" By Ernesto on July 6, 2016 C: 82 News The UK Government's Digital Economy Bill, which is set to revamp current copyright legislation, has been introduced in Parliament. One of the most controversial changes is the increased maximum sentences for online copyright infringement. Despite public protest, the bill increased the maximum prison term five-fold, from two to ten years."

" Ernesto on September 18, 2016 C: 4 Opinion Not all anti-piracy vendors play fair when it comes to removing copyright-infringing content from the Internet. In fact, there is clear and convincing evidence that several companies 'make up' links that have never even existed, perhaps in part to boost their own numbers."

" Ernesto on September 18, 2016 C: 4 Opinion Not all anti-piracy vendors play fair when it comes to removing copyright-infringing content from the Internet. In fact, there is clear and convincing evidence that several companies 'make up' links that have never even existed, perhaps in part to boost their own numbers."

" By J.J. King on November 3, 2016 C: 0 News Bits Today we bring you the next episode of the Steal This Show podcast, discussing renegade media and the latest file-sharing and copyright news. In this episode we talk to The Yes Men's Mike Bonanno, aka Igor Vamos."

" By J.J. King on November 3, 2016 C: 0 News Bits Today we bring you the next episode of the Steal This Show podcast, discussing renegade media and the latest file-sharing and copyright news. In this episode we talk to The Yes Men's Mike Bonanno, aka Igor Vamos."

Ernesto on August 27, 2016 C: 78 News The U.S. Copyright Office is considering expanding the mandatory deposit requirement for publishers, so that record labels would also have to submit their online-only music to the Library of Congress. The Library would then allow the public to access the music. The RIAA, however, warns that this plan introduces some serious piracy concerns.

Ernesto on August 27, 2016 C: 78 News The U.S. Copyright Office is considering expanding the mandatory deposit requirement for publishers, so that record labels would also have to submit their online-only music to the Library of Congress. The Library would then allow the public to access the music. The RIAA, however, warns that this plan introduces some serious piracy concerns.

" By Ernesto on July 20, 2016 C: 20 Breaking The U.S. military is being accused of installing 'pirated' copies of 3D virtual reality software onto hundreds of thousands of computers without permission. Bitmanagement, the makers of the software, accuse the Navy of willful copyright infringement and are suing the Government for more than half a billion dollars in unpaid licenses."

" By Ernesto on July 20, 2016 C: 20 Breaking The U.S. military is being accused of installing 'pirated' copies of 3D virtual reality software onto hundreds of thousands of computers without permission. Bitmanagement, the makers of the software, accuse the Navy of willful copyright infringement and are suing the Government for more than half a billion dollars in unpaid licenses."

"Back at the end of August, we wrote about a ridiculous situation in which the Pokemon Company decided to sue two fans in Seattle who had set up a Pokemon-themed party leading into the big PAX conference. As soon as the threats came down, these guys shut down the party entirely, but the Pokemon Company would not be stopped in its determination to totally bankrupt and destroy such a big fan who was out there promoting Pokemon and Pokemon culture. "

"Back at the end of August, we wrote about a ridiculous situation in which the Pokemon Company decided to sue two fans in Seattle who had set up a Pokemon-themed party leading into the big PAX conference. As soon as the threats came down, these guys shut down the party entirely, but the Pokemon Company would not be stopped in its determination to totally bankrupt and destroy such a big fan who was out there promoting Pokemon and Pokemon culture. "