Group items tagged

Current fair use law is hazy by design; instead of laying out specific use cases, the law relies on the famous "four factors" about the purpose of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount borrowed, and the effect on the value of the original work. This can be maddening in many situations, because it is impossible to know in advance if a particular use qualifies. On the other hand, it gives a fair use incredible flexibility to adapt to new circumstances like the advent of the VCR. But in the paragraph that comes just before the four factors, Congress did see fit to lay down a nonexclusive list of fair uses: "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research." Is it time for more list items? The new Copyright Reform Act, proposed by Public Knowledge, would make a deceptively simple change to bring fair use into the 21st century-add seven words to this list. The CRA is a new project from Public Knowledge, with much of the heavy lifting being done by the Cyberlaw Clinic at Stanford and the Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC-Berkeley. While Berkeley's noted copyright scholar Pam Samuelson works up a new "model statute" for copyright law in the digital age, Public Knowledge hopes to make smaller interim fixes to copyright law that won't require the same dramatic reworking.

ubroadcast, inc. (UBCI 0.03, +0.00, +3.85%) , a leader in Internet Broadcasting, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alexandria, VA-based iVu Media Corp., the developer of a state-of-the-art Video Content Management (VCM) system that works in tandem with a High Definition Playback technology. iVu Media's clients include Sony, Ford and Honda. For 2009, iVu Media had revenues of less than $500,000.

A New York judge is due to rule on Feburary 18th whether Google's plans to make millions of in-copyright books available online are legal - potentially bringing an end to the company's controversial quest to create the world's biggest digital library."

Electronics makers now pushing consumers to move beyond HDTV to 3-D. Article explains their marketing strategies and the technology.

Amazon is playing hardball with book publishers. The Seattle online bookseller says it will give authors a 70% cut of the sale of e-books sold for its Kindle readers, essentially offering writers a way to bypass traditional book publishers.

Bill Gates defends Microsoft's role in filtering content in China, and attacks Google for not following China's laws.

"Australian internet rights groups fear a piracy court case could force internet service providers (ISPs) to become "copyright cops" and cut web access to customers who illegally download"

Capping a year of spectacular growth and celebrating the milestone, Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg published a special post on the site's blog. In it he revealed the company this week has surged to 400 million users. It was only five months ago that Facebook had 300 million.

A look at Google's competition in advertising revenues, online media, communication technologies, etc.

A list of the top 10 mergers in recent times according to PC Authority magazine. Not all are media companies, but still a useful overview.

The FCC is launching an inquiry into the future of media and its role in providing news and civic information. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that rapid technological change has caused financial turmoil that calls into question whether traditional media will continue to be the go-to provider of essential news and information. The commission issued a public notice teeing up some of the questions it wants answered and launched a web site to collect some of that input

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation's media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country's dominant communication network.

"RealNetworks Inc. said it will pay $4.5 million and drop its appeal of a court order barring sales of its DVD-copying software to settle a lawsuit by Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood movie studios claiming the technology violates copyright-protection laws. RealNetworks also will refund about 2,700 customers who bought RealDVD, a $30 software program that allows users to save one backup copy of a movie to a computer hard drive."

"The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation's media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country's dominant communication network. "

Might this be an alternative for investigative reporting for web 2.0? Or at least a first step.

To make money online, don't ask if you should charge, but rather when to charge and when not to charge.

Discussion of the increasing amounts the average American household spends on cable, internet and gaming connections annually. Of special note is the lucrative nature of the subscription model for the media industry.