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Justin, Demi, Selena, Rihanna - and COPPA By Lesley Fair October 4, 2012 - 1:29pm It's not likely we'll succumb to Bieber Fever.  We're of a generation more susceptible to the Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu.  But a company that ran official fan websites for pop stars may be feeling the effects of an FTC law enforcement action alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and COPPA Rule. The defendant, Artist Arena, operated authorized sites for Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and the mononymous recording artist Rihanna.  (It is, too, a word.  Ask Cher or Fabio.)  Visitors to BieberFever.com, DemiLovatoFanClub.net, SelenaGomez.com, or RihannaNow.com could join fan clubs and subscribe to online newsletters.  Fan club members also had access to social networking functions, like creating personal profiles, posting on walls, or "friending" other members.  Of course, to take advantage of those features, people had to provide personal information. The details of the registration process varied depending on the site, so you'll want to read the complaint for the specifics.  But the 25-words-or-less summary is that Artist Arena allegedly collected kids' names, addresses, email addresses, birthdates, gender and other info without properly notifying parents and getting their consent.  According to the complaint, the company violated COPPA by knowingly registering over 25,000 kids under 13 and collected and maintained personal information from almost 75,000 other kids under 13 who started the sign-up process, but didn't finish it. What about Artist Arena's promises that it wouldn't collect children's personal information or activate kids' registrations without parental consent?  The FTC challenged those claims as false. The settlement imposes a $1 million civil penalty, bars future COPPA violations, and requires the company  to delete the information collected illegally. Looking for specifics on COPPA compliance?  Visit the BCP Business Center's Children's Privacy page.  

What is Fair Use?Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder. (See Title 17, section 107) What Determines Fair Use?The following four factors are used to determine if a use is fair: The purpose of the use (eg. commercial vs. educational)* The nature of the copyrighted work The amount of the material used (the greater the amount copied, the less likely it is fair use) The effect of use on the potential market for or value of the work * Not all uses in an academic context are automatically considered fair use!  Fair Use in AcademiaThe Fair Use Doctrine is probably the most important exemption to copyright protections for educational settings, allowing many uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching and research. The complexity of fair use and its importance in academia make it imperative that every member of NYU-Poly understands how to make judgements concerning fair use. Review these Common Scenarios to help you determine whether or not fair use is appropriate. Tools to help you Determine Fair Use Fair Use Analysis Tool:  guides users through the process of determining if a use is fair. Developed by The University of Minnesota Libraries. Fair Use Evaluator: helps users collect, organize, and document the information they may need to support a fair use claim, and  provides a time-stamped PDF document for the users’ records. Developed by the American Library Association, Office for Information Technology Policy.  

Copyright Law DefinedCopyright law, as defined in Title 17 of the United States Code, protects "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression" for a limited period. Copyright protection includes, for instance, the legal right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work, and copyright protects authors, publishers and producers, and the public.  Copyright applies both to traditional media (books, records, etc.) and to digital media (electronic journals, web sites, etc.). Copyright protects the following eight categories of works: literary works musical works dramatic works pantomimes and choreographic works pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works motion pictures and other audiovisual works sound recordings architectural works Ownership of a copyrighted work includes the right to control the use of that work. Use of such work by others during the term of the copyright requires either permission from the author or reliance on the doctrine of fair use. Failure to do one or the other will expose the user to a claim of copyright infringement for which the law provides remedies including payment of money damages to the copyright owner.

An Introduction to Fair Use What is Fair Use? Fair use is the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights (United States Copyright Office, 2010, para. 1). Deciding whether the use of a work is fair IS NOT a science. There are no set guidelines that are universally accepted. Instead, the individual who wants to use a copyrighted work must weigh four factors:

Film and television programs contain a number of separate copyright materials including the visual images and associated sounds, the screenplay or narration, and other material incorporated in the film such as the music, sound recordings and artistic works. When a film or television program is copied, communicated or retransmitted under the royalty collection services, there are royalties for each of the separate copyright materials. By indicating a claim to a copyright material, you are warranting to Screenrights that you own or control the right to claim royalties for that specific copyright material incorporated in the program.

Web definitionsYou agree to comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of the Site and the Content and Materials provided therein.

Privacy advocates say that, for now, it is legal for a prospective employer, during a job interview, to insist that you log into your Facebook page and then click through your “friends only” posts, photos and messages. The ACLU put a stop to companies demanding that applicants turn over their login and password credentials, but “shoulder surfing,” as it’s been dubbed, is legal for the time being. Aleecia M. McDonald, a privacy researcher and resident Fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, says high unemployment makes it hard to stamp out this practice. “When you have a job market where there are more job seekers than hirers, you’re going to see things like demanding to see your Facebook wall because if you say no, someone else is waiting for that interview.”

Copyright Basics: Fair Use Determining Fair Use Exceptions for Libraries and Archives Exceptions for the use of Materials in an Educational Setting   Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder or its agent. These include instances of minimal use that do not interfere with the copyright holder's exclusive rights to reproduce and reuse the work. Fair use is not an exception to copyright compliance; it is more of a "legal defense." That is, if you copy and share a copyright-protected work and the copyright holder claims copyright infringement, you may be able to assert a defense of fair use which you would then have to prove. Fair use is primarily intended to allow the use of copyright-protected works for commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education. However, not all uses in an academic context are automatically considered fair use. The Copyright Act does not spell out the specific types of content reproduction that qualify as fair use. It offers an outline as to how to analyze whether fair use may apply in a particular situation. As a result, the Copyright Act leaves it up to the individual to determine, based upon the factors in Section 107 of the Act, whether fair use applies in each particular circumstance. To avoid a potential legal challenge from the copyright holder, many institutions follow a policy of "when in doubt, obtain permission."